Foundations
Part of England's marketing attribution market has no total: supplier presence, method fit and 2027 rework
Comparing marketing attribution delivery models without assuming a winner
Compare marketing attribution delivery models in England on common evidence, control, cost, risk and exit fields without assuming a universal winner.
Marketing attribution delivery models in England run from internal work to a platform report, open-source modelling, hosted software or a managed service. Subscription, usage, project and day-rate terms are charging units. Cost and control can only be read side by side when each route is matched to its charging unit.
Method: desk comparison completed 6 September 2026. Use case: an England-headquartered organisation needs a repeatable quarterly view of channel contribution and an occasional incremental test.
Inclusions: routes capable of producing a documented attribution or evaluation output. Exclusions: media buying alone, general dashboards and suppliers without verifiable scope.
Criteria: deliverable, input unit, buyer work, inference boundary and control. Criteria, continued: security evidence, commercial unit and exit.
Ranking: none. Conflicts: no provider supplied access, funding or review material beyond public documentation.
What to take away
- Delivery models and charging units are separate categories, so cost and control cannot be compared if they are merged.
- Platform attribution reports such as Google Ads cover interactions in the advertiser's account, not the whole customer journey.
- Allocating credit and estimating caused outcomes are different deliverables requiring different evidence.
- Control and exit terms differ by routeinternal labour, platform edition, open-source reproducibility, hosted usage unit, managed acceptance and evaluation stopping rules.
- No single best route exists; the right choice follows the buyer's question and acceptance tests.
Attribution delivery routes compared
Manual
- Deliverable
- Reconciliation sheet
- Buyer work
- Owns definitions
- Evidence boundary
- No causal claim
- Exit question
- File portability
Platform
- Deliverable
- Credit report
- Buyer work
- Configures events
- Evidence boundary
- Captured interactions only
- Exit question
- Data export
Open-source
- Deliverable
- Code and pipeline
- Buyer work
- Supplies analysts
- Evidence boundary
- Assumptions and validation
- Exit question
- Reproducibility
Hosted
- Deliverable
- Supplier workflow
- Buyer work
- Governs data
- Evidence boundary
- Needs buyer validation
- Exit question
- Deletion and change
Compare the delivery routes
Deliverable and buyer work
- In-house reconciliation (spreadsheet plus written allocation rule)
- Reconciliation sheet and written allocation rule; buyer owns definitions and corrections
- Platform reporting: Google Ads attribution reports, GA4 data-driven attribution
- Product-defined credit report; buyer configures events and interpretation
- Buyer-run open-source model: Google Meridian, Meta Robyn
- Code, data pipeline, estimates and diagnostics; buyer supplies analytical capability
- Hosted analytical service: Adobe Customer Journey Analytics, Northbeam
- Supplier workflow and outputs; buyer governs data and acceptance
- Managed specialist engagement: Analytic Partners, Ebiquity
- Agreed analysis and interpretation; buyer provides brief, data and decision owner
- Controlled evaluation: Meta GeoLift, Google Ads conversion lift
- Experimental or quasi-experimental estimate; operational teams implement the design
Evidence boundary
- In-house reconciliation (spreadsheet plus written allocation rule)
- Reproducible allocation if versioned, but no causal claim
- Platform reporting: Google Ads attribution reports, GA4 data-driven attribution
- Limited to captured interactions and current platform rules
- Buyer-run open-source model: Google Meridian, Meta Robyn
- Depends on inputs, assumptions, validation and uncertainty
- Hosted analytical service: Adobe Customer Journey Analytics, Northbeam
- Supplier claims require buyer-side validation
- Managed specialist engagement: Analytic Partners, Ebiquity
- Only the contracted method and population are covered
- Controlled evaluation: Meta GeoLift, Google Ads conversion lift
- Stronger causal interpretation only if the counterfactual and execution are credible
Commercial and exit questions
- In-house reconciliation (spreadsheet plus written allocation rule)
- Internal labour, continuity, audit trail and file portability
- Platform reporting: Google Ads attribution reports, GA4 data-driven attribution
- Usually part of a wider service; exact edition, data export and account exit remain material
- Buyer-run open-source model: Google Meridian, Meta Robyn
- Hosting, staff time, maintenance, reproducibility and handover
- Hosted analytical service: Adobe Customer Journey Analytics, Northbeam
- Exact plan, users or usage unit, support, export, deletion, change and termination
- Managed specialist engagement: Analytic Partners, Ebiquity
- Project scope, acceptance, reusable artefacts, liability and transition
- Controlled evaluation: Meta GeoLift, Google Ads conversion lift
- Design and analysis scope, stopping rules, adverse effects and evidence ownership
| Route | Typical charging unit | UK cost signal (indicative desk estimate checked 6 September 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| In-house reconciliation | Internal staff time | Buyer's own day rate |
| Platform reporting | No separate licence fee for Google Ads reports or GA4 standard | Tagging and data work sit with the buyer |
| Buyer-run open-source model | No licence fee | Data engineering, analyst time, hosting and validation |
| Hosted analytical service | Subscription per account or usage unit | Northbeam and Triple Whale charge monthly by tracked spend or store revenue |
| Managed specialist engagement | Project fee or day rate | £700 to £1,500 a day for UK consultancy |
| Controlled evaluation | No platform licence fee | Design and analysis time dominate |
Named models for each route
- Google Ads attribution reports sit inside an Ads account with no separate licence fee. They cover interactions in that account, so activity outside it stays invisible.
- Google Analytics 4 includes data-driven attribution at no charge in standard properties. It needs enough conversions and consistent tagging, and it reports only on GA4-measured events.
- Google Meridian is Google's open-source marketing mix modelling framework, published on developers.google.com. There is no licence fee; the buyer supplies media data, modelling skill and validation.
- Meta Robyn is Meta's open-source marketing mix modelling library in R. It outputs saturation curves and budget allocation options, and the buyer supplies training data and review.
- Northbeam and Triple Whale are ecommerce attribution platforms aimed at direct-to-consumer brands. Both charge a monthly subscription that rises with tracked ad spend or store revenue.
- Analytic Partners, Gain Theory and Ebiquity run managed marketing effectiveness work. Ebiquity is an AIM-listed consultancy based in London and Gain Theory sits inside WPP. Fees are typically project-based or charged as day rates.
Apply the evidence limits from Google, HM Treasury and the NCSC
Two current first-party records show the documentation boundary. Google Ads says its attribution reports cover interactions in the advertiser's Google Ads account, which is a defined platform view rather than a whole-customer journey.
Google also publishes Meridian as an open-source marketing mix modelling framework. The name confirms an implementation exists; it does not establish accuracy, suitability, support or availability of an England service.
For incremental questions, HM Treasury's current Magenta Book describes counterfactual comparison as central to impact evaluation. The guidance covers public policy, so a commercial buyer must adapt the method rather than claim endorsement. That gap explains why allocating credit and estimating caused outcomes are different deliverables.
Security cannot be inferred from the delivery label. The NCSC SaaS configuration guidance places continuing responsibility for configuration on the customer. Procurement should record access roles, service identities, incident evidence, backup or export, and recovery for the exact arrangement.
Public price points are thin. GA4 standard, Meridian, Robyn and GeoLift carry no licence fee, and AppsFlyer publishes a free tier. Adobe, Northbeam and the managed consultancies quote per account.
UK consultancy day rates typically land between about £700 and £1,500, while ecommerce attribution subscriptions typically start near £100 a month. These ranges are indicative desk estimates checked 6 September 2026, not quoted prices.
Prices were excluded from the first table because no single charging unit applies across the six routes. The second table fills that gap. A buyer worksheet should still capture currency, VAT treatment, period, quantity and implementation.
Worked worksheet row (illustrative, not a quote): managed specialist engagement, unit day rate, quantity 10 days, unit price £1,000, net £10,000, VAT at 20% £2,000, gross £12,000, period 1 January to 31 March 2027. The £1,000 day rate sits inside the indicative desk estimate above.
Add internal labour and exit terms to the same sheet. Procurement should also identify who owns the model specification, source extracts, correction log and reusable code when the engagement ends.
The correct route clears the buyer's acceptance tests for the stated question. This comparison makes no award and needs named commercial, statistical, privacy and security review before publication.
Before you act
- In-house reconciliationversion the allocation rule and name the owner of the correction log.
- Platform reportingconfirm the exact edition, export rights and account exit before relying on credit reports.
- Buyer-run open-source modelbudget analyst time, hosting and validation for Meridian or Robyn.
- Hosted analytical serviceagree the usage unit, support tier, export and deletion terms.
- Managed specialist engagementfix project scope, acceptance tests, reusable artefacts and transition.
- Controlled evaluationset stopping rules, adverse-effect checks and evidence ownership.
Common questions
Why were prices left out of the comparison?
The first table omits prices because no single charging unit applies across the six delivery routes. The second table lists typical charging units, and the worked row shows currency, VAT, period and quantity.
What does the Google Ads attribution record show?
Google Ads explains that its attribution reports cover interactions in the advertiser's Google Ads account. That is a defined platform view, not a whole-customer journey. It is a first-party record illustrating the documentation boundary rather than proof of accuracy or suitability.
How should a buyer treat security when choosing a route?
The body cites the NCSC SaaS configuration guidance. Apply that configuration test to the exact arrangement and use the record list in the body.
