What is the difference between Amplitude and Matomo?

Amplitude is best for Growth teams needing advanced product analytics, while Matomo is best for Organizations wanting full Google Analytics replacement with privacy. Amplitude starts at Free and Matomo starts at Free.

Is Amplitude or Matomo cheaper?

Amplitude starts at Free with a free tier. Matomo starts at Free and is free.

Is there a free alternative to Matomo?

Both Amplitude and Matomo offer free tiers.

Amplitude vs Matomo

Amplitude is digital analytics platform for understanding user behavior across the full product journey, while Matomo is open-source web analytics platform that gives you full control over your data. Matomo is open source and can be self-hosted, giving you full control over your data. Amplitude is built for growth teams needing advanced product analytics, whereas Matomo targets organizations wanting full google analytics replacement with privacy.

At a glance

	Amplitude	Matomo
Best for	Growth teams needing advanced product analytics	Organizations wanting full Google Analytics replacement with privacy
Starting price	Free	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
Behavioral Analytics	✓	—
CDP	✓	—
Cohorts	✓	—
Experiments	✓	—
GDPR	—	✓
Heatmaps	—	✓
Open Source	—	✓
Self-Hosted	—	✓

Amplitude

Strengths

Includes Behavioral Analytics as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Includes Cohorts as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Free up to 10M events/mo — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Established product with 14+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Data accuracy depends on tracking setup — misconfigured events give misleading results
Mobile experience lags behind the desktop version in features and polish

Try Amplitude → Full review

Matomo

Strengths

Open source and transparent
Open-source codebase gives you full transparency and community-driven development
Fully open-source — you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in
The core product is free with no paywalled essentials

Weaknesses

May lack some advanced features
Self-hosting is free but requires server maintenance and DevOps knowledge
Self-hosting requires Linux admin skills and ongoing server maintenance
Data accuracy depends on tracking setup — misconfigured events give misleading results

Try Matomo → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Both Amplitude and Matomo are free. You can try both without spending a dollar.

Feature gaps: Amplitude offers Behavioral Analytics, CDP and Cohorts that Matomo lacks. Matomo brings GDPR, Heatmaps and Open Source that Amplitude does not have.

Team fit: Amplitude is geared toward mid-size teams teams, while Matomo is aimed at any size teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Open source: Matomo is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. Amplitude is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: Amplitude's biggest strengths are: includes behavioral analytics as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows. includes cohorts as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows. Matomo's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. open-source codebase gives you full transparency and community-driven development.

Watch out for: With Amplitude, users commonly note that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade. With Matomo, the main complaint is that may lack some advanced features.

Choose Amplitude if...

You need a tool built for growth teams needing advanced product analytics
You specifically need Behavioral Analytics and CDP
You care about includes cohorts as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Your team size fits the mid-size teams profile Amplitude is designed for
The free tier works for you: free up to 10m events/mo

Choose Matomo if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: organizations wanting full google analytics replacement with privacy
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need GDPR and Heatmaps
You care about open-source codebase gives you full transparency and community-driven development
Your team size fits the any size profile Matomo is designed for