head to head · open source
Plausible vs Matomo
Plausible has 29,752 GitHub stars, 1,928 forks, 60 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Matomo has 22,002 stars, 2,925 forks, 2,578 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Plausible leads on adoption by 35% (29,752 vs 22,002 stars). Plausible is written in Elixir under AGPL-3.0; Matomo is written in PHP under GPL-3.0. Plausible has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Matomo 13%. Plausible was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (analytics, marketing, 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
| Plausible | Matomo | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 30K | ★ 22K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Elixir | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 2.9K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Plausible if
- You weight community size — 30K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Elixir
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Matomo if
- You want the Matomo feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and Matomo fits your workflow better
About Plausible
Plausible Analytics Live Demo Open Source Docs Contributing Plausible Analytics is an open source, privacy first web analytics tool. Lightweight, cookie free alternative to Google Analytics. Available in managed cloud or self hosted community edition. 🔐 Privacy focused 🛡️ GDPR, CCPA, PECR compliant 📊 Simple, fast dashboard 🪶 Lightweight script 🇪🇺 Made and hosted in the EU Why Plausible? Here's what makes Plausible a great Google Analytics alternative and why we're trusted by thousands of paying subscribers to deliver their website and business insights: Clutter free Plausible provides simple web analytics…
read the full Plausible overview →
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Plausible or Matomo more popular?
Plausible has 29,752 GitHub stars and Matomo has 22,002. Plausible has the larger community by that measure.
Are Plausible and Matomo free?
Both are open source. Plausible is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Matomo under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Plausible and Matomo?
Plausible is written in Elixir and Matomo 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, Plausible or Matomo?
Choose Plausible if you want the larger community (29,752 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Matomo if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.