Matomo is a self-hosted, privacy-focused analytics platform that gives you full data ownership for $19-$1,290/month, while Mixpanel is a cloud-based product analytics tool optimized for user behavior tracking starting at $999/month. Choose Matomo for data privacy and control, choose Mixpanel for advanced behavioral cohort analysis.
Matomo vs Mixpanel — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Privacy-first, self-hosted web and product analytics platform with GDPR compliance built-in.
Event-based product analytics platform for tracking user behavior and conversion funnels.
Deployment Model. Starting Price (Monthly). Data Ownership. Event Tracking Events Included. Behavioral Cohort Analysis. GDPR Compliance Features. Learning Curve (1-10, lower is better)
Choose Matomo if you prioritize data privacy, own infrastructure, need unlimited event tracking, and want low-cost scaling with full GDPR compliance out-of-the-box. Choose Mixpanel if you need advanced behavioral cohort analysis, predictive analytics, and prefer a managed cloud solution without DevOps overhead, accepting higher costs and data residency on Mixpanel servers.
Matomo: $19 (Cloud Starter) | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: 60-180 (self-hosted) / 5 (cloud) | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: Unlimited (self-hosted) / 13 (cloud) | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: Yes (live visitors feed) | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: Unlimited (self-hosted) / 120 (cloud) | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: 20+ (Slack, Zapier, Google Sheets, etc.) | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: None (self-hosted only) | Mixpanel: 500
Matomo: Via third-party plugins | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: Yes, open-source | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: Yes, privacy-first design | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: 25 months (standard) | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: $300-3,000/year (cloud) or $0 (self-hosted) | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: No sampling on any plan | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: 4% of tracked websites | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: 80+ integrations | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: Compliant by default | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: 100% user/organization owned | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: 0 (basic analytics only) | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: $19/month (cloud) or Free (self-hosted) | Mixpanel: $999
Matomo: Yes (Free open-source) | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: Requires configuration | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: Full REST API & webhooks | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: Unlimited (self-hosted) | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: 5-10 minutes | Mixpanel: <1 second
Matomo: 8-16 hours (self-hosted) | Mixpanel: 1-2 hours
Matomo: 45 integrations | Mixpanel: 500+ integrations
Matomo: Yes (in all plans) | Mixpanel: No (add-on only)
Matomo: None (native) | Mixpanel: Moderate setup required
Matomo: Basic (manual creation) | Mixpanel: Advanced (AI-assisted)
Matomo: 45,000 stars | Mixpanel: Not open-source
Matomo: $19/month (cloud) or Free (self-hosted) | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: $228 (cloud) or $0 (self-hosted) | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: 30-60 (cloud), 120+ (self-hosted) | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: Manual configuration required | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: User-controlled or Matomo servers | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: 24/7 support available | Mixpanel: N/A
Matomo: Unlimited | Mixpanel: 100M (Standard plan)
Matomo: Yes (full ownership on self-hosted) | Mixpanel: No (cloud-only, Mixpanel owns infrastructure)
Matomo: Yes (cookieless by default) | Mixpanel: Yes (requires configuration)
Matomo: ~50 basic segments | Mixpanel: 200+ advanced behavioral segments
Matomo: Basic (limited ML) | Mixpanel: Advanced (churn prediction, LTV forecasting)
Matomo: 5-10 days (self-hosted), 1-2 days (cloud) | Mixpanel: 2-3 days
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: No (enterprise only)
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: No (requires add-on)
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Limited (basic only)
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Advanced with behavioral triggers and real-time updates
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Manual code instrumentation
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Yes (lookalike audiences)
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: No (requires separate integration)
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter, Unity, Segment
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Native with automatic retention curves, churn prediction, funnel cohorts
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Limited; no built-in keyword tracking or organic search integration
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: 60 months (5 years)
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: iOS + Android (events only)
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: $1,500 (average enterprise tier)
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Free tier available (limited)
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: 1 month (30 days)
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: 25,000+ companies
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Native SDK included
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Manual event tracking (code-required)
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Unlimited with branching
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: 140+ integrations
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: No (add-on only)
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Predictive LTV + churn modeling
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Via third-party integrations
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Unlimited on paid plans
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Manual setup required
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Advanced multi-step funnels
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: 8/10 (event instrumentation)
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Advanced behavioral cohorts
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: 0 (requires integration)
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Unlimited custom properties
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Requires developer involvement (120+ min)
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Yes (Mixpanel Experiments)
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Churn prediction only
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: General product analytics + engagement
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: 500K tracked users/month
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: < 1 minute (real-time)
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: $999/month (Growth plan)
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Single-event property-based cohorts
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter, Unity
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: Limited (requires integration)
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: No native support
Matomo: N/A | Mixpanel: 300+ segmentation properties
Setup Complexity for Non-Technical Users
How to choose between Matomo and Mixpanel
Matomo vs Mixpanel — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Matomo vs Mixpanel. Contains 155 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Matomo vs Mixpanel — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Matomo vs Mixpanel.
Matomo is superior for GDPR. It's cookieless and privacy-first by default with zero configuration needed. Matomo's self-hosted option gives you 100% control over data residency (crucial for EU regulations). Mixpanel is GDPR-compliant but requires configuration and stores data on US-based cloud servers, which may require additional Data Processing Agreements for EU users.
How much will I spend on analytics annually?
Matomo's cloud starts at $19/month ($228/year) with unlimited tracking. Self-hosted Matomo is free but costs infrastructure time. Mixpanel's Standard plan is $999/month ($11,988/year) minimum. For a company tracking 500M events/month, Matomo costs ~$250-600/year while Mixpanel's Plus plan (500M events) costs ~$2,000-3,000/month ($24K-36K/year)—a 60-100x difference.
Which is better for product teams analyzing user behavior?
Mixpanel excels here. Its advanced cohort analysis (200+ segmentation variables), behavioral funnels, retention curves, and predictive churn models are purpose-built for product teams. Matomo provides solid event tracking and basic segmentation but lacks Mixpanel's depth in behavioral prediction and cohort-based retention analysis. However, Matomo is sufficient for smaller teams.
Do I need technical skills to use each platform?
Mixpanel requires minimal technical skills—most teams deploy in 2-3 days with basic SDK integration. Matomo's cloud version is also straightforward, but self-hosted Matomo requires DevOps knowledge (server setup, database management, updates). If you're non-technical, choose Mixpanel's cloud or Matomo's managed cloud tier.
Matomo gives you full export capabilities via API and database access (self-hosted) or data export tools (cloud). Your data is yours. Mixpanel offers data export but with limitations—exports can take time, and switching away from Mixpanel is more friction. If data portability is critical, Matomo wins significantly.
How to Choose Between Matomo and Mixpanel
Deployment Model: Matomo has Self-hosted or Cloud (on-premises option available), while Mixpanel has Cloud-only SaaS.
Starting Price (Monthly): Matomo has $19 (self-hosted free, cloud from $19), while Mixpanel has $999 (or $1,200 annual).
Data Ownership: Matomo has 100% owned by user (on self-hosted), while Mixpanel has Mixpanel retains data on cloud servers.
Consider: Event Tracking Events Included
Event Tracking Events Included: Matomo has Unlimited events (all plans), while Mixpanel has 100M events/month on Standard plan.
Behavioral Cohort Analysis: Matomo has Basic segmentation, limited cohort features, while Mixpanel has Advanced behavioral cohorts with predictive analytics.
GDPR Compliance Features: Matomo has Full GDPR compliance, no tracking by default (cookieless), while Mixpanel has GDPR compliant but requires configuration.
Consider: Learning Curve (1-10, lower is better)
Learning Curve (1-10, lower is better): Matomo has 7 (steeper, requires setup time), while Mixpanel has 5 (moderate, more intuitive UI).