Alytics vs Matomo: privacy-first analytics without the complexity
Alytics and Matomo are both privacy-focused web analytics platforms, but they take different approaches. Alytics is cookie-free by default and includes heatmaps and Core Web Vitals monitoring at no extra cost. Matomo uses cookies by default, requires paid plugins for heatmaps (~$200/year) and funnels (~$190/year), and runs on a PHP/MySQL stack.
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Feature comparison
Alytics includes heatmaps, scroll depth, Core Web Vitals, and conversion funnels in the base product. Matomo offers a broader feature set through paid plugins, but the total cost can add up quickly.
| Feature | Alytics | Matomo |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy & Compliance | ||
| Cookie-free by default | ✓ | ✗ (optional) |
| Consent banner required | ✗ | Depends on config |
| GDPR compliant | ✓ | ✓ (with configuration) |
| No personal data collection | ✓ | Configurable |
| IP anonymization | ✓ (not stored) | ✓ (configurable) |
| Open source | ✗ | ✓ (GPL) |
| Core Analytics | ||
| Pageviews | ✓ | ✓ |
| Unique visitors | ✓ | ✓ |
| Session tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Bounce rate | ✓ | ✓ |
| UTM tracking | ✓ | ✓ |
| Real-time dashboard | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom events | ✓ | ✓ |
| E-commerce tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Advanced Features | ||
| Click heatmaps | ✓ (included) | Paid plugin (~$200/yr) |
| Scroll depth | ✓ (included) | Paid plugin (~$200/yr) |
| Session recording | ✗ (by design) | Paid plugin (~$200/yr) |
| Core Web Vitals | ✓ (included) | ✗ |
| Conversion funnels | ✓ (included) | Paid plugin (~$190/yr) |
| A/B testing | ✗ | Paid plugin (~$200/yr) |
| Form analytics | ✗ | Paid plugin (~$190/yr) |
| Search Console | ✓ | ✓ (plugin) |
| Technical | ||
| Script size | 5.8 KB | ~22 KB |
| Backend stack | Bun + ClickHouse | PHP + MySQL |
| Self-hostable | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cloud hosted | ✓ | ✓ (Matomo Cloud) |
| API access | ✓ | ✓ |
| Plugin ecosystem | ✗ | ✓ (200+) |
Built-in features vs paid plugins
Matomo's core is free and open source, but many of the features that teams actually need require paid plugin subscriptions. Alytics includes these features in the base product, so the total cost of ownership can be significantly lower.
Matomo premium plugin costs
- Heatmaps & Session Recording ~$200/yr
- Funnels ~$190/yr
- A/B Testing ~$200/yr
- Form Analytics ~$190/yr
- Total for all premium plugins ~$780/yr+
Alytics included features
- Click heatmaps Included
- Scroll depth Included
- Core Web Vitals Included
- Conversion funnels Included
- No additional cost $0/yr
Where Matomo has the advantage
Matomo is a mature, open-source platform with a large ecosystem. If you need full source code access, on-premises deployment, or specific integrations, Matomo may be the better fit.
- • Open source (GPL license) — full code audit and modification rights
- • On-premises deployment — self-host on your own PHP server for complete data control
- • Mature plugin ecosystem — 200+ plugins for extending functionality
- • Session recording — replay individual visitor sessions (paid plugin)
- • A/B testing — built-in experimentation framework (paid plugin)
- • Form analytics — detailed form interaction tracking (paid plugin)
- • E-commerce tracking — WooCommerce, Shopify integrations
- • Longer track record — established since 2007 (formerly Piwik)
Where Alytics has the advantage
Alytics is purpose-built for teams that want privacy-first analytics with advanced features included, not bolted on through paid plugins. If simplicity and total cost matter, Alytics has the edge.
- • Cookie-free by default — no configuration needed, no consent banners
- • Heatmaps included — click heatmaps, element heatmaps, and scroll depth at no extra cost
- • Core Web Vitals — LCP, INP, CLS monitoring built into the analytics tracker
- • 4x smaller script (5.8 KB vs ~22 KB) — faster page loads
- • Modern backend (ClickHouse) — handles high traffic volumes without performance degradation
- • Simpler setup — no PHP server, no MySQL database, no plugin management
- • No plugin costs — advanced features included in base pricing
- • Cleaner interface — purpose-built dashboard without legacy UI
Alytics vs Matomo FAQ
Is Alytics an alternative to Matomo?
Yes. Alytics provides privacy-first web analytics with heatmaps, Core Web Vitals, and conversion funnels included — features that require paid Matomo plugins. Alytics is also cookie-free by default, while Matomo uses cookies unless specifically configured otherwise.
Can Matomo work without cookies?
Matomo can be configured to work without cookies, but it uses cookies by default. Disabling cookies in Matomo requires manual configuration changes. Alytics is designed cookie-free from the ground up.
How do Alytics and Matomo heatmaps compare?
Alytics includes click heatmaps, element heatmaps, and scroll depth visualization in the base product with automatic PII masking. Matomo requires a paid Heatmaps & Session Recording plugin (~$200/year) that also includes session recording.
Which is faster at high traffic volumes?
Alytics uses ClickHouse as its analytics database, which is purpose-built for analytical queries on large datasets. Matomo uses MySQL, which can require significant optimization and hardware at high traffic volumes. Matomo Cloud handles this for hosted users.
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Modern analytics without the complexity
Get started with Alytics and enjoy heatmaps, Web Vitals, and funnels without managing plugins or PHP servers.
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