The simple, hassle-free Matomo alternative
All the privacy benefits of Matomo without the server management. Just add a script and start tracking.
no credit card required. no obligation. quick setup.
“Previously, I had all of my sites hooked up to Google Analytics, like most people. But I never looked at the reports. Now, I find myself dropping in and looking at the stats several times a day. It's very easy to digest and understand.”
Chris Williams
Founder, Cloudscope
TL;DR comparison summary
Matomo is a popular open-source analytics platform, known for its self-hosting option that gives you complete control over your data. While this sounds appealing, it comes with real costs: server setup, database management, security updates, backups, and ongoing maintenance. Their cloud option eliminates maintenance but starts at $29/month for just 50,000 hits.
Seline offers the same privacy benefits without the operational burden. Our small team built Seline to be the analytics tool we wanted: private, simple, and instant to set up. No servers to provision, no databases to tune, no CRON jobs to monitor. Just add our lightweight script and you are ready.
Privacy without the DevOps headache
Get ethical analytics without managing infrastructure.
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Real-time analytics dashboardBoth services offer real-time analytics. Seline focuses on delivering a fast, clean dashboard that loads instantly. | ||
Privacy-friendlyBoth prioritize privacy. Seline is cookie-less by default, so no consent banners needed. | ||
No server maintenanceMatomo's self-hosted option requires managing servers, databases, and updates. Seline is fully managed. | ||
Simple one-script setupOne script, no configuration. Matomo self-hosted requires PHP, MySQL, and server setup. | ||
Lightweight trackingSeline's ~2kb script is significantly lighter than Matomo's tracking code. | ||
Affordable pricingSeline starts free, then $14/month. Matomo Cloud starts at $29/month for 50k hits. | ||
Free plan availableSeline's free plan includes 3,000 events/month. Matomo self-hosted is free but requires server costs. | ||
Self-hosting optionMatomo offers self-hosting for full data control. Seline is cloud-only but handles everything for you. | ||
Personal supportDirect access to the founding team. Matomo offers community support for self-hosted users. |
Self-hosting reality check
Matomo's self-hosted option is free, but that's misleading. You'll need a web server with PHP, a MySQL or MariaDB database, and enough capacity to handle your traffic. For sites with over 1 million actions monthly, Matomo recommends separate servers for the database and web app.
Then there's ongoing maintenance: database optimization, archive processing, security patches, backup management, and CRON job monitoring. Many teams end up spending more on DevOps time than they would on a managed solution.
With Seline, you skip all of that. Add one script, and we handle the rest. Your data is stored securely on our EU servers, and you never have to think about infrastructure.
Data & privacy
Both Matomo and Seline take privacy seriously. Matomo offers GDPR compliance tools and the option to self-host for complete data control.
Seline achieves the same privacy goals with less effort. We're cookie-less by default, which means no consent banners needed. We don't track users across sites, and we never sell or share your data. Everything is kept on our servers in Germany (EU).
Seline complies with GDPR and other privacy regulations while keeping things simple for you.
Setup & installation
Setting up Matomo self-hosted requires provisioning servers, configuring PHP with the right extensions, setting up a database, and tuning everything for performance. Even with Docker, there's a learning curve.
With Seline, it's just a quick script installation and you're tracking. No server provisioning, no database setup, no PHP configuration. Works with any website or framework.
Performance impact
Seline's tracking script weighs only ~2kb, making it significantly lighter than Matomo's JavaScript tracker. A smaller script means faster page loads, which matters for user experience and SEO rankings.
With self-hosted Matomo, your tracking requests also hit your own servers, which can add latency. Seline's distributed infrastructure ensures fast tracking without affecting your site performance.
Pricing
Matomo self-hosted is free (plus your server costs). Their cloud option starts at $29/month for 50,000 hits, scaling up with traffic.
Seline is free to start with 3,000 events per month. After that, it's $14/month - less than half of Matomo Cloud's starting price. No hidden costs, no server bills to manage.
Support
Matomo self-hosted users rely on community forums and documentation. Cloud users get support, but personal attention can be limited given their scale.
Seline is built and run by a small team that cares deeply about our users. We respond to emails and live chat daily. Whether you're on our free plan or a paying customer, you get the same personal support.
Features that matter
Matomo offers dozens of features: heatmaps, session recordings, A/B testing, form analytics, and more. That breadth comes with complexity - more to configure, more to learn, more that can break.
Seline focuses on the features most teams actually need: clean dashboards, user profiles, custom events, funnels, and powerful filtering. We've carefully chosen what to include so you can focus on insights, not configuration.
Skip the server management. Get privacy-friendly analytics in minutes.
You are just a couple minutes away from bringing your dashboard to life.
Free to start and while below 3,000 events per month. Then $14 monthly.
Free to start and while below 3,000 events per month. Then $14 monthly.