Open Attrib vs Northbeam
Northbeam is seven- and eight-figure brands spending six figures a month on ads, where a dedicated media strategist comes with the tool. Open Attrib is teams that want first-party multi-touch attribution without a five-figure annual line item or a server they cannot touch. Both do first-party multi-touch attribution; the difference that decides it is who runs the software and how it is paid for — a subscription in Northbeam's cloud, or $997 once on a server you control.
Where the two actually differ.
Eight questions that decide a self-hosted purchase. The right-hand column is what Northbeam publishes about itself, not this site's opinion of it.
| Open Attrib | Northbeam | |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs | $997 once, install help included. | Starter from $1,500 per month and Professional from $3,500 per month, both priced against annual ad spend; Enterprise is custom |
| How you are billed | One payment of $997. No seat count, no per-event charge, no revenue share, and no renewal required to keep it running. | A monthly subscription whose tier is set by annual ad spend. Their published figures are "from" rates, with the final number quoted. |
| Where it runs | On your own server or VPS: Docker Compose brings up Postgres, the API, the worker and TLS together. | Their cloud. You reach it through a browser and they operate it. |
| Where your data lives | In your Postgres, on your box. The only thing that leaves is the conversion you have chosen to send back to an ad platform. | In their database, under their terms and their retention policy. |
| The source code | Included under AGPL-3.0-or-later: read it, change it, redistribute it, keep running it. | Proprietary. Not provided, not modifiable. |
| If you stop paying | Nothing changes. The instance keeps running and your history stays queryable; only new updates stop. | Access ends when the billing period does. |
| Getting it running | Install help included: a call working through DNS, TLS, the tracker and a first real conversion on your own site. | Demo-led onboarding, with a media strategist on Professional and above and integrations configured with you. |
| Sending the sale back | Server-side to Meta CAPI, Google Ads and TikTok Events, hashed, with one ledger row per send so a retry cannot double-count. | Northbeam Apex enriches conversions with first-party data to influence ad delivery algorithms. |
Northbeam pricing read from www.northbeam.io/pricing on 2026-09-19. Vendors change plans and prices; check the page before deciding on a number.
Choose on the shape, not the feature list.
Choose Northbeam if
seven- and eight-figure brands spending six figures a month on ads, where a dedicated media strategist comes with the tool. That is a real advantage, and it is the reason these platforms exist.
Choose Open Attrib if
teams that want first-party multi-touch attribution without a five-figure annual line item or a server they cannot touch. You get the same first-party tracking without a recurring bill, and you take on the server.
What Northbeam does better than this.
A comparison that finds nothing in the other column is not a comparison. These are the published advantages of Northbeam.
Media mix modelling and incrementality
Their MMM Plus and incrementality testing answer a question multi-touch attribution cannot: what would have happened without the spend. None of that statistical work is in this repo, and buying it is a legitimate reason to choose them.
Click and deterministic view attribution
Their C+DV work credits an ad that was seen but not clicked. Open Attrib attributes on identified interactions, so a view-through sale is a gap here.
People around the software
A dedicated media strategist, a customer success manager and an agency partner network come with the platform. This product includes an install call and then email support.
Scale the single implementer cannot reach
Granular touchpoint exports, hourly conversion data and ad-platform credits are built for a team running six-figure monthly spend.
Northbeam, answered.
Is Open Attrib a Northbeam alternative?
Not for the same buyer, most of the time. Northbeam is for brands spending six figures a month on ads and wanting media mix modelling, incrementality testing and a strategist. Open Attrib is for a team that wants first-party multi-touch attribution it runs itself, for one payment, with no statistical modelling of ad spend.
Does Open Attrib do media mix modelling or incrementality testing?
No. It records clicks and conversions, resolves them to a person, scores one conversion with five attribution models side by side and sends the confirmed sale back to Meta, Google and TikTok. MMM and geo-lift are things Northbeam does and this does not — if you need them, that alone decides it.
How do the prices compare?
Northbeam publishes Starter from $1,500 per month and Professional from $3,500 per month against annual ad spend. Open Attrib is $997 once with install help included. Their figures were read on 2026-09-19 from their pricing page and are "from" rates, so the quote that reaches you may differ.
Can I self-host Northbeam?
No. It is a hosted platform. If owning the instance is the requirement, the self-hosted option here is this one: your server, your Postgres, the source under AGPL-3.0-or-later.
Compare it with the others, or with your own stack.
- Open Attrib vs Hyros — Managed attribution with a setup team, sold monthly on tracked revenue.
- Open Attrib vs Triple Whale — Shopify-native analytics and AI budget allocation, tiered by store revenue.
- Open Attrib vs Cometly — B2B SaaS attribution from first touch to closed-won, priced on pageviews.
- Open Attrib vs SegMetrics — Full-funnel analytics and lifetime value for info products, from $57 a month.
- Open Attrib vs Wicked Reports — Lifetime-value attribution for ecommerce and subscriptions, in revenue bands.
Something here wrong about Northbeam, or out of date? [email protected] — corrections ship the same day.