Adobe Analytics vs Google Analytics vs Matomo
With an abundance of web analytics solutions on the market, it can be overwhelming deciding which tool will best suit your needs. To help make your evaluation easier, this page looks in-depth at the features, capabilities and limitations of three of the most popular web analytics solutions: Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics and Matomo.
Adobe Analytics vs Google Analytics vs Matomo at a Glance
Adobe Analytics is a powerful analytics tool that provides a robust set of reporting capabilities and uses AI and machine learning to gather data. As part of the Adobe Cloud Suite, it’s offered as a comprehensive enterprise solution for businesses that require advanced reporting and marketing analytics.
Google Analytics (GA) is the most widely used, free web analytics solution. It offers traditional web analytics as well as more advanced reporting capabilities through AI and machine learning. GA also seamlessly integrates with other popular tools from the Google ecosystem (e.g., Search Console and Google Ads). In the comparison table below, we’ll be specifically looking at the new Google Analytics 4 (GA4).
Matomo is the leading open-source and privacy-friendly web analytics platform, used on more than one million websites globally. Matomo combines traditional web analytics with advanced behavioural analytics (e.g., Heatmaps, A/B Testing, Form Analytics and Session Recordings) to give users visibility into the entire customer journey and create a better user experience for website visitors. It can be hosted on Cloud or On-Premise (self-hosted) and offers 100% data ownership, consent-free tracking and GDPR compliance.
Please note: We aim to keep this table accurate and up to date. However, if you see any inaccuracies or outdated information, please email us at marketing@matomo.org
 MATOMO ON-PREMISE | MATOMO CLOUD |  GOOGLE ANALYTICS 4 |  ADOBE ANALYTICS |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GENERAL | ||||
| Hosting Options | On-Premise (Self-hosted) | Cloud | Cloud | Cloud |
| Hosting Location | NA | Germany | Assorted | Based on customer location (US, UK, Singapore) |
| Pricing | Free forever | $ | Free | $$$ |
| Multi-Account / Multi-Site Management |  | | | |
| Segments | | | | |
| Cohorts | $ | | | |
| Custom Dimensions | | | | |
| No Data Sampling | | | Data sampling occurs in advanced reports, reports exceeding 10M events & reports that are not standard | |
| Activity Log | $ | |  | |
| Real Time Reporting | 10 sec | 10 sec | Within seconds | 30-90 sec |
| Annotations | | | | |
| PRIVACY & COMPLIANCE | ||||
| Cookieless Tracking | | | | |
| GDPR Manager | | | | |
| Advance Privacy Controls | | | | |
| Consent-free tracking | | | | |
| TECHNICAL SET UP | ||||
| Google Analytics data importer | | | (GA4 does not accept data imports from UA) | |
| API raw data access | | | | |
| Built-in Tag Manager | | | | |
| SQL raw data access | | | | |
| SAML integration | From 579USD/year | | | |
| Mobile App SDK | | | | |
| ANALYTICS COVERAGE | ||||
| Website Analytics | | | | |
| App Analytics | | | | |
| Intranet Analytics | | | | |
| REPORTING CATEGORIES | ||||
| Custom Reports | $ | | | |
| Customizable Dashboard | | | | |
| Roll-up Reporting | $ | | | |
| User Funnel Analysis | $ | | | |
| User Flows Analysis | $ | | | |
| Event Tracking | | | | |
| Heatmaps | $ | | | |
| Session Recordings | $ | | | |
| Form Reporting | $ | | | |
| Media Analytics | $ | | | |
| A/B Testing | $ | | | |
| SEO Keyword Performance Metrics | $ | | | |
| Multi-Channel Conversion Attribution | $ | | | |
| E-Commerce Reporting | | | | |
| Campaign Tracking | | | | |
| Site Search | | | | |
| Log Analytics | | | | |
| METRIC CATEGORIES | ||||
| Site Speed | | | | |
| Geo Location - Country | | | | |
| Geo Location - City | | | | |
| Visitor Maps | | | | |
| Engagement Metrics (entrances, exits, pageviews, etc) | | | | |
| Page Scroll | | | | |
| User / Visitor Tracking | | | | |
| Time Period Comparison | | | | |
| New Visitor vs. Returning Visitor | | | | |
| Predictive Analytics | | | | |
| Integrations | ||||
| Google Search Console | | | | |
| Integration with Bing and Yahoo Search Consoles | | | | |
| Integration with the full Google Marketing Platform | | | | |
| Integration with Google Ads | | | | |
Final thoughts
Now that you’ve seen how these leading web analytics solutions compare, hopefully you’ve gotten a better understanding of which solution will best suit your business’ needs.
If you’d like extensive reporting then Adobe Analytics could work best for you. As a solution aimed at large enterprises, it boasts a range of reporting capabilities and predictive analytics to help your marketing team improve campaign ROIs, ad spend and user experiences. But this does come at a high price.
Google Analytics can help you get a better understanding of your website visitors out-of-the-box. Being a free tool and the most-used web analytics solution, it’s undoubtedly a convenient option – though it does come with a few major caveats including privacy concerns and GDPR breaches. In 2022, GA was deemed illegal under the GDPR in Austria, France and Italy. Other EU member states are expected to follow suit with similar rulings, making Google Analytics a risky choice.
Matomo is a great option for organisations that need to be data-driven and compliant. As an all-in-one analytics solution, it’s designed to help organisations make more informed decisions and enhance customer experience while ensuring data ownership, compliance and privacy at a cost-effective price.
Try Matomo free for 21-days. No credit card required.