Cometly vs Northbeam: Paid-Ad CAPI vs ML Attribution (2026)

The short version

Cometly and Northbeam both work on paid-ad attribution, but they solve different jobs. Cometly enriches the signal you send back to Meta and Google so the ad platforms make better optimization decisions. Northbeam assigns fractional credit across your paid media with a machine-learning model and adds view-through and creative analytics on top. Cometly is the choice when ad-platform optimization is the goal. Northbeam is the choice when you run a large DTC brand and want ML-assigned credit that sums to 100% of actual conversions.

The thing both share: they see paid ads, and they pick the model for you.

At a glance

Where Cometly wins

CAPI enrichment

This is Cometly's reason to exist. It improves the conversion data you feed back to Meta's Conversions API, raising match rates so the platform recognizes more of your conversions. Better match rates mean better audience building and better in-platform optimization. If most of your revenue runs through Meta and Google ads, this is a concrete lever Northbeam doesn't pull.

AI optimization recommendations

Cometly's AI tells media buyers which campaigns to scale and which to cut, based on the attribution data it collects. For a paid-media team that wants direction rather than a dashboard to interpret, that guidance is faster to act on.

Faster setup

Cometly is a pixel install plus platform connections, live in days. Northbeam's onboarding runs one to two weeks because the ML model needs data and configuration before its output stabilizes.

Where Northbeam wins

ML credit that sums to 100%

Northbeam's fractional model assigns partial credit across touchpoints so the totals reconcile to actual conversions, rather than letting every channel claim the same sale. For a brand spending heavily across several paid platforms, that reconciliation prevents the overcounting that rule-based models produce.

View-through and creative analytics

Northbeam tracks view-through conversions and shows which specific ad creatives drive revenue. Cometly does neither. For a DTC brand testing dozens of creatives a week, creative-level attribution changes how the budget gets spent.

Published starting price

Northbeam puts a $400/mo floor on the page. Cometly requires a demo before you see a number. For a team that wants to scope cost before booking a sales call, Northbeam is easier to evaluate.

The pricing reality

Neither tool is cheap, and direct comparison is hard because Cometly hides its pricing.

Both land in the same range at scale. Cometly's cost tracks ad spend; Northbeam's tracks pageviews. Model the one that matches your growth curve.

Choose Cometly if...

• Meta and Google ads are most of your revenue and CAPI match rates matter
• You want AI to recommend which campaigns to scale or cut
• You need to be live in days, not weeks
• Ad-platform optimization is the job, not cross-channel attribution

Choose Northbeam if...

• You run a large DTC brand ($40M+) with dedicated media buyers
• You want ML fractional credit that reconciles to actual conversions
• View-through and creative-level analytics change your budget decisions
• You can absorb a $400/mo floor and a one-to-two week onboarding

The third option most teams actually need

Both tools answer "how are my paid ads doing?" Neither answers "which channels actually drive revenue?" If organic search brings 40% of your first touches and email drives a quarter of repeat revenue, Cometly and Northbeam both leave that traffic uncredited. And both decide the attribution model for you: Cometly gives you four fixed models, Northbeam gives you one ML model you can't see inside.

mbuzz takes the opposite stance. It runs eight attribution models on the same data, side-by-side, so you can see how much "this channel works" is a model choice versus a data fact. When last-touch says Google is 15% of credit and Markov says 40%, the real answer lives in the spread between them. You can fork any of the eight models and edit the logic in a SQL-like Attribution DSL. It tracks every channel, not just paid ads, and runs server-side so it captures the touchpoints ad blockers and iOS privacy hide from client-side tools. Pricing is published: free, $29, $99, $299 a month.

You can try the mbuzz demo with sample data and no signup to see the eight models side-by-side. If you're still mapping what your stack actually needs, the free Measurement Maturity Assessment scores you across six dimensions in about three minutes.

Related comparisons

• Cometly Alternatives — 7 attribution tools compared
• Northbeam Alternatives — other enterprise DTC options
• mbuzz vs Cometly — all-channel vs paid-ads attribution
• mbuzz vs Northbeam — model transparency vs ML black box

Holly Mehakovic

Co-Founder, mbuzz

Holly Mehakovic is Co-Founder of mbuzz. With 10+ years in marketing including roles at Westpac, Avon, and Forebrite, she's obsessed with making measurement actually useful.

Harvard Extension School Forebrite Westpac Avon