Web analytics · Open Web Analytics (open-source project)
Open Web Analytics
Self-hosted, open-source PHP/MySQL web analytics platform giving full ownership of tracking data.
Open Web Analytics (OWA) is an open-source, self-hosted web analytics framework built on PHP and MySQL, offered as an older, less heavily marketed alternative to Matomo. It tracks pageviews and visitors, e-commerce transactions, and supports session recordings and heatmaps through its own tracker script or a WordPress plugin, plus a REST API and PHP SDK for custom instrumentation. There is no vendor-hosted or SaaS version; it must be installed on the user's own server. The GitHub project remains active, with releases as recent as September 2026 adding custom reports and a job scheduler, so it is not abandoned, though it has a much smaller community and ecosystem than Matomo or GA4. It suits organizations that want to own their analytics data outright and are comfortable operating a PHP/MySQL stack, rather than teams wanting a managed product with a support contract.
At a glance
| Vendor | Open Web Analytics (open-source project) |
|---|---|
| Pricing model | Open source + paid options |
| Free tier | — |
| Deployment | Self-hosted |
| Open source | Yes (GPL-2.0) |
| Best for | Organizations that want a self-hosted, fully data-owned analytics platform and can operate a PHP/MySQL server |
Pricing
Free, open-source software with no vendor pricing page; cost is limited to self-hosting infrastructure.
Pricing has not been verified yet — see the vendor's site.
Features
- Pageview and visitor tracking via JavaScript tracker or WordPress plugin
- E-commerce transaction tracking
- Session recordings ("Domstream") and heatmap generation
- Geolocation reporting
- REST API for administration and data access
- Multi-user reporting dashboard
- Extensible module framework
- PHP SDK for custom application instrumentation
Integrations
Profile last reviewed September 21, 2026