Why You Can't Just Compare Reporting Tool Prices
You want to know what a reporting tool will cost your agency, so you open five pricing pages, and end up facing five different pricing models. One tool charges per client, the next per data source, the third per dashboard, the fourth in credits. A direct comparison like "Tool A costs €49, Tool B costs €69, so A is cheaper" is worthless under those conditions.
That's exactly why this article breaks down every relevant provider into two realistic scenarios: an agency with 10 clients and one with 30. All prices come from the providers' official pricing pages as of July 2026; we re-checked and updated AgencyAnalytics, Swydo, and Databox in October 2026. And since we build a tool in this category ourselves (MetricDash), we're also upfront about where the competition is cheaper, because sometimes it is.
Four Pricing Models, and Why the Model Matters More Than the Price
Before you compare a single number, you need to understand what's actually being metered. In the agency reporting category, there are four pricing models:
- Per client: You pay a set amount per client account, no matter how many platforms that client uses. This is how AgencyAnalytics and MetricDash operate. Predictable: a new client means one known, fixed cost.
- Per data source: Every connected account (a client's Google Ads account, their Meta account, their GA4 property, and so on) counts individually. This is how Swydo operates; Databox combines both on its Agency plan and sells client packs with one client and five sources each. Costs grow with every platform you connect per client.
- Per dashboard: You pay per dashboard created. That's DashThis's approach. Sounds simple, but it immediately raises the question: how many dashboards does one client need? Often several (PPC, SEO, and social kept separate).
- Per credit: Whatagraph bills in credits, where 1 credit equals 1 connected data source account: effectively per source as well, just with fixed plan limits, and crossing them triggers expensive plan jumps.
The Hidden Math: 1 Client = 3 to 4 Data Sources
Here's the cost trap that no pricing page mentions: a typical agency client doesn't bring one data source. They bring three to four. Google Ads, Meta Ads, GA4, and Google Search Console: that's the standard stack for a single mid-sized client.
For tools that charge per source or per credit, you need to mentally multiply every price figure by 3 to 4. "€69 for 10 data sources" (Swydo) becomes, realistically, 10 sources for just 2 to 3 clients. On Whatagraph, every client with four sources eats four credits, and the cheapest paid plan (Max, €699/month, annual only) comes with just 50 credits. On the Databox Agency plan, an average of 5 sources per client is covered, and every source beyond that pulls in additional client packs.
This multiplier is exactly why two tools with similarly sounding entry prices can end up hundreds of euros apart at 10 or 30 clients.
Price Comparison at 10 Clients (as of July 2026)
Let's work through the first scenario: 10 clients, averaging 3 to 4 data sources each (so roughly 35 connected accounts). All figures as of July 2026, taken from official pricing pages:
- AgencyAnalytics: €210/month on monthly billing (€21 per client), €170 on annual billing (as of October 2026). That makes AgencyAnalytics cheaper than MetricDash here, and it can also bill in euros.
- Swydo: around €181/month (€69 including 10 data sources, then €4.50 per source: with 35 sources, that's 25 extra sources).
- DashThis: around $139 to $164/month for 10 dashboards, but only if every client gets by with exactly one dashboard. If a client needs separate PPC and SEO dashboards, at 2 to 3 dashboards per client you quickly reach the $279 to $499 range.
- Databox: $249/month on the Agency plan ($99 for 4 clients and 20 sources plus 6 client packs at $25, monthly billing; $199 annually, as of October 2026). White-label costs an extra $250/month as an add-on.
- Whatagraph: 10 clients mean 30 to 40 credits. The former entry tier (Go plan, €199/month, 20 credits) has been dropped entirely. The cheapest paid plan is now Max, starting at €699/month, annual contract only (€8,388 upfront).
- Supermetrics + Looker Studio: around €189 to €238/month (Growth plan plus add-on accounts), plus the time it takes to build and maintain every report yourself. More on that shortly.
- MetricDash: €302/month (Agency plan: €99 with 3 clients included, then €29 per account for clients 4 to 10), unlimited data sources per client, with client portals, alerts, and automated reports included.
Price Comparison at 30 Clients (as of July 2026)
Scaling up to 30 clients (roughly 105 connected accounts) shifts the picture considerably. This is where you see which pricing model actually scales:
- AgencyAnalytics: €630/month on monthly billing, €510 annually (as of October 2026); from 25 clients, discounts are available on request.
- Swydo: around €489/month (105 sources: €69 base incl. 10 sources, then 90 × €4.50 and 5 × €3.00 from the 101st source).
- DashThis: around $279 to $499/month for 25 to 50 dashboards (annual to monthly billing), again assuming just one dashboard per client, an assumption that rarely holds once 30 clients need different services.
- Databox: $749/month on the Agency plan ($99 plus 26 client packs at $25 at ~4 sources/client; $599 annually, as of October 2026); above 50 packs, there's only a custom quote.
- Whatagraph: 90 to 120 credits exceed every published plan: custom quote territory, realistically estimated at €1,000 to €1,500+/month, with an annual commitment.
- Supermetrics + Looker Studio: no longer self-serve at this scale (max. 20 accounts per data source). You end up in enterprise negotiations.
- MetricDash: €682/month (€99 base + 7 × €29 for clients 4 to 10 + 20 × €19 from client 11 on), cancel anytime, with the per-client price dropping as you grow.
The DIY Route: Looker Studio Is (Almost) Free, Your Time Isn't
Honesty demands this section: Google Looker Studio, with its native Google connectors (GA4, Google Ads, Search Console, Sheets), is completely free and unlimited. If your clients run exclusively on Google channels and you enjoy tinkering, that's the cheapest option on the market, full stop.
The paywall starts with Meta Ads: there's no native connector for it. Supermetrics then costs from €39/month (Starter, annual), though the Starter plan, with 3 data source types, 3 accounts per source, and only weekly refresh, is already too small for a typical agency stack. Realistically, you'll need Growth at €159 to €199/month. A cheaper alternative for small setups: Porter Metrics from $15/month, with a free tier for 3 Meta accounts.
But the real price of the DIY route never shows up on any invoice: your time. Every client report is built, maintained, and fixed by hand whenever a connector breaks. There's no client portal, no end-client logins, no budget alerts, no lead tracking. At 2 clients, that's a hobby. At 15, it's a part-time job.
Our Recommendation by Agency Size
There's no single tool that's right for every agency. Here's our honest breakdown by size:
- 1 to 3 clients: If it's a pure Google setup and you enjoy tinkering, go with Looker Studio, free and unlimited. Once Meta enters the picture, the MetricDash Free plan is enough to get a feel for it (1 client account, manual reports); if you want client portals with individual end-client logins and automatic report emails, go with the Agency plan from €99/month (3 client accounts included). Databox's Free plan is also a fine way to try things out for exactly one small client.
- 5 to 15 clients: This is where the tools really separate. On list price, AgencyAnalytics is cheaper than MetricDash (€210 versus €302 at 10 clients), and so is Databox on the Agency plan at $249, as long as your clients get by with 5 sources. Decide based on your needs: more integrations and an established product → AgencyAnalytics; built-in webhook lead tracking and a ready-made view per client, without you building dashboards → MetricDash. Swydo is affordable at €181 for 10 clients, as long as your clients run few sources and a client portal via a shared link is enough for you.
- 20+ clients: Now the pricing model is what matters. Source- and credit-based models run away from you: Whatagraph goes four figures, Supermetrics ends in enterprise negotiations. Databox stays predictable on the Agency plan as long as sources per client stay within the allowance (30 clients: $749). Per-client models stay predictable too: AgencyAnalytics at €510 to €630, MetricDash at €682 for 30 clients, cancel anytime, with the per-client price dropping from the 11th client on.
Where MetricDash Stands: A Transparent Take
For context, since this article comes from us: MetricDash charges per client, never per data source, connection, or dashboard. A client running Google Ads, Meta Ads, GA4, and Search Console fills exactly one client slot; on Swydo, that would be 4 sources, on Whatagraph, 4 credits. The reason for this model is personal: MetricDash's founder runs an agency himself and walked straight into the connection trap described above.
The Agency plan (from €99/month, as of July 2026) includes 3 client accounts, then €29 per account up to client 10 and €19 from client 11 on. Included are real-time dashboards with normalized metrics across all platforms, client portals with individual end-client logins, automatic report emails plus shareable report links carrying your agency's logo, budget monitoring with alerts at 80% and 100% of the monthly budget, spend anomaly detection, and webhook-based lead tracking. You don't build dashboards: everything for a client lives in one view.
Equally honest: on list price, AgencyAnalytics is cheaper at both 10 and 30 clients, and if you only manage one or two clients on a pure Google setup, Looker Studio for free is your best bet. AgencyAnalytics also offers considerably more connections, with over 85 integrations. MetricDash currently covers 13: Google Ads (incl. MCC), Meta Ads, Microsoft Advertising, GA4, Google Search Console, YouTube, and Google Sheets, plus Plausible, Umami, Rybbit, Matomo, Pirsch, and Fathom, with LinkedIn Ads and TikTok Ads planned. If your clients run on more exotic channels, today's market leader is the safer choice.
How to Run Your Own Scenario
The two scenarios above work with averages. Your agency isn't one. Three steps transfer the math to your real client list:
- Count your clients: take your actual client count, and the one you realistically expect in a year. You need both, because the pricing model decides what your growth will cost.
- Count the sources per client: go through your client list and count the connected accounts. A Google Ads account, a Meta account, a GA4 property, and a Search Console property each count individually under source-based models. That's your multiplier.
- Apply the tool's pricing model: run both client counts through each model (per client, per source, per dashboard, or per credit) and compare the results, not the entry prices. Watch out for whether a price assumes annual billing.
Bottom Line: Calculate with Your Clients, Not the Sticker Price
The sticker price on a pricing page tells you almost nothing about what you'll actually pay a year from now. Three questions matter: What's being metered (client, source, dashboard, credit)? How many sources does your average client bring? And what happens to the price as you grow from 10 to 30 clients? Take your real client list, multiply out the sources, and run both scenarios. The breakdown above gives you the numbers to do it, as of July 2026.
If you want to run these numbers yourself with MetricDash: we're currently in an open alpha where you can test everything completely free, no credit card, no limits. That way, you can see with your own client data whether the per-client model works for your agency.