What is the difference between Simple Analytics and Matomo?

Simple Analytics is best for Privacy-conscious teams wanting ethical analytics, while Matomo is best for Organizations wanting full Google Analytics replacement with privacy. Simple Analytics starts at $9/mo and Matomo starts at Free.

Is Simple Analytics or Matomo cheaper?

Simple Analytics starts at $9/mo. Matomo starts at Free and is free.

Is there a free alternative to Simple Analytics?

Yes, Matomo offers a free tier.

Simple Analytics vs Matomo

Simple Analytics is privacy-first analytics that doesn't track users or use cookies, while Matomo is open-source web analytics platform that gives you full control over your data. The biggest difference up front: Matomo is free, while Simple Analytics starts at $9/mo. Simple Analytics is built for privacy-conscious teams wanting ethical analytics, whereas Matomo targets organizations wanting full google analytics replacement with privacy.

At a glance

	Simple Analytics	Matomo
Best for	Privacy-conscious teams wanting ethical analytics	Organizations wanting full Google Analytics replacement with privacy
Starting price	$9/mo	Free
Free tier	—	✓
Open source	—	✓
Free tier available	—	✓
Open source	—	✓
Events	✓	—
GDPR	—	✓
GDPR Compliant	✓	—
Goals	✓	—
Heatmaps	—	✓
No Cookies	✓	—
Open Source	—	✓
Self-Hosted	—	✓

Simple Analytics

Strengths

Includes No Cookies as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Includes GDPR Compliant as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Affordable at $9/mo — one of the lower-priced options in the analytics category
Includes events alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

Weaknesses

No free plan — you need to pay $9/mo from day one to use it
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Data accuracy depends on tracking setup — misconfigured events give misleading results
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Simple Analytics → 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: Matomo is completely free, which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Simple Analytics starts at $9/mo. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Simple Analytics offers Events, GDPR Compliant and Goals that Matomo lacks. Matomo brings GDPR, Heatmaps and Open Source that Simple Analytics does not have.

Team fit: Simple Analytics is geared toward small 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. Simple Analytics is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: Simple Analytics's biggest strengths are: includes no cookies as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows. includes gdpr compliant 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 Simple Analytics, users commonly note that no free plan — you need to pay $9/mo from day one to use it. With Matomo, the main complaint is that may lack some advanced features.

Choose Simple Analytics if...

You need a tool built for privacy-conscious teams wanting ethical analytics
You specifically need Events and GDPR Compliant
You care about includes gdpr compliant as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Your team size fits the small teams profile Simple Analytics is designed for

Choose Matomo if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: organizations wanting full google analytics replacement with privacy
Budget is a hard constraint — Matomo is free, Simple Analytics is not
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