Open rates and click rates tell you if people are reading your emails. Revenue attribution tells you if those emails are making money. The difference matters. A campaign with a 15% open rate might generate $50,000 in revenue. A campaign with a 40% open rate might generate nothing.

Revenue attribution connects email engagement to actual purchases, upgrades, and conversions. When someone receives an email, clicks through, and buys, the revenue is attributed to that email. When someone receives a sequence that leads to a plan upgrade, the upgrade revenue is attributed to the sequence.

Not all email tools track this. And among those that do, the quality of attribution varies significantly.

How Email Revenue Attribution Works

Last-click attribution: Revenue is credited to the last email clicked before the purchase. Simple but misses earlier emails in the journey.

Multi-touch attribution: Revenue is distributed across all emails the customer interacted with before purchasing. More accurate but more complex.

Time-window attribution: Revenue is credited to emails interacted with within a specific time window (24 hours, 7 days, 30 days) before the purchase.

View-through attribution: Revenue is credited to emails that were opened (but not clicked) before a purchase. Controversial because it's harder to prove causation.

Most email platforms use last-click or time-window attribution. Multi-touch attribution requires deeper integration and more sophisticated tracking.

The 6 Best Options

1. Sequenzy

Best for: SaaS subscription revenue attributed to email sequences

Sequenzy's Stripe integration automatically tracks subscription revenue and connects it to email sequences. When a subscriber converts from trial to paid after receiving your trial conversion sequence, the MRR is attributed to that sequence. When a dunning sequence recovers a failed payment, the recovered revenue shows up.

For SaaS companies, this is the most relevant attribution model. You're not tracking individual product purchases. You're tracking subscription conversions, upgrades, and recovered revenue. Sequenzy's Stripe integration makes this automatic rather than requiring manual tracking.

Attribution model: Sequence-attributed subscription revenue via Stripe Revenue tracking: Automatic via Stripe integration, MRR attribution Pricing: From $29/month Pros: Automatic SaaS revenue attribution, Stripe integration, MRR tracking, subscription-aware Cons: Requires Stripe, attribution limited to sequence context, newer platform

2. Klaviyo

Best for: The most sophisticated email revenue attribution

Klaviyo was built around revenue attribution. Every flow, campaign, and automation shows attributed revenue. The attribution window is configurable (default is 5 days for email opens, 5 days for email clicks). You can see revenue per email, per flow step, and per campaign.

For e-commerce businesses, Klaviyo's revenue attribution is integrated with Shopify, WooCommerce, and other platforms. Revenue data flows automatically. You don't need to set up tracking manually. The dashboard shows total attributed revenue, revenue per recipient, and conversion rates alongside open and click rates.

Attribution model: Configurable time-window (last interaction), open + click attribution Revenue tracking: Automatic via e-commerce integrations, per email/flow/campaign Pricing: Free up to 250 contacts, from $20/month Pros: Best revenue attribution in email, automatic e-commerce integration, configurable windows Cons: E-commerce-centric, less relevant for SaaS subscriptions, pricing scales with contacts

3. ActiveCampaign

Best for: Revenue attribution with CRM pipeline visibility

ActiveCampaign tracks revenue through its built-in CRM. When deals close, the revenue is attributed to the emails and automations that influenced the deal. The attribution connects email engagement to pipeline movement, giving you a view of how email impacts revenue across the sales cycle.

For B2B SaaS with a sales-assisted model, this is powerful. You can see which email sequence led to a demo request, and which demo request converted to a closed deal. The CRM pipeline gives revenue context that pure email attribution misses.

Attribution model: CRM deal attribution, automation-influenced revenue Revenue tracking: Via CRM deals, automation reports Pricing: From $29/month Pros: CRM + email revenue connection, deal attribution, pipeline visibility Cons: Requires CRM usage, manual deal tracking for SaaS, not automatic for product-led

4. Braze

Best for: Enterprise revenue attribution across channels

Braze attributes revenue across email, push, SMS, in-app, and other channels. The attribution model supports multiple touchpoints, giving enterprise teams a view of how each channel contributes to conversions. Revenue data can come from direct integrations, API events, or data warehouse connections.

The attribution is configurable at the campaign and Canvas level. You can set different attribution windows for different campaign types and see revenue impact across the full messaging stack, not just email.

Attribution model: Multi-channel, configurable windows, campaign and Canvas level Revenue tracking: Via integrations, API events, or data warehouse Pricing: Custom (typically $50K+/year) Pros: Multi-channel attribution, enterprise-grade, configurable, cross-channel visibility Cons: Enterprise pricing, complex setup, requires data integration

5. Customer.io

Best for: Technical teams building custom revenue attribution

Customer.io supports conversion tracking through its reporting API. When you send a "conversion" event (purchase, upgrade, subscription), Customer.io can attribute it to the campaigns and automations the customer interacted with. The attribution is configurable and can be customized through the API.

The trade-off is that Customer.io's revenue attribution requires setup. You need to send conversion events with revenue data to Customer.io's API. It's not automatic like Klaviyo's e-commerce integration or Sequenzy's Stripe integration. But for teams that want full control over attribution logic, the flexibility is valuable.

Attribution model: Custom via conversion events, configurable windows Revenue tracking: Via API conversion events, campaign and automation reports Pricing: From $100/month Pros: Flexible attribution, custom conversion events, automation-level reporting Cons: Requires manual setup, not automatic, expensive

6. Mailchimp

Best for: Basic revenue tracking for small e-commerce businesses

Mailchimp tracks revenue attributed to campaigns when connected to an e-commerce platform (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.). Campaign reports show total revenue, revenue per recipient, and conversion rate. For basic "did this campaign generate sales?" questions, Mailchimp covers it.

The attribution is simple (last-click, short window) and only works with connected e-commerce platforms. There's no SaaS subscription attribution, no multi-touch modeling, and limited customization. For small businesses that want basic revenue tracking alongside their campaigns, it's sufficient.

Attribution model: Last-click, e-commerce integration required Revenue tracking: Via e-commerce platform connection, campaign-level only Pricing: Free up to 500 contacts, from $13/month Pros: Simple setup with e-commerce platforms, campaign-level revenue, easy to understand Cons: Basic attribution model, e-commerce only, no automation-level attribution

Revenue Attribution for SaaS vs. E-Commerce

E-Commerce Attribution

Straightforward. Customer receives email, clicks through, makes a purchase. The purchase amount is attributed to the email. Product catalog integration makes tracking automatic.

Best tools: Klaviyo, Mailchimp (with e-commerce integration)

SaaS Subscription Attribution

More complex. The "purchase" is a subscription that generates recurring revenue over time. Attribution questions include:

Which email sequence influenced the trial-to-paid conversion?
How much MRR did the dunning sequence recover?
Which onboarding emails correlate with higher activation rates?
Did the upgrade email sequence increase plan upgrades?

Best tools: Sequenzy (automatic via Stripe), ActiveCampaign (via CRM deals), Customer.io (custom setup)

What to Track

Essential Metrics

Revenue per campaign/sequence: Total revenue attributed to each email effort
Revenue per recipient: Average revenue generated per person who received the email
Conversion rate: Percentage of recipients who completed a purchase/upgrade
ROI: Revenue generated vs. cost of the email platform + time spent creating campaigns

Advanced Metrics

Revenue by sequence step: Which email in the sequence drives the most conversions
Attribution time lag: How long between email interaction and purchase
Revenue by segment: Which audience segments generate the most email-attributed revenue
Incrementality: Would the revenue have happened without the email (harder to measure)

FAQ

Is email revenue attribution accurate? It's directional, not precise. Attribution models have inherent limitations. A customer might have bought regardless of the email. The email might have been one of many influences. Treat attribution as a useful signal for optimization, not an exact measure of email ROI.

What attribution window should I use? For e-commerce: 3-7 days is standard. Purchases are usually impulsive. For SaaS: 14-30 days is more appropriate. Subscription decisions take longer, especially for higher-priced plans.

Can I track revenue without an e-commerce or payment integration? Yes, but it requires manual work. Send conversion events with revenue data to your email tool's API when purchases or upgrades happen. This works for custom payment flows or unusual business models.

Does view-through attribution (opens without clicks) count? It depends on who you ask. Some marketers include it because the email influenced awareness even without a click. Others exclude it because the causation is weak. For conservative attribution, stick to click-through attribution.