Matomo Analytics vs. Smartlook

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Matomo Analytics
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Piwik is an open source analytics platform that enables users to measure web and mobile apps as well as intranet portals. It protects the privacy of users through advanced privacy features and its approach to data ownership. Piwik offers On-premises and Cloud deployment options. Available in over 50 languages, it is fully customisable and vendor-independent. Piwik offers over 70 integrations with Content Management Systems, Ecommerce solutions, Forums as well as other mobile and web platforms.…
$0
Smartlook
Score 8.2 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
Smartlook is an analytics solution tool for websites, iOS/Android apps, and various app frameworks, that answers the "whys" behind users' actions. It helps users understand precisely how customers interact with website and app — watch recordings, create heatmaps, use automatic tracked events, and build conversion funnels. Data is seen on one central dashboard, which enables sharing and collaborating with colleagues. This is to support clear, data-driven decision-making for product managers,…
$55
per month 5000 sessions
Pricing
Matomo AnalyticsSmartlook
Editions & Modules
Free download (open source)
$0
Free 30 day trial
$0
limited to 30 days
Essential
$9
number of pageviews (monthly traffic)
Business
$29
number of pageviews (monthly traffic)
Enterprise
$199
your requirements and monthly traffic
Content Optimization Bundle
$579
per installation
Growth Bundle
$1,149
per installation
Premium Bundle
$1,499
per installation
Email Support Subscription
$2,090
per installation
Pro
$55
per month 5000 sessions
Free
Free forever
per month 3000 sessions
Enterprise
Custom pricing
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Matomo AnalyticsSmartlook
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalOptional
Additional DetailsOn-premise Edition is free to download and install on one's own servers.All Smartlook packages support both web and mobile app platforms.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Matomo AnalyticsSmartlook
Considered Both Products
Matomo Analytics
Chose Matomo Analytics
Matomo Analytics offers the best of both worlds: detailed website analytics and the ability to be privacy-minded and compliant with data privacy regulations, up to and including GDPR. This allows for effective risk management, while also making compliance easy. And it doesn't …
Chose Matomo Analytics
Matomo allows complete control over your data. The setup is super easy, and deploying Matomo on multiple websites is a piece of a cake.
Chose Matomo Analytics
I've described this above but Matomo compares very, very favourably with GA. This is personal opinion of course but the look and feel alone are much improved.
Chose Matomo Analytics
Matomo's analytics tools have functions like the free Google Analytics. It is easy to learn and has a good implementation guide. So, it is good for learning web analytics.
Chose Matomo Analytics
The main and the most important advantage of Matomo to its competitors is cost. Solutions like Adobe Analytics might have more options for analysts but in the end, you need to pay extra which is not necessary for all the businesses. I would recommend Matomo to all the users …
Chose Matomo Analytics
We have used Google Analytics before for one of our online tools and we switched to Matomo for the other web applications we have. We did that because Matomo is free but mostly since we wanted us to own the data on these sensitive apps and not share it with third parties. Since …
Chose Matomo Analytics
To be honest, I did not notice much of a difference between Piwik and Google Analytics, but I only provisioned the installation and added the users. Another team was processing the data from Piwik.
Chose Matomo Analytics
I have used a number of analytics products, including Google Analytics, Clicky and GoSquared. The winning feature of Piwik is the compact, rich data tables, which make it a good addition to the analytics mix. While I'm not throwing out the others, I've continued to find Piwik …
Chose Matomo Analytics
When we were initially evaluating the replacement for our AWStats setup the first alternative we looked at was Google Analytics. The main reason we started with the Google product was because, well, it's Google, plus I had used the Google Webmaster Tools kit at several other …
Chose Matomo Analytics
Moz is not directly a competitor, but it lacked (and still lacks) Piwik integration. Compared with Google Analytics the most important advantage has been the different approach to Privacy, GA has long been not compatible with German law and data is not in your own hands. Second …
Chose Matomo Analytics
At the time we did try Google Analytics and Urchin, however, due to our need for the upmost privacy using a product hosted on Google was difficult to sell. If you are looking for something that you can maintain separately without giving your data to Google with most of the same …
Chose Matomo Analytics
The customizable dashboard is useful so we can create different environments for employees. We have some data stewards who need to see all the data, but others only need to see certain widgets.
Chose Matomo Analytics
We are a pretty small company and even smaller Marketing shop. We use tools from both Google and Bing but have not had the financial freedom to explore additional tools out there. I have looked at Moz and would really like to evaluate that one at some point. For real hard-core …
Chose Matomo Analytics
I've used both Piwik and Google Analytic. I still prefer Piwik for it's more user friendly interface compared to Google Analytic. For most users, Piwik would be sufficient to provide the statistics required for planning. Google Analytics has more functions that complicates …
Chose Matomo Analytics
Open Source, easier implementation.
Chose Matomo Analytics
I have used NewRelic in the past. Currently using Adobe Analytics.
Overall, Piwik provides big volume of advanced data (just like its bigger competitors). Being easy to setup and maintain, as well as being free, is a huge plus. I liked the idea that I could access analytics data …
Chose Matomo Analytics
I have used Google Analytics, Site Catalyst, and Awstats as well as Piwik. There are some features that Google Analytics and Site Catalyst have that aren't available currently in Piwik, but most of those I don't currently need. Owning my data is more important to me than bells …
Chose Matomo Analytics
I have used Google Analytics in the past and still do for our clients who wish to use it, although I am not absolutely familiar with its features. AWStats & Urchin of course analyze the raw server logs, but are not as feature rich or configurable as Piwik.
Chose Matomo Analytics
Most services do not give us the fine control over our own data. They have access to information they are choosing not to share with us, notably IP addresses. Even if it's anonymized (last digits dropped), we should have the access to this data!
Chose Matomo Analytics
It is much more robust out of the box, easier to set up and more intuitive to use. The reports are set up already and it requires little to no setup after installation to start gathering insights.
Smartlook
Chose Smartlook
I like it more in different aspects such as pricing, capabilities, UI, etc. When it comes to the pricing, I have been using it for many years, and always was easy to use and to see what was happening with conversions. It's the most undervaluable tool these days. When I was …
Chose Smartlook
FullStory is more complex, detailed, better-looking and way more expensive. Therefore I think it makes sense to start with Smartlook at least. FullStory also has yearly plans which is really annoying. Hotjar doesn't have browser error logging which is a huge disadvantage for …
Chose Smartlook
Smartlook is the better overall value of all the solutions we've tried. Hotjar was overpriced, Lucky Orange seems more like an experimental project than a full-fledged product and Mouselflow seems to have some problems dealing with some types of browsers that we did not …
Chose Smartlook
For me personally, I use Smartlook more for the debugging side of things, so I wish it had more debugging/error reporting features.
Chose Smartlook
Like I mentioned, Smartlook is younger than FullStory and it seems like they're trying to improve. The dashboards are lacking. I wish I had more control over what I see there instead of the standard. We use the API to determine customer name and company and I'd like to see some …
Chose Smartlook
We use both intensively in our agency. Google Analytics is our first go-to analytics suite, but we often combine it with Smartlook to prove or disprove our hypotheses. Both our web design and marketing projects benefit greatly from this synergy. Google Analytics offers better …
Chose Smartlook
For me, Smartlook gathers everything a product designer or even a product manager needs. We have everything gathered in a single platform, and it's very powerful we can analyze everything we need. It's the only product where recordings are as well done. The UX/UI of the …
Chose Smartlook
Smartlook has all the features of the other products I have tried but was both simpler to use and cheaper.
Chose Smartlook
Smartlook seems smoother than Hotjar and it also offers more customizable options such as events and funnels.
Chose Smartlook
Compared to Hotjar, the first, and most important criteria for us is the performance impact on our customers. We've always had problems with Hotjar's rather resource-intensive script, which causes a noticeable degradation even on medium to high-performance client devices. In …
Chose Smartlook
Smartlook is better in tracking events, building advanced funnels, and filtering out the sessions than Hotjar. It's definitely cheaper and more user-friendly than Fullstory.
Chose Smartlook
Smartlook is far more cost-effective and simple to use for agencies with multiple clients than Hotjar, which targets the user companies more directly.
Chose Smartlook
So much simpler to the user and way more effective. The pricing for our requirement was also much better.
Chose Smartlook
The thing about Hotjar is they became too big too fast. They forgot what their product was all about and then started to charge an exorbitant amount for what is a glorified heat map. Smartlook has taken into account new features but always kept the essence of what they're …
Chose Smartlook
At my old company, we debated using FullStory, but I believe Smartlook was the better option financially.
Chose Smartlook
100% better. Microsoft had no support at all. They directed you to a forum where other users "could" assist, but there was no assistance.
Chose Smartlook
In terms of analytics, we are still using other products, which are more suited to our needs and more complex. In terms of user behavior and session recording, this is by far the best tool there is!
Features
Matomo AnalyticsSmartlook
Web Analytics
Comparison of Web Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Matomo Analytics
10.0
Ratings
22% above category average
Smartlook
-
Ratings
Lead Conversion Tracking10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Bounce Rate Measurement10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Device and Browser Reporting10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Pageview Tracking10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting in real-time10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Referral Source Tracking10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizable Dashboards10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Matomo AnalyticsSmartlook
Small Businesses
StatCounter
StatCounter
Score 9.0 out of 10
Lucky Orange
Lucky Orange
Score 3.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Siteimprove
Siteimprove
Score 10.0 out of 10
Siteimprove
Siteimprove
Score 10.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Optimal
Optimal
Score 9.0 out of 10
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Score 7.1 out of 10
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User Ratings
Matomo AnalyticsSmartlook
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.7
(0 ratings)
8.9
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.7
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Matomo AnalyticsSmartlook
Likelihood to Recommend
Matomo is a full-fledged website tracking and analytics tool. It offers everything and then a bit more that GA has to offer. I cannot conceive of any situation where this programme would be "less appropriate". You can use it for each and every website and do well with it. The data it provides includes everything you could wish for (country, IP, new user or not, actions taken, goals achieved etc.)
Read full review
Smartlook is best for screen recordings. Especially when you are running MVPs. However, its pricing is very high. If your daily visitors are too much then either you will have to lose many of your recordings or you will have to pay too much money.
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Pros
  • Default Admin dashboard provides a ton of very useful information that is easily maneuvered around with "click-n-drag" to meet your preferences
  • Provides some very valuable granular insights by default without needing to do additional customizations
  • Breaks down insights into categories, then sub-categories which allow you to really drill down
  • Compiles and presents the data in a nice, visually friendly way
Read full review
  • Funnels are both easy to configure yet comprehensive enough to detect complicated customer journeys.
  • Real-time recording provides exceptional insights to our design & engineering teams.
  • Session recording is surprisingly lightweight and seems to cause no substantial performance degradation for our customers.
Read full review
Cons
  • Their support is extremely bad with slow replies
  • Their interface and UI looks like something from 2010
  • It is only 20% of the web page that is usable and there is zero to no help as to how you use their platform
  • The website has lots of bugs that leads to that you often not get accurate analytics
Read full review
  • Events -- but I think this is something that we could improve ourselves in our system.
  • Create some suggestions for funnels and heatmaps.
  • Give general insights for a certain period of time, e.g. from Oct. 7th to 12th, 75 users left the checkout step and 60% of them left due to a payment issue. IDK just bringing some ideas!
  • Send an e-mail with main insights.
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Likelihood to Renew
Piwik makes it easy to see which social networks are most effective for you, and the mobile data is great too. Add to this the depth of data and excellent reporting, and you have several reasons to give Piwik a try
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As my ratings show, I have been absolutely delighted with Smartlook in terms of usability, cost, support, and its benefit to our organization. I have given it such high ratings because I think it has really benefitted our organization and I think it could do the same for other companies too.
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Usability
Piwik succeeds in presenting me (and my associates and my clients...) large amounts of data in a user friendly way. The interface and functionality can easily be customized. While some enhancements do need technical background (API calls by programming language from the webserver or javascript), others are easy to use (goal / event tracking)
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Smartlook is very intuitive and simple for an average programmer (I don't know if it will be as simple for a normal user). We have never had to resort to looking for information on the web or ask for help for something we didn't understand or didn't work as expected.
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Support Rating
The best thing about the Matomo support is that they have a forum which basically you can find the answer to almost all of your questions and most of the time you don't need to contact them regarding your questions and problems but if you need help they will answer in a reasonable time slots.
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I am always very happy when a company offers the option to use online chat, as I do not like to call customer support and writing an email is just too slow and cumbersome. I did not even expect a reply right away, yet it took the customer support team less than a minute to respond to my problem.
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Implementation Rating
Only one hiccup when we were using a beta installation. Other than that, smooth sailing.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Matomo Analytics offers the best of both worlds: detailed website analytics and the ability to be privacy-minded and compliant with data privacy regulations, up to and including GDPR. This allows for effective risk management, while also making compliance easy. And it doesn't block marketing from making data-driven decisions to optimize our marketing over time.
Read full review
Like I mentioned, Smartlook is younger than FullStory and it seems like they're trying to improve. The dashboards are lacking. I wish I had more control over what I see there instead of the standard. We use the API to determine customer name and company and I'd like to see some custom dashboards.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • The ROI in terms of user impact and usage in our beta test has proven to be excellent. In comparison to our AWstats system that was tracking stats based on the htaccess logs, Piwik gives the customer the ability to see stats on an almost realtime basis versus a day behind due to file processing.
  • Lead conversion is definitely easier with a robust system like Piwik. Trying to hunt down leads using a straight up htaccess logs polling system is much more difficult for non-technical users.
  • Customer service calls have dropped since the stats data is now stored in a MySQL backend rather than flat files. With a database driven system efficiency has improved with respect to response time from a customer perspective by well over 150%.
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  • We have increased the conversion rate from the beginning till now with 120%.
  • We redesigned our landing pages and decreased the bounce rate by 41%.
  • We rethinked and redesigned our menu structure and internal site linking to increase the time users spent on our site based on the data we got from Smartlook analysis.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Matomo Analytics Screenshots

Screenshot of Customizable dashboardScreenshot of ReferrersScreenshot of Mouse scroll HeatmapScreenshot of Web page HeatmapScreenshot of A/B testingScreenshot of Form Analytics overview

Smartlook Screenshots

Screenshot of HeatmapsScreenshot of RecordingsScreenshot of DashboardsScreenshot of EventsScreenshot of FunnelsScreenshot of Analytics for websites & mobile apps