Comparison
govanalytics vs. Matomo
Matomo is a serious open-source choice for organisations that want to manage their own data. govanalytics goes further: NL hosting as standard, BIO documentation, less management overhead and SharePoint tracking for the intranet.
- Matomo: self-hosting requires configuration for GDPR compliance. govanalytics is GDPR-compliant by design.
- NL hosting and BIO / comply-or-explain as standard with govanalytics.
- govanalytics offers SharePoint Tracker for intranet analytics.
- Flatter data schema: data directly usable in BI tools, without an extra unpacking step.
| Feature | govanalytics | Matomo |
|---|---|---|
| Data model and measurement depth | ||
| Data schema Events and sessions in a flat, directly usable schema versus a more complex relational model. | Flat schema Directly usable in BI tools without an extra unpacking step. | Complex relational model Matomo stores data in multiple MySQL tables; reports require joins or a separate data layer. |
| Raw event data Useful when analysts want to inspect, join or export data outside the UI. | Yes | Yes |
| Session dimensions at event level Are session source, landing page and duration directly available on every event? | Yes | Yes |
| Scalability Infrastructure scalability is your own responsibility when self-hosting. | Yes | Self-managed At high volumes Matomo requires significant server tuning and database optimisation. |
| Tracking and protocols | ||
| GA4 Measurement Protocol govanalytics accepts GA4-style tracking, so your existing GTM setup keeps working. | Yes | No |
| Matomo protocol compatibility | Yes | Own protocol |
| Custom events | Yes | Yes |
| UTM parameter support Campaign measurement via utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign and referring domains. | Yes | Yes |
| Server-side collection govanalytics can act as a server-managed collection endpoint. | Yes | Yes |
| Cookieless measurement Measure without cookies, without a consent request. | Yes | Limited Cookieless measurement requires configuration; Matomo uses cookies by default. |
| Storage and data ownership | ||
| Managed cloud option | Yes | Matomo Cloud Matomo Cloud is paid and not guaranteed to be NL-hosted. |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | MIT | AGPL AGPL is a more restrictive copyleft licence; many features are only available as paid add-ons. |
| Own data warehouse as destination govanalytics makes your warehouse the primary storage layer, not just an export destination. | Yes | Limited Via plugins or export, not native. |
| BigQuery destination | Yes | Limited Via export or plugins; no native connector. |
| ClickHouse destination | Yes | No |
| CSV / Parquet export | Yes | Limited CSV export available via the UI; Parquet not available. |
| BI tool compatibility | Yes | Limited Limited native integrations; via export or manual connection. |
| Privacy and compliance | ||
| EU hosting | Yes | Partial Matomo Cloud offers EU hosting; when self-hosting this is your own responsibility. |
| NL hosting | Yes | No Matomo Cloud does not guarantee NL hosting. When self-hosting you arrange this yourself. |
| GDPR-compliant by design | Yes | Limited Matomo requires configuration for GDPR compliance: enable IP anonymisation, activate cookieless measurement and set a suitable data retention period. |
| BIO / comply-or-explain | Yes | No |
| No American parent company | Yes | Yes |
| On-premise or private deployment | Yes | Yes |
| Analytics capabilities | ||
| Dashboard | Yes | Yes |
| Realtime analytics | Coming soon | Yes |
| Conversion goals | Coming soon | Yes |
| Heatmaps and session recordings | No | Limited Available as a paid plugin or in Matomo Cloud. |
| Ask AI (built-in analytics agent) | Yes | No |
| Suitable for AI agents AI agents work better with flat, understandable tables and real sessions. | Yes | Limited Complex relational model makes use by AI agents more difficult. |
| SharePoint Tracker (intranet) | Yes | No |
| Administration and pricing | ||
| Free tier | Up to 500k events/month | Self-hosting free Matomo self-hosting is free; Matomo Cloud is paid. Self-hosting carries its own management costs. |
| Self-hostable (free) | Yes | Yes |
| Transparent public sector pricing | Yes | No |
| Custom data processing agreement | Yes | Limited Standard terms; no custom options for the public sector. |
| DPIA template included | Yes | No |
govanalytics
Veelgestelde vragen
- Is Matomo GDPR-compliant?
- Matomo can be deployed in a GDPR-compliant way, but this requires configuration: enable IP anonymisation, activate cookieless measurement and set an appropriate data retention period. govanalytics is GDPR-compliant by design, without additional configuration.
- What is the difference between self-hosting Matomo and govanalytics?
- Self-hosting Matomo gives you full control, but also the full management burden: updates, server maintenance, database tuning and security. govanalytics offers the same data ownership via a managed cloud solution with NL hosting, without having to manage your own server.
- Does Matomo support the GA4 Measurement Protocol?
- No. Matomo uses its own tracking protocol. govanalytics supports both the GA4 Measurement Protocol and the Matomo protocol, so existing tracking can be reused without rebuilding the implementation.
- Does govanalytics have heatmaps and session recordings like Matomo?
- No. govanalytics focuses on reliable visitor data per page, session and channel. Heatmaps and session recordings are not included. For most public sector organisations these features are not needed, and they raise additional GDPR questions.
- When should I still choose Matomo?
- Choose Matomo if you want a broad open-source platform with heatmaps, session recordings or a built-in tag manager, and if you have the technical capacity to manage the platform and configure it for GDPR compliance. govanalytics is a better choice if NL hosting, BIO compliance and less management overhead are your priorities.
// 06 / The invitation
And for everyone who chooses to hold themselves to the same standard
even without the law requiring it.
Municipalities, provinces, water authorities, public bodies, housing associations and executive organisations: you can start measuring under the same standard today. The same platform. The same documentation. The same architecture.
