head to head · open source
Matomo vs OpenWebAnalytics
Matomo has 22,002 GitHub stars, 2,925 forks, 2,578 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenWebAnalytics has 2,696 stars, 488 forks, 115 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Matomo leads on adoption by 716% (22,002 vs 2,696 stars). Matomo is written in PHP under GPL-3.0; OpenWebAnalytics is written in PHP under GPL-2.0. Matomo has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, OpenWebAnalytics 18%. OpenWebAnalytics was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (php, privacy), 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 | OpenWebAnalytics | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 22K | ★ 2.7K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | PHP | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 488 |
| 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 OpenWebAnalytics if
- You want the OpenWebAnalytics feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and OpenWebAnalytics 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 OpenWebAnalytics
Open Web Analytics Server Open Web Analytics is an open source alternative to commercial web analytics tools such as Google Analytics. This software allows you to stay in control of the data you collect about the user of your websites or applications. This repository installs the OWA Server and Javascript tracking client which can easily be added to web pages. To add OWA tracking to a WordPress based website install the OWA integration plugin or see this repository. To add OWA tracking to any PHP application use the OWA PHP SDK Features Track visitors, pageviews, e commerce transactions, and configurable actions…
read the full OpenWebAnalytics overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Matomo or OpenWebAnalytics more popular?
Matomo has 22,002 GitHub stars and OpenWebAnalytics has 2,696. Matomo has the larger community by that measure.
Are Matomo and OpenWebAnalytics free?
Both are open source. Matomo is licensed under GPL-3.0 and OpenWebAnalytics under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Matomo and OpenWebAnalytics?
Matomo is written in PHP and OpenWebAnalytics in PHP. 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 OpenWebAnalytics?
Choose Matomo if you want the larger community (22,002 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose OpenWebAnalytics if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.