Matomo Analytics for WordPress vs Site Kit by Google
Updated 10 Oct 2026. 27 features compared side by side.
Full Matomo analytics platform running inside WordPress, with ecommerce, goals, tag manager and GDPR tools; premium plugins add heatmaps and more.
Google's free official plugin that connects Analytics, Search Console, Tag Manager, AdSense and PageSpeed Insights and shows their data in WordPress.
Choose Matomo Analytics for WordPress if…
- You need self-hosted stats and cookieless tracking
- You also want real-time stats
- You want the more complete feature set (86/100 vs 70/100)
- You weigh user ratings (4.6 vs 4.2 on WordPress.org)
Choose Site Kit by Google if…
- You need Google Analytics 4 integration
- You prefer the more widely used option
Matomo Analytics for WordPress includes 3 features that Site Kit by Google lacks, including Self-hosted stats, Cookieless tracking and Real-time stats; Site Kit by Google has 1 that Matomo Analytics for WordPress lacks, including Google Analytics 4 integration. Both include 22 of the 27 features we track. 1 feature is not yet verified for one or both plugins.
At a glance
Feature comparison
Click a screenshot to see both plugins side by side.
Matomo Analytics for WordPress Site Kit by GoogleTracking setup6/74/7
Replaces GA rather than connecting GA4; it can import historical GA data.
Creates or connects a GA4 property during setup and places the Google tag automatically.
Data stored in your WordPress installation, no third party.
Shows data from Google services; nothing is tracked or stored in your own database.
Cookies can be disabled so visits are tracked without them.
Uses Google Analytics, which sets cookies; consent mode can limit this until consent.
Real-time reports and a live visits log.
Docs state the dashboard does not include real-time data; use analytics.google.com for that.
Includes its own Matomo Tag Manager rather than Google Tag Manager; not on multisite.
Tag Manager module creates or connects a GTM container and inserts its snippet.
JS tracker by default; optional REST API endpoint can route hits through WordPress.
Google tag gateway serves measurement through a script on your own domain; tracking still starts in the browser.
Uses the full matomo.js tracker, heavier than minimalist counters.
Adds Google's standard gtag.js; no plugin-specific tracker, but the Google tag is not small.
Events & ecommerce7/77/7
Event tracking with automatic outlink and download tracking.
Relies on GA4 Enhanced Measurement for downloads and outbound clicks; custom events via GTM or GA4.
Paid Form Analytics premium plugin.
Plugin conversion tracking records leads from CF7, WPForms, Ninja Forms, Mailchimp, OptinMonster and Popup Maker.
Ecommerce tracking for WooCommerce, EDD and MemberPress out of the box.
Conversion tracking sends WooCommerce and EDD events to GA4/Ads; no dedicated revenue report in WordPress.
Campaign tracking for UTM and Matomo campaign parameters.
Traffic widget breaks visits down by channel; there is no UTM campaign report in the dashboard.
Goals with conversion rates and revenue; funnels are a premium plugin.
Site goals and conversion key metrics summarise leads and sales from GA4 conversion events.
Free Custom Dimensions plugin from the Matomo Marketplace.
Key metrics for top authors and categories; Site Kit creates the needed GA4 custom dimensions.
Scroll maps via the paid Heatmap & Session Recording plugin.
Only via GA4 Enhanced Measurement's scroll event; no scroll report in WordPress.
Reports in WordPress7/88/8
Full Matomo reporting UI and dashboards inside wp-admin.
Site Kit dashboard plus a WordPress dashboard widget show Analytics, Search Console and speed data.
Page URL and page title reports rank the most visited content.
Top content widget lists pages with pageviews, sessions and engagement rate.
Acquisition reports cover websites, search engines, social and campaigns.
Shows traffic by channel (referral, organic, social, direct) rather than a list of referring sites.
Geolocation maps plus browser, OS and device reports.
Traffic chart splits visits by top countries and by desktop, mobile and tablet.
No per-post stats column or editor panel is documented.
Admin toolbar shows users, sessions, impressions and clicks for the page you are viewing.
Paid Search Engine Keywords Performance plugin imports Search Console data.
Search Console is a core module: impressions, clicks and top search queries in WordPress.
Scheduled email reports with chosen reports and frequency.
Weekly, monthly or quarterly email reports for any user with dashboard access.
Reports can be exported (CSV, TSV, XML, JSON and more).
Export PDF from the dashboard header, choosing which sections to include; no CSV export documented.
Privacy & admin5/55/5
GDPR manager, IP anonymisation, opt-out shortcode and retention rules.
Built-in Google consent mode toggle and compatibility with consent plugins such as Complianz and CookieYes.
Exclude specific roles, visitors and pages from tracking.
Logged-in users are excluded from Analytics tracking by default; this can be changed.
Known bots and crawlers are excluded from reports.
No plugin-level filter; GA4 automatically excludes known bots and spiders.
Map each WordPress role to Matomo view, write or admin access.
Dashboard sharing grants view-only access per service to roles with edit_posts.
Supports multisite, network-activated or per site; Tag Manager excluded.
Multisite networks are not supported; it can be activated and set up on each site individually.
Statuses: Yes Pro Add-on Partial 3rd-party No ?
Pricing compared
Matomo Analytics for WordPress Freemium
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| Free | Free per year, Unlimited |
Site Kit by Google Free
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| Free | Free per year, Unlimited |
Downloads trend
Matomo Analytics for WordPress
4,979 downloads last week
Site Kit by Google
509,221 downloads last week
Verdict
Matomo Analytics for WordPress scores higher on our feature checklist (86/100 against 70/100) and includes self-hosted stats, cookieless tracking and real-time stats that Site Kit by Google does not. Site Kit by Google still has the edge on Google Analytics 4 integration. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Biggest differences
Matomo Analytics for WordPress: not included. Site Kit by Google: included. Creates or connects a GA4 property during setup and places the Google tag automatically.
Matomo Analytics for WordPress: included. Site Kit by Google: not included. Data stored in your WordPress installation, no third party.
Matomo Analytics for WordPress: included. Site Kit by Google: not included. Cookies can be disabled so visits are tracked without them.
Matomo Analytics for WordPress: included. Site Kit by Google: not included. Real-time reports and a live visits log.
Written from the feature, pricing and install data on this page, not from hands-on testing. How we compare.
Which would you choose?
0 votes so far. Vote to see the results.
Compare something else
FAQ
Which is better, Matomo Analytics for WordPress or Site Kit by Google?
Matomo Analytics for WordPress scores higher on our feature checklist (86/100 against 70/100) and includes self-hosted stats, cookieless tracking and real-time stats that Site Kit by Google does not. Site Kit by Google still has the edge on Google Analytics 4 integration. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Which has more features?
Matomo Analytics for WordPress includes 25 of the 27 features we track, against 24 for Site Kit by Google. Feature count is only part of the picture; check which of the differences matter to you.
Is Matomo Analytics for WordPress free?
Matomo Analytics for WordPress has a free version on WordPress.org.
Is Site Kit by Google free?
Site Kit by Google has a free version on WordPress.org.
Feature data last changed 10 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit to Matomo Analytics for WordPress or Site Kit by Google. Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no cost to you; it never affects our data or rankings.