head to head · open source
Matomo vs Countly
Matomo has 22,002 GitHub stars, 2,925 forks, 2,578 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Countly has 5,925 stars, 985 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Matomo leads on adoption by 271% (22,002 vs 5,925 stars). Matomo is written in PHP under GPL-3.0; Countly is written in JavaScript under a custom or non-standard licence. Matomo has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, Countly 17%. Countly was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (analytics), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Matomo | Countly | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 22K | ★ 5.9K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | PHP | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 985 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Matomo if
- You weight community size — 22K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Countly if
- You want the Countly feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and Countly fits your workflow better
About Matomo
Matomo (formerly Piwik) matomo.org Code Status Description Matomo is the leading Free/Libre open analytics platform. Matomo is a full featured PHP MySQL software program that you download and install on your own webserver. At the end of the five minute installation process, you will be given a JavaScript code. Simply copy and paste this tag on websites you wish to track and access your analytics reports in real time. Matomo aims to be a Free software alternative to Google Analytics and is already used on more than 1,400,000 websites. Privacy is built in! Mission Statement « To create, as a community, the leading…
read the full Matomo overview →
About Countly
🔗 Quick links Countly Website Countly Server installation guide Countly SDKs, download and documentation links Countly Community on Discord User Guides for Countly features 🌟 What is Countly? Countly is a privacy first, AI ready analytics and customer engagement platform built for organizations that require full data ownership and deployment flexibility . Unlike traditional SaaS only analytics tools, Countly can be deployed on premises or in a private cloud , giving you complete control over your data, infrastructure, compliance, and security. Teams use Countly to: Understand user behavior across mobile, web…
read the full Countly overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Matomo or Countly more popular?
Matomo has 22,002 GitHub stars and Countly has 5,925. Matomo has the larger community by that measure.
Are Matomo and Countly free?
Both are open source. Matomo is licensed under GPL-3.0, and Countly has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Matomo and Countly?
Matomo is written in PHP and Countly in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Matomo or Countly?
Choose Matomo if you want the larger community (22,002 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Countly if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.