Northbeam vs a custom data warehouse: attribution or the full P&L?
Northbeam is marketing measurement: a pixel, attribution, incrementality, and MMM. A warehouse is your business model. Most brands that need both run both.
Linus TseGreyfield DataFacts last checked Contents 10 sections
The short answer
Northbeam answers where your next ad dollar should go. A warehouse answers what the business earned. They overlap very little. If you spend heavily on paid media, Northbeam does things we do not build. If finance needs margin, inventory, and channel P&L, that is warehouse work, and Northbeam exports can feed it.
How Northbeam and a custom warehouse differ
- 01
Measurement vs accounting
Northbeam models which ads caused orders using its pixel, attribution, incrementality tests, and MMM. A warehouse reconciles orders, refunds, fees, and costs.
- 02
Ad-spend pricing vs project pricing
Northbeam prices by ad-spend band and pageviews, starting at $1,500 a month. A build is a project plus your own Snowflake and BI bills.
- 03
Exports, not a shared warehouse
Northbeam raw data reaches your warehouse as file exports to S3 or Google Cloud Storage that you load. A build lives in your Snowflake.
Pricing at a glance
Northbeam
Independent, privately held (North Beam, Inc.); growth investment led by HighPost Capital and Silversmith Capital Partners announced Oct 2025
Northbeam is a marketing measurement platform for DTC and omnichannel brands that combines a first-party tracking pixel and multi-touch attribution with optional incrementality testing and media mix modeling. It is aimed at brands spending meaningful money on paid media who want an independent view of channel performance.
- Pricing model
- Tiered by annual ad spend, with monthly price also tied to data volume (pageviews)
- Published starting price
- Starter shown at $1,500/month (month-to-month); Professional shown at $3,500/month (annual term). Northbeam's FAQ calls these starting estimates.
- Free tier
- No free tier or free trial listed on the pricing page
- What drives cost
- Four tiers: Growth (custom quote, brands under $200K/month ad spend, bundled with agency-style creative and media buying support), Starter ($1,500/month, under $1.5M/year ad spend, Shopify-focused, month-to-month, ticket support), Professional ($3,500/month, up to $500K/month ad spend, unlimited users, data exports, non-Shopify platforms, dedicated media strategist, annual term), Enterprise (custom, above $500K/month ad spend, CSM and Slack channel, granular touchpoint export, optional MMM+). Incrementality is optional on Professional and Enterprise. Price is driven by ad-spend band and pageview volume. Each tier advertises partner ad credits. Setup: Northbeam documents about 2-4 weeks for Shopify brands and 4-8 weeks for non-Shopify brands, with at least 3 fully tracked days required for validation.
Custom warehouse (Greyfield)
A Snowflake warehouse with dbt models and a BI layer (usually Sigma), built around your sources and your definitions, that you own after handover.
- Pricing model
- Project-based build, optional ongoing support
- Published starting price
- Scoped after a free consultation
- Free tier
- No
- What drives cost
- Warehouse, connector, and BI licences are billed by those vendors directly to you.
Feature comparison
"Not verified" means we could not confirm it from public docs, not that the feature is missing. Each cell links to the page we checked.
Sales channels
| Feature | Custom warehouse (Greyfield) | Northbeam |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Native Shopify connector. | Yes Through a managed connector such as Fivetran or Airbyte. source | Yes Shopify app for pixel install and order sync source |
| Amazon Seller Central Native Amazon connector. | Yes Orders, settlements, and fee events. source | Partly Pulls Seller Central total revenue and Amazon Ads spend; attribution for Amazon not yet available; no Vendor Central or DSP source |
| TikTok Shop Native TikTok Shop connector. | Yes Modeled alongside Shopify and Amazon. source | Partly Orders must sync via Shopify or be tagged and sent through the Orders API; no direct TikTok Shop order feed documented source |
| Wholesale, retail, ERP, 3PL Native connectors for sources beyond the online store, such as NetSuite, Faire, retail POS, or a 3PL. | Yes Any source with a connector or export. source | Not verified No native ERP, wholesale or POS connector found in docs; custom order sources can be sent via Orders API source |
Marketing
| Feature | Custom warehouse (Greyfield) | Northbeam |
|---|---|---|
| Ad platform spend Meta, Google, and TikTok ad spend connectors. | Yes Ad spend modeled next to orders. source | Yes Ad account connections (Meta, Google, TikTok and others) plus spend API and spreadsheets for other sources source |
| Tracking pixel + attribution Its own pixel and multi-touch attribution models. | No Attribution from a dedicated tool can be loaded in. source | Yes First-party pixel with DNS setup; six attribution models, Clicks-Only default, Clicks + Deterministic Views available source |
| MMM / incrementality Marketing mix modeling or incrementality testing. | No Not part of a standard build. | Yes MMM+ is an optional Enterprise component; incrementality is an add-on from Professional (Meta, US-only at Apr 2026 launch) source |
Profit and customers
| Feature | Custom warehouse (Greyfield) | Northbeam |
|---|---|---|
| Profit with COGS and fees Contribution margin after product cost, shipping, and fees. | Yes Fees, refunds, and cost timing defined in dbt. source | Partly Profit Benchmarks uses COGS you supply; shipping, fees and margin waterfall not documented source |
| LTV and cohorts Lifetime value, cohort, and retention analysis. | Yes Contribution-margin LTV by acquisition channel. source | Not verified No LTV or cohort doc page found; docs cover first-time vs returning splits only source |
| Subscription analytics Recharge or other subscription reporting. | Yes Recharge renewals and skips modeled as events. source | Partly Subscription metrics (first-time vs recurring orders, revenue, refunds) based on order tags; no Recharge connector named source |
| Custom metric definitions Define your own metric logic. | Yes Definitions live in dbt models you own. source | Not verified Docs describe toggling predefined metrics and custom goal tracking; custom formula metrics not documented source |
Data access
| Feature | Custom warehouse (Greyfield) | Northbeam |
|---|---|---|
| Data in a warehouse you can query Your modeled data lands in Snowflake, BigQuery, or a hosted warehouse you can query with SQL. | Yes Your own Snowflake account. source | Partly Data Export API and touchpoint exports write files to S3/GCS for you to load; no native warehouse share; data exports listed from Professional source |
| SQL in the product Write SQL inside the product. | Yes Full SQL in Snowflake and in Sigma. source | Not verified No in-product SQL editor found in docs source |
| AI assistant Natural-language questions about your data. | Partly Depends on the BI tool; we have built text-to-SQL access for a client. source | Yes Northbeam AI in-dashboard assistant on all plans (weekly usage limit) plus read-only MCP server for Claude/ChatGPT source |
| Mobile app A native mobile app. | Partly Depends on the BI tool you choose. | Yes iOS app from North Beam, Inc. for ROAS/MER and saved views source |
What Northbeam does that we do not
Its first-party pixel, several attribution models with view-through credit, automated incrementality testing, and optional MMM are a measurement stack that would take a data science team to build. Higher plans come with a media strategist who interprets the results. It documents setup at about two to four weeks for Shopify brands.
Where a warehouse picks up
Northbeam’s Amazon integration reports revenue and ad spend, with attribution still in progress. TikTok Shop orders come through Shopify or its Orders API. Its profit view needs the product costs you supply, and we found no documented margin waterfall with shipping, payment fees, or returns, or custom formula metrics.
That is the gap between attributed and incremental CAC and contribution-margin LTV by channel. The first is Northbeam’s job; the second needs a model of your costs.
Where Northbeam is better
- Ships its own first-party pixel with six attribution models and view-through credit (Clicks + Deterministic Views); building comparable identity stitching and touchpoint attribution in a custom Snowflake + dbt stack is a large, ongoing engineering effort
- Automated incrementality testing (launched Apr 2026, Meta channel-level in the US at launch) and MMM are available from the same vendor, which a custom warehouse build would have to source separately or build with a data science team
- Documented implementation of about 2-4 weeks for Shopify brands, faster than a typical custom warehouse plus attribution build
- Professional and Enterprise plans include a dedicated media strategist, so the output comes with interpretation, not just tables
- Read-only MCP server and an in-app AI assistant are available on all plans, plus an iOS app for checking ROAS/MER on the go
Who should pick which
Pick Northbeam if
- You spend heavily on paid media and need attribution beyond ad-platform reporting.
- You want incrementality tests and MMM from one vendor.
- You want a media strategist interpreting the numbers.
Pick a custom warehouse if
- Your main need is margin, inventory, and channel P&L.
- Amazon, wholesale, or retail need to be modeled with Shopify.
- You need custom metrics and SQL on your own data.
Recommendations by team
| If you are | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Paid-media-heavy DTC brand | Northbeam | Pixel, attribution, and incrementality built for that spend. |
| CFO who needs channel contribution margin | A custom warehouse | Costs, fees, and refunds modeled the way finance reports them. |
| Growth brand with both needs | Both | Northbeam for media decisions; its exports load into the warehouse. |
Recent changes to Northbeam
- 2025-10 Launched Clicks + Deterministic Views attribution model for all customers and announced growth investment led by HighPost Capital and Silversmith Capital Partnerssource
- 2026-04 Launched Northbeam Incrementality, automated incrementality testing starting with Meta channel-level tests in the US; more channels and regions planned for later in 2026source
- 2026 Pricing page now lists a Growth tier bundled with agency services and an MCP server on all plans; Northbeam AI assistant and MCP connectors for Claude and ChatGPT documentedsource
Questions people ask
Does a custom warehouse replace Northbeam?
No. We do not build pixels, attribution models, or MMM. A warehouse replaces spreadsheet P&Ls and disagreeing reports; Northbeam replaces guesswork about ad performance.
Can Northbeam send data to Snowflake?
Its documentation describes file exports to S3 or Google Cloud Storage that you load into your warehouse. Row-level touchpoint export is limited to some plans.
How much does Northbeam cost?
Its pricing page shows Starter at $1,500 a month and Professional at $3,500 a month as starting estimates, with Growth and Enterprise quoted. Price depends on ad spend and pageviews.
Sources and corrections
We checked these pages on the dates shown. Products change quickly. If you work at Northbeam and something here is wrong or out of date, email linus@greyfielddata.com and we will fix it.
- Northbeam - Pricing
- What is Northbeam? Start here.
- Northbeam docs index (llms.txt)
- What To Expect During Implementation
- Amazon Setup
- Meta & TikTok Shops Setup
- Which export should I use?
- Pull Northbeam data into your warehouse
- Mixed Media Modeling (MMM)
- Northbeam AI
- Subscription Metrics
- Profit Benchmarks
- Northbeam Available Metrics
- Northbeam iOS app (App Store)
- Business Wire: Clicks + Deterministic Views and growth investment (Oct 2025)
- MarTech Cube: Northbeam Launches Northbeam Incrementality (Apr 2026)
- Ecommerce data warehouses
- Multi-brand ecommerce portfolio case study
- DTC apparel brand case study
Related comparisons
Triple Whale vs a custom data warehouse: which one does your brand need?
Triple Whale is attribution and dashboards for Shopify brands. A custom warehouse is one source of truth across every channel. Many brands end up running both.
Klar vs a custom data warehouse: contribution margin out of the box or your own model?
Klar gives European DTC brands contribution margin, retention, and attribution from €200 a month. Here is when that fits and when you need your own warehouse.
Polar Analytics vs a custom data warehouse: managed Snowflake or your own?
Polar gives every customer a managed Snowflake database with prebuilt ecommerce metrics. Here is when that is enough and when you need models you own.