Data-driven, not causal. We're the layer GA4 doesn't have.
GA4 ships data-driven attribution, but the method is click and visit-based. It ignores impressions, has no control group, and can't isolate which clicks were causally incremental versus which would have happened anyway. It also runs in parallel with Meta, Google, and TikTok's own self-attribution, which means the same sale is double- or triple-counted across the stack.
Causality Engine adds the causal layer GA4 doesn't have, on the same GA4 export you're already exporting. Per-channel incremental ROAS, confidence intervals, and cross-platform deduplication.
// GA4 answers what does GA4's model assign? → data-driven, click and visit-based, no control group // Causality Engine answers what was actually incremental? → causal inference + confidence intervals on the same data
Same question, different answer. Often the opposite answer.
| Causality Engine | GA4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Method | Causal inference (Bayesian) | Data-driven attribution (click/visit-based) |
| Impressions counted? | Yes (modeled causally) | No (clicks and visits only) |
| Confidence intervals? | Yes | Not surfaced |
| Control group / counterfactual? | Yes (causal identification) | No |
| Cross-platform deduplication? | Yes | No (runs alongside platform self-attribution) |
| Price | €99 per read · €299/mo Pro | Free |
Which one is the right call for your situation.
Use GA4 when
you need free, broad-coverage web analytics: traffic by source, funnel completions, event-level instrumentation. That's GA4's core job and it does it well.
Stack Causality Engine on top when
the question shifts from 'how many visits' to 'which spend caused incremental revenue, with how much confidence.' We run on the GA4 export you're already producing. No new data collection.
GA4 is free and necessary, but it's not the answer to the budget question. A €99 causal read on the same GA4 export turns it into one.
The questions buyers ask about us vs GA4.
- Does Causality Engine replace GA4?
- No. GA4 is your web-analytics layer. We're the causal-attribution layer on top of it. We need GA4 (or comparable) data to run.
- Why do my GA4 attribution numbers disagree with yours?
- Because GA4 credits clicks and visits without a counterfactual. Causal inference removes the sales that would have happened anyway through other channels or organic demand.
- How do I get my GA4 export to you?
- Export the relevant period from GA4 (Explore → free-form, or the standard reports) as a CSV. Upload it at app.causalityengine.ai. The full instructions are in the app.
Every causal vs MTA tool in one row each.
They track clicks. We measure cause. Four of these five tools are pixel or multi-touch-attribution dashboards on an annual contract; they reassign credit for conversions that already happened, and they need a script installed and maintained. Causality Engine measures incrementality, the sales a channel actually caused, from your existing GA4 and Shopify export, no pixel, with confidence intervals, for €99 a read. Different question, different bill, different install.
| Tool | Core method | Causal? | Pixel / SDK? | Time to value | Pricing model | Yr-1 fully loaded | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Causality Engine | Causal inference (Bayesian) on GA4 + Shopify | Yes, native | None | 5–10 min | €99 per read · €299/mo Pro | €99 one-time · €3,588/yr Pro | Credit card, cancel anytime |
| Triple Whale | Pixel + MTA (Clicks & Deterministic Views) | No | Yes (Triple Pixel) | Days (after pixel install and data) | Subscription, GMV tiers | GMV-priced, quote by store size | Not published |
| Northbeam | ML MTA + MMM + incrementality (2026 add-on) | Partial (newer layer) | Yes (script + UTMs) | Weeks (onboarding) | Starter $1,500/mo; Pro/Ent custom quote | $1,500/mo Starter; $3,500/mo Professional; higher tiers quoted | Not published |
| Rockerbox | MTA + MMM + incrementality (enterprise) | Yes (native) | Yes (integration) | Weeks (config + experiments) | Quote only | Quote only, plus onboarding | Not published |
| Hyros | Server-side click tracking + MTA | No | Yes (watcher scripts, heavy) | 2–12 weeks (setup) | Subscription, demo-gated | Quote only, demo-gated | Not published |
| Wicked Reports | First-party click MTA (LTV focus) | No | Yes (pixel + CRM/UTM) | Days to weeks | Revenue-banded: $499 / $699 / $999 / $4,999+ | $499–$999/mo by revenue band | Monthly billing; term not published |
| Cometly | MTA pixel + server-side + CAPI | No | Yes (Comet Pixel + CAPI) | Days (post pixel install) | Usage-based on pageviews; no free trial | Quote only, usage-based | Monthly or annual (annual −20%) |
| Billy Grace | Deep-learning MTA + Unified Marketing Measurement | Modeled, no CIs | Yes (own first-party pixel) | Demo-gated onboarding | Subscription, by ad spend | €499–3,250/mo + €99 integrations | Demo-gated |
| EYKData | Server-side MTA on owned BigQuery (correlation-based) | Quote-only top tier | Yes (GTM + BigQuery + Stape) | Weeks (stack stand-up) | Subscription, by sales | €399–€529+/mo (Advanced = quote) | Subscription |
| Funnel.io | Data integration / ETL platform | Add-on at quote-only top tier | Connectors / warehouse | Weeks (pipeline build) | Base plan + paid Measure add-on | $300–600 base + $2,250/mo Measure (≥$500k spend) | Billed annually |
| Supermetrics | Marketing data pipeline / connectors | No (claims unverified) | Connectors | Hours per source | Per-source subscription | From $44/mo billed annually; Growth from $177/mo | Annual |
| Elevar | Shopify server-side conversion tracking + data layer | No (not attribution) | Yes (data layer install) | 1–2 weeks (setup) | Subscription, by orders | $225–3,000+/mo + $1k–4.5k install | Monthly |
| Fairing | Post-purchase survey (zero-party) | No (self-reported) | Survey widget | Minutes (install) | Subscription, by orders | Plans by order volume; quote on fairing.co | Monthly |
| Google Ads | Self-attributing network, data-driven attribution | No (window-bound, self-mediated) | Native | Built in | Native to ad platform | Free (with the spend) | Native, no contract |
| Meta Ads Manager | Self-attributing, 7-day click + 1-day view default | No (view-through inflates) | Native + Meta Pixel/CAPI | Built in | Native to ad platform | Free (with the spend) | Native, no contract |
| TikTok Ads Manager | Self-attributing, 7-day click + 1-day view | No (passive-feed view-through) | Native + TikTok Pixel | Built in | Native to ad platform | Free (with the spend) | Native, no contract |
| Shopify Marketing Reports | Last-click (last non-direct), rules-based | No (erases assists) | Native | Built in | Included with Shopify | Free (with the plan) | Native, no contract |
| GA4 | Data-driven attribution, click/visit-based | No (ignores impressions, no control group) | Native GA4 tag | Built in | Free | Free | Native, no contract |
Competitor figures are our estimates of a fully loaded monthly cost in EUR, built from each vendor's published pricing (USD where quoted) on the date shown under this table. A tilde or "est." marks an estimate, "reported" marks a figure from a third-party report, and quote-only vendors are marked as such. Prices change often: verify with the vendor before relying on them. Not vendor quotes to us.
Run the side-by-side. Watch the model work on a sample store first, no signup. Then upload your GA4 export and get incremental ROAS with confidence intervals in 5–10 minutes, €99. Refundable if the first read doesn't pay for itself in one reallocation decision. Keep your current tool; use us as the independent causal second opinion.
We're the only one in this table without an ad budget, or a dashboard subscription, to protect.