Best Matomo Alternative

OpenPanel is a modern, open-source alternative to Matomo. Get powerful web and product analytics with a cleaner interface, truly cookie-free tracking by default, and no premium plugins required for essential features.

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Open-source
Cookie-free
EU-only hosting
Self-hostable

This is our web analytics dashboard, its an out-of-the-box experience so you can start understanding your traffic and engagement right away.

Why consider OpenPanel over Matomo?

Matomo is one of the most established open-source analytics platforms, used by over 1.4 million websites worldwide. It offers both self-hosted and cloud options with a strong focus on privacy and data ownership. However, Matomo's age shows in its interface, and many essential features like funnels, A/B testing, and heatmaps are locked behind premium plugins that cost $229 per year each.

OpenPanel is a modern, open-source alternative that includes all features at every tier — no premium plugins, no upsells. Funnels, cohorts, retention analysis, A/B testing, and user profiles are all available whether you're on the free tier or self-hosting. The interface is clean and modern, designed for today's product teams rather than as a legacy dashboard.

A critical difference is cookie-free tracking. While Matomo can be configured for cookieless mode, it uses cookies by default and still requires a consent banner in most GDPR scenarios. OpenPanel is truly cookie-free from the start, with no configuration needed. Self-hosting is also dramatically simpler — a single Docker container versus Matomo's PHP, MySQL, and web server stack.

For teams who value Matomo's open-source philosophy but want a modern experience with all features included, lighter tracking (2.3 KB vs 20 KB), and simpler deployment — OpenPanel delivers what Matomo promises, without the hidden costs.

OpenPanel vs Matomo: Which is right for you?

Both platforms are open-source and privacy-focused. The key differences are modern UI, true cookie-free tracking, SDK size, and feature bundling vs premium plugins.

Choose OpenPanel if...

Teams that want modern UI/UX without legacy complexity

Developers who need truly cookie-free tracking without configuration

Companies that want funnels, cohorts, and retention without extra costs

Choose Matomo if...

Organizations already invested in the Matomo ecosystem

Enterprises needing CNIL-approved consent-exempt analytics

Teams requiring heatmaps and session recordings

Comprehensive analytics dashboard with real-time insights and customizable views.

Key differences at a glance

Here's how OpenPanel and Matomo compare on the factors that matter most.

Feature	OpenPanel	Matomo
Price	From $2.50/month (or free self-hosted)	Free self-hosted, Cloud from $19/month
Cookies required	No (cookie-free by default)	Yes by default (cookieless requires config)
Consent banner needed		Yes (unless configured for CNIL exemption)
Data location	EU-only (or your own servers)	Frankfurt (Cloud) or self-hosted
Open source	Yes (AGPL-3.0)	Yes (GPL-3.0)
Page views & visitors		Both offer unsampled data
Traffic sources
Geographic data		Matomo offers city-level geolocation
Device & browser stats
UTM/campaign tracking
Real-time dashboard
Custom event tracking
Funnels		premium Matomo Funnels is a paid plugin
Retention analysis
User profiles		Matomo has Visitor Log
Cohorts		Via segmentation
E-commerce tracking		Both have e-commerce analytics
A/B testing		premium Matomo A/B Testing is a paid plugin
Heatmaps		premium Matomo plugin costs extra
Session recordings		premium Matomo plugin costs extra
Custom dashboards
Form analytics		premium Matomo Form Analytics is paid
Tag Manager		Matomo Tag Manager is free
Cookie-free by default		Matomo uses cookies unless configured otherwise
No consent banner needed		Matomo can achieve CNIL exemption with config
IP anonymization
GDPR compliance		Both are GDPR compliant
Self-hosting option		Both can be self-hosted
EU data hosting		Matomo Cloud in Frankfurt, Germany
REST API		Matomo has extensive API
Data export		Both support data export
WordPress plugin		Matomo has dedicated WordPress version
E-commerce platforms		Matomo: WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento, PrestaShop

Feature comparison

OpenPanel includes all analytics features in one package. Matomo's advanced features require purchasing premium plugins separately.

Page views & visitors

Traffic sources

Geographic data

Device & browser stats

UTM/campaign tracking

Real-time dashboard

Custom event tracking

Funnels

Track events in real-time as they happen with instant updates and live monitoring.

Technical comparison

For developers evaluating analytics tools, here's how the SDKs and technical implementations compare.

Feature	OpenPanel	Matomo
SDK size (JS)	~2.3 KB gzipped	~20 KB gzipped (60 KB uncompressed)OpenPanel's SDK is significantly lighter
Supported platforms	JavaScript React Next.js Vue Node.js Python Swift Kotlin React Native Astro Remix Express	JavaScript PHP iOS Android React Native Flutter Java Python C# WordPress Matomo has more native integrations for CMS platforms
Open source	Yes (AGPL-3.0)	Yes (GPL-3.0), premium plugins are proprietaryMatomo core is open, premium features are paid
Self-hosted deployment	Docker, simple setup script	PHP/MySQL stack, more complex setupOpenPanel has simpler Docker-based deployment
Database	ClickHouse + PostgreSQL	MySQL/MariaDBClickHouse offers better performance for analytics queries
Data retention	Unlimited (self-hosted) or plan-based	Unlimited (configurable), Cloud has plan-based raw data limitsBoth offer flexible retention policies

Pricing comparison

Both offer free self-hosted options. Cloud pricing differs, and Matomo's premium plugins add significant costs.

OpenPanel

Event-based, transparent

Simple pricing starting at $2.50/month for 5,000 events. 100,000 events costs $20/month.

Self-host for free with unlimited events.

All features included in every plan.

Free tier:Self-hosting (unlimited events)

Free trial:30 days

Matomo

Hit-based (Cloud) plus premium plugins

On-Premise: Free (core features), but premium plugins like Heatmaps ($229/year), A/B Testing ($229/year), Funnels ($229/year) add up.

Cloud: Starts at $19/month for 50,000 hits, scaling to $16,900/month for 100M hits.

Premium Bundle saves up to 45% on plugins.

Free tier:Yes (On-Premise is free, limited features)

View pricing

Migrating from Matomo to OpenPanel

Switching from Matomo to OpenPanel is straightforward. Both use event-based tracking, and you can run both tools in parallel during transition.

Difficulty:easy

Estimated time:1-3 hours

Install the OpenPanel SDK

Add the lightweight OpenPanel SDK to your app. At 2.3 KB, it's much smaller than Matomo's 20 KB tracker.

Map your tracked events

Review your Matomo tracking and map events to OpenPanel. Event tracking syntax is similar: _paq.push(['trackEvent', ...]) becomes op.track('event', ...).

Configure user identification

Set up user identification in OpenPanel. Replace Matomo's setUserId with OpenPanel's identify method.

Set up your dashboards

Create key reports in OpenPanel. You'll get funnels and cohorts included without needing premium plugins.

Remove Matomo consent banner

Since OpenPanel is cookie-free, you can remove the cookie consent banner you needed for Matomo (unless required for other tools).

SDK Compatibility

Both use event-based tracking. Matomo's _paq.push(['trackEvent', 'category', 'action']) becomes op.track('action', {category: 'category'}).

Historical Data Import

Matomo data can be exported but there's no direct import path. Most teams start fresh with OpenPanel.

Where OpenPanel is a better fit than Matomo

OpenPanel shines for teams that want modern analytics without managing PHP infrastructure or paying for premium plugins.

Modern product teams

Get a clean, modern interface designed for today's workflows. No legacy UI quirks or PHP-era design patterns.

All features without extra costs

Funnels, cohorts, and A/B testing are included. With Matomo, these are premium plugins costing $229/year each.

True cookie-free tracking

OpenPanel is cookie-free by default. Matomo requires configuration changes and still needs consent in some jurisdictions.

Simpler self-hosting

Deploy with Docker in minutes. No PHP/MySQL stack to manage, no plugin compatibility issues to debug.

Faster websites

OpenPanel's 2.3 KB SDK vs Matomo's 20 KB tracker means better performance and improved Core Web Vitals.

Generate detailed reports and insights with customizable metrics and visualizations.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about switching from Matomo to OpenPanel.

Related resources

Explore more comparisons and guides to help you choose the right analytics tool.

Ready to make the switch?

Test OpenPanel free for 30 days, you'll not be charged anything unless you upgrade to a paid plan.

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