Northbeam vs Improvado: Which Is Right for Enterprise Marketing Teams? (2026)

Northbeam is a specialized attribution and media-mix modeling platform built for DTC e-commerce brands. Improvado is an enterprise marketing data platform covering extraction, transformation, governance, and insights across the full marketing stack. They solve fundamentally different problems — Northbeam answers "Which channel drove this sale?" while Improvado answers "How do we centralize, standardize, and trust our marketing data across the organization?" This comparison breaks down when each platform wins, where they overlap, and how to decide.

Northbeam vs Improvado: Choosing the Right Marketing Data Platform

Northbeam focuses narrowly on attribution — measuring which paid channels and touchpoints drive conversions through proprietary ML models and media-mix modeling. Improvado focuses broadly on the entire data pipeline — extracting from 500+ sources, transforming with marketing-specific models, governing data quality, and feeding BI tools. Same industry, entirely different scope.

Full disclosure: we're Improvado, and this page is written from our perspective. We've tried to represent Northbeam'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.

Feature Comparison: Improvado vs Northbeam

Northbeam and Improvado occupy different categories. Northbeam is an attribution platform; Improvado is a marketing data platform that includes extraction, transformation, and governance. The table below highlights where they overlap and where they diverge.

What Sets Improvado Apart: 5 Differentiators That Matter

Northbeam excels at one thing: telling you which channels drive revenue. Improvado solves the broader problem — centralizing, standardizing, and governing marketing data from 500+ sources so teams can trust the numbers and move faster. Here's where the difference shows up in daily work.

Your marketing team operates the pipeline — no engineering tickets

Improvado extracts data from 500+ sources — ad platforms, analytics tools, CRMs, ERPs, social media, offline channels — without requiring custom API scripts or developer time. Northbeam focuses on paid ad platforms (Meta, Google, TikTok, Amazon) and requires pre-integrated data sources. If your marketing stack includes Salesforce, HubSpot, NetSuite, or any non-ad-platform data, Northbeam can't pull it in.

Improvado's connector library includes 46,000 metrics and dimensions. When a platform updates its API, Improvado handles backward compatibility and maintains 2 years of historical data. Marketing teams configure connectors through a no-code interface; engineers never get involved. Northbeam's integrations are built for e-commerce attribution, not for multi-channel data aggregation.

When a new data source is needed, Improvado builds custom connectors in 2–4 weeks under SLA. Northbeam does not publicly commit to custom connector timelines.

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

Automated transformation eliminates 40 hours of manual work per week

Northbeam requires clean, standardized data inputs. If your campaign naming is inconsistent, your UTM parameters are missing, or your currency varies across markets, Northbeam won't fix it — you'll spend months cleaning data before attribution can work. Improvado automates the transformation layer: deduplication, naming convention parsing, field mapping, and currency conversion happen inside the platform.

Improvado's Marketing Cloud Data Model (MCDM) is a pre-built schema designed for marketing analytics. It standardizes field names across 500+ sources so "cost per click" from Google Ads, "CPC" from Meta, and "avg_cpc" from LinkedIn all map to the same column. Analysts spend time analyzing, not reconciling field names.

The platform supports no-code transformations for marketers and full SQL access for engineers. You can clone and modify transformation recipes, preview results before activation, and build on proven logic. Northbeam does not offer a transformation interface — it's an attribution engine, not an ETL tool.

Improvado review

“Once the data's flowing and our recipes are good to go—it's just set it and forget it. We never have issues with data timing out or not populating in GBQ. We only go into the platform now to handle a backend refresh if naming conventions change or something. That's it.”

Tyler Corcoran

Marketing Data Governance catches budget errors before they hit production

Improvado includes a Marketing Data Governance module with 250+ pre-built rules. It monitors campaign naming conventions, validates budget adherence, flags CPC anomalies, and alerts teams when data quality issues appear. If a campaign launches with the wrong naming convention, Improvado catches it before the data reaches your dashboard.

This governance layer is critical for enterprises running multi-brand, multi-market campaigns. When the CFO asks why spend is up 30% in EMEA, you need to trust the numbers. Improvado ensures that trust exists at every stage of the pipeline — extraction, transformation, and delivery.

Northbeam does not include data governance capabilities. It assumes data is already clean and compliant when it enters the platform.

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

One platform replaces five vendor relationships

Northbeam solves attribution. To build a complete marketing data stack around it, you still need an ETL tool (Fivetran, Airbyte), a transformation layer (DBT), a data warehouse (Snowflake, BigQuery), a BI tool (Looker, Tableau), and potentially a separate governance solution. That's five vendor relationships, five security reviews, five integration points, and five places where data can break.

Improvado consolidates extraction, transformation, governance, and insights into one platform. It feeds any BI tool, supports any warehouse (or manages one for you), and handles the entire pipeline under a single SLA. Total cost of ownership drops because you're not paying for overlapping tools. Speed to insight increases because there are no hand-offs between systems.

For enterprises managing multiple brands, geographies, or product lines, this consolidation is the difference between a marketing team that can move quickly and one that's stuck waiting for engineering.

Dedicated customer success manager vs. ticket-only support

Improvado includes a dedicated Customer Success Manager and professional services in every contract — not as an add-on. Your CSM handles onboarding, connector prioritization, transformation logic reviews, and ongoing optimization. When APIs change or new requirements appear, you have a named contact who knows your setup.

Northbeam's support is responsive (per G2 reviews), but the service model is not explicitly structured around dedicated account management. For enterprises where downtime means lost revenue, the difference between a dedicated CSM and ticket-only support is material.

Improvado review

“Having a single point of contact simplifies everything. If we ever need assistance, we can reach out directly to Improvado instead of managing it internally. That's worth something.”

Jonathan Hemnes

EVP of Engineering

When to Choose Northbeam

Northbeam is the right platform if your primary goal is sophisticated attribution and you already have a functioning data pipeline. Here are the scenarios where Northbeam wins:

• You're a DTC or e-commerce brand running multi-channel paid acquisition. Northbeam is purpose-built for online stores measuring which paid channels (Meta, Google, TikTok, Amazon) drive conversions. Its multi-touch attribution models and media-mix modeling are best-in-class for this use case.
• You need to answer "Which channel drove this revenue?" and "Should we shift budget from TikTok to Google?" Northbeam's proprietary ML models and MMM Plus with budget simulation are designed specifically for these questions. If attribution is your primary need, Northbeam delivers.
• Your data is already clean, standardized, and centralized. Northbeam requires pre-processed inputs. If you have a data engineering team handling ETL and transformation in DBT or BigQuery, and you just need the attribution layer, Northbeam fits.
• You're willing to manage a multi-vendor stack. If you're comfortable coordinating between an ETL tool, a transformation layer, a warehouse, and a BI tool — and you just need Northbeam for attribution — this works. But expect to manage multiple vendor relationships and integration points.
• Your marketing stack is limited to paid ad platforms. If you don't need to blend CRM data, ERP data, organic channels, or offline data, Northbeam's focused integration list is sufficient.

What Customers Say About Improvado

Improvado serves enterprise marketing teams at brands like ASUS, Rite Aid, and Monster Energy, and agencies like Tinuiti, PMG, and Wpromote. Here's what they report.

Case study

At ASUS, Key features of the solution include: Read full case study →

"Improvado helped us gain full control over our marketing data globally. Previously, we couldn't get reports from different locations on time and in the same format, so it took days to standardize them. Today, we can finally build any report we want in minutes due to the vast number of data connectors and rich granularity provided by Improvado."

Jeff Lee

ASUS

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

Pricing Comparison: Improvado vs Northbeam

Northbeam does not publicly disclose pricing. Improvado uses an outcome-based pricing model that scales with data volume, connector count, and transformation complexity. Here's what drives cost at each platform.

Improvado pricing

Improvado's pricing is designed for enterprise marketing teams with complex data needs. Cost is determined by the number of data sources, data volume, transformation complexity, and whether you're using Improvado's managed warehouse or bringing your own. The platform includes a dedicated CSM, professional services, and a 99.99% SLA in every contract — not as add-ons.

Typical deployments for mid-market brands (50–200 marketing headcount, 20–50 data sources) start around $30K–$60K annually. Enterprise deployments (200+ headcount, 100+ sources, multi-brand operations) scale higher based on complexity. Improvado provides transparent pricing during the demo — no hidden fees, no usage-based surprises.

Total cost of ownership is lower than building the equivalent stack with separate ETL, transformation, governance, and BI tools. Customers report reducing vendor spend by 40–60% after consolidating onto Improvado.

Northbeam pricing

Northbeam's pricing is not publicly available. The platform offers tiered plans, including an Enterprise tier, but specific costs are disclosed only during the sales process. Northbeam is currently offering a promotional incentive: founding members of the Incrementality program can lock in 50% off unlimited incrementality tests for one year (as of Q1 2026).

Based on third-party reviews and competitor analysis, Northbeam's pricing is positioned as premium for attribution platforms, reflecting its proprietary ML models and advanced MMM capabilities. However, total cost of ownership includes the need for separate ETL, transformation, and BI tools if those are not already in place.

Total cost of ownership considerations

When evaluating Northbeam, factor in the cost of the surrounding data stack. If you need Fivetran for extraction ($2K–$10K/month), DBT Cloud for transformation ($100–$500/month per seat), Snowflake for warehousing ($500–$5K/month), and Looker for BI ($3K–$10K/month), the total stack cost exceeds $100K annually before Northbeam's attribution layer.

Improvado consolidates all of these layers into one platform, reducing the total cost of ownership and eliminating integration complexity. For teams comparing Northbeam to Improvado, the TCO analysis should include the full data stack, not just the sticker price of a single tool.

Frequently Asked Questions: Improvado vs Northbeam

What is the main difference between Improvado and Northbeam?

Northbeam is a specialized attribution and media-mix modeling platform designed for DTC e-commerce brands to measure which paid channels drive revenue. Improvado is a full-stack marketing data platform that extracts data from 500+ sources, transforms it with marketing-specific models, enforces data quality governance, and delivers insights to BI tools. Northbeam solves attribution; Improvado solves the entire data pipeline from extraction to trusted reporting.

Does Improvado offer multi-touch attribution like Northbeam?

Improvado does not include native multi-touch attribution (MTA) or media-mix modeling (MMM). It focuses on data aggregation, transformation, and governance. Teams using Improvado typically integrate with third-party attribution platforms or build custom attribution models using the unified dataset Improvado delivers. Northbeam's MTA and MMM are proprietary and best-in-class for e-commerce brands.

Can Northbeam handle data transformation and governance?

No. Northbeam is an attribution platform, not a data transformation or governance tool. It requires clean, standardized data inputs. If your campaign naming is inconsistent, your UTM parameters are missing, or your data quality is low, you'll need to solve that before Northbeam can work. Improvado automates transformation — deduplication, naming convention parsing, field mapping, and currency conversion — and includes a Marketing Data Governance module with 250+ pre-built rules.

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

Migration timelines depend on the number of data sources and transformation complexity. A typical mid-market deployment (20–50 sources) takes 4–8 weeks from kickoff to production dashboards. Improvado's professional services team handles connector setup, transformation logic, and BI integration. Your dedicated CSM manages the project timeline and ensures smooth handoff from Northbeam.

Which platform is better for enterprise marketing teams?

Improvado is purpose-built for enterprise marketing teams managing multiple brands, geographies, and complex data stacks. It scales to 500+ data sources, handles multi-brand reporting, enforces data governance, and integrates with any BI tool. Northbeam is designed for DTC e-commerce brands focused on paid channel attribution. If you're an enterprise with diverse data sources and need centralized governance, Improvado is the better fit.

Does Improvado integrate with the same ad platforms as Northbeam?

Yes. Improvado supports 500+ connectors, including all major ad platforms: Meta (Facebook, Instagram), Google Ads, TikTok, Amazon Ads, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, and more. It also connects to CRMs (Salesforce, HubSpot), analytics tools (Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics), e-commerce platforms (Shopify, Magento), and offline data sources. Northbeam focuses on paid ad platforms and has limited integrations beyond e-commerce attribution.

What happens when an API changes or a data source updates?

Improvado handles API maintenance and backward compatibility. When a platform updates its API, Improvado's engineering team updates the connector and preserves 2 years of historical data so your dashboards don't break. Northbeam's maintenance approach is not publicly disclosed, but as a specialized platform, it focuses on maintaining integrations for its core ad platform connectors.

Can I use both Improvado and Northbeam together?

Yes, though it's uncommon. Some teams use Improvado to centralize and transform data from 500+ sources, then feed that unified dataset into Northbeam for attribution modeling. However, this creates redundancy — you're paying for two platforms when Improvado can deliver the aggregated dataset to any BI tool, and you can build attribution models on top of that. Most teams choose one or the other based on their primary need: attribution (Northbeam) or full-stack data platform (Improvado).