Supermetrics is a solid product for data teams. But most performance marketers are not data teams. You signed up to check your budget and monitor campaigns. Instead, you got per-connector fees, annual lock-ins, and a dashboard you had to build yourself.
I am Maxim Baeten. I have spent over a decade managing paid campaigns across Google, Meta, and LinkedIn. I still do freelance performance marketing alongside building marketingOS. That is why I built it. Not as a data pipeline replacement, but as a monitoring platform that gives budget marketers the answers they actually need. For a fraction of the cost.
Disclosure
I am the founder of marketingOS. This article explains why I believe it is the best Supermetrics alternative for budget marketers. I will be transparent about what it does, what it does not do, and where it stands today.
Why Supermetrics Is Not Built for Budget Marketers
Supermetrics is a strong data pipeline tool. It connects ad platforms, analytics tools, and CRMs to spreadsheets, BI platforms, and data warehouses. For data teams, it does that job well.
But the pricing model punishes smaller marketers. It was designed for teams with dedicated data engineers and enterprise budgets. If you are a freelancer or a small team managing client budgets, the cost structure works against you. Here is how.
Pricing scales unpredictably
Per-connector fees, per-destination fees, per-user fees, per-account fees. Community forums regularly report 40-60% overnight price increases at renewal. You do not know what you will pay next year.
Annual billing locks you in
Most Supermetrics plans require annual commitments. That means paying upfront before you fully understand the total cost. If the price jumps at renewal, your options are limited.
Built for data engineers, not marketers
Choosing destinations, mapping fields, managing API quotas. This is data pipeline work. If you just want to know whether your budget is on track this week, Supermetrics makes you do too much to get a simple answer.
You pay for a pipeline when you need answers
Supermetrics moves data from point A to point B. But most budget marketers do not need data in a warehouse. They need to know if their campaigns are on track. That is a monitoring problem, not an ETL problem.
What Supermetrics does well
Being fair matters. Supermetrics is a strong product for its intended audience.
- Deep data pipeline capabilities. If you need raw data in a warehouse, Supermetrics is genuinely good at that job.
- Excellent Looker Studio integration. One of the first and still one of the best connectors for Looker Studio.
- Mature connector library. Over 100 data sources, including niche platforms most tools do not cover.
- Built for data teams. If you have a data analyst building custom reports, Supermetrics feeds that workflow well.
The issue is not what Supermetrics does. It is what it costs and who it was designed for. Most performance marketers do not need a data pipeline. They need answers.
If budget tracking is your primary concern, see our comparison of the best marketing budget tracking tools.
What Budget Marketers Actually Need
You do not need a data pipeline. You need answers to three questions.
1. Am I on budget?
The most common question in performance marketing. You need to know if your spend across Google, Meta, LinkedIn, and other channels is on track for the month. Not next week. Right now.
2. How are my campaigns performing?
Clicks, conversions, cost per result. You need a clear view of what is working and what is not, without logging into four different platforms every morning.
3. What changed this week?
Algorithm updates, spend anomalies, competitor movements. You want to stay informed so you can act early, not react after the damage is done.
Most budget marketers adopted Supermetrics to answer these questions. But Supermetrics answers them indirectly. It moves your data into a spreadsheet or dashboard, and then you have to build the reports yourself. For a broader view of PPC tools that handle campaign management directly, our best PPC software comparison covers the full landscape.
The shift is simple. Instead of paying for a data extraction tool and building your own monitoring layer on top, you use a tool that monitors your campaigns directly and gives you the answers. That is what marketingOS does.
Why marketingOS Is the Best Supermetrics Alternative for Budget Marketers
marketingOS does not move your data. It monitors your campaigns and tells you what you need to know. Here is what makes it the better choice for budget-conscious performance marketers.
Flat-rate pricing, no surprises
marketingOS costs EUR 11.99 per month per app at standard pricing. During the launch period, that drops to EUR 5.99 per month per app, locked in permanently for early subscribers. No per-connector fees. No per-user fees. No per-account fees. No annual lock-in required.
You know exactly what you will pay this month and next month. Compare that to Supermetrics, where the cost changes every time you add a connector, a user, or an account. For a practical guide on how to track ad spend across channels without unpredictable costs, that post covers the approach in detail.
Modular by design
Pick only the apps you need. Want budget monitoring? Subscribe to the Ad Spend Tracker and nothing else. Want to add Google Ads tracking later? Add it when you are ready. No forced bundles. No bloated packages.
This is the opposite of the Supermetrics model, where costs stack with every data source and destination you add. With marketingOS, you control what you pay for.
Built by an active performance marketer
marketingOS is built by Maxim Baeten, a performance marketer with over a decade of experience managing real campaigns with real budgets. He still does freelance performance marketing work alongside building the product. Every feature exists because it solved a problem in real client work.
Supermetrics was built by a data infrastructure company in Helsinki. That is not a criticism. It explains why the product is optimized for data engineers rather than the marketers who end up paying for it.
Budget tracking as a first-class feature
The Ad Spend Tracker gives you real-time budget visibility across Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and Microsoft Ads in 90 seconds. Not a dashboard you build yourself. Not a formula in a spreadsheet. A standalone app that tells you if you are on track, underspending, or overspending.
In Supermetrics, budget tracking is not a built-in feature. You export your data, build a spreadsheet or Looker Studio dashboard, and maintain it yourself. That is fine for data teams. For a performance marketer managing five client accounts, it is unnecessary overhead.
Native platform integrations
marketingOS connects directly to Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Microsoft Ads, Reddit Ads, Google Analytics 4, and Google Search Console. All native. No third-party connector layer. No API quota juggling. Fewer breakpoints mean fresher data and faster setup. You can explore the full suite on the performance marketing software overview.
Unique tools Supermetrics does not have
marketingOS includes tools that exist nowhere in the data pipeline category.
- UTM Organizer. Keeps your UTM parameters clean, consistent, and auditable. Spot duplicates and misspellings before they pollute your analytics.
- Algorithm Monitor. Alerts you when Google, Meta, or other platforms push algorithm changes that could affect your campaigns. Stay informed so you can act early.
- Competitor Changelog. Tracks changes on competitor websites and flags what matters. Know what your competitors are doing without checking manually.
These are operational tools for hands-on marketers. Supermetrics does not offer anything like them because Supermetrics is a data pipeline, not a monitoring platform.
How marketingOS Compares to Supermetrics
marketingOS and Supermetrics solve different problems. This comparison is not about which is "better." It is about which fits your actual workflow as a budget marketer.
| Dimension | Supermetrics | marketingOS |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Data pipeline and connector tool | Modular campaign monitoring platform |
| Core job | Move data from platforms to destinations (sheets, Looker Studio, warehouses) | Answer operational questions directly (budget, performance, tracking) |
| Pricing model | Per-connector, per-destination, per-user. Annual billing. Starts at EUR 37/mo but scales unpredictably. | Flat-rate per app. EUR 11.99/mo per app (EUR 5.99 at launch pricing). No per-user or per-connector fees. |
| Setup complexity | Choose destinations, map fields, handle API quotas. Designed for data-literate users. | Connect your ad accounts. Designed for marketers, not data engineers. |
| Data sources | 100+ connectors (broad) | Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Microsoft Ads, Reddit Ads, GA4, GSC (focused) |
| Budget tracking | Not built-in. You build it yourself in a spreadsheet or dashboard. | First-class standalone app. 90-second budget check across all channels. |
| Unique features | Looker Studio templates, warehouse scheduling, query manager | UTM Organizer, Algorithm Monitor, Competitor Changelog, Pixel Organizer |
| Best for | Data teams, BI analysts, agencies building custom reporting stacks | Performance marketers and small teams who want answers, not data pipelines |
An honest note
marketingOS is not a data pipeline. If you need raw data in BigQuery or Snowflake, Supermetrics is the better choice. But if you need to check your budget, monitor campaigns, and stay on track, marketingOS gives you that for a fraction of the cost.
Transparency matters. marketingOS has real limitations you should know about.
- It is not a data pipeline. No data warehouse exports. If you need ETL, this is not the right tool.
- Fewer integrations. Native integrations with the platforms most performance marketers use daily, but no 100+ connector library.
- Launch stage. The core apps are live and used in real client work. The product is growing, but it is still early.
- Solo founder team. Fast iteration and practitioner insight, but smaller support capacity than established tools.
- No Looker Studio integration. If your workflow depends on Looker Studio dashboards, marketingOS does not feed into that.
Who Should Switch from Supermetrics to marketingOS
marketingOS is not for everyone. It is for a specific type of marketer who has been paying too much for a tool that was not built for them. You are a good fit if you match one of these profiles.
Freelance performance marketers managing client budgets
You manage campaigns across multiple clients and platforms. You need to know if budgets are on track without logging into every platform individually. You do not have a data engineer on the team because you are the team.
Small marketing teams (1-5 people)
Your team handles paid campaigns, tracking, and reporting. Nobody has time to build and maintain Looker Studio dashboards. You want a tool that gives you clarity across channels without becoming a side project.
Marketers spending EUR 10k-500k per month on ads
At this budget level, staying on track matters. Overspending by even a few percent adds up fast. You need budget visibility, not data warehousing.
Anyone who uses Supermetrics primarily for monitoring
If you subscribed to Supermetrics to check budgets and review campaign performance, not to run ETL pipelines, you are paying for capabilities you do not use. marketingOS gives you the monitoring without the pipeline tax.
Getting Started with marketingOS
Switching does not require a migration plan or a data engineering sprint. marketingOS connects directly to your ad platforms.
Connect your ad accounts
Link your Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and other platforms. Native integrations mean no middleware or API configuration.
Pick the apps you need
Start with Budget Control for spend visibility. Add Google Ads monitoring, UTM Organizer, or any other app when you need it. No bundles. Pay only for what you use.
Check your budget in 90 seconds
Once connected, the Ad Spend Tracker shows your budget pacing across all channels. No dashboard building. No formulas. Just the answer.
Launch pricing: 50% off, locked in permanently
Early subscribers pay EUR 5.99 per month per app instead of EUR 11.99. That price is locked in for as long as you stay subscribed. No annual commitment required. This is not a limited-time trick. It is how we reward the people who believe in the product early.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to Stop Overpaying for Data You Don't Need?
marketingOS gives you budget visibility, campaign monitoring, and reporting built for performance marketers. Flat pricing. No per-connector fees. No surprise bills.
Explore the full suite of performance marketing software to see which apps fit your workflow.
Related Resources
Ad Spend Tracker
See how the Budget Control app gives you real-time visibility into spending across all your connected ad accounts.
GuideHow to Track Ad Spend Across Channels
A practical guide to monitoring your advertising budget across Google, Meta, LinkedIn, and other platforms.
FeatureGoogle Ads Management Tool
Monitor your Google Ads campaigns and quickly see if you are on track to hit your performance goals.