DashThis vs Improvado: Which Marketing Reporting Platform Is Right for Agencies? (2026)

DashThis and Improvado both help agencies deliver marketing reports to clients, but they solve fundamentally different problems. DashThis is a dashboard builder — it pulls data from ~30 platforms and displays it in branded client portals with drag-and-drop templates. Improvado is a full marketing data pipeline — it extracts from 500+ sources, transforms and governs the data, then routes it to your BI tool, data warehouse, or white-labeled dashboard. One gets you to a polished report quickly. The other ensures the numbers behind that report are accurate, compliant, and scalable across dozens of clients.

A Note on Perspective

Full disclosure: we're Improvado, and this page is written from our perspective. We've tried to represent DashThis's capabilities accurately — and where we've gotten it wrong, email us and we'll fix it. Our goal is to help you make the right call, even if that's not us.

Quick Verdict

Feature Comparison: DashThis vs Improvado

The Core Architectural Difference

DashThis and Improvado occupy different layers of the marketing data stack. Understanding that distinction determines which tool solves your actual problem.

DashThis: Dashboard-First, Data-Later

DashThis is built around a single job: get a branded client dashboard live as quickly as possible. You connect your data sources using pre-built integrations, drag widgets onto a canvas, apply your agency's logo and colors, and share a link. The entire workflow optimizes for speed and visual polish.

For agencies managing 5–15 clients with standard marketing channels — Google Ads, Facebook, LinkedIn, maybe Instagram and Bing — this is often enough. The tool handles the extraction, the templates look professional, and clients can log in to see their numbers without waiting for a manually-compiled PDF.

What DashThis doesn't handle: data transformation, naming convention standardization, cross-channel metric alignment, or governance. If Google Ads labels a metric "conversions" and Facebook calls it "actions," those appear as separate columns. Reconciling them is your job. If a client's campaign naming suddenly changes mid-month and breaks your dashboard filters, you fix it manually. If you need to calculate a custom attribution model across six channels, you can't — the platform doesn't support calculated fields.

Improvado: Pipeline-First, Dashboards-Last

Improvado starts upstream. Before any dashboard exists, the platform extracts data from 500+ sources, normalizes naming conventions across all of them using the Marketing Cloud Data Model, applies governance rules to catch budget overruns or tracking errors, transforms the data using no-code recipes or SQL, and then routes it to your chosen destination — a data warehouse, a BI tool, or Improvado's own white-labeled dashboard builder.

This means when your dashboard finally renders, the numbers are already clean, consistent, and trustworthy. "Conversions" means the same thing whether it came from Google, Meta, or TikTok. Campaign naming follows your agency's taxonomy automatically. Budget pacing alerts fired three days ago, before the client's spend hit the cap.

The trade-off: setup takes longer. Improvado isn't a five-minute trial you can spin up yourself — it's an enterprise platform with a sales-assisted onboarding process. But for agencies managing 20+ clients, each with different tech stacks and compliance requirements, that upfront investment eliminates months of firefighting broken dashboards and explaining data discrepancies to clients.

When Client-Ready Dashboards Need Data Governance

Agencies don't lose clients because a dashboard looked ugly. They lose clients because the dashboard showed the wrong number, and the client made a budget decision based on it.

DashThis gives you no automated way to validate data before it reaches the client. If a Facebook API disconnect goes unnoticed for three days, the dashboard simply shows incomplete data — no alert, no warning. If a campaign's UTM parameters are misconfigured and attribution breaks, you'll find out when the client asks why their conversion count doesn't match the platform.

Improvado's governance layer includes 250+ pre-built rules that flag issues the moment they occur. Budget pacing alerts notify you when a client is on track to overspend before the end of the billing cycle. Naming convention enforcement ensures every campaign follows your taxonomy, or it doesn't flow through the pipeline. Missing data point detection catches API failures within hours, not days.

The result: your team stops playing defense. You're not explaining discrepancies in client meetings or reconciling Google Ads and Salesforce manually every month. The platform enforces consistency automatically, and your analysts spend their time interpreting results instead of validating data quality.

Improvado review

“If we don't trust the data, the agency won’t trust the reports and won't give them to the client. They’ll start pulling data manually to Excel and spend a lot of time comparing platform numbers to reports. With Improvado, we now trust the data. If anything is wrong, it’s how someone on the team is viewing it, not the data itself. It’s 99.9% accurate.”

Tyler Corcoran

Real-Time Dashboards vs. Scheduled Refreshes

DashThis does not support real-time data reporting. Dashboards refresh on a schedule — hourly, daily, or weekly — but you can't pull live metrics during a client call.

This creates friction in two scenarios. First, live client presentations. When a client asks, "How's our Google Ads spend looking today?" and you can't answer without logging into the platform directly, you've undermined the dashboard's purpose. Second, fast-moving campaigns. If you're running a product launch with daily budget shifts and need to monitor pacing hour-by-hour, scheduled refreshes aren't enough.

Improvado's dashboards update in real time. Metric pacing, budget alerts, and conversion tracking reflect the current state, not yesterday's snapshot. During client calls, you open the dashboard and answer questions on the spot. For time-sensitive campaigns, you monitor performance live and adjust before budget is wasted.

Real-time access changes the client relationship. You're no longer delivering backward-looking reports — you're providing live visibility into campaign performance, which positions your agency as a strategic partner, not a monthly PDF vendor.

Connector Breadth: 30 Platforms vs. 500+ and Custom Builds

DashThis supports ~30 integrations, covering the most common platforms — Google Ads, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Bing, Google Analytics, and a handful of others. For agencies whose clients use these core channels exclusively, the integration library is sufficient.

The problem surfaces when your client portfolio diversifies. A retail client wants Shopify data blended with paid media. A SaaS client needs HubSpot CRM + Salesforce + six ad platforms. A performance agency managing affiliate networks needs access to proprietary tracking platforms DashThis doesn't support. At that point, you're either exporting CSVs manually or telling the client the data isn't available.

This breadth eliminates the "we can't connect that" conversation. Whether the client uses The Trade Desk, AppsFlyer, a proprietary CRM, or an offline event tracking system, Improvado either has the connector or builds it. You're not constrained by the vendor's roadmap — if your client needs it, it gets built.

Improvado review

“Improvado handles everything. If it's a data source of any kind, either there's a connector for it, or we get one created.”

Beau Payne

Who Handles Data Transformation?

DashThis doesn't transform data — it displays what the API returns. If Google Ads sends "cost per conversion" and Facebook sends "cost per action," those appear as separate metrics. If you want a unified "cost per lead" field that normalizes both, you'll need to build that outside DashThis (in a spreadsheet or a BI tool), then import it manually.

This isn't an edge case. Most agencies need calculated metrics: blended ROAS across channels, customer acquisition cost adjusted for LTV, attribution weighting that shifts credit between touchpoints. Without a transformation layer, you're either approximating these in the dashboard's limited "merge widget" functionality (which reviewers report as unreliable), or you're maintaining a parallel analytics stack in Excel.

Improvado includes a full transformation framework. The Marketing Cloud Data Model (MCDM) pre-normalizes 46,000+ metrics and dimensions across all connectors, so "conversions" means the same thing everywhere. Beyond that, you can build custom calculated metrics, attribution models, and data blending rules using either a no-code interface (for marketers) or full SQL access (for analysts).

The outcome: your dashboards show business metrics, not platform metrics. Instead of "Facebook link clicks" and "Google Ads clicks," you show "total website visits by channel" — one unified field that answers the client's actual question. And because the transformation happens in the pipeline, not in a spreadsheet, it's auditable, repeatable, and governed.

When to Choose DashThis

DashThis is the right choice in these scenarios:

• You manage 5–20 clients, all using standard marketing platforms (Google Ads, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Analytics), and you don't need integrations beyond that core set.
• Your primary goal is delivering visually polished, white-labeled dashboards quickly, and you're comfortable handling data quality and naming conventions manually across clients.
• Your team doesn't need real-time dashboard access during client calls — scheduled daily or weekly refreshes meet your reporting cadence.
• You don't require custom KPIs, attribution modeling, or calculated metrics beyond what the source platforms provide natively.
• Budget is constrained, and you'd rather invest analyst time in manual reconciliation than pay for an enterprise data pipeline.

DashThis delivers on its core promise: beautiful client dashboards, fast. If that's the job, and your data environment is simple enough to fit within its constraints, it's a solid tool.

What Improvado Customers Say

Agencies and brands using Improvado consistently highlight three outcomes: time savings from automation, trust in data quality, and the ability to scale reporting without scaling headcount.

Case study

At Signal Theory, for most clients, the reporting process is now fully automated, taking 30 minutes to an hour at most. For clients with unique data sources requiring manual input, the system is flexible enough to accommodate specific needs without compromising overall efficiency. Read full case study →

“Reports that used to take hours now only take about 30 minutes. We're reporting for significantly more clients, even though it is only being handled by a single person. That's been huge for us.”

Shayna Tyler

Analyst, Signal Theory

Beyond time savings, customers point to governance as the differentiator — the ability to catch errors before they reach the client, rather than explaining discrepancies after the fact.

Case study

Yodel Mobile relies on Improvado for daily budget pacing and campaign optimization. Having centralized, reliable data allows them to make quick adjustments to ensure campaigns stay on track. Read full case study →

“Improvado allows us to have all information in one place for quick action. We can see at a glance if we're on target with spending or if changes are needed—without having to dig into each platform individually.”

Kasia Pasich

Data Analyst, Yodel Mobile

Pricing Comparison

DashThis uses a dashboard-based pricing model. You pay based on the number of dashboards you can create, with unlimited users and data sources included. As of early 2026, pricing starts at $49/month for 3 dashboards (Individual plan), $159/month for 10 dashboards (Professional), $309/month for 25 dashboards (Business), and $479/month for 50 dashboards (Standard). An AI Insights Pro add-on costs an additional $19/month.

Note: DashThis announced new pricing changes effective March 30, 2026, introducing data source limits per plan. Each tier now includes a set number of data sources designed to support typical customer setups, though the exact limits aren't specified in public documentation.

The per-dashboard pricing model can escalate quickly for agencies managing many clients. If each client needs 2–3 dashboards (one for paid media, one for organic, one for social), a 20-client agency could require 40–60 dashboards, pushing you into higher-tier plans or custom enterprise pricing.

Improvado uses custom, outcome-based pricing tied to data volume, number of connectors, and support level. Pricing isn't published — you'll need a demo to get a quote. For context, Improvado is positioned as an enterprise platform, so expect pricing to reflect that: higher upfront investment, but with dedicated customer success, professional services, and a platform that scales without per-dashboard or per-client seat fees.

For agencies with 10 or fewer clients using simple tech stacks, DashThis's transparent tiered pricing offers a lower entry point. For agencies managing 20+ clients with varied platforms, complex KPIs, or compliance requirements, Improvado's automation delivers better ROI over 12–24 months by eliminating the operational drag of manual data work.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main difference between DashThis and Improvado?

DashThis is a dashboard builder that pulls data from ~30 marketing platforms and displays it in white-labeled client portals. Improvado is a full marketing data pipeline that extracts from 500+ sources, transforms and governs the data, then routes it to your BI tool, warehouse, or dashboard. DashThis optimizes for fast, beautiful dashboards; Improvado optimizes for data quality, governance, and scalability across complex multi-client environments.

Does DashThis support real-time dashboards?

No. DashThis dashboards refresh on a schedule (hourly, daily, or weekly) but do not support real-time metric updates. This means you can't pull live data during client calls or monitor fast-moving campaigns in real time. Improvado supports real-time dashboards with live metric pacing and budget alerts.

Can I create custom KPIs in DashThis?

DashThis has limited support for custom metrics. You're constrained to the pre-defined metrics each connector provides, and while there's a "merge widget" for blending data from multiple sources, users report it's unreliable and restrictive. Improvado allows you to build calculated metrics, attribution models, and custom KPIs using either a no-code interface or full SQL access.

How many data connectors does each platform support?

DashThis supports approximately 30 core integrations, covering Google Ads, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Bing, Google Analytics, and other common platforms. Improvado supports 500+ pre-built connectors and builds custom integrations for proprietary or niche platforms under a 2–4 week SLA, with ongoing maintenance included.

What is Marketing Data Governance and does DashThis offer it?

Marketing Data Governance automates data quality enforcement across all clients and platforms — real-time monitoring of API connections, budget pacing alerts, naming convention validation, and missing data point detection. DashThis does not offer governance features. Improvado includes 250+ pre-built governance rules that flag issues before they reach client reports, reducing manual reconciliation and client escalations.

How long does it take to migrate from DashThis to Improvado?

Migration timelines depend on the number of clients, data sources, and custom requirements. Typical implementations range from 4–8 weeks, including connector configuration, transformation rule setup, governance framework deployment, and dashboard migration. Improvado provides dedicated professional services and a customer success manager to guide the process, so you're not managing the migration alone.

Can I send data to my own data warehouse with DashThis?

No. DashThis does not support data warehouse connectivity. Data stays within DashThis dashboards — you can't route it to BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift, or external BI tools. Improvado routes clean, transformed data to any warehouse or BI platform, giving you full ownership and flexibility over downstream analytics workflows.

When does it make sense to choose Improvado over DashThis?

Choose Improvado when you manage 20+ clients with varied tech stacks, need real-time dashboards for live client calls, require custom KPIs and attribution models, or need automated data governance to eliminate manual reconciliation. Improvado is built for agencies and enterprises where data quality, compliance, and scalability across complex environments are non-negotiable. If your need is simple white-labeled dashboards with standard metrics from a small set of platforms, DashThis may be sufficient.

Make the Right Call for Your Agency

DashThis and Improvado solve different problems. If your clients use standard platforms and you're comfortable handling data quality manually, DashThis delivers polished dashboards quickly. If you're managing complex multi-client environments where governance, real-time insights, and scalability determine whether you retain the client, Improvado is the infrastructure you need.

The honest answer: most agencies outgrow dashboard-only tools within 12–18 months. The question isn't whether you'll need a full data pipeline eventually — it's whether you'd rather build that foundation now or migrate later after manual processes have already created technical debt.