Enterprise measurement stack. Or a causal read by lunch.
Northbeam is a serious, defensible measurement platform for scaling and mid-market DTC: ML multi-touch attribution, Media Mix Modeling, and (since April 2026) native incrementality, all on the same data. For a brand with a serious paid budget and an analyst to drive it, it's one of the best budget-allocation engines on the market (≈4.5 out of 5 on G2).
The catch is the shape of the commitment: a tracking script, heavy UTM discipline, a multi-week onboarding, published Starter and Professional prices of $1,500 and $3,500 a month with higher tiers quoted, and contract terms that are not published. Reviewers are consistent that smaller spenders don't generate enough data to use it well, and that it's underpowered without a skilled operator.
// Northbeam answers what credit does the model assign? → ML MTA + MMM + incrementality layer // Causality Engine answers what spend actually caused the sale? → causal inference, one read, no ramp-up
Same question, different answer. Often the opposite answer.
| Causality Engine | Northbeam | |
|---|---|---|
| Method | Causal inference (one model, one read) | ML MTA + MMM + incrementality add-on |
| Setup | GA4 export upload, 5–10 min | Script + UTM hygiene + multi-week onboarding |
| Price | €99 per read · €299/mo Pro | $1,500/mo Starter; $3,500/mo Professional; higher tiers quoted |
| Fits | Any GA4 ecommerce brand | Larger paid budgets with an analyst |
| Time to value | Minutes, on history you already have | 30–90 days post-kickoff |
Which one is the right call for your situation.
Choose Northbeam when
you're a large, sophisticated spender who wants continuous MTA + MMM + incrementality managed in one platform. You have the analyst capacity and UTM discipline to feed it, and the budget to justify a five-figure annual line.
Choose Causality Engine when
you want the incrementality answer without the incrementality project. Last quarter is already in GA4, so you get a causal read in minutes for €99, not a 90-day ramp. Also the right call for smaller brands Northbeam isn't built for, and for anyone who wants a fast, independent causal check before signing (or renewing) a $1,500-a-month subscription.
Before committing to $1,500 a month and a multi-week onboarding, spend €99 to see whether the causal numbers move a single budget decision. If they don't, full refund.
The questions buyers ask about us vs Northbeam.
- Is this a cheaper Northbeam alternative?
- For the incrementality question, yes: pay-per-read, no onboarding. Northbeam's continuous MTA + MMM stack is broader if you have the spend and team for it.
- Do you need UTMs set up perfectly?
- No. We model on GA4 and Shopify history; no UTM-tagging project required.
- Can I use both?
- Yes. Many run Causality Engine as the fast, independent causal sanity-check on Northbeam's allocation.
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.
Northbeam pricing read from northbeam.io/pricing on 2026-09-08.
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.