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Piwik PRO alternative
Piwik PRO moved to one paid plan. Hitsteps keeps live visitors on Free.
Piwik PRO retired its free Core plan in 2025 and now lists one paid Business plan starting at EUR 36 a month (piwik.pro, checked 7 Nov 2026). Hitsteps keeps a free plan with a live visitor view, and adds click heatmaps and visitor chat on its paid plans.
This page sets out what each tool lists, checked on 7 November 2026, and what changed when Piwik PRO retired its free tier: the free plan, live visitors, chat and click heatmaps under each pricing model.
Product proof
Understand your visitors. Take action with confidence.
Use it when you need live visitor context, practical installation routes, and action tools around the traffic you already have.
Works where your site already lives
WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Google Tag Manager, HTML, CMS, commerce, browser, and desktop setup paths are documented from one hub.
From tracking hit to next action
Live dashboard, visitor profiles, heatmaps, chat, Segments, uptime, reports, and alerts stay connected after tracking is installed.
Piwik PRO retired its free plan
Piwik PRO's free Core plan migrated to its paid Business plan in 2025. Its new pricing post announced the transition in July 2025, with the new pricing effective from August 2025, and its pricing page lists paid plans with no free tier (checked 7 November 2026).
The Business plan starts at EUR 36 a month, and the final amount depends on the domains you manage and the data you collect. Subscription fees increase by 4% each year on your subscription anniversary, and a 30-day trial is available (piwik.pro business plan page, checked 7 November 2026).
The Hitsteps Free plan stays available: 1 site, up to 2,000 pageviews a month and 14 days of history, with a live visitor view. Visitor chat starts on Starter at $4.99 a month, and click heatmaps start on Growth at $9.99 a month.
Live visitors as they browse
Hitsteps shows who is on your site right now. On Free you can open an active visit and follow its page path as it happens. See real-time visitor tracking.
Piwik PRO documents real-time dashboards on paid plans, updated every 10 to 30 seconds with a 5 to 60 minute lookback (real-time dashboards help page, checked 7 November 2026). It documents heatmaps, clickmaps and scrollmaps in its Site inspector Chrome extension and session recordings through a Smartlook integration, and its own pages do not list visitor chat (help.piwik.pro and piwik.pro, checked 7 November 2026).
Hitsteps lists click heatmaps from Growth and visitor chat from Starter, so a visit can include the pages viewed, the elements clicked and a conversation at the moment it happens.
Hitsteps vs Piwik PRO: key differences
| Need | Hitsteps | Piwik PRO |
|---|---|---|
| Live visitors as they browse | Yes: open an active visit and follow its page path as it happens. | Piwik PRO documents real-time dashboards on paid plans, refreshed every 10 to 30 seconds with a lookback of 5 to 60 minutes (help.piwik.pro, checked 7 Nov 2026). |
| Click heatmaps | Yes, from the Growth plan. | Piwik PRO documents heatmaps, clickmaps and scrollmaps in its Site inspector Chrome extension (help.piwik.pro, checked 7 Nov 2026). |
| Live chat with visitors | Yes, from the Starter plan. | Not listed on Piwik PRO's own pages (piwik.pro, checked 7 Nov 2026). |
| Free plan | Yes: 1 site, up to 2,000 pageviews/month, 14 days of history. | No current free plan: Piwik PRO retired its free Core plan and lists one paid Business plan starting at EUR 36 a month (piwik.pro, checked 7 Nov 2026). |
Piwik PRO vs Hitsteps at a glance
| Question | Hitsteps | Piwik PRO |
|---|---|---|
| Where are visitors recorded? | On Hitsteps servers. The tracking code records each visit in your Hitsteps account. | On Piwik PRO (SaaS) or on your own infrastructure, depending on the deployment. |
| Can I watch visitors live? | Yes, on Free: open an active visit and follow its page path as it happens. | Piwik PRO documents real-time dashboards on paid plans, refreshed every 10 to 30 seconds with a 5 to 60 minute lookback (help.piwik.pro, checked 7 Nov 2026). |
| Click heatmaps and chats? | Click heatmaps from Growth at $9.99 a month, and visitor chat from Starter at $4.99 a month. | Heatmaps, clickmaps and scrollmaps are documented in its Site inspector Chrome extension (help.piwik.pro, checked 7 Nov 2026). Visitor chat is not listed on Piwik PRO's own pages (piwik.pro, checked 7 Nov 2026). |
| How long is history kept? | Free keeps 14 days. Paid plans keep 30 days on Starter, up to 360 days on Business. | Piwik PRO lists 25 months of data retention on its Business plan (piwik.pro, checked 7 Nov 2026). |
| What does it cost? | Free: up to 2,000 pageviews a month, 1 site and 14 days of history. Paid plans from $4.99 a month. New accounts get a 7-day Pro trial, no card needed. | One paid Business plan starting at EUR 36 a month, with the final price depending on domains and data volume (piwik.pro, checked 7 Nov 2026). |
| Where does the plan sit? | Free stays available alongside Starter, Growth, Pro, Business and Scale paid plans. | The Business plan is the entry paid tier, with Enterprise tiers listed above it (piwik.pro, checked 7 Nov 2026). |
| Which sites does it work on? | WordPress, Shopify and any website where you can add a tracking code. | Websites where you can add its tracking code or connect a tag manager. |
Piwik PRO facts checked on 7 November 2026 against its pricing page, business plan page, new pricing post and real-time dashboards help page. Piwik PRO is a trademark of its owner. Piwik PRO is not affiliated with and does not endorse Hitsteps.
Piwik PRO and Hitsteps pricing
Piwik PRO lists a Business plan starting at EUR 36 a month with Enterprise tiers above it, and its pricing page shows no free tier (checked 7 November 2026). Hitsteps lists paid plans in USD billed monthly, starting at $4.99 a month for Starter, with a free plan below them.
| Piwik PRO | Hitsteps, USD billed monthly |
|---|---|
| Business from EUR 36 a month, with Enterprise tiers above it. The final price depends on domains and data volume, and subscription fees increase by 4% each year on the subscription anniversary (piwik.pro, checked 7 November 2026). | Free: $0 for up to 2,000 pageviews a month, 1 site and 14 days of history. Starter $4.99, Growth $9.99, Pro $21.99, Business $49.99 and Scale $99.99 a month, with higher tiers up to Enterprise at $449.99. |
The columns show each product on its own terms and currency. Rows do not pair equivalent plans: Piwik PRO lists paid Business and Enterprise tiers, while Hitsteps keeps a Free plan and paid tiers.
The Hitsteps USD billed monthly plan limits are:
| Hitsteps plan | Price per month, USD | Pageviews per month | Sites | History | Selected plan features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | up to 2,000 | 1 | 14 days | Live visitor view |
| Starter | $4.99 | 10,000 | 2 | 30 days | 1 chat agent, 3 goals |
| Growth | $9.99 | 50,000 | 5 | 60 days | Click heatmaps, 3 chat agents |
| Pro | $21.99 | 500,000 | 30 | 180 days | Uptime monitoring, funnels |
| Business | $49.99 | 1,000,000 | 100 | 360 days | Higher allowances |
| Scale | $99.99 | 12,000,000 | 400 | 360 days | Higher allowances |
There are higher tiers beyond Scale, up to Enterprise at $449.99 a month.
Review current plans and trial terms. New Hitsteps accounts get a 7-day Pro trial with no card needed.
What each option gives you
What Hitsteps adds
Use Hitsteps when you want a free plan with a live visitor view, or click heatmaps and visitor chat as your site grows. Your visit history stays in your Hitsteps account, and new accounts get a 7-day Pro trial, no card needed. The trade offs: you need an account, your visit data is stored by Hitsteps, and Free has a pageview limit. Like any analytics script, it can be blocked by ad blockers, so check it by watching your own visit arrive in the live view.
What Piwik PRO lists
Paid Business plans starting at EUR 36 a month, Enterprise tiers above them, real-time dashboards on paid plans and a pricing page with no free tier. It documents heatmaps in its Site inspector Chrome extension and session recordings through a Smartlook integration; its own pages do not list visitor chat (help.piwik.pro and piwik.pro, checked 7 November 2026).
Test Hitsteps next to Piwik PRO in five minutes
1. Create a Hitsteps account and add your website. 2. Install the WordPress plugin and connect it with your site API key, or paste the tracking code into your site. 3. Open your site in a private window and watch your own visit arrive in the live visitor view.
You can keep a Piwik PRO account while you test, because the two tools run separate tracking codes. The numbers will not match exactly: each tool counts visitors and sessions in its own way.
New accounts get a 7-day Pro trial, no card needed. After the trial, stay on Free with a verified email and a site within the Free limits, or choose a paid plan. Chat starts on Starter; click heatmaps start on Growth.
Comparing other analytics tools? Read the Matomo comparison, the Plausible comparison and the Fathom comparison, or browse all analytics comparisons.
Frequently asked questions
Why did Piwik PRO end its free plan?
Piwik PRO's free Core plan migrated to its paid Business plan in 2025. Its new pricing post announced the transition in July 2025, and its pricing page lists paid Business and Enterprise plans with no free tier (checked 7 November 2026).
Is there a free Piwik PRO alternative with live visitors?
Yes. Hitsteps Free includes a live visitor view for 1 site, up to 2,000 pageviews a month and 14 days of history. Click heatmaps start on Growth at $9.99 a month and visitor chat starts on Starter at $4.99 a month. New accounts get a 7-day Pro trial, no card needed.
Does Piwik PRO offer click heatmaps or chat?
Piwik PRO documents heatmaps, clickmaps and scrollmaps in its Site inspector Chrome extension, and session recordings through a Smartlook integration (help.piwik.pro, checked 7 November 2026). Its own pages do not list visitor chat (piwik.pro, checked 7 November 2026). Hitsteps lists click heatmaps from the Growth plan and visitor chat from the Starter plan.
Can I run Hitsteps and Piwik PRO at the same time?
Yes. They use separate tracking codes, so you can keep both while you compare. The numbers will not match exactly, because each tool counts visitors and sessions in its own way.
How much does Piwik PRO cost now?
Piwik PRO lists a Business plan starting at EUR 36 a month, with the final price depending on domains and data volume, and Enterprise tiers above it. Its pricing page shows no free tier (piwik.pro, checked 7 November 2026).
Related comparisons
Comparing more than two tools? Read the Matomo comparison, the Plausible comparison and the Fathom comparison.