
Matomo vs PostHog: Which is Better in 2026?
Choosing between Matomo and PostHog? Both are popular analytics tools. Below we compare them on pricing, free tiers, features, and pros & cons so you can pick the right fit for your stack.
Matomo is for: Organisations that want Google Analytics-style reports on servers they control, or a hosted version.
PostHog is for: Product teams who want analytics, session replay, feature flags, experiments and error tracking in one tool with a free monthly allowance.
Quick verdict
There’s no single winner; pick on your constraint. Choose Matomo if you want to keep analytics data on your own servers. Choose PostHog if you want product analytics, session replay and feature flags without stitching three tools together.
Matomo vs PostHog — Side by Side
| Matomo | PostHog | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Analytics | Analytics |
| What it is | Web analytics, self-hosted or cloud | Product analytics suite |
| What it measures | Website traffic, goals, ecommerce | Product events, replays, flags, errors |
| Self-hosting | Yes, free (GPL v3 core) | Hobby deploy (about 100K events a month) |
| How you pay | Free on-premise, or Cloud by hits | Free allowance, then per-product usage |
| Free access | Full on-premise Community edition | 1M events and 5K recordings a month |
| Pricing | Free · paid from $29/mo | Free · then usage-based |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Free tier | ||
| Best for | Analytics — data ownership, self-hosted, GA-style reports | Analytics — product analytics, session replay, feature flags |
Pros & Cons
- Self-hosted data stays on your servers
- Reports resemble Google Analytics
- Self-hosting is free
- Heavier than the minimal trackers
- On-premise needs real maintenance
- Free monthly allowance: 1M events and 5,000 recordings
- Analytics, replay, flags and error tracking in one tool
- Billing limit per product
- Usage is billed separately for each product
- Self-hosted hobby deploy suits about 100,000 events a month
- Free plan keeps 1 year of data and 1 project
Key Features Compared
Matomo
- On-Premise Community: free forever, unlimited users and hits; core licensed GPL v3
- Paid on-premise bundles: Team 275 € (4 users, 5M hits), Business 1 450 € (20 users, 30M hits), Enterprise 3 400 € (50 users, 100M hits)
- Cloud entry tier: 50,000 hits a month, 30 websites, 30 users
- Cloud free trial with all core features; no credit card
- Premium plugins are sold separately and are closed source
PostHog
- Free every month: 1M analytics events, 5,000 session recordings, 1M feature flag requests
- Also free monthly: 100,000 error-tracking exceptions and 1,500 survey responses
- Usage above the free allowance is billed per product, with a billing limit per product
- Paid plans keep events 7 years (1 year on free) and allow 6 projects (1 on free)
- Open source under MIT, except the ee directory; self-hosted hobby deployments suit about 100,000 events a month
Choose Matomo if…
- You want to keep analytics data on your own servers.
- You want reports that resemble Google Analytics without sending data to Google.
- You have many users who need access on one install.
Choose PostHog if…
- You want product analytics, session replay and feature flags without stitching three tools together.
- You want a free tier that resets monthly, with or without a card on file.
- You want to cap spend per product with billing limits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Matomo better than PostHog?⌄
There’s no single winner; pick on your constraint. Choose Matomo if you want to keep analytics data on your own servers. Choose PostHog if you want product analytics, session replay and feature flags without stitching three tools together.
What is the difference between Matomo and PostHog?⌄
What it is — Matomo: Web analytics, self-hosted or cloud. PostHog: Product analytics suite. What it measures — Matomo: Website traffic, goals, ecommerce. PostHog: Product events, replays, flags, errors. Self-hosting — Matomo: Yes, free (GPL v3 core). PostHog: Hobby deploy (about 100K events a month). How you pay — Matomo: Free on-premise, or Cloud by hits. PostHog: Free allowance, then per-product usage. Free access — Matomo: Full on-premise Community edition. PostHog: 1M events and 5K recordings a month.
Matomo vs PostHog: which is cheaper?⌄
Matomo pricing: Free · paid from $29/mo. PostHog pricing: Free · then usage-based. Confirm current pricing on each tool's official site, as plans change.
When should I skip both Matomo and PostHog?⌄
Skip Matomo if you want a lightweight script and a one-page dashboard. Plausible or Fathom are simpler. Skip PostHog if you only need simple website traffic stats. Plausible and Fathom are simpler.
Sources · tool facts checked November 2026
See more options in our guide to the best analytics tools for startups.
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