Elevar vs Retention.com

Elevar is better for Shopify tracking; Retention.com specializes in email audience recovery.

Elevar logo

What is Elevar?

Elevar ensures that 100% of your conversions are tracked and delivered to your marketing channels using Google Tag Manager and server-side tracking. Since the company was acquired by Buxton (now Audiense) the product has been merged into a wider analytics and segmentation tool.

Retention.com logo

What is Retention.com?

Retention.com's identity resolution software helps Shopify merchants recover lost shoppers and increase Klaviyo flow revenue.

Switching from Elevar? Get 50% off your first year with Littledata

Elevar vs Retention.com comparison

FeatureElevarRetention.comLittledata
Identity resolution to boost audiences✔️✔️✔️
Customer data to marketing platforms✔️✔️✔️
Direct from Shopify's servers✔️minus✔️
Natively supports Shopify Markets✔️minus✔️
Via server-side Google Tag Manager✔️minusminus
Works with platforms other than Shopifyminus✔️minus
30 day free trialminusminus✔️
Founder owned and ledminusminus✔️
Fully automatic, no code setupminusminus✔️
Automatic tracking of checkout stepsminusminus✔️
Built For Shopifyminusminus✔️

Elevar vs Retention.com

Elevar focuses on comprehensive conversion tracking via server-side Google Tag Manager, delivering data to multiple marketing platforms. However, following its acquisition by Buxton/Audiense, it has been absorbed into a broader analytics tool, meaning it's no longer a focused tracking solution for Shopify Plus merchants.

Retention.com is narrower in scope — primarily identity resolution to recover lost shoppers and boost Klaviyo flows, rather than full conversion tracking infrastructure.


Where Littledata wins over both:

Neither is Littledata, so it's worth considering. Retention.com lacks Direct from Shopify's servers, limiting its ability to enrich events with customer data or capture events the browser misses. Elevar relies on Google Tag Manager, which still depends on browser tags and can't capture a complete customer journey.

Littledata adds: a 30-day free trial, fully automatic no-code setup, native Shopify Markets support, and automatic checkout step tracking — server-side, directly from Shopify, with zero implementation overhead.

Reviews comparison

Elevar vs Retention.com's customer reviews

ElevarRetention.comLittledata
Example product review"They continue to charge you after uninstalling and cancelling your plan...made absolutely 0 impact to my tracking.""We were having difficulties with accurate and consistent revenue attribution...With Littledata implemented, we now get consistent and accurate revenue attribution."
Example support review"Awful support. I am now $700 in charges without even using the stupid thing because it made absolutely 0 impact.""Unfortunately, the team... very high employee turnover; it can be really frustrating to have to re-explain things to new reps.""Customer support is absolutely amazing... you can never go wrong when an app does what it says and tacks on great service!"
LinkRead more reviewsRead more reviewsRead more reviews

Cost comparison

Elevar vs Retention.com's monthly subscription cost

Store sizeElevarRetention.comLittledata
50 orders / month$225$500$39
500 orders / month$650$500$175
5,000 orders / month$650$2000$540
20,000 orders / month$1250$5000$1390

Sources: Elevar pricing, Littledata pricing. Prices last verified July 22, 2026.

Supported data destinations

DestinationElevarRetention.comLittledata
Klaviyo✔️✔️✔️
Google Analytics✔️minus✔️
Meta Ads✔️minus✔️
Pinterest✔️minus✔️
TikTok✔️minus✔️
Attentive✔️minus✔️
Google Ads✔️minus✔️
Microsoft Ads✔️minus✔️
Segmentminusminus✔️

Elevar and Littledata offer broad multi-channel server-side tracking across paid media, analytics, and email/SMS platforms — covering Google, Meta, TikTok, Pinterest, Microsoft, and more. Their strength is comprehensive ad attribution and analytics accuracy.

Retention.com is fundamentally different in purpose: it's not a tracking infrastructure tool but an identity resolution platform focused on identifying anonymous visitors and syncing them to Klaviyo for email/SMS remarketing. Its "data destination" is narrow by design.

Bottom line: Choose Elevar or Littledata for full-funnel server-side event tracking across ad platforms. Choose Retention.com specifically to recover lost email audiences — they solve different problems and are often used together.

Klaviyo comparison

Elevar vs Retention.com's solution for Klaviyo

FeatureElevarRetention.comLittledata
Identity resolution
Never adds emails to your list without consent✔️minus✔️
Uses other marketing channel cookies to boost identityminusminus✔️
Backstitches Klaviyo profile onto previous customer eventsminusminus✔️
Klaviyo Preferred Partnerminusminus✔️
Viewed Product trigger
Backwards compatible with Klaviyo templates✔️✔️✔️
Tracked server-side✔️minus✔️
Enriched product info (e.g. category)minusminus✔️
Added to Cart trigger
Backwards compatible with Klaviyo templates✔️✔️✔️
Direct from Shopify servers✔️minus✔️
Enriched product info (e.g. category)✔️minus✔️
Unreliable tracking of button clicksminus✔️minus
Target the whole contents of the cartminusminus✔️
Checkout Started trigger
Backwards compatible with Klaviyo templatesminus✔️✔️
Tracked via the checkout pageminus✔️minus
Direct from Shopify serversminusminus✔️

How Littledata tracks Klaviyo for Shopify →

Benefits of Littledata
Littledata has been trusted by leading Shopify brands since 2017 for reliable server-side tracking.
100% of revenue tracked
Enhanced identity resolution
Connectors for all popular marketing channels
Learn more
Benefits of Littledata
Comparing Elevar against Retention.com
Can I switch from Elevar to Littledata?

Yes, join dozens of Shopify brands who made the switch to Littledata for simpler server-side tracking, faster setup, and transparent pricing. We’ll even help migrate your Elevar setup — and give you 50% off your first year on an annual plan.

Can I switch from Retention.com to Littledata?

Yes, join dozens of Shopify brands who made the switch to Littledata for simpler server-side tracking, faster setup, and transparent pricing. We’ll even help migrate your Retention.com setup.

How does Elevar work?

Elevar uses a combination of client tracking and a server-to-server connection to ensure conversions are tracked. Although the tracking is reliable, users have complained about the setup and maintenance overhead.

Does Elevar work with Shopify?

Yes, Elevar is installed on 6,300 Shopify sites according to the latest stats from BuiltWith.

How does Retention.com work?

Retention Grow uses a large third-party list of email addresses to link anonymous sessions to emails given to a third party brand. This can grow your marketing audience, but at the expense of higher spam and privacy complaints.

Does Retention.com work with Shopify?

Yes, Retention.com is installed on 1,950 Shopify sites according to the latest stats from BuiltWith.

Is Elevar suitable for Enterprise brands?

Elevar is used by 3319 sites in the top 100,000 globally - so this solution is likely suitable for Enterprise scale brands.

Is Retention.com suitable for Enterprise brands?

Retention.com is used by 1406 sites in the top 100,000 globally - so this solution is likely suitable for Enterprise scale brands.

Which marketing tools does Elevar support?

Elevar supports Google Analytics, Meta Ads, Pinterest, TikTok, Klaviyo, Attentive, Google Ads and Microsoft Ads.

Which marketing tools does Retention.com support?

Retention.com supports Klaviyo.

Who owns Elevar?

Elevar is owned by Audiense and run out of Charleston, South Carolina.

Who owns Retention.com?

Retention.com(formerly GetEmails) is an independent private company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Adam Robinson is Retention.com's CEO.

When is Elevar a better choice than Littledata?

Elevar is a better choice if you or your agency want deep, fully customisable GTM data-layer control and are willing to configure and maintain it. Littledata is the better fit for teams who want turnkey, fully managed server-side tracking without building or maintaining tag infrastructure.

When is Retention.com a better choice than Littledata?

Retention.com is a better choice if your goal is de-anonymising website traffic into contactable emails to grow owned email and SMS remarketing. Littledata is the better fit for teams who want turnkey, fully managed server-side tracking without building or maintaining tag infrastructure.

How is Littledata's tracking different from Google Tag Manager?

Littledata sends purchase and behavioural data server-to-server, directly from Shopify's servers, so it does not depend on browser tags or a Google Tag Manager container you have to maintain. Tracking keeps working when Shopify changes the checkout, and events can be enriched with customer and order data the browser never sees. Tools built on server-side Google Tag Manager still rely on browser tags to collect events, and someone has to build and maintain the container.

Do I need an implementation agency to set up Littledata?

No. Littledata is turnkey: install the Shopify app and server-side tracking is live, with no code and no Google Tag Manager required. Self-managed server-side setups typically need 10 to 40 hours of specialist configuration up front, plus a few hours a month of ongoing maintenance, which is why a low sticker price often hides a much higher true cost.

How does Littledata handle event editing?

Littledata's Event Editor lets you customise and enrich the events sent to each destination without code, so you control exactly what data reaches Google Analytics, Meta, Klaviyo and your other marketing tools.

What is Littledata's Profit signal?

Littledata's Profit signal sends true profit, not just revenue, to your ad platforms, so Meta and Google can optimise campaigns towards the orders that actually make you money.

Does Littledata protect against bot traffic?

Yes. Littledata's bot protection filters automated traffic out of your tracking, so your analytics and ad audiences are built on real customers.

Does Littledata support Shopify Markets and headless stores?

Yes. Littledata supports unlimited Shopify Markets for cross-border stores and headless and Hydrogen storefronts.

How we compiled this comparison: pricing and feature data comes from each vendor's public pricing page, Shopify App Store listings, and BuiltWith usage data, reviewed by the Littledata team. Last verified August 5, 2026. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.