Triple Whale and Northbeam are the two names that come up first when a Shopify brand outgrows Ads Manager and GA4. They get compared as if they were the same product. In practice they are built around different ideas. Triple Whale is a platform: a pixel, dashboards, AI, creative tools and attribution in one login. Northbeam is a measurement tool built around its own attribution models, and most of what you pay for is the model.
I have seen brands pick either one for the wrong reason, usually because a peer uses it. The better question is what you need to decide each week and how your spend is structured. Here is how they differ on the things that affect that.
The short version
| Triple Whale | Northbeam | ThoughtMetric (sponsor) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing basis | Annual GMV plus the package you choose | Usage on Starter, flat rates above it | Monthly pageviews |
| Entry point | Free plan with first and last click | $1,500 a month for Starter | $99 a month |
| Terms | Annual prepay locks your GMV tier | Starter month-to-month for Shopify, annual above | Monthly or annual |
| Default lens | Multi-touch models with configurable windows | Clicks-Only, which removes credit from bottom-funnel touches | Multi-touch, split by new and returning |
| Beyond attribution | Dashboards, SQL, surveys, creative and AI tools | View-through modeling and signals for ad algorithms | Surveys, Conversion API, product and customer reports |
How they price
Triple Whale prices on two things: your annual GMV and the package you pick. Its paid plans are Foundation, Automate and Enterprise, and its pricing page says paying annually locks your GMV tier for the year and gives two months free. There is also a free plan with first- and last-click attribution, which is a real option for a small store that mostly wants a cleaner dashboard.
Northbeam prices on ad spend and data volume. Starter is listed at $1,500 a month for brands spending less than $1.5 million a year on ads, and the page describes it as month-to-month usage-based pricing for Shopify brands. Professional is $3,500 a month for brands spending up to $500,000 a month, and it adds support for any e-commerce platform, not just Shopify. Professional and Enterprise are annual terms.
The practical difference: Triple Whale gets more expensive as your revenue grows, and Northbeam gets more expensive as your ad spend and traffic grow. A brand with a big retention base and modest ads pays relatively less on Northbeam. A brand that spends heavily against modest revenue pays relatively less on Triple Whale.
How they credit a sale
This is the part that changes your decisions. Northbeam’s default view is its Clicks-Only model, which its docs describe as linear credit across touchpoints that excludes direct, branded search, email and SMS when another touchpoint exists. That deliberately pushes credit toward prospecting. Its Clicks + Views models add view-through credit for channels like Meta and video, and the docs note Clicks-Only needs one to two weeks of data and Clicks + Views about 30 days.
Triple Whale’s Foundation plan includes multi-touch attribution through the Triple Pixel with configurable windows, alongside post-purchase surveys and influencer and affiliate tracking. You can choose the lens. That flexibility is useful, and it also means two people on the same team can pull different numbers unless you agree on one model.
What you get beyond attribution
Triple Whale’s help center lists dashboards, SQL, segments, first-party data activation to Meta, Google, TikTok and Klaviyo, and its Moby AI on Foundation, with automations, Creative Studio and landing pages on Automate. Enterprise adds Compass for marketing mix modeling and incrementality testing, and Triple Whale says that tier is generally designed for brands above $10 million in GMV.
Northbeam is narrower. Starter includes multi-touch attribution, dashboards, view-through attribution, Northbeam Apex for feeding custom attribution to ad delivery algorithms, and access to its MCP. If you want one tool to replace your dashboards and your creative reporting, Triple Whale covers more. If you want a stricter read on which paid channels acquire customers, Northbeam is more opinionated.
The third option
ThoughtMetric is an e-commerce attribution tool for Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, BigCommerce and custom stores. (Disclosure: ThoughtMetric sponsors this site.) It sits below both on price. Pricing starts at $99 a month based on pageviews, every feature is on every plan, and there is no GMV meter. It reports multi-touch attribution split into new and returning customers, runs “how did you hear about us” surveys, and sends conversions back to Meta and Google through its Conversion API. It does not do marketing mix modeling, so if you need MMM, that points back to Triple Whale Enterprise or a dedicated tool. More in our three-way comparison of the sponsor against Triple Whale and Northbeam.
Before either demo, read Is Triple Whale’s attribution accurate? and Is Northbeam’s attribution accurate?
FAQs
Is Triple Whale cheaper than Northbeam?
Usually at lower spend, yes. Triple Whale has a free plan and prices on GMV, while Northbeam’s Starter is listed at $1,500 a month. At high revenue with modest ad spend the gap can narrow or flip, so get both quotes at your actual numbers.
Does Northbeam require an annual contract?
Not on Starter for Shopify brands, which Northbeam describes as month-to-month and usage-based. Professional and Enterprise are annual terms.
Why do Triple Whale and Northbeam report different numbers for the same campaign?
They use different default models. Northbeam’s Clicks-Only removes credit from email, SMS, direct and branded search when other touches exist, so prospecting looks stronger. Compare them on the same model and window before deciding one is wrong.
Is there a cheaper alternative to both?
Yes. ThoughtMetric, this site’s sponsor, starts at $99 a month on pageviews with every feature included. It is a better fit for brands that need multi-touch attribution and surveys than for brands that need MMM.
Picking one
- Want one platform for dashboards, surveys, creative and AI on Shopify? Triple Whale.
- Want a strict, prospecting-first view of paid media with month-to-month Starter terms? Northbeam.
- Want multi-touch attribution and surveys without GMV pricing? ThoughtMetric (our sponsor).
- Need MMM and incrementality testing in the same contract? Triple Whale Enterprise.
- Not sure? Run both demos with the same week of orders and compare one campaign line by line.
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