Google Analytics 4 vs Plausible vs Matomo: Analytics and the PDPA

GA4 vs Plausible vs Matomo: the quick comparison

All three count visitors, pages, sources and conversions. They differ in how much they track about individuals, who holds the data and what you pay.

Prices from Plausible and Matomo's pricing page, checked 19 October 2026, before tax. Plausible's Starter covers one site and up to 10,000 monthly pageviews; Matomo Cloud's entry price covers 50,000 hits a month.

What each tool collects

Google's data retention help page lists the 2-month and 14-month options for user-level data in standard GA4 properties. Plausible's data policy says it derives browser, operating system and approximate location from each request but does not store raw User-Agent strings or IP addresses.

What the PDPA requires for website analytics

Singapore does not have a separate cookie law like the EU's. The question is whether your analytics collects personal data. The PDPC's Advisory Guidelines on Selected Topics (revised May 2024) cover cookies directly:

• Consent is not needed for cookies that do not collect personal data
• Consent may be reflected in browser settings the visitor has actively chosen, but simply not managing settings is not consent
• Collecting personal data through cookies for targeted advertising requires consent, and as good practice sites should let visitors set cookie preferences
• The obligation to get consent rests with the organisation collecting the data, including through its data intermediaries

The same guidelines encourage anonymised data for analytics, because anonymised data is not personal data. They also describe a business improvement exception that lets you use personal data you have already collected properly, without fresh consent, to improve services or understand customer preferences. It covers use, not the original collection.

Google consent mode and cookie banners

If you use GA4 with Google Ads, or have EU visitors, you will usually add a cookie banner. Google's consent mode lets the banner tell Google tags whether the visitor accepted analytics or advertising cookies, and tags adjust their behaviour.

1. 1

   Decide which tools need consent

   List each tag: analytics, ads, pixels, chat widgets. Ad and remarketing tags that use personal data need consent.

2. 2

   Pick a consent tool that supports consent mode

   Many banner tools and Shopify's privacy settings integrate with Google consent mode.

3. 3

   Set sensible defaults

   Default ad storage to denied until the visitor accepts. Decide your analytics default based on how you have configured GA4.

4. 4

   Update your privacy notice

   Name the tools, what they collect and how visitors can change their choice.

5. 5

   Test before going live

   Use Tag Assistant to check tags respect the banner. Our cookie banner and GA4 guide walks through it.

Speed impact: why script size matters

Every analytics script adds work for the visitor's browser. Plausible describes its script as a fraction of the size of Google Analytics and says it will not affect Core Web Vitals. GA4 loaded through Google Tag Manager, together with ad pixels and a consent banner, often adds more weight than the analytics itself.

If your site is slow, check what each third-party tag costs before blaming the theme. Our Core Web Vitals guide shows how to measure it. Removing unused pixels and old tags is often the quickest win.

Which analytics tool suits which business

Many sites run two tools: a simple cookie-free tool for everyday numbers and GA4 only on pages where ads conversions are measured. Whatever you choose, set up Google Search Console too; it is free and shows how people find you in search.

Do it yourself or get help?

Installing any of the three is a short DIY job. The work that needs care is the PDPA side: an accurate privacy notice, a banner that actually blocks tags until consent, and data retention set to what you need. Our guide to website privacy policies and cookie consent covers the notice.

If you want it handled, our Speed & SEO Fix (S$390) cleans up scripts, sets up Search Console and gives a before and after speed report. The PDPA Compliance Pack (S$690) includes a privacy policy, data inventory and website cookie notice.