Northbeam vs Cometly
Northbeam is best for DTC brands scaling paid media, from Shopify Starter up to enterprise. Cometly is best for B2B SaaS teams (Stripe- and CRM-native), not primarily ecommerce. If what you need is what each channel caused, there is a third option: a causal read of the GA4 export you already have.
€99 once, excl. VAT. Keep either one; use us as the causal second opinion.
Side by side. Every fact sourced.
Short answer: Northbeam uses machine-learning multi-touch attribution and Cometly uses first-party pixel + server-side tracking. Causality Engine is compatible with all of them: it installs nothing and reads the GA4 export you already have, so it adds a read of what each channel caused on top of whichever you keep, for €99.
Scroll the table sideways for every column.
| Compared on | Causality EngineThe layer on top | NorthbeamMulti-touch attribution for scaling DTC brands | CometlyAttribution built for B2B SaaS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compatible with Causality Engine | It is the layerReads your GA4 export | YesKeep Northbeam, add the read | YesKeep Cometly, add the read |
| Pay once, no subscription | Yes€99 per read; Pro at €299 a month is optional | Subscription$1,500/mo (Starter) | Subscription$750/mo |
| Price stays flat as you grow | Yes€99 a read, whatever your revenue or ad spend | NoPriced on your ad spend | NoPriced on your traffic or events |
| Money back if it does not help | YesFull refund within 30 days, no questions asked | Fees are non-refundable1 | Fees are non-refundable2 |
| Method | Causal inference on your GA4 export | Machine-learning multi-touch attribution | First-party pixel + server-side tracking |
| Starting price | €99 once, excl. VAT | $1,500/mo (Starter)northbeam.io/pricing, read | $750/mocometly.com/affiliates, read |
| Pricing model | €99 per read, or Pro at €299 a month | Plans by ad spend: Starter $1,500 (under $1.5M a year), Professional $3,500 a month, Growth and Enterprise quoted; price informed by pageviews | Usage-based on monthly pageviews and quoted on a call, with Core starting at $750/mo; monthly or annual billing; no free trial |
| Setup | Upload a GA4 export; results in 1 to 2 minutes | Managed onboarding via integration | Guided onboarding (no self-serve trial) |
| Best for | Ecommerce brands on GA4 spending on two or more channels | DTC brands scaling paid media, from Shopify Starter up to enterprise | B2B SaaS teams (Stripe- and CRM-native), not primarily ecommerce |
| How it gets your data | |||
| Needs its own pixel, tag or SDK | NoNothing to install | Yes3 | Yes4 |
| Works with Google Analytics 4 | YesA GA4 export is the input | Not stated | Not stated |
| Native store integrations | Any store that runs GA4Shopify, WooCommerce, Shopware, Magento or a custom build | Shopify, Amazon5 | Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento / Adobe Commerce, Wix6 |
| Server-side tracking or conversion APIs | NoIt reads data you already collect | Yes7 | Yes8 |
| What it measures | |||
| Multi-touch attribution | NoCausal attribution: what each channel caused | Yes9 | Yes10 |
| Marketing mix modelling | No | Yes11 | Not stated |
| Incrementality or holdout tests | NoNo test to run | Yes12 | Not stated |
| Post-purchase surveys | No | Not stated | Not stated |
| How you buy it | |||
| Self-serve sign-up | YesUpload at /start | No13 | Not stated |
| Free trial or free plan | First finding freeThe €99 read is refundable within 30 days | Demo only14 | No free trial15 |
| Billing terms | None for the readPro is billed monthly, cancel any time | Monthly on Starter; annual on Professional and Enterprise16 | Monthly or annual17 |
| Who makes it | |||
| Headquarters | Utrecht, Netherlands | San Francisco, United States18 | Newtown, United States19 |
| Founded | 2023 | 201920 | 202121 |
| States EU data hosting | YesPrimary infrastructure in the EU, per our privacy policy | Not stated | Not stated |
| What reviewers say | |||
| G2 | Not listed yet | Not stated | Not stated |
| Capterra | Not listed yet | 3.5 stars (2 reviews)22 | Not stated |
| Shopify App Store | No appNothing to install | Not stated | Not stated |
Causality Engine installs nothing on your site. It reads the GA4 export you already have, so it runs on top of any tool here without touching its setup. The one condition: GA4 runs on your store too. “Not stated” means we could not find it on the vendor's own pages or listings on 12 October 2026; it does not mean the feature is missing.
Sources, read 12 October 2026
- 1. northbeam.io/terms-conditions: “Except as expressly set forth herein or in an Order Form or SOW, all Fees are fully earned and non-refundable when due.”
- 2. cometly.com/terms: “All fees, including subscription fees, overage charges, and Add-On fees, are non-refundable unless otherwise required by applicable law or expressly agreed in writing by Cometly.”
- 3. docs.northbeam.io/docs/non-shopify-installation: “1. Install the Northbeam Pixel | Visits and page views on every page | Required … The pixel must run on every page of your site.”
- 4. help.cometly.com/en/articles/10340439-install-verify-cometly-pixel: “This pixel must be placed in the <head> section of every website that you want to track.”
- 5. docs.northbeam.io/docs/integrations-and-utms: “Northbeam has native integrations with: … Amazon Seller”
- 6. cometly.com/integrations: “Shopify … WooCommerce … Track Wix form submissions and store purchases … Pipe BigCommerce orders into Cometly attribution … Track Magento purchases”
- 7. docs.northbeam.io/docs/northbeam-apex: “The current version of Apex sends order-level data to Meta via CAPI and is the foundation for active Meta-side optimization.”
- 8. cometly.com/pricing: “Both plans include unlimited connections to Meta, Google, LinkedIn, TikTok, Microsoft, Reddit, and Snapchat, including server-side Conversion API.”
- 9. northbeam.io/pricing: “Independent, first-party multi-touch attribution across all your ad channels”
- 10. cometly.com/pricing: “Core … Pixel Server-Side Tracking Multi-Touch Attribution Events”
- 11. northbeam.io/pricing: “Media mix modeling made fast, easy, and flexible.”
- 12. northbeam.io/products/incrementality: “Save time and money with Northbeam's easy-to-set-up and laser-accurate incrementality testing.”
- 13. northbeam.io/pricing: “Contact us for a quote … book a demo”
- 14. northbeam.io/pricing: “book a demo”
- 15. cometly.com/pricing: “We don't run a free trial because attribution requires CRM and ad-platform setup to be useful.”
- 16. northbeam.io/pricing: “Our Starter plan offers month-to-month usage-based pricing … our Professional and Enterprise plans are annual terms with annual, or semi-annual billing”
- 17. cometly.com/pricing: “Core and Enterprise are both available on monthly or annual billing. Pay annually and save 20%.”
- 18. linkedin.com/company/northbeam: “Headquarters San Francisco”
- 19. linkedin.com/company/cometly: “Headquarters Newtown, Pennsylvania”
- 20. northbeam.io/about-us: “Since our founding in 2019”
- 21. linkedin.com/company/cometly: “Founded 2021”
- 22. capterra.com/p/10003962/Northbeam: “3.5 (2) … Overall rating Based on 2 user reviews”
Competitor pricing is each vendor's publicly listed pricing as read on the date shown, and it changes without notice: verify on the vendor's own site before relying on it. Vendors without a public price are marked as such. Comparisons set Causality Engine's one-time €99 analysis against subscription models.
Where Northbeam falls short
- $1,500/mo Starter minimum; Professional is $3,500/mo and Enterprise is quoted via sales
- Professional and Enterprise are annual terms
- Vendor's own FAQ notes figures “may not line up with the numbers you see in Meta Ads Manager”
- Multi-touch correlation, not causal measurement
Where Cometly falls short
- Requires the Comet Pixel plus server-side setup
- No free trial, vendor cites required CRM and ad-platform setup
- Pixel, webhook and click-ID setup required per store
- Multi-touch tracking, not causal measurement
Keep reading
Four named Dutch brands and our own store, with the figures they let us publish: the case studies.
GA4 export uploadNo pixel1–2 minutes to a first read30-day refund, no questions asked
Your platforms guess.
We run the math.
Upload a GA4 export and see what each channel caused, next to last-click, in 1–2 minutes. The read is yours to keep.
The free finding runs in your browser. Your file never leaves it. The full read is €99, refundable within 30 days, no questions asked. Prices exclude VAT.