[← Analytics tools](/category/analytics-tools) # Marketing agency reporting tools: choose by where data lives [David Pombar](/about-me) · November 8, 2026 · 15 min read The choice of a marketing agency reporting tool comes down to two questions: where the data lives, and what unit you pay for. A tool that queries the ad platforms live is cheap and quick to set up. It can only show the history the platform's API still returns. A tool that stores a copy, or loads it into a warehouse, costs more and lets you define a metric once for every client. *Disclosure: I am the Chief Revenue Officer at Trackingplan, one of the tools in this category. I evaluate it with the same criteria as the others, and I say where it is not the best fit.* White-label, AI summaries and templates are close to standard by now. This guide is for the head of performance who reports on many ad accounts, at an agency or in-house across brands. It also helps the client who wants to know what an agency report can show. **How I compared them.** Twelve tools, seven criteria: data model, connectors, history, cross-source metrics, client-facing features, export and pricing unit. All facts come from each vendor's own website and documentation, read on 8 November 2026 and linked below. I have not run a side-by-side test, so the weaknesses are what the vendors document, not benchmark results. Where a vendor's pages contradict each other, I say so. For Trackingplan I used only its public site and documentation, like for the rest, and I mark what they don't yet document. ## You need a dedicated tool once reporting stops being a template A spreadsheet and the native dashboards of each platform work for a handful of clients. The breaking points are predictable: - **Accounts multiply.** Each client brings Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, GA4 and Search Console. Copying exports by hand stops scaling early. - **Clients ask for cross-channel numbers.** Blended cost per acquisition or a ROAS across platforms needs one definition applied to every source. Each platform also attributes conversions its own way, so the blend needs a rule. The [ROAS calculation guide](/how-to-calculate-return-on-ad-spend) covers which cost and which revenue to use. - **Clients compare periods.** Year over year needs at least 13 months of history. Some tools don't keep it. With a BI team and a warehouse, you may not need an agency tool: connectors into the warehouse and a BI layer do the job. The [business intelligence for marketing](/business-intelligence-for-marketing-data-driven-success) post covers that route. ## The criteria that matter, and how to check each one 1. **Data model.** Does the tool query each platform's API when the report opens, keep its own copy, or load into a warehouse you own? Live queries inherit API limits and history windows; a stored copy or your own warehouse doesn't. 2. **Connectors that matter to you.** Ignore the headline count. List your top ten sources, CRM and ecommerce included. Check that each one is native, not a partner connector or a Sheets workaround. 3. **History.** How many months can a client see, and does it depend on the source? Does a new client get a backfill? 4. **Cross-source metrics.** Can you define a calculated metric once, across platforms, and reuse it for every client? 5. **Client-facing features.** Custom domain, logo, scheduled email or PDF, client logins with restricted views. Check which plan includes each. 6. **Export.** PDF is universal. CSV, an API or a warehouse destination tells you whether the data can leave the tool when you do. 7. **Pricing unit.** Per client, per dashboard, per connected account, per credit or per row. The weights depend on what you sell. Campaign management weighs setup time and per-client cost. Measurement weighs data model, history and export. ## The pricing unit decides the bill The same agency can cost very different amounts depending on how a tool counts. Take an example, not a benchmark: 40 clients, each with three ad accounts, one report per client. - [AgencyAnalytics](https://agencyanalytics.com/pricing) charges per client: $20 per client per month billed annually, so $800 a month. - [DashThis](https://dashthis.com/pricing/) charges by dashboards and sources. Forty dashboards need the Standard plan: from $429 a month billed annually, for 50 dashboards and 200 sources. - [Whatagraph](https://whatagraph.com/pricing) charges one credit per connected account. The "from €699" Max price covers 50 credits, so 120 accounts needs a quote. - [Swydo](https://www.swydo.com/pricing/) charges per data source after the first ten, from €4.50 down to €2.00 each as volume grows. Per-client pricing favors clients with many accounts. Per-account pricing favors many small clients. Per-row pricing, which Improvado uses, favors few clients with deep data. Trackingplan charges per plan, and agencies run [one plan per client](https://www.trackingplan.com/docs/multi-account-management), so it costs like per-client pricing. ## Seven demo questions that expose the data model 1. Where is the data stored between refreshes, and for how long? 2. How many months of history will a new client see on day one, for Google Ads, Meta Ads and GA4? 3. Show me one calculated metric, such as blended cost per acquisition, reused across ten clients. 4. Which white-label features are on the plan I'm quoting, not on the plan above it? 5. Can a client log in and see only their own reports? With which roles? 6. How do I export the underlying data, not the PDF, if I leave? 7. What counts toward my bill: clients, dashboards, connected accounts, credits or rows? What happens when I exceed it? ## Five red flags that should end a demo - **"Unlimited history"** with no explanation of where it comes from. If the tool queries live, history is whatever the platform's API returns. - **A connector count with no list.** Ask for your ten sources by name. - **White-label that needs a higher plan** than the one you were quoted. Check the plan table, not the feature page. - **No export besides PDF.** Your reporting history stays locked in the tool. - **Pricing that counts something you can't predict**, such as credits consumed by refreshes, with no cap. ## The tools, by the job they do Four groups. Agency reporting platforms connect, visualize and send. Connectors feed a BI or reporting tool you already use. Marketing data platforms store and model the data, and reporting is one output. An analytics agent watches the tracking and the ad platforms, writes reports and alerts. Within each group, the order is alphabetical. ### Agency reporting platforms #### AgencyAnalytics - **What it does:** "Client intelligence for marketing agencies", with [90+ integrations](https://agencyanalytics.com/integrations) and dashboards, reports and a client login. Its [custom metrics](https://help.agencyanalytics.com/en/articles/5394857-create-and-manage-custom-metrics) combine metrics from different integrations, with up to 15 metrics per formula and no nesting. Reports can be [scheduled](https://help.agencyanalytics.com/en/articles/15650476-send-schedule-and-approve-reports) from daily to annually. - **Best for:** agencies that price their own services per client and want client logins with [per-client permissions](https://help.agencyanalytics.com/en/articles/9774477-create-and-manage-users). - **Not for:** teams that need the data outside the tool. Exports are [PDF, some XLS and an admin CSV](https://help.agencyanalytics.com/en/articles/8602801-manage-exports-and-transfer-clients); BigQuery is a [source only](https://help.agencyanalytics.com/en/articles/8649055-connect-google-bigquery). - **Pricing (public, November 2026):** Core at [$20 per client per month](https://agencyanalytics.com/pricing), billed annually; bulk pricing above 25 clients through sales. The [white-label page](https://agencyanalytics.com/features/white-label) says a full custom domain comes "with select plans", while the pricing table lists it as included. #### Databox - **What it does:** dashboards and reports for teams in general, with an [Agency plan](https://databox.com/analytics-software/agencies). It lists 107 integrations in its [library](https://databox.com/integrations), against a "130+" claim. AI summaries and anomaly detection are on [all plans](https://databox.com/pricing). - **Best for:** agencies whose clients want KPI dashboards and goals more than monthly PDF reports. - **Not for:** low-cost white-label at scale. [White-label](https://help.databox.com/white-label-your-account) is an $80 a month add-on, bought once per client account. - **Pricing (public, November 2026):** the [pricing page](https://databox.com/pricing) shows Agency from $79 a month billed annually, with 20 sources, plus $20 packs per extra client. The FAQ on the same page says $99 and $25. #### DashThis - **What it does:** "automates marketing reports for agencies and teams", with [30+ integrations](https://dashthis.com/integrations/) plus CSV and Google Sheets. Calculated widgets combine data across integrations. Reports go out by [scheduled email with a PDF](https://help.dashthis.com/share-dashboard), or to Slack and other tools. - **Best for:** agencies that want a quick, inexpensive dashboard per client, shared by link. - **Not for:** history beyond [13 months](https://help.dashthis.com/how-to-change-the-period-of-my-dashboard-to-see-historical-data) or intraday data: it refreshes [at most once a day](https://help.dashthis.com/how-often-data-is-updated-in-my-dashboards). Every user is an [admin](https://help.dashthis.com/invite-multiple-users), with no roles. - **Pricing (public, November 2026):** [from $44 a month](https://dashthis.com/pricing/) billed annually (3 dashboards, 15 sources) to Standard from $429 (50 dashboards). The pricing page shows white-label on every plan; the [help FAQ](https://help.dashthis.com/sales-and-pricing) says it needs Professional or higher. #### Swydo - **What it does:** "Automated Reporting & Monitoring" for agencies, with [38+ integrations](https://www.swydo.com/integrations/). One plan includes every feature: full white-label, a client portal, custom metrics and AI summaries. - **Best for:** agencies with many small clients that want every feature without plan tiers. - **Not for:** long history or data reuse. It [pulls data live](https://www.swydo.com/integrations/google-search-console-reporting/) when a report opens, so Search Console history stops at the source's 16 months. Export is branded PDF; no API or warehouse destination is listed. - **Pricing (public, November 2026):** [€62 a month](https://www.swydo.com/pricing/) billed annually (€69 list price), with 10 data sources included. Each extra source costs €4.50 to €2.00 depending on volume. Clients, users and reports are unlimited. #### Whatagraph - **What it does:** a "marketing intelligence platform" for agencies and brands, with [60+ native integrations](https://whatagraph.com/) and its own data storage. New sources [backfill 24 months](https://help.whatagraph.com/en/articles/14656881-whatagraph-data-storage) and refresh several times a day. Custom metrics, source blends and AI agents are on both plans. - **Best for:** agencies that want stored data and cross-channel blends without running a warehouse. - **Not for:** small budgets, or agencies that need client logins: its [roles](https://help.whatagraph.com/en/articles/6254388-how-to-change-the-role-of-a-team-member) are Admin, Manager and Editor, with no client role described. BigQuery transfer and the API are [add-ons on the top plan](https://whatagraph.com/pricing). - **Pricing (public, November 2026):** Max ["from €699" a month](https://whatagraph.com/pricing) billed annually, from 50 credits, one credit per connected account; Prime is custom. Users and reports are unlimited. ### Connectors into the reporting tool you already use #### Data Studio with partner connectors Google [renamed Looker Studio back to Data Studio](https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/data-analytics/looker-studio-is-data-studio) in April 2026; the paid edition is now Data Studio Pro. Many vendor pages still say Looker Studio. - **What it does:** free reports and dashboards. Google's own connectors cover Google sources such as Google Ads, GA4 and Sheets. Other platforms come through [partner connectors](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/studio/about-data-sources), which Google says "may cost money to use". [Pro](https://docs.cloud.google.com/data-studio/about-pro) adds team workspaces, project-level permissions, scheduled delivery to Chat and Slack, and Gemini features. - **Best for:** agencies with someone who builds reports well, and clients mostly on Google platforms. - **Not for:** white-label portals or stored history. White-label is not offered, and union blends are limited to [five tables](https://docs.cloud.google.com/data-studio/release-notes). - **Pricing (public, November 2026):** [free](https://cloud.google.com/data-studio); Pro at $9 per user per project per month. Partner connectors are priced separately. #### Porter Metrics - **What it does:** connects [30+ sources](https://portermetrics.com/en/pricing/) to Data Studio, Google Sheets, Power BI and BigQuery, and to Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini through MCP. It includes data blending, custom fields and white-label without its badge on paid plans. - **Best for:** agencies on a tight budget that already report in Data Studio or Sheets. - **Not for:** agencies that need a long source list: the site gives "30+" on the pricing page and "20+" in its menu. The free plan keeps 30 days of history. - **Pricing (public, November 2026):** per connected account, from $15 a month for one account down to $2 per account above 200. A free plan covers unlimited accounts with 30 days of history. #### Supermetrics - **What it does:** moves ad, analytics and CRM data into Data Studio, Google Sheets, Excel, Power BI, BigQuery and Snowflake. It also feeds [AI assistants](https://supermetrics.com/) such as Claude and ChatGPT. Its [agency page](https://supermetrics.com/solutions/agency) mentions branded dashboards, client workspaces and scheduled delivery. It "doesn't store your data by default"; [storage](https://docs.supermetrics.com/docs/supermetrics-storage) is part of Enterprise. - **Best for:** agencies that want the data in the tool their analysts already use. - **Not for:** agencies that need many sources on a small plan: Starter includes 2 sources and Growth 7. Warehouse destinations are Enterprise only. Data Studio has a [six-minute query limit](https://docs.supermetrics.com/docs/best-practices-for-looker-studio) that large reports can hit. - **Pricing (public, November 2026):** [Starter](https://supermetrics.com/pricing) €39 a month billed yearly (€49 monthly), Growth €159 (€199 monthly), Enterprise on quote. The agency page shows no agency plan. ### Marketing data platforms where reporting is one output #### Funnel - **What it does:** "the marketing data foundation" behind reports, measurement and AI tools. It claims [600+ connectors](https://funnel.io/) and stores historical data. Business logic is defined once in the platform and sent to dashboards, BI tools or warehouses. - **Best for:** agencies that sell measurement and need the same metric definitions across reports, BI and warehouse. - **Not for:** agencies that only need client PDFs. White-label portals are on [Agency Advanced](https://funnel.io/pricing-agencies) only. - **Pricing (public, November 2026):** Agency Standard from $300 a month and Agency Advanced from $600, both billed annually. The [help centre](https://help.funnel.io/en/articles/6172404-flexpoints) still describes flexpoints: each connector, account and destination consumes points. #### Improvado - **What it does:** an "AI-powered marketing intelligence and analytics platform" for large enterprises and agencies. It claims [1,400+ data sources](https://improvado.io/solutions/agencies), loads into a warehouse you control and [checks naming rules](https://improvado.io/). - **Best for:** large agencies or holding groups with a data team and a warehouse. - **Not for:** small and mid-sized agencies: Starter starts at $20,000 a year. White-label is not mentioned on the vendor site. - **Pricing (public, November 2026):** [from $20,000 a year](https://improvado.io/pricing) (20M rows) to Growth from $41,700; an MCP-only plan at $100 a month. Price scales with data volume. #### NinjaCat - **What it does:** "an AI agent platform built for multi-account marketing teams": agencies, media companies and multi-location brands. Its [Data Cloud](https://www.ninjacat.io/marketing-performance-management-platform/marketing-data-management) stores data in a managed Snowflake warehouse and backfills up to two years where the source allows. It sends data to BigQuery, Snowflake, Tableau or Data Studio. [Reporting](https://www.ninjacat.io/marketing-performance-management-platform/reporting-software) includes branded reports and roll-ups across accounts. - **Best for:** agencies or brands with hundreds of accounts or locations that need roll-up reporting. - **Not for:** buyers who want to compare prices before a call. The connector count is "150+" on the [homepage](https://www.ninjacat.io/) and "100+" on the [integrations page](https://www.ninjacat.io/integrations). - **Pricing (public, November 2026):** not public; demo only. ### An analytics agent that monitors, reports and alerts #### Trackingplan - **What it does:** Trackingplan monitors the analytics and marketing data a site sends in production (tags, pixels, events, consent and campaign parameters) and alerts when something breaks. It recognizes [170+ analytics and ad providers](https://www.trackingplan.com/integrations). Since [October 2026](https://www.trackingplan.com/changelog/spend-from-eleven-ad-platforms) it also reads ad accounts on 11 platforms, including Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, TikTok Ads and Microsoft Ads. Per campaign, it reads spend, clicks, CTR, CPC, CPM, platform-reported conversions and value, so each campaign has a ROAS. It also reads how each ad is tagged and sets it against what the site's pixels captured. That shows clicks landing without UTMs, conversions the platform counts that the site never sent, and campaigns that spend with no traffic. [Connecting](https://www.trackingplan.com/docs/ad-platforms) goes through Fivetran. Its agent writes [reports](https://www.trackingplan.com/docs/reports) with text, charts and tables, scheduled daily or weekly by email. - **Alerts:** [anomaly alerts](https://www.trackingplan.com/docs/warning-and-updates) on drops and peaks per event, missing events, KPI drops and custom daily thresholds, by email, Slack or Teams. On cost, you [ask the agent](https://www.trackingplan.com/changelog/spend-from-eleven-ad-platforms) which campaigns lost ROAS this week or where CPC jumped. - **Best for:** agencies that want the client report and the check on the tracking under it in one tool. It works alongside a dashboard tool from the groups above, or on its own for clients who need a written weekly report and alerts more than a dashboard. - **Not for:** branded client portals. White-label is not documented, and on the [agencies page](https://www.trackingplan.com/landings/agencies) Trackingplan says clients "don't get their own access" to dashboards and digests; reports go out as PDF or public link. It doesn't export spend or events to a warehouse, and the vendor says it is [not a warehouse BI suite](https://www.trackingplan.com/blog/ai-analytics-agents-compared). - **Pricing (public, November 2026):** [Starter €89 a month](https://www.trackingplan.com/pricing) (300k sessions, up to 5 sites or apps, 50 agent credits), Growth €699, Enterprise from €2,000 billed annually. A report or a conversation uses one credit; monitoring and alerts use none. No agency-specific price. ## Side by side: where the data lives and what you pay for | Tool | Data model | Connectors (vendor's count) | History | Cross-source metrics | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | AgencyAnalytics | Not stated | 90+ | Not stated | Custom metrics, up to 15 per formula | | Databox | Not stated; hourly sync on paid plans | 107 listed ("130+" claimed) | Not stated | Custom metrics; blending not found | | DashThis | Not stated; daily refresh | 30+ | 13 months | Calculated widgets | | Swydo | Live query | 38+ | Source's own window | Custom metrics, combined sources | | Whatagraph | Stored copy | 60+ native | 24-month backfill | Custom metrics and blends | | Data Studio | Live query, with cache | Google's own, plus 1,300+ community | Source's own window | Calculated fields; union blends up to 5 tables | | Porter Metrics | Its warehouse or yours | 30+ ("20+" in menu) | 30 days on free plan | Blending and custom fields | | Supermetrics | Not stored by default | Not stated | Source's own window | Transformations (Enterprise) | | Funnel | Stored copy | 600+ | Stored (vendor says complete) | Business logic defined once | | Improvado | Your warehouse | 1,400+ | Not stated | Unified data model | | NinjaCat | Managed Snowflake | "150+" or "100+" | Up to 2-year backfill | Custom calculations | | Trackingplan | Monitors live traffic; ad platforms through Fivetran | 11 ad platforms; 170+ providers monitored | Not stated | ROAS per campaign, platform vs. site gaps; formulas not found | | Tool | Export beyond PDF | Client access | Pricing unit (November 2026) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | AgencyAnalytics | XLS (some), admin CSV | Client users | Per client | | Databox | API, CSV | Not verified | Plan plus client packs | | DashThis | Not found | Link, optional password | Dashboards and sources | | Swydo | Not found | Client portal | Per data source | | Whatagraph | API and BigQuery (add-ons) | No client role described | Credits per account | | Data Studio | Table download | Shared reports | Free; Pro per user | | Porter Metrics | BigQuery, Sheets | Viewer links | Per account | | Supermetrics | Sheets, Excel, warehouse (Enterprise) | Client workspaces | Plan by sources | | Funnel | Warehouse, BI tools | Portals (Advanced) | Plan, flexpoints | | Improvado | Your warehouse | Not verified | Rows per year | | NinjaCat | Warehouse, BI tools | Not verified | Not public | | Trackingplan | HTML; tracking plan via API | Public link, no client login | Per plan (one per client): sessions and credits | "Not stated" and "not found" mean the vendor's site didn't say it on 8 November 2026, not that the feature is missing. ## A report is only as good as the tracking under it Most of these tools report what each platform returns and won't tell you a tag broke. Trackingplan, above, is the exception; Improvado describes naming checks. A campaign tagged `facebook` in one account and `Facebook` in another becomes two rows in every client report. The fix belongs upstream, in a naming convention enforced before launch: see [UTM parameter best practices](/utm-parameter-best-practices). The same applies to conversions. If a GA4 key event stopped firing on a client's site last Tuesday, the dashboard shows a drop in conversions, not a broken tag. Agree with each client who checks the tracking, and how often, before the first report goes out. The [GA4 audit checklist](/ga4-audit-checklist) covers what that check includes. ## Each group fits a different kind of agency The "Best for" fields above map to these cases: - **Many small clients, mostly Google and Meta:** a per-account or per-source tool, such as Swydo or Porter Metrics, or Data Studio if someone on the team builds reports well. - **Client logins and per-client pricing:** AgencyAnalytics. - **Cross-channel metrics and stored history without a warehouse:** Whatagraph. - **Measurement as a service, with a warehouse:** Funnel, or Improvado for large agencies with a data team. - **Hundreds of accounts or locations with roll-ups:** NinjaCat. - **Written client reports with tracking and conversion alerts, next to a dashboard tool or alone:** Trackingplan. ## What to check this week - **Count your pricing unit.** Write down your clients, connected accounts and dashboards. Run them through the pricing pages of your shortlist before any demo. - **Test history on one real client.** Connect a client with two years of activity. See how far back each tool shows its Google Ads and Meta Ads data. - **Ask for an export of the data, not the report.** If a vendor can't, your reporting history stays with them when you leave. ![](/images/about-me/davidpombar_profile.jpg) Written by [David Pombar](/about-me). Chief Revenue Officer and Swiss Army knife at Trackingplan. Lives in A Coruña, Galicia.