Comparison · Web analytics
GA4 vs Plausible vs Matomo
The short answer
GA4 is free and the best fit if Google Ads matters to you. Plausible is the simplest, cookieless and suits sites that want traffic numbers without a consent banner. Matomo gives GA-style depth with full data ownership, at the cost of more set-up, especially if self-hosted.
Side by side
| GA4 | Plausible | Matomo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price model | Free (paid 360 tier for enterprise) | Paid hosted plans or free self-hosted | Paid cloud or free self-hosted |
| Cookies | Yes, consent usually required in EU/UK | No cookies | Configurable, can run cookieless |
| Data ownership | Google processes the data | Hosted in the EU, or your server | Your server if self-hosted |
| Google Ads integration | Deep | None | Limited |
| Reporting depth | High, steep learning curve | Deliberately simple | High, familiar GA-style reports |
| Effort | Medium | Low | Medium to high |
None of these is a partner of ours; all links are plain links. Check the current plans on each vendor's site.
Running a cookieless tool alongside GA4 is common: the simple tool for daily traffic, GA4 for ads. Whichever you choose, the gaps that matter most to small businesses (phone calls, lead quality) sit outside web analytics. See call and lead tracking.
Based on each vendor’s published features as of October 2026. We have not tested these products in a live account. Product names are trademarks of their owners.