Matomo Analytics – privacy-compliant web analytics for Swiss companies

You only need consent if you want to set Matomo cookies. With the cookieless configuration (standard at digitario), no analytics cookies are set, and page views are still captured anonymously. But you cannot go entirely without a notice: Art. 45c of the Telecommunications Act requires information about the purpose and the option to object, and the FDPIC guidance on cookies requires that this right to object stays prominently reachable on every visit.

The base version of Matomo on-premise is free (open source). You need a server, an affordable web hosting plan is enough for most SMEs. Premium features come as bundles from EUR 275 per month, or EUR 230 per month with annual billing. Matomo Cloud starts at EUR 29 per month for 50,000 actions, with two months free on annual billing. Professional setup costs are separate and one-time.

In part. Import tools exist, and Matomo offers one itself, but they retrieve processed report values through the programming interface rather than the raw data. That is not a lossless move. In practice you export what you want to keep beforehand and leave the old account in place with the measurement stopped; the standard reports stay available there, and only the detailed data expires once the retention period runs out.

Longer in the calendar than the work itself takes, and those are two different things. We recommend running both systems side by side for four to eight weeks so that you know the difference in counting before you switch over. If Google Ads depends on it, add two to four weeks for moving conversion measurement across. Most of that is waiting rather than work. How much work there is depends on your starting point: the number of sites, a linked ad account, custom analyses, a data warehouse and everything else that draws on your figures.

Yes, with correct configuration, and that is exactly what it turns on. France exempts pure audience measurement from consent on certain conditions, and the supervisory authority there, the CNIL, cites open-source tools that you configure yourself as an example. Two qualifications come with it: the exemption depends on how the tool is configured rather than on the product, and it falls away as soon as you switch on heatmaps, session recording, a user ID or e-commerce measurement. It also applies in France only, not across the EU and not in Switzerland. The CNIL replaced its public list of assessed solutions with a self-assessment tool on 1 January 2026 and expressly prohibits presenting a self-assessment as certification. With on-premise operation, the data stays in your own infrastructure, with no analytics provider in between.

You decide. With on-premise: on your own server, in Switzerland, Germany or wherever you choose. With Matomo Cloud: in Frankfurt am Main. In no case does data go to Google, Meta or other advertising platforms. How long the raw data is kept is yours to configure.

On-premise: you run Matomo on your own server, maximum control, free, but hosting effort required. Cloud: Matomo hosts for you in Frankfurt am Main, simpler, but monthly costs. For companies with existing web hosting, on-premise is usually the better choice.

Yes. On-premise, heatmaps and session recording are included in the Team bundle at EUR 275 per month, which also covers funnels and form analytics. In the cloud version they are included depending on the plan. With Google Analytics you need a third-party tool like Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity, with additional privacy overhead.

GA4 is stronger in ML-based conversion modelling, native Google Ads integration and cross-platform tracking (app + web). If Google Ads is a core marketing channel, GA4 can complement Matomo, with separate consent.

No, digitario focuses on setup, migration and consulting. For managed hosting we recommend specialised providers such as Ops One (Swiss servers) or Friendly Analytics. This gives you the best combination of consulting and operations.