Matomo Reviews

“clean UI with useful features

Pros

Matomo strikes a nice balance between being non-intrusive and still offering plenty of useful features. The user interface is also very nice and pleasant to work with.

Cons

One challenge is getting non-technical people to adopt�it.�It�also doesn't have the same name recognition as Google Analytics.

“cleaner analytics experience

Pros

Compared with Google Analytics 4, this is much simpler to work with and a lot easier to analyze.

Cons

Support is handled through email and they do reply, just not 24/7.

“On-prem tracking that delivers!

Pros

It worked very well for a specific need we had such as tracking all user interactions. That was a big advantage for us since this software can be set up directly on your own servers and gives you that level of control quite easily.

Cons

There were a few frustrating parts especially when working across different browsers. Some ad blockers can block JavaScript from running which means the script may not load at all. Another challenge is that once you start using�it, if the knowledge is not shared properly across teams,�it�can become a headache for anyone new coming in.�It�also gets quite difficult to maintain all those events as the database grows and the number of tracked events increases.

“frustrating access loss & setup

Pros

There are a few features that are interesting compared with Analytics.

Cons

One thing to know is that if you decide to stop your subscription, you lose access to�it�and therefore to your past data. That is exactly what happened to me. The only option is for�the company�to send you a backup which I requested but I still have not received anything. And even then,�it�is much less practical than using�it�directly. I work as a webmaster and use a lot of tools and this is the first one I have seen operate like this. Very strange. Beyond that, the most disappointing part is how difficult�it�is to configure. As soon as you want to set up tracking or monitor events, nothing feels easy.

“Reliable analytics with local hosting

Pros

It gives me the ability to analyze my audience and media campaigns in much the same way as competing platforms, with the added benefit of having the data hosted in France.

Cons

As a user, I honestly haven't come across any negative aspect.

“simple interface and rich features

Pros

Right from the first moments of using it, the interface was excellent. You can tell quickly that it's a user frienldy tool that helps you get moving fast. It also comes with plenty of features which makes it even more useful. On top of that it's GDPR compliant.

Cons

The setup is a bit more complicated than something like Google Analytics, for example.

“GDPR-friendly

Pros

Being open source and free to host on your own server is a real advantage. It's also GDPR-friendly and performs just as well as some competing solutions.

Cons

Its interface is a bit complex to get used to at first.

“Dashboard marketing au top

Pros

It is a website analytics and dashboard tool that works very well for marketing and site performance tracking.

Cons

There haven't been any downsides for me while using�it.

“accessible pricing, harder learning curve

Pros

What I like most about Matomo is how affordable it is.

Cons

The user interface feels a bit too complicated for someone just getting started.

“ergonomic alternative to GA

Pros

It is a very user-friendly solution and makes a really great alternative to Google Analytics.

Cons

This comes down to how�it�is positioned but�it�cannot be connected to the advertising ecosystem.

“powerful tracking and customization

Pros

I like that it also comes with advanced capabilities like conversion tracking event tracking, goal tracking and advertising campaign tracking, along with more in-depth customization of the user interface.

Cons

It�can take more effort to install and configure than Google Analytics and�it�may require a certain level of technical knowledge.

“Strong analytics from the start!

Pros

The free version is really the product's strongest advantage. Even with the basic setup, you already get the most important data right at your fingertips. On top of that the extra paid features let you reach a very advanced level of analysis that, in my opinion, goes far beyond what competing tools offer.

Cons

In some situations, installing and maintaining�it�can be a bit complicated for users who are not very familiar with CMS platforms.

“Very simple to integrate

Pros

It's very simple to integrate and comes with a wide range of plugins. The core software is free and while some plugins are also free, others require payment.

Cons

A key feature is tracking search engine queries but unfortunately that functionality is only available through a paid plugin.

“powerful analytics with flexibility

Pros

Matomo gives you a lot to work with as a web analytics platform, with plenty of tools and features for tracking website traffic and digging into the data. There's also a strong level of customization which makes it adaptable to different needs. Since it's open source, it's freely available, can be self-hosted and can also be modified or extended if you want more control.

Cons

One downside is that�it�can take more time to learn compared with some other analytics tools. The interface also feels cluttered at times and can be a little overwhelming, mainly because there are so many options and settings to sort through.

“Missed migration date caused data loss and major frustration

Pros

It was easy to set up and get running. The cloud version comes with very strong built-in tools for understanding usability in detail especially heatmaps and split testing. One of the biggest advantages is that it can be set up anonymously and without cookies which makes it possible to use it in a GDPR-compliant way without bothering users. The Google Analytics import also works well, although you do need to create a Google API key which is fairly complicated on Google's side and be prepared to wait a few weeks for the full import since the API limits the number of requests. The white-label feature is a nice extra as well.

Cons

During a client project, we planned a migration from a self-hosted setup to the cloud version and�the company�did not keep the agreed migration date. We were only informed several days later. Support did try to help but they did not think ahead about the fact that this would create a data gap and because of the one-week delay we ended up losing information.�It�was not possible to merge that missing period with the interim data afterward. Overall�it�was very frustrating, although I still hope this was an exception.

“privacy-first analytics win!

Pros

One of the things I like most about Matomo is that you can host it on your own server so you are no longer forced to hand over data to third parties like with Google Analytics. That also helps you avoid dealing with the whole cookie notice issue. We use it on one of our web projects and it has been fantastic. I definitely recommend it as an alternative to Google Analytics.

Cons

It�does exactly what�it�is supposed to do as an analytics tool so honestly I have no complaints about�it.

“gdpr-friendly analytics that deliver!!

Pros

Keeping visitor activity metrics while staying GDPR compliant is a big advantage. It's very useful when you want to improve content based on what's actually relevant. Another plus is that it can be hosted on the same server as the client's project and it just works reliably.

Cons

The interface feels a little outdated right now.�It�could definitely use some improvement, although�it�still gets the job done.

“simple analytics

Pros

It has everything needed to track website traffic and the interface is simple to use and very user friendly.

Cons

I haven't come across any downsides though I am using the paid version.

“privacy-friendly analytics powerhouse

Pros

Matomo previously known as Piwik, is an open-source platform that delivers detailed website analytics. It makes it possible to track user visits closely especially behavior patterns and session activity. The data is collected in real time, it respects user privacy and it is fully GDPR compliant.

Cons

Nothing to point out here.�It�feels like a complete software solution.

“Fast setup

Pros

It's quick to deploy on pretty much any server and it uses a very small snippet of code that's simple to integrate.

Cons

I did have to go through a few extra clicks to download the version I could self-host.

“full control over analytics data

Pros

Compared with Google Analytics and other website traffic tracking tools, Matomo is like the strongest alternative. It's the option I trust most when the goal is to keep full ownership of visitor analytics data. With proprietary platforms like Google Analytics, your data is in someone else's hands and you cannot really be sure how it might be used. That's exactly why I keep recommending it over other analytics solutions.

Cons

To be honest I haven't come across any major downsides with�it.

“user-friendly analytics layout

Pros

Everything is very user friendly and the way the platform is organized makes it easy for someone without a technical background to understand.

Cons

Well I do wish there were a more automated option for bringing over historical data from Google Analytics, though that seems to be more of a limitation on Google's side.

“BEST analytics platform yet

Pros

After using many other web analytics platforms both as a user and as an admin/engineer, Matomo stands out as the best by a wide margin. The feature set is excellent, it's very user-friendly, integration is easy and the tracking capabilities are outstanding. The team has done an amazing job.

Cons

I don't have any cons to mention.

“privacy-first analytics done right

Pros

Hosting it yourself means the software is not just free but your data stays on your own server so there's no need to wonder what some other company might be doing with it. Even if you use the hosted version, it's run by a German company with servers located in Germany which is reassuring from a GDPR compliance standpoint. It covers everything needed for web analytics while also respecting users' data privacy rights.

Cons

Setting�it�up isn't quite as polished or hands-off as Google Analytics. Google takes care of almost everything for you but the trade-off is the privacy of your website visitors. With�it, the trade-off is that you handle the setup yourself and there's definitely a bit of a learning curve. Personally, I consider that part of doing right by our customers.

“full data ownership wins

Pros

It is a strong web analytics platform that gives you complete ownership of your data.

Cons

Support is available as a separate purchase but the cost is quite high.

“open-source analytics freedom

Pros

Getting started with it is very easy and I really appreciate that there are no data limits holding anything back. The fact that it's open source is also a big plus.

Cons

The heatmaps dashboard could be better and the available options and funnel configuration still need some improvement.

“privacy-friendly analytics

Pros

It has been proven a really amazing alternative to Google Analytics for us especially because it respects user privacy.

Cons

Honestly we haven't run into any issues with�it�at all.�It's been a perfect fit for our team and our needs.

“Analytics done right

Pros

The biggest selling point for us was being able to track our website and campaign performance in a privacy-compliant way. Setting up the platform was also easy and that simplicity doesn't take away from the quality or reliability of the data.

Cons

Its user-friendly design keeps proving itself whenever we present data in�it since colleagues quickly understand where to click to find the information they need. The one thing still missing for us is a simpler way to connect�it�with Google Ads and other PPC advertising platforms.

“wordpress setup feels effortless

Pros

I find it very easy to use, whether adding it to WordPress or setting it up in the cloud.

Cons

Connecting�it�with Google Analytics is fairly challenging and takes more effort than expected.

“Full data ownership!

Pros

One of the biggest advantages of it is that your data stays under your control which really sets it apart from most other analytics platforms. It's also flexible enough to customize the way you want and extend with additional functionality when needed.

Cons

There honestly hasn't been anything negative so far. The team is very happy with�it.

“gdpr-friendly insights done right

Pros

Everything is handled in a very easy way which makes it one of the simplest tools of this kind I have used. The built-in GDPR compliance also gives a really clear view of what's happening across different websites.

Cons

Keep in mind that there are many different metrics and indicators to understand.

“solid migration

Pros

Switching over from Google Analytics was easy and the platform offers complete statistics along with a well-documented database schema which makes connecting it to other tools much simpler. The Docker-based installation is also a real plus and it helps a lot with staying compliant with GDPR requirements.

Cons

The API can be slow and a few visitor profiling details are still missing.

“Excellent intranet search value

Pros

Since 2019, we've used Matomo to replace our Google Search Appliance and it has proven to be a great option for content search on our intranet. Overall it has delivered what we expected, offers excellent value for the cost and is easy to use. Based on our experience, we'd confidently recommend it to others.

Cons

One limitation is that when a page gets very little traffic, its data can be hard to locate in the reports because�it�tends to show only the most visited pages.

“privacy-friendly analytics powerhouse

Pros

Running Matomo alongside Google Analytics has been a really positive surprise. Once it's installed on a company-owned server, it performs very well and is easy to use. A big advantage is the data privacy side too since it's much less of a concern when the data is hosted and fully owned on your own server.

Cons

Getting�it�running in a container and configuring the reverse proxy gave me a few issues at the beginning but once those initial setup problems were sorted out, everything worked flawlessly.

“Great toool!

Pros

Ethical analytics was the reason I was drawn to Matomo in the first place. When people visit your site and trust you with their interaction, they shouldn't have to worry about some outside company collecting extra data behind the scenes. Its respect for user privacy is exactly what sets it apart for me. If someone doesn't want to be tracked, it honors that choice. Any data gathered about how visitors use our website stays on our own server, never gets sold to a third party and remains nobody else's business. That's why I genuinely value it so much as it lets you host everything yourself, keep the data away from big companies and treat customers like customers instead of products.

Cons

I don't have any real complaints and I am not just saying that. I have worked with plenty of tools before that failed when they were supposed to work, broke right in the middle of important tasks or gave unreliable data. After more than three years of using�it, I can say there's simply nothing about�it�itself that I dislike. If any issue ever comes up,�it�would be down to poor hosting or a bad configuration rather than�it�itself.

“reliable self-hosted analytics

Pros

Running it on my own server has been very easy and convenient and the web updater is consistently quick and dependable.

Cons

Since�it�doesn't have the same financial backing as Google Analytics,�it�cannot match everything Analytics offers. Still, for everyday business needs,�it�covers what's necessary.�It's also definitely not designed to work smoothly with other Google products.

“privacy-first and free

Pros

It respects data privacy and doesn't cost anything which is a huge plus.

Cons

Honestly�it's hard to come up with any real downsides to�it.