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Marketing · head to head

Northbeam vs SurveyCTO

Northbeam logo

Northbeam

Marketing

Marketing intelligence for growth brands

From
$1500/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
SurveyCTO logo

SurveyCTO

Surveys

Offline field survey platform priced by submissions rather than seats, built for research data quality

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only SurveyCTO has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Northbeam limited creative-level reporting focused on campaign and ad set rather than individual ad performance; SurveyCTO pricing is by submission volume, forms and storage rather than by users, so a small team running continuous high-volume collection can pay more than a 200-person survey team that runs for six weeks
  • They diverge on capability: Northbeam covers Cross-platform attribution, SurveyCTO covers Offline collection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Northbeam and SurveyCTO actually diverge.

Attributes where Northbeam and SurveyCTO differ
AttributeNorthbeamSurveyCTO
Starting price$1500/monthFree
Pricing modelUnknownPer month by submission volume
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, Android, iOS
CategoryMarketingSurveys
Founded2020Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Northbeam

  • Cross-platform attribution
  • Media mix modeling
  • Creative analytics
  • Real-time dashboards
  • Incrementality testing
  • Customer journey
  • Cohort analysis
  • LTV predictions

Only in SurveyCTO

  • Offline collection
  • XLSForm authoring
  • Automated quality checks
  • Audio auditing
  • Case management
  • Random assignment
  • Server region selection

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Northbeam

  • Marketing attributionnot SurveyCTO
  • Media optimizationnot SurveyCTO
  • Creative testingnot SurveyCTO
  • Budget allocationnot SurveyCTO

SurveyCTO

  • A household survey with 200 enumerators across a country where paying per seat would cost more than the fieldworknot Northbeam
  • An impact evaluation that needs audio auditing and timing metadata to prove interviews were conducted as reportednot Northbeam
  • A panel study revisiting the same households annually and needing offline case assignment to find them againnot Northbeam
  • A statistics unit that must keep data inside a specific region and produce a SOC 2 report for its fundernot Northbeam

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Northbeam

  • Limited creative-level reporting focused on campaign and ad set rather than individual ad performance
  • Lack of transparency in attribution modeling methodology and how credit is assigned
  • Pageview-based pricing that can scale faster than perceived value for high-traffic, lower-conversion brands
  • Slower reporting cadence limits real-time feedback for teams requiring immediate performance data

SurveyCTO

  • Pricing is by submission volume, forms and storage rather than by users, so a small team running continuous high-volume collection can pay more than a 200-person survey team that runs for six weeks
  • Forms are authored in XLSForm spreadsheet syntax, which is precise and versionable but has a real learning curve, and organisations without someone comfortable in it stall at form design
  • Overage is charged at 100 US dollars per 1,000 extra submissions, which is easy to trigger on the Basic tier at 5,000 a month and produces surprise invoices during an active field round
  • Server region selection only appears on the Pro tier and a custom GDPR data processing agreement only on Advanced, so European data protection requirements push the price to at least 315 and often 630 dollars a month regardless of volume
  • It is built for structured research fieldwork, not for business process forms, so it has no dispatch, no invoicing and no formatted document output, and a field service business would be buying the wrong tool

Pricing, plan by plan

Northbeam

$1500/month
  • Starter$1500/month
    • Multi-touch attribution
    • Media mix modeling
    • Up to 1M monthly pageviews
  • Professional$2500/month
    • All Starter features
    • Creative analytics
    • Export API access

SurveyCTO

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • Permanent free subscription for testing and training
    • 10 forms
    • 200 monthly submissions
  • Basic$225/month
    • Billed annually, 250 USD month to month
    • 100 forms
    • 10 GB storage
  • Pro$315/month
    • Billed annually, 350 USD month to month
    • 500 forms
    • 25 GB storage
  • Advanced$630/month
    • Billed annually, 700 USD month to month
    • Unlimited forms, storage and submissions
    • Advanced offline case management

Which should you pick?

Choose Northbeam if

  • You need cross-platform attribution.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want media mix modeling.
Northbeam review

Choose SurveyCTO if

  • You need offline collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Android, iOS.
  • You also want xlsform authoring.
SurveyCTO review

Questions people ask

Is Northbeam or SurveyCTO better?
Neither clearly leads. Northbeam starts at $1500/month and SurveyCTO at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Northbeam or SurveyCTO?
SurveyCTO has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $1500/month for Northbeam and Free for SurveyCTO.
Does Northbeam or SurveyCTO run on more platforms?
Northbeam runs on Web, API. SurveyCTO runs on Web, Android, iOS.
Can I use SurveyCTO for free?
Yes. SurveyCTO has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Northbeam starts at $1500/month.
What is Northbeam best used for?
Northbeam is most often used for marketing attribution, media optimization, creative testing, budget allocation. Of those, marketing attribution and media optimization are not what SurveyCTO is typically brought in for.
What can Northbeam do that SurveyCTO cannot?
Northbeam covers Cross-platform attribution, Media mix modeling, Creative analytics, Real-time dashboards. SurveyCTO covers Offline collection, XLSForm authoring, Automated quality checks, Audio auditing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Northbeam: How is Northbeam priced?

Northbeam offers three tiers: Starter ($1,500/month), Professional ($2,500/month), and Enterprise (custom quote). Pricing is based on monthly pageviews and refreshed data frequency. There are no setup fees, free plan, or free trial.

Source
SurveyCTO: Do I pay per enumerator?

No. Users and devices are unlimited on every paid tier. You pay for monthly submissions, forms and storage.

Northbeam: What platforms does Northbeam integrate with?

Northbeam integrates with Shopify, Meta Ads, Google Ads, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat, YouTube, Klaviyo, Recharge, and others. It pushes attribution data to Meta CAPI, Google Conversion API, GA4, and TikTok Events API.

Source
SurveyCTO: Is there a free version?

Yes, a permanent community subscription with 10 forms, 200 monthly submissions and 200 MB of storage, intended for testing and training rather than production.

Northbeam: What does Northbeam measure?

Northbeam uses multi-touch attribution (MTA), media mix modeling (MMM), and Northbeam Apex to measure how paid media spend translates to revenue. Apex sends attribution data directly back to ad platforms for algorithm optimization.

Source
SurveyCTO: What happens if I exceed my submissions?

Extra credits are 100 US dollars per 1,000, with discounts of 20 per cent or more at volume. Plan the tier around your peak field month, not your average.

Northbeam: Who should use Northbeam?

Northbeam is ideal for intermediate to advanced ecommerce operators at Shopify-based DTC brands generating $1M+ annual revenue and spending at least $1.5M yearly on paid media across multiple channels.

Source
SurveyCTO: Can I choose where the data is stored?

Only on Pro and above. If data residency matters, budget for at least the Pro tier.

Northbeam: What are Northbeam's main limitations?

Key limitations include a steep learning curve and complex interface, shallow creative-level reporting, lack of model transparency, pricing that can scale faster than value for high-traffic brands, and slower reporting cadence compared to real-time dashboards.

Source
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