Northbeam lets you build dashboards, and its documentation even describes asking ChatGPT to list them through its MCP server. But those dashboards are built around Northbeam’s attribution data. When a team says it needs custom reporting, it usually means something wider: a weekly report that combines attributed performance with margin, inventory, or retention, or a board summary that pulls marketing and the rest of the business into one view. That is not what Northbeam is for, and paying from $1,500 a month on Starter for a tool your finance team still exports from is a common frustration.
These five handle custom reporting from different angles, with pricing from each vendor’s own page. Some replace Northbeam, and some sit next to it.
Polar Analytics
Polar Analytics is the most complete custom reporting platform here. It offers custom dashboards and metrics on a semantic layer, so a metric defined once means the same thing in every report, and it pulls in store, ad, marketplace, and other business data. For teams that want marketing and finance reporting from one governed source, it is the strongest fit. Pricing is not listed on the website, so you will need a demo to get a number.
ThoughtMetric
ThoughtMetric handles custom reporting on attributed performance without SQL. (Disclosure: ThoughtMetric sponsors this site.) Reports can be cut by any combination of channel, campaign, ad, product, SKU, discount code, country, and UTM fields, with metrics like MER, new-customer ROAS, and cost per new-customer order. For one-off reports, its AI Connectors let you ask Claude or ChatGPT for a specific breakdown in plain language and get it from defined metrics. Pricing starts at $99 a month for 50,000 pageviews with every feature included and a 14-day trial. It does not model view-through conversions like Northbeam, and it has no SQL editor.
Triple Whale
Triple Whale is the option for teams with an analyst who wants to write queries. Its paid plans include a BI layer with custom metrics, cohorts, and a SQL editor on top of its attribution and store data. Foundation starts at $219 a month on its Shopify listing, scaling with GMV on a 12-month subscription. Its attribution does not model ad views with Northbeam’s structure, so heavy video advertisers give something up on the measurement side.
Looker Studio with Supermetrics
The build-your-own route, and the one that pairs most naturally with Northbeam. Looker Studio is free, and Supermetrics lists its Looker Studio Starter plan at $44 a month billed yearly or $55 monthly, with three accounts per data source. You can combine ad platform data, Shopify, and spreadsheets in any layout. Keep in mind that the ad numbers will be platform-reported, so for attributed figures you would export from your attribution tool rather than rely on the connectors.
Report Pundit
Report Pundit covers the store-data side that media tools ignore, like sales by product, discounts, refunds, inventory, and tax. Its own site says pricing is based on your Shopify plan, from $9 a month on Basic up to $60 at the top. It does not touch ad spend. For a brand that keeps Northbeam for media and just needs reliable operational reports next to it, this is the cheapest addition.
Build the report list first
Before choosing, write down the five or six reports you actually need every week or month and who reads each one. Most teams find that two of them are attribution reports, two are store reports, and one combines them. That list usually makes the choice obvious, and it stops you buying a BI platform to produce one board slide. I listed the reports I think are worth building in the custom reports worth building.
Picking one
- Want marketing and business reporting from one governed source? Polar Analytics.
- Want custom cuts of attributed performance without SQL at a published price? ThoughtMetric (our sponsor).
- Have an analyst who writes SQL? Triple Whale’s paid BI layer.
- Keeping Northbeam and want full layout control? Looker Studio with Supermetrics.
- Keeping Northbeam and need store reports next to it? Report Pundit.
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