{"id":20713,"date":"2022-08-10T12:58:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-10T12:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/blog\/comparison-matomo-vs-google-analytics-which-is-better"},"modified":"2026-05-12T11:53:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T11:53:07","slug":"comparison-matomo-vs-google-analytics-which-is-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/blog\/comparison-matomo-vs-google-analytics-which-is-better","title":{"rendered":"Comparison: Matomo vs. Google Analytics 4. Which is better?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"geo-key-points\"><p><strong>Key points:<\/strong><\/p><ul><li>Define the objective before applying any tactic.<\/li><li>Validate data, search intent and the competitive context.<\/li><li>Connect execution with measurement, learning and continuous improvement.<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Aspect<\/th><th>What to review<\/th><th>Useful indicator<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Comparison: Matomo vs. Google Analytics 4. Which is better?<\/td><td>Goal, audience and expected impact<\/td><td>Qualified traffic, leads or conversions<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Execution<\/td><td>Channels, content and required resources<\/td><td>Implementation quality and consistency<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Measurement<\/td><td>Available data and later learning<\/td><td>Trend, cost, conversion and return<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"geo-answer-block\"><p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> Comparison: Matomo vs. Google Analytics 4. Which is better? matters in digital marketing when it is connected to business goals, reliable measurement and a clear strategy. The priority is to understand its impact, apply it with judgment and link it to actions that improve visibility, acquisition and conversion.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>For digital analytics projects, Arimetrics has a specialized <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-analytics-agency-spain\">digital analytics team<\/a> focused on prioritizing actions with measurable impact.<\/p>\n\n\nA few years ago we made an entry comparing Piwik (now renamed Matomo) with Google Analytics. It is now in 2022 when it makes even more sense to compare Matomo with Google Analytics 4, since it is a good time to evaluate what you want the digital analytics tool to accompany you in the coming years.\n\nWhen we evaluate the implementation of a tool in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/web-analytics-agency-spain\">web analytics project,<\/a> one of the first choices that is usually made is the measurement tool. With the forced switch to Google Analytics 4, it&#8217;s a good time to weigh out the options currently existing.\n\nIn most cases, a free tool is chosen, among which <strong>Google Analytics<\/strong> (in its basic version) and its main alternative, <b>Matomo <\/b>(in its on-premise version) stand out. In this article we are going to compare both options, so you can choose the most appropriate one for measuring your project.\n<h2>1. What is Google Analytics 4?<\/h2>\n<strong>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/marketingplatform.google.com\/about\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Analytics<\/a>&nbsp;<\/strong>is the evolution of the most widely used Web Analytics tool worldwide that provides grouped and segmented data on visits and users browsing the web. It provides real-time information, with event-based measurement, as well as reports such as demographics, traffic sources, bounce rate, session duration, conversions&#8230;\n<h3>1.1. Advantages of Google Analytics 4:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n \t<li>It&#8217;s free if you don&#8217;t need to use BigQuery.<\/li>\n \t<li>It has a very intuitive interface and good usability.<\/li>\n \t<li>There are many tools that include the Default Google Analytics <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/api\" rel=\"alternate\">API <\/a>and allow easy connection, which greatly simplifies data extraction<\/li>\n \t<li>Google Analytics is by far the most widely used tool in the world&#8230; when you have any questions, surely someone will have had it before and you will find the answer on the internet.<\/li>\n \t<li>In Google Analytics 4 there is no longer a limit of 10,000,000 hits (which did exist in Universal Analytics)<\/li>\n \t<li>Nor is there the limit of 20 objectives per view that Universal Analytics had, since any event can be marked as conversion<\/li>\n \t<li>Native connection with data visualization platforms such as DataStudio, Tableau or PowerBI.<\/li>\n \t<li>Full integration with App flows.<\/li>\n \t<li>Availability of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/google-consent-mode\">Google Consent Mode<\/a> (conversion tracking even when the user does not accept cookies)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>1.2. Disadvvantages of Google Analytics 4<\/h3>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Less privacy: Although there are several options to configure to what extent you want to share your data with Google, in the end, your data will always be hosted on an external server owned by Google.<\/li>\n \t<li>It uses third-party cookies, which obliges to notify the user of its use.<\/li>\n \t<li>As the volume of hits on the account grows, sampling increases, decreasing the accuracy of the data.<\/li>\n \t<li>Google only guarantees a maximum data retention of 14 months. This means that if you want to work with data from more than that interval you will have to pay for BigQuery.<\/li>\n \t<li>GA4 has an export limit of 1,000,000 hits<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>2. What is Matomo?<\/h2>\n<strong>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/matomo.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Matomo<\/a>&nbsp;<\/strong>is the leading Open Source platform &nbsp;in web analytics, and will provide you with valuable information about the visitors to your website, your marketing campaigns so you can optimize your online strategy and the experience of your users. It allows you to obtain information in real time, as well as measure page views and events&#8230; Matomo respects users&#8217; privacy and gives you full control of your data.\n<h3>2.1. Advantages of Matomo:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n \t<li>There are no limits as to the volume of hits you can collect, the limit is the capacity of your server in Matomo On Promise.<\/li>\n \t<li>If you do not want to host it on your server you can host it in the cloud version for only \u20ac 19 per month (this is especially interesting for websites with less than 50,000 monthly hits)<\/li>\n \t<li>If you have a small blog, with less than 10,000 visits per month, your server consumption will be negligible.<\/li>\n \t<li>100% ownership of the data.<\/li>\n \t<li>If you like to program, being open source, you can customize its functionalities to a large extent.<\/li>\n \t<li>There are no target limits.<\/li>\n \t<li>There is no data export limit.<\/li>\n \t<li><b>There is no sampling<\/b>, because you have 100% of the data on your server.<\/li>\n \t<li>In the face of privacy, it uses first-party cookies, so that the user&#8217;s data is not exposed to third parties.<\/li>\n \t<li>Native option to comply with European cookie policy.<\/li>\n \t<li>It allows you<strong>to transport Universal Analytics data<\/strong> with a free plugin. This is a great way to preserve your data history.<\/li>\n \t<li>If you are willing to pay for their plugins in their on-premise version or their cloud version, you will have tools included such as form analytics, heat maps, serial recording&#8230; at a cost significantly lower than the payment tools on the market.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>2.2. Disadvantages of Matomo:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Although Matomo is an open source tool, it is not as free as it seems, since it entails a server consumption. In Google Analytics, the servers are run by Google.<\/li>\n \t<li>Despite having an active community, its size is much smaller than what you will find relative to Google Analytics.<\/li>\n \t<li>If you want to connect your data to DataStudio, you will have to have technical knowledge to do it from the MySql database.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>3. Common features in Matomo and Google Analytics 4<\/h2>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Real-time data analytics.<\/li>\n \t<li>Customizable integrated dashboards.<\/li>\n \t<li>E-commerce measurement module.<\/li>\n \t<li>Custom dimensions.<\/li>\n \t<li>Monitoring of objectives.<\/li>\n \t<li>Analysis of internal searches.<\/li>\n \t<li>Geolocation of users.<\/li>\n \t<li>Automated reports by email.<\/li>\n \t<li>App on both iOS and Android.<\/li>\n \t<li>Access via API.<\/li>\n \t<li>Campaign tracking.<\/li>\n \t<li>Both have a Tag Management System (TMS): Google Tag Manager in the case of Google Analytics and Matomo Tag Manager in the case of Matomo.<\/li>\n \t<li>User-friendly interface.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>4. Summary of the comparison<\/h2>\n<ul>\n \t<li>If privacy and data ownership are a determining factor, we have a clear winner: Matomo<\/li>\n \t<li>Nothing is free in this life&#8230; with Google Analytics you are providing all your data without knowing for sure what you are going to do with them&#8230; with Matomo all the information is yours and yours alone.<\/li>\n \t<li>Google Analytics is still the most used web analytics tool. Regardless of whether you&#8217;re going to implement it or not, you should know about it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p>It may also be useful to review this related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/blog\/web-analytics-tools-to-improve-digital-strategy\">web analytics tools to improve digital strategy<\/a>, to place connected concepts within a broader digital strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n{\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n  \"@graph\": [\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"BlogPosting\",\n      \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/blog\/comparison-matomo-vs-google-analytics-which-is-better#blogposting\",\n      \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n        \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n        \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/blog\/comparison-matomo-vs-google-analytics-which-is-better\"\n      },\n      \"headline\": \"Comparison: Matomo vs. Google Analytics 4. 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The choice depends on legal, technical and business requirements.<\/p>\n  <\/details>\n  <details class=\"geo-faq-item\">\n    <summary>Is Matomo better than Google Analytics 4?<\/summary>\n    <p>There is no single answer. Matomo may be better when privacy and full data control are priorities; GA4 may fit better when integration with Google Ads, BigQuery and Google marketing tools is needed.<\/p>\n  <\/details>\n  <details class=\"geo-faq-item\">\n    <summary>Which web analytics tool should you choose?<\/summary>\n    <p>The choice should depend on data volume, attribution needs, consent requirements, technical resources, reporting and advertising ecosystem. In some cases, both tools can be combined for different purposes.<\/p>\n  <\/details>\n  <details class=\"geo-faq-item\">\n    <summary>What should be reviewed before migrating to GA4 or Matomo?<\/summary>\n    <p>Events, conversions, historical data, consent mode, tagging, dashboards, integrations, legal needs and team training should be reviewed. A migration without a plan can cause loss of comparable data.<\/p>\n  <\/details>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n{\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n  \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",\n  \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/blog\/comparison-matomo-vs-google-analytics-which-is-better\/#faq\",\n  \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n  \"mainEntity\": [\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"What is the difference between Matomo and Google Analytics 4?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"Matomo focuses on data control, privacy and self-hosting options, while Google Analytics 4 stands out for integration with the Google ecosystem, data modeling and advertising connections. 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Goal, audience and expected impact Qualified traffic, leads or conversions Execution Channels, content and required [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":38163,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[291],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-web-analytics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20713"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71366,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20713\/revisions\/71366"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}