By the Numbers vs Shopify Analytics
Shopify Analytics is the reporting built into every Shopify plan: accurate topline sales, orders, and traffic reports at no extra cost. The side-by-side below covers each area, including where Shopify's built-in analytics is the better pick.
60-second install · 14-day free trial · No credit card required
Shopify Analytics is free, always on, and correct about what happened: sales, orders, sessions, conversion. Every store should use it, and By the Numbers reads from the same source of truth rather than around it. The question is never whether Shopify Analytics is good. It is which questions it stops short of answering.
It tells you revenue went up. It does not tell you whether that revenue came from loyal repeat customers or one-time discount buyers, or which cohorts are quietly churning. It also cannot say what a customer acquired in March will be worth by December, what next quarter looks like, or how to get your best-customer segment into Meta.
By the Numbers is built to answer those questions. It includes 70+ reports, an RFM matrix that rescores regularly, cohort curves, predictive LTV, sales forecasting with goals, Copilot chat, Pulse, and regular segment sync, from $19 a month on top of the platform you already pay for.
$19 to $299 a month by order volume on top of your Shopify plan, with a 14-day no-card trial.
Shopify Analytics pricingIncluded free with every Shopify plan. Deeper report customization is reserved for higher Shopify tiers, and its reports have no predictive LTV, forecasting, or audience sync at any tier. Its built-in RFM report is the exception: it scores customers 1 to 5 and sorts them into 11 groups.
At a glance
| Capability | By the Numbers | Shopify Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Topline sales, orders, traffic | ||
| Accurate order data, zero setup | ||
| Report library | 70+ question-shaped reports | Standard reports; custom on higher tiers |
| RFM loyalty matrix | 12 cells, 7 groups you tune | Built-in report, 11 groups |
| Cohort retention curves | Limited | |
| Predictive customer LTV | - | |
| Sales forecasting and goals | - | |
| AI segmentation (75+ filters) | Basic segments | |
| Regular segment sync to email and ad platforms | - | |
| Ad spend and ROAS reporting | - | |
| Multi-touch ad attribution | First- and last-touch | Last-click style |
| AI chat with your data | Copilot, analytics-deep | Sidekick, admin-wide |
| Pulse: proactive AI email | - | |
| Server-side conversion tracking pixel | das Pixel, available on every plan | - |
| Price | From $19/mo | Free |
- By the Numbers
- Shopify Analytics
- By the Numbers
- Shopify Analytics
- By the Numbers
- 70+ question-shaped reports
- Shopify Analytics
- Standard reports; custom on higher tiers
- By the Numbers
- 12 cells, 7 groups you tune
- Shopify Analytics
- Built-in report, 11 groups
- By the Numbers
- Shopify Analytics
- Limited
- By the Numbers
- Shopify Analytics
- -
- By the Numbers
- Shopify Analytics
- -
- By the Numbers
- Shopify Analytics
- Basic segments
- By the Numbers
- Shopify Analytics
- -
- By the Numbers
- Shopify Analytics
- -
- By the Numbers
- First- and last-touch
- Shopify Analytics
- Last-click style
- By the Numbers
- Copilot, analytics-deep
- Shopify Analytics
- Sidekick, admin-wide
- By the Numbers
- Shopify Analytics
- -
- By the Numbers
- das Pixel, available on every plan
- Shopify Analytics
- -
- By the Numbers
- From $19/mo
- Shopify Analytics
- Free
Based on publicly available information, verified 31 August 2026. Shopify Analytics is a trademark of its owner; confirm current details on their site.
The deep dive, area by area
The table shows what each product includes. Here is how the two differ in each part of the job.
Reporting depth
70+ reports shaped as answers: sales by channel and discount code, repeat-buyer revenue share, product bought-together and repurchase rate, ad spend and CTR by campaign.
Solid standard reports on sales, orders, and sessions, with custom report building available on higher Shopify plans. Product-level and marketing-level operating questions mostly require exports.
Customer economics
By the Numbers goes further on customer analytics. It offers a 12-cell RFM matrix whose cutoffs and names you set, cohort retention and repurchase curves, predictive LTV per customer and segment, time between orders, and churn-risk visibility.
Customer reports cover first-time vs returning, basic counts, and a built-in RFM report with 11 groups. Cohort analysis is limited, and there is no predicted LTV or churn modeling at any tier.
Forecasting and goals
Statistical forecasts of sales and orders model the trend plus weekly and yearly seasonality, from up to 25 months of daily history. A goal appears as a target line on the forecast chart.
No forecasting product. Planning happens in a spreadsheet next to the reports.
Segmentation and activation
75+ behavioral filters across orders, products, LTV, and channels; any segment syncs regularly to Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Attentive, Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, and Reddit Ads. Every group in the RFM matrix is a ready-made segment you can sync.
Customer segments with basic attribute filters, usable inside Shopify Email and discounts. No sync of segments to ad platforms.
AI layer
Copilot answers questions about cohorts, ROAS, or repeat rates from your reports. Pulse then emails what changed, why, and up to three recommended next steps, every Monday and whenever something meaningful changes.
Sidekick is a capable admin-wide assistant across all of Shopify. It is breadth where Copilot is depth; there is no proactive analytics briefing.
Price
It starts at $19/mo with every feature on every plan and a no-card trial. The bar it has to clear is one recovered segment or one repeat-purchase fix per year.
Free with the plan you already pay for. Hard to beat for topline questions, which is why By the Numbers only earns its fee where Shopify stops.
Where Shopify's built-in analytics wins
- Free, and already installed: for topline questions there is no reason to pay anyone.
- Source of truth for orders: it is the platform's own ledger. By the Numbers reads from it, not around it.
- Sidekick covers the whole admin (orders, themes, settings), not just analytics.
- No learning curve: if you know Shopify admin, you know where the reports are.
Where By the Numbers wins
- Customer-level economics: RFM scores, cohort curves, and predictive LTV turn "revenue was up 12%" into "your 90-day repeat rate is slipping in the March cohort, here is the segment to win back".
- Forecasting with goals: know whether this quarter is on pace before it ends.
- Action, not just reporting: any segment syncs regularly to Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Attentive, Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, and Reddit Ads.
- Ad accountability: spend, ROAS, and marketing-attributed sales next to the retention numbers that say whether those customers were worth buying.
- Pulse emails what changed, why, and up to three recommended next steps every Monday and whenever something meaningful changes.
Adding By the Numbers on top
- →This is an addition, not a switch: Shopify Analytics stays your order ledger, and By the Numbers builds the customer, retention, and forecasting layer on top of it.
- →Connect your store and let the full-history backfill run overnight. The RFM matrix, cohorts, and LTV are populated by morning.
- →Start with one workflow, such as syncing the RFM At risk group to a Klaviyo win-back flow.
Which one fits your store?
Stay with Shopify Analytics alone if you are under 100 orders a month and topline revenue is the only number you act on. Do not pay for analytics you will not use yet.
Add By the Numbers when repeat purchase, loyalty, ad payback, or forecasting start driving decisions. That is usually the moment a store crosses a few hundred orders a month.
Shopify Analytics tells you what happened; By the Numbers shows who did it, why, and what happens next, then syncs the audience to act on it. Keep both: Shopify is your ledger, and By the Numbers is your customer analytics layer.
Weighing more options? See vs Lifetimely, vs Polar, vs Triple Whale or how stores consolidate their reporting stack.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shopify Analytics enough for my store?
For topline sales, orders, and conversion tracking, yes. Its reports include a built-in RFM report, but they stop short of predictive lifetime value, forecasting, deeper cohort analysis, and syncing a customer segment to ad platforms. When those questions start to matter, you need a dedicated tool on top.
Does By the Numbers replace Shopify Analytics?
It sits on top of it. Shopify remains the source of truth for orders; By the Numbers imports your full history and adds 70+ reports plus the layers Shopify does not build: RFM, cohorts, LTV, forecasting, ad ROI, and segment sync.
How is Copilot different from Shopify Sidekick?
Sidekick is a general assistant for the whole Shopify admin. Copilot is analytics-deep: it answers questions about your cohorts, RFM segments, ROAS, and forecasts from the By the Numbers reporting layer, and pairs with Pulse, which emails what changed, why, and up to three recommended next steps every Monday and whenever something meaningful changes.
Does Shopify have RFM analysis or customer lifetime value?
Shopify includes a built-in RFM customer analysis report that scores customers 1 to 5 and sorts them into 11 groups, but its reports have no predicted lifetime value at any plan tier. By the Numbers sorts every customer into a 12-cell RFM grid in seven groups whose cutoffs and names you set, rescores it regularly, and models predictive LTV per customer and segment.
What does By the Numbers cost compared to Shopify's built-in reports?
Shopify's reports are free with your plan. By the Numbers starts at $19 a month for up to 100 orders, with a 14-day trial that takes no credit card. A practical test is whether one recovered segment or one repeat-purchase fix would cover the subscription.
Run By the Numbers next to Shopify's built-in analytics for two weeks.
Both read the same Shopify data, so running them side by side is a fair test.
60-second install · 14-day free trial · No credit card required