Northbeam measures. Sumeru acts.
Northbeam is a serious measurement platform — published methodology, MTA + MMM blend, used by enterprise DTC. Sumeru is a different shape: a real-time runtime that ingests events, attributes them in under 60 seconds, then routes the corresponding action — bid change, cart recovery, content refresh — through the Automation Engine. Honest comparison below.
When to pick which.
- →You need attribution that triggers actions, not measurement-only reports
- →You're operating in real-time — bid response, cart recovery routing, decay detection
- →You want a unified runtime covering attribution + SEO + automation, not just measurement
- →You can't afford a 2–4 week setup cycle
- →Your shop is $1M–$50M GMV — Northbeam-tier pricing isn't a fit
- →You need full Marketing Mix Modelling for board-level allocation decisions
- →Your team includes a measurement scientist who'll exercise the methodology
- →You're a $50M+ DTC brand with a measurement-grade reporting requirement
- →You want a read-only measurement layer separate from your action layer
Northbeam is excellent at what it's built for — measurement-grade attribution. We respect that. Sumeru is a different shape: real-time + closed-loop. The two can run in parallel.
Capability comparison.
Specific, evidence-based, no FUD.
| Capability | Sumeru | Northbeam | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attribution methodology | Multi-touch · 7 models in parallel | Multi-touch + MMM · single model surfaced | TIE |
| Time to first insight | 30 min · auto-ingest from Shopify + ads | 2–4 weeks · pixel + tag-manager + verification | SUMERU |
| Attribution latency (P95) | <60s · real-time on event bus | Hourly to 4-hourly | SUMERU |
| Marketing Mix Modelling | Channel-rollup based · simpler | Full MMM · industry-grade | NORTHBEAM |
| Closed-loop · acts on insights | Yes · automation engine on same runtime | No · measurement-only | SUMERU |
| Cross-channel coverage | 8 channels (paid + organic + WA + email) | Strong on paid · weaker on organic + lifecycle | SUMERU |
| Price point (mid-market) | Tiered · published pricing | Enterprise-only · negotiated | SUMERU |
| Setup complexity | OAuth + go · low IT lift | Tag setup + verification · sales engineer assist | SUMERU |
| Methodology rigour · academic | Standard MTA models | Published methodology · MTA + MMM blend | NORTHBEAM |
| Audit log + compliance | Plain-language audit row per action · 365d | Standard activity log | SUMERU |
Three differences that change the playbook.
30 minutes vs 2–4 weeks.
Northbeam's measurement rigour comes with a setup cost — pixels, tag managers, verification, sales-engineer assist. Sumeru ingests from the same APIs (Shopify, Google Ads, Meta CAPI) via OAuth in 30 minutes.
Insight → action, automated.
Northbeam tells you what to do; you log into Google Ads to do it. Sumeru's attribution is wired into the Automation Engine — bid adjustment proposals queue automatically, gated by a 7-day mandatory dry-run for paid spend, with snapshot+undo on every action.
Mid-market accessible.
Northbeam's enterprise tier and methodology rigour come with enterprise pricing — typically negotiated, often $50k+/yr. Sumeru's tiers are published and start much lower; mid-market shops in the $1M–$50M GMV band can deploy without a custom contract cycle.
Migrating from Northbeam to Sumeru.
Most migrations take 1–2 weeks.
OAuth ingest
Sumeru reads from Shopify, Google Ads, Meta, TikTok, GA4 via OAuth. No pixel/tag re-installation.
Backfill 90 days
Historical orders + ad metrics replayed into Sumeru. Cohort retention computed on the historical data.
Both in parallel
Run Sumeru and Northbeam side-by-side for 2–4 weeks. Compare attribution allocations and identify decision-driving deltas.
Switch routing
Once confidence is high, route the team to Sumeru. Keep Northbeam for board-level MMM if measurement rigour is still required.
See real-time attribution against Northbeam's allocation.
We connect to your shop, run all 7 models against the last 90 days, and compare against your existing Northbeam allocation. You leave with a side-by-side and a deployment plan.