Should you use Matomo Tag Manager or Google Tag Manager (GTM) with Matomo Analytics?

As more companies seek alternatives to Google Analytics, they must also consider which tag management tool to select. Matomo Tag Manager is the obvious choice when using Matomo Analytics.

A tag manager enables you to manage marketing and analytics tags on the website without modifying your site’s code. This enhances data tracking, improves website speed and simplifies tag management.

Most businesses opt for free Google Tag Manager (GTM) for website tag management due to its advanced features and ease of use, with server-side GTM providing even greater control. 

And, of course, GTM has become the dominant platform because it is so well integrated with Google’s digital advertising and analytics stack.

Most companies never even think about using any other tool for tag management. After all, GTM is free, used by “everyone”, and can be considered an industry standard.

However, for those utilising Matomo Analytics, it might need to be clarified which tool they should use. The choice often narrows to GTM or MTM, as other options (e.g. JENTIS or Tealium) are typically priced for large enterprises, making them inaccessible for SMEs and non-profits.

Why Google Tag Manager (GTM)?

In my experience, most organisations using Matomo Analytics have decided to use also Matomo Tag Manager for implementation.

But there are good reasons to prefer GTM over all-in open-source web analytics.

• Advanced version management: GTM’s version management allows different analysts or teams to develop tracking in separate workspaces. This simplifies teamwork a lot.
• Tag templates: GTM’s built-in tags and custom tag templates make it straightforward to set up tracking with non-GA-tools. These include Matomo Analytics and many advertising and marketing tools.
• Server-Side GTM: Server-side processing enhances privacy and performance by managing data on your server before sending it to third-party tools. This offers better control and security for businesses handling sensitive information.
• User-Friendly and Well-Supported: GTM’s extensive community, frequent updates, and readily available resources make it accessible. Furthermore, third-party software and platforms often support GTM at least relatively well.

To summarise, GTM is an excellent choice for enterprises and companies looking for teamwork capabilities, server-side tracking and comprehensive support.

But, of course, there are valid reasons also to choose MTM.

Why Matomo Tag Manager (MTM)?

Matomo Tag Manager is available in the paid cloud version of Matomo and the open-source community edition.

But how does it stand against GTM? When comparing features, not very well. It often feels like an early beta version of GTM due to its more limited features.

Yet, I recommend Matomo Tag Manager for particular user groups.

• Support open-source development: MTM caters to those who value customisation and transparency, providing complete control over your tagging setup without relying on proprietary software.
• Self-hosted tag manager: MTM’s self-hosting ensures all data processing remains entirely within your control. This makes it suitable for government agencies, cities and critical infrastructure. As far as I know, Matomo Tag Manager is the only self-hosted open source tag management system available. Some enterprise solutions can also be self-hosted.
• Avoid risks of using Google’s stack: Sectors like healthcare or legal services benefit from MTM’s open-source nature. Using an on-premises MTM avoids Google’s ecosystem and helps avoid publicity and regulatory risks.

MTM is ideal for organisations needing privacy and complete control over how the user data is handled by the tag management tool before it is stored in Matomo Analytics.

Unfortunately, there are some critical trade-offs.

What to expect when using MTM?

In this article, I won’t present a detailed list of missing features. 

• Limited online resources: MTM has fewer tutorials, tips, and best practices available online than GTM. Because of this, the learning curve can be steeper, particularly for beginners. Luckily, the tool is also much more straightforward than GTM.
• No concurrent workspaces: Unlike GTM, MTM does not allow for work on multiple versions simultaneously. This makes collaboration more challenging for teams managing tag setups.
• Limited consent mode support: MTM does not directly support the consent modes required by Google’s trackers like Google Ads, complicating efforts to meet privacy compliance.
• Lack of custom templates: MTM offers fewer third-party templates than GTM (no Google Ads tag avaiable!), often necessitating custom JavaScript tags. This can be more complex and riskier, especially for those needing more coding expertise.
• Limited support for GTM dataLayer: An existing GTM dataLayer can be used in some cases, as long as all the data is available at the page view. There is nothing like plug-and-play compatibility of, for example, ecommerce events.

In summary, MTM is a basic tool that requires more hands-on management. It can be used for implementing simple setups. Unfortunately, as the website’s complexity and stakeholder needs grow, analytics engineer’s dissatisfaction and frustration with MTM also grows. 

Conclusion

Technically, GTM remains the best choice for most companies – even those using Matomo Analytics.

In short, I recommend using Matomo Tag Manager for 

• privacy-focused organisations in e.g. healthcare, social services, government, and legal services preferring a self-hosted tag manager
• companies with very straightforward tracking needs and centralised tag management
• organisations able to dedicate resources to open source development or custom development.

When serverside Tag Management is needed, e.g. because of privacy enhancements, one needs to look at serverside GTM or its competitors (e.g. JENTIS). For companies with a limited digital analytics budget, ssGTM is probably the best option.

FAQ