The short answer
- Northbeam is the attribution specialist: independent first-party measurement with view-through, priced on ad spend from $1,500.
- Triple Whale is the Shopify operating view: pixel, attribution and dashboards with the Moby AI, from a free plan to paid plans priced by annual GMV.
- Both tell you what worked. Neither replaces the person who rebuilds the campaigns. If that person is the bottleneck, add an agent that runs the channels.
Plans and prices from each vendor’s pricing page on October 4, 2026.
Northbeam vs Triple Whale, side by side
| Northbeam | Triple Whale | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Brands with large paid budgets across channels | Shopify ecommerce brands |
| Attribution | First-party multi-touch, with view-through (C+DV) | Triple Pixel, multi-touch from Foundation; MMM and incrementality on Enterprise |
| AI | Northbeam MCP for questions from an AI assistant | Moby: analyst on Foundation, acts on paid media from Automate |
| Price basis | Annual ad spend | Annual GMV |
| Entry price | Starter from $1,500 | Free plan; paid plans quoted |
| Published prices | Yes, from $1,500 | No, beyond the free plan |
Attribution: the real difference
Northbeam’s case is measurement you can defend: a first-party model, view-through conversions for ads people saw but did not click, and pricing that assumes you spend enough on ads for that precision to pay back. Triple Whale’s case is breadth for a store: paid, owned, subscription and organic data in one place, attribution from its pixel, and an AI that answers questions across all of it. Brands that argue about which channel deserves the next dollar lean Northbeam. Brands that want one place to look every morning lean Triple Whale.
Price: ad spend against GMV
The two tools index their price to different numbers, which decides which one gets expensive first. Northbeam rises with ad spend: $1,500 for Starter, then $3,500 a month up to $500K a month in spend. Triple Whale rises with revenue: a free plan, then paid packages quoted by annual GMV. A brand with high revenue and modest ad spend pays relatively more at Triple Whale; a brand buying growth with heavy spend pays relatively more at Northbeam. The full Triple Whale breakdown is in Triple Whale pricing.
What neither one does
Both are answers to “what worked?” The next question, “who changes the campaigns?”, is still yours. Moby on Triple Whale’s Automate plan can act on paid media; Northbeam stops at the dashboard and its MCP. Neither writes your SEO pages, runs your Google and Microsoft search campaigns end to end, or covers LinkedIn and Reddit as working channels.
That is the job Sprites does. It reads your ad accounts, Shopify and Google Analytics 4, finds the wasted spend and the winning creative, and makes the change on Google Ads, Meta, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Reddit and TikTok, plus the SEO pages, with every change held on an editable approval card. It does not run its own pixel, so brands that need a model of record keep Northbeam or Triple Whale for measurement and let Sprites do the work. Build is $66 a month billed yearly, $99 monthly, and the price does not follow your GMV or spend. The head-to-head is on Sprites vs Triple Whale, and the wider field on Triple Whale alternatives.
How to choose
- Choose Northbeam if attribution accuracy is the decision you keep losing, and your ad spend is large enough that a better model pays for $1,500 and up.
- Choose Triple Whale if you run a Shopify brand and want one view of the business with an AI analyst, starting from the free plan.
- Add Sprites if the reports are fine and the backlog of campaign work is the problem.
Northbeam vs Triple Whale questions
Is Northbeam better than Triple Whale?
For attribution depth and view-through measurement at high ad spend, Northbeam is the stronger specialist. For a Shopify brand that wants one dashboard across store, ads and subscriptions with an AI analyst on top, Triple Whale is broader. Neither runs your campaigns end to end.
How much does Northbeam cost compared with Triple Whale?
Northbeam publishes prices tied to ad spend: Starter from $1,500, then $3,500 a month for brands spending up to $500K a month on ads, and custom above that. Triple Whale has a free plan and prices its paid plans by annual GMV on a walkthrough.
Which is better for Shopify brands?
Triple Whale is built around Shopify and starts with a free plan, so smaller Shopify brands usually start there. Northbeam suits brands with large paid budgets across Meta, Google and other channels that want an independent attribution model.
Do Northbeam or Triple Whale run ads for you?
Triple Whale’s Moby can act on paid media on its Automate plan. Northbeam is measurement and dashboards, with an MCP for asking questions. For an agent that launches and edits campaigns across Google, Meta, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Reddit and TikTok, look at Sprites.
What is a cheaper alternative to both?
Sprites is $66 a month billed yearly, or $99 monthly, and does not price on GMV or ad spend. It is not an attribution model: it works from platform conversions, Shopify and Google Analytics 4, and spends its effort on making the changes, with every one held for your approval.