Documentation
Set up Privatrak, name what matters to you and read every report.
Matomo alternative
Privatrak is a Matomo alternative for teams that want to know what people do in their product, without running a server and, in many countries, without a cookie banner. It records every click without cookies, finds click problems for you, and each report answers one product question. Here you see how the two compare, where Privatrak is stronger, and when Matomo is the better choice.
Privatrak and Matomo compared
Last checked: 9 October 2026.
| Topic | Privatrak | Matomo |
|---|---|---|
| Cookies and cookie banner | No cookies and nothing stored in the browser. In many countries, no banner is needed. | First-party cookies by default, which need consent in the EU. It can be configured to work without cookies. |
| Complete numbers | Visitors who would decline a banner are counted too. | With cookies, visitors who decline are missing. Without cookies, returning visitors are recognised less well. |
| Learning curve | A few reports, each for one product question. No query language, and no events to define before you start. | Many reports and settings, similar in breadth to Google Analytics. If you host it yourself, you also run and update the server. |
| What it answers | Which features people use, where they drop off, where they go next and where clicks go wrong. Plus pages, sources, campaigns and how each variant of an A/B test converts. Revenue and average order value per day, product, campaign or version, from the amounts your site sends. | Broad web analytics with goals and e-commerce. Funnels on Matomo Cloud, or as a paid plugin On-Premise. |
| Naming a button | Click it on your own site with the Element Picker. The feature also counts earlier clicks. | As an event you set up, for example in its Tag Manager. |
| Click problems | A ready report for each button and link: no effect, repeated clicks, errors and slow responses. Shown on your site, and flagged again when clicks fail again. | No such report. |
| AI assistant | Sign in from Claude, Codex or Cursor. It answers questions, sets up features, funnels and a dashboard, and you undo its changes in one step. | An official MCP server plugin, in early preview. You install it on your Matomo and connect with a token. Its tools mostly read. |
| Hosting and privacy | On servers in the EU. IP addresses are never stored, and a visitor is recognised for one day only. | Self-hosted with On-Premise, or Matomo Cloud, hosted in Frankfurt, Germany. |
| Other tools in the package | Analytics only, with the Click Map, Insights and dashboards. | Its own Tag Manager and a Google Analytics import. On-Premise, heatmaps, session recording and form analytics are paid premium plugins, in bundles from €275 a month. Built-in A/B testing, which splits visitors into variants and reports the result, comes only in the Enterprise bundle. |
| How long data is kept | 30 days on Free, 90 days on Starter and 180 days on Pro. On Enterprise, it is agreed with us. Older data is deleted automatically. | Matomo Cloud keeps report data forever and raw data for 24 months on the Business plan. On-Premise, you decide. |
| Price | Free plan with 10,000 events a month. Paid plans are on the pricing page. | On-Premise: the core is free. Matomo Cloud: a paid subscription, with a free trial without a credit card. |
Matomo, cookies and the GDPR
By default, Matomo sets first-party cookies. _pk_id holds a visitor ID for 13 months, _pk_ses lasts 30 minutes and _pk_ref remembers for 6 months which website the visitor came from. In the EU, storing or reading such cookies for analytics needs consent, as for any analytics cookie.
Matomo can be configured to work without cookies, in its tracking code, its WordPress plugin or its Tag Manager. Its own FAQ says that it then recognises returning visitors less well, that reports can become less accurate and that a cookie banner may still be needed. Matomo also says certain configurations can be used without consent.
Privatrak always works without cookies. It stores nothing in the browser, never stores IP addresses and recognises a visitor for one day only. In many countries you need no cookie banner for Privatrak.
This is general information, not legal advice. Privacy lists exactly what Privatrak stores. Your data is kept on servers in the EU, and Privatrak offers a data processing agreement under the GDPR.
Where Privatrak is stronger
- Complete numbers without a cookie banner. Every visitor who declines a banner is missing from your funnels and conversion rates, so the numbers you decide on are smaller than reality. Privatrak needs no cookie, so in many countries it needs no banner, and those visitors are counted too.
- Answers product questions without an analyst. You name a feature by clicking the button on your own site with the Element Picker. Features then shows how often it is used, including clicks from before you named it. This takes no code and no query language, so the people who ask the questions can answer them themselves.
- Click problems as a ready report. You don’t need to know what to look for. Click Problems finds the buttons and links where clicks fail, and you open each one on your own site in the Click Map. If you mark one resolved and clicks on it have no effect or cause an error again, it comes back as Happened again, so a fix that didn’t work doesn’t go unnoticed.
- An AI assistant that sets it up for you. You sign in from Claude, Codex or Cursor, without copying a key. If you allow it, your assistant names the buttons and links that matter, creates funnels and builds a starter dashboard. Everything it changed is listed under AI assistant changes in Settings, and you undo a whole set of changes in one step.
- Hosted for you, funnels included. There is no server to install, update or secure, and every plan includes funnels. You start measuring sign-ups and checkouts on the day you add the script tag.
When Matomo fits better
Matomo is the better choice in these cases:
- You want to host open source software yourself and own the server.
- You want breadth like Google Analytics, with goals and its own Tag Manager.
- You need heatmaps, session recordings or form analytics.
- You want the tool itself to split visitors into variants and report the result of an experiment.
- You need data older than 180 days. Privatrak keeps data longer only on Enterprise, by agreement.
- You use WordPress and want Matomo’s plugin for it.
Switch from Matomo to Privatrak
- Create a free account and a project, as shown in Getting started.
- Add the Privatrak script tag to your site. Leave Matomo in place for now.
- Create the funnels you care about. A funnel counts from the day you create it.
- Compare both for a few weeks. When Privatrak covers what you need, remove Matomo.
Your Matomo data stays in Matomo. Privatrak counts from the day you add it.
If you used Matomo with its cookies and nothing else on your site needs consent, your cookie banner may be able to go as well. Read Do you need a cookie banner? on the Privacy page before you remove it.
Next steps
- Getting started: add Privatrak to your site in four steps.
- Element Picker: name the clicks that matter on your own site, without code.
- Privacy: see exactly what Privatrak stores and what it never collects.