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Google Analytics has been the default analytics tool for over a decade, but marketers running paid campaigns across multiple platforms are discovering its limitations. When iOS privacy updates decimated cookie-based tracking and cross-platform attribution became essential, many teams found GA4's last-click model couldn't answer the critical question: which ads actually drive revenue?
This guide compares Google Analytics against purpose-built attribution platforms, helping you understand when free analytics is enough—and when you need specialized tools to track the full customer journey and optimize ad spend with confidence.
Best for: Marketers running multi-platform campaigns who need AI-powered insights and accurate cross-platform attribution
Cometly is an AI-powered marketing attribution platform that connects your ad platforms, CRM, and website to track the entire customer journey and provide actionable optimization recommendations.
Cometly addresses the core challenge that GA4 struggles with: accurately tracking conversions across multiple ad platforms when cookies are unreliable. Its server-side tracking captures data that browser-based tools miss, giving you a complete view of the customer journey even after iOS privacy changes.
The platform's AI analyzes your attribution data to identify high-performing ads and campaigns across every channel, then provides specific recommendations for scaling what works. This moves beyond basic reporting into actionable intelligence that directly impacts your budget decisions.
AI Ads Manager: Automatically identifies top-performing campaigns and provides scaling recommendations based on actual revenue attribution.
Server-Side Tracking: Captures conversion data directly from your server, bypassing browser limitations and ad blockers for iOS-proof accuracy.
Multi-Touch Attribution: Compare attribution models (first-click, last-click, linear, time-decay) to understand which touchpoints truly drive conversions.
Conversion Sync: Feeds enriched conversion data back to Meta, Google, and other ad platforms to improve their algorithm optimization.
Real-Time Analytics Dashboard: Monitor campaign performance across all channels in one unified view with up-to-the-minute data.
Digital marketing teams and agencies managing significant ad budgets across multiple platforms who need accurate attribution to make confident scaling decisions. Particularly valuable for businesses affected by iOS tracking limitations or running complex customer journeys with multiple touchpoints before conversion.
Custom pricing based on ad spend volume. Demo available to explore features and discuss pricing tailored to your specific needs.
Best for: Businesses needing free website analytics with basic conversion tracking and Google Ads integration
Google Analytics 4 is Google's latest analytics platform featuring event-based tracking, audience insights, and basic conversion attribution for understanding website traffic and user behavior.
GA4 excels at what it was designed for: comprehensive website traffic analysis at no cost. Its event-based tracking model provides flexibility in measuring user interactions, and the native Google Ads integration makes it seamless to track campaigns within Google's ecosystem.
For businesses with straightforward conversion paths and primarily Google-based advertising, GA4 delivers solid insights without requiring additional investment. The audience building features let you create segments for remarketing, and exploration reports offer customizable analysis for deeper dives into user behavior.
Event-Based Tracking: Flexible measurement model that tracks any user interaction as an event rather than rigid pageviews.
Google Ads Integration: Native connection to Google Ads for seamless campaign tracking and audience export.
Audience Building: Create custom segments based on user behavior and export them directly to Google Ads for targeting.
Exploration Reports: Customizable analysis tools including funnel visualization, path analysis, and cohort reports.
Cross-Device Tracking: Attempts to connect user journeys across devices when users are signed into Google accounts.
Small businesses and startups with limited budgets, companies primarily advertising on Google Ads, or any business that needs basic website analytics without complex multi-platform attribution requirements. Also suitable as a complementary tool alongside dedicated attribution platforms.
Free for most businesses. GA360 enterprise version available with custom pricing for organizations requiring higher data limits and SLA guarantees.
Best for: Shopify store owners who need profit tracking and creative performance analysis in one dashboard
Triple Whale is an attribution and analytics platform built specifically for Shopify stores, combining revenue attribution with profit tracking and creative analysis.
Triple Whale understands ecommerce metrics that generic analytics tools miss. Its native Shopify integration pulls product costs, shipping expenses, and transaction fees automatically, giving you true profit numbers rather than just revenue. This distinction matters when you're trying to understand actual ROI, not just top-line sales.
The creative performance analysis stands out by connecting specific ad creatives to revenue, helping you identify which images and videos actually convert. The benchmarking feature compares your metrics against similar-sized Shopify stores, giving context to your performance numbers.
Native Shopify Integration: Automatically syncs orders, products, costs, and customer data without manual setup.
Profit and Loss Tracking: Calculates true profit by accounting for COGS, shipping, fees, and returns—not just revenue.
Creative Performance Analysis: Tracks which ad creatives drive revenue across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms.
Customer Journey Visualization: Shows the complete path from first click to purchase across all marketing touchpoints.
Store Benchmarking: Compare your metrics against anonymized data from similar Shopify stores to gauge performance.
Shopify store owners running paid advertising across multiple platforms who need to understand profitability, not just sales. Particularly valuable for brands testing multiple creatives and needing clear data on what's working.
Plans start at $129/month. Pricing scales based on monthly orders and features needed.
Best for: Enterprise brands needing media mix modeling and incrementality testing alongside attribution
Northbeam is an enterprise attribution platform that combines multi-touch attribution with media mix modeling and incrementality testing to provide comprehensive marketing measurement.
Northbeam takes attribution beyond simple touchpoint tracking by incorporating statistical modeling that accounts for factors traditional attribution misses. Media mix modeling helps you understand how different channels work together, while incrementality testing reveals which campaigns actually caused conversions versus those that would have happened anyway.
The platform's long lookback windows capture extended customer journeys that other tools truncate, critical for brands with consideration periods spanning weeks or months. Enterprise-grade data infrastructure handles massive data volumes without performance degradation.
Media Mix Modeling: Statistical analysis that measures channel effectiveness and interaction effects across your entire marketing mix.
Incrementality Testing: Runs controlled experiments to determine which campaigns truly drive incremental conversions.
Extended Lookback Windows: Tracks customer journeys over weeks or months, not just the standard 7-30 day windows.
Custom Attribution Models: Build attribution models tailored to your specific business and customer journey characteristics.
Enterprise Data Infrastructure: Handles high data volumes with dedicated infrastructure and security compliance.
Large brands and enterprises with substantial marketing budgets across multiple channels who need sophisticated measurement beyond basic attribution. Companies with long sales cycles or complex customer journeys particularly benefit from the extended tracking capabilities.
Custom enterprise pricing based on data volume and features required. Contact for demo and pricing consultation.
Best for: Info product businesses and high-ticket sales with long cycles and phone consultations
Hyros is an attribution platform specializing in businesses with longer sales cycles, particularly those selling high-ticket products, courses, and services that involve phone calls.
Hyros solves attribution challenges that most platforms ignore: tracking conversions that happen over the phone or after weeks of nurturing. Its call tracking with attribution connects phone sales back to the original ad click, essential for businesses where the final conversion happens off-platform.
The platform's AI optimization analyzes long sales cycles to identify patterns that predict eventual conversions, helping you optimize for leads that actually close rather than just initial form fills. Deep funnel analytics show how prospects move through extended nurture sequences before purchasing.
Call Tracking Attribution: Connects phone sales back to the original ad source, tracking the complete journey from click to call.
Long Sales Cycle Tracking: Maintains attribution over weeks or months of nurturing before final conversion.
Print Tracking: Attributes direct mail and print advertising to digital touchpoints for omnichannel campaigns.
AI Ad Optimization: Identifies which ads drive eventual high-value conversions, not just immediate clicks.
Deep Funnel Analytics: Tracks prospect movement through webinars, application funnels, and sales calls.
Coaches, consultants, course creators, and B2B businesses selling high-ticket products or services with sales processes involving multiple touchpoints, phone calls, and extended consideration periods.
Plans start at $99/month. Higher tiers available based on traffic volume and advanced features needed.
Best for: Brands running omnichannel campaigns including TV, podcast, and direct mail advertising
Rockerbox is an omnichannel attribution platform with strong capabilities in tracking offline and traditional media alongside digital campaigns.
Rockerbox bridges the gap between digital and traditional advertising that most attribution tools ignore. Its TV and podcast attribution uses statistical modeling and promo codes to connect offline media to online conversions, giving you visibility into channels that other platforms can't measure.
The unified view across digital and offline channels solves the fragmentation problem that multi-channel marketers face. Instead of cobbling together data from separate tools, Rockerbox creates a single source of truth that includes everything from Facebook ads to billboard campaigns.
TV and Podcast Attribution: Tracks conversions from broadcast media using modeling and unique identifiers.
Direct Mail Tracking: Connects physical mail campaigns to digital conversions through unique URLs and codes.
Unified Digital and Offline View: Combines all marketing channels into one attribution model regardless of medium.
Marketing Data Warehouse: Centralizes data from all sources into a queryable database for custom analysis.
Budget Optimization Tools: Provides recommendations for budget allocation across all channels based on performance.
Consumer brands running advertising across multiple channels including traditional media like TV, radio, podcasts, and direct mail alongside digital campaigns. Companies needing to prove ROI across their entire marketing mix, not just digital.
Custom pricing based on number of channels tracked and data volume. Contact for demo and pricing details.
Best for: Lead generation businesses needing call tracking and CRM revenue integration
Ruler Analytics is an attribution platform focused on lead generation businesses, with strong call tracking capabilities and deep CRM integration for revenue attribution.
Ruler Analytics connects the dots between marketing and closed revenue for businesses where the sale happens in a CRM, not on a website. Its call tracking attributes phone leads back to their marketing source, while CRM integration pulls in deal values to show actual revenue, not just lead volume.
The offline conversion tracking syncs closed deals from your CRM back to your ad platforms, helping algorithms optimize for leads that actually convert to customers. This closed-loop attribution transforms lead gen campaigns from volume-focused to value-focused.
Call Tracking with Attribution: Dynamic number insertion tracks which marketing source drove each phone call.
Form Tracking: Captures form submissions and connects them to the complete marketing journey.
CRM Revenue Integration: Pulls closed deal values from CRMs like HubSpot, Salesforce, and Pipedrive for revenue attribution.
Offline Conversion Tracking: Sends conversion data back to ad platforms after deals close in your CRM.
Marketing Source Reporting: Shows which channels and campaigns drive the highest-value customers, not just the most leads.
B2B companies, service businesses, and any lead generation operation where conversions happen offline in a CRM or over the phone. Particularly valuable for businesses with significant phone call volume as part of the sales process.
Plans start at $199/month. Pricing scales based on call tracking volume and CRM integrations needed.
Best for: Subscription businesses tracking customer lifetime value and cohort performance
Wicked Reports is an attribution platform specializing in subscription businesses, with advanced cohort analysis and lifetime value tracking capabilities.
Wicked Reports understands that for subscription businesses, the initial conversion is just the beginning. Its customer lifetime value attribution shows which marketing sources acquire customers who stick around and generate the most revenue over time, not just those who convert fastest.
The cohort analysis tracks how different customer groups perform over months and years, revealing which acquisition channels bring in subscribers with the best retention and LTV. This long-term view prevents the mistake of optimizing for cheap acquisitions that churn quickly.
Customer Lifetime Value Attribution: Attributes total customer value back to original marketing source, including all recurring revenue.
Cohort Analysis: Tracks how customer groups acquired in different periods perform over time in terms of retention and revenue.
Email and SMS Attribution: Connects email marketing and SMS campaigns to both initial conversions and ongoing revenue.
Subscription Revenue Tracking: Monitors recurring revenue patterns and attributes them to marketing touchpoints.
ROI Forecasting: Projects future return on ad spend based on historical cohort performance and LTV trends.
Subscription box companies, SaaS businesses, membership sites, and any business model where customer lifetime value significantly exceeds initial purchase value. Companies needing to optimize for long-term customer value rather than just acquisition cost.
Plans start at $250/month. Higher tiers available based on revenue volume and advanced analytics features.
The question isn't whether to use Google Analytics—most teams will keep GA4 for traffic analysis and basic website metrics. The real question is whether you need a dedicated attribution platform alongside it to make confident budget decisions.
Choose GA4 alone if you're running simple campaigns with clear conversion paths, primarily advertising on Google Ads, or working with a limited budget that can't justify additional tools. It provides solid website analytics at no cost.
For multi-platform advertisers who need to know exactly which ads drive revenue across Facebook, Google, TikTok, and other channels, Cometly provides the AI-powered insights and server-side tracking that GA4 lacks. Its ability to capture accurate data despite iOS limitations and feed better signals back to ad platforms makes it particularly valuable for teams managing significant ad budgets.
Shopify store owners benefit from Triple Whale's native integration and profit tracking, which goes beyond revenue to show actual profitability. If you're selling physical products on Shopify and testing multiple creatives, the platform's ecommerce-specific features deliver immediate value.
Enterprise teams with complex media mixes spanning traditional and digital channels should evaluate Northbeam or Rockerbox. Both offer sophisticated measurement that accounts for channel interactions and offline media that simpler tools can't track.
Lead generation businesses where conversions happen over the phone or in a CRM need Ruler Analytics' call tracking and revenue integration. Info product businesses and high-ticket sales operations with long nurture sequences benefit from Hyros' extended tracking capabilities.
Subscription businesses should consider Wicked Reports for its focus on lifetime value and cohort analysis, which reveals which marketing sources acquire customers who actually stick around.
The attribution platform market has matured significantly as privacy changes have forced marketers to look beyond cookie-based tracking. Most teams find that combining GA4 for website analytics with a specialized attribution platform for revenue tracking provides the complete picture they need to scale confidently.
Ready to elevate your marketing game with precision and confidence? Discover how Cometly's AI-driven recommendations can transform your ad strategy—Get your free demo today and start capturing every touchpoint to maximize your conversions.
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