Converlay vs Elevar (Audiense Online): Which Shopify Tracking App Should You Choose in 2026?
Elevar is one of the best-known names in Shopify server-side tracking — and since its 2026 acquisition by Audiense, it operates as Audiense Online with pricing that moved sharply upmarket. Converlay is the newer, no-code alternative built to make the same server-side accuracy accessible from a permanent free plan.
Full disclosure up front: Converlay is our product. This comparison sticks to published facts — current list pricing, documented features, and real setup differences — and we will be clear about the cases where Elevar is genuinely the better choice.
TL;DR
Choose Elevar (Audiense Online) if you are an established store spending five figures a month on ads, you want a full GTM data layer you control, and a $225–$650+ monthly line item is acceptable. Choose Converlay if you want server-side tracking running in about five minutes, need many ad and analytics destinations without per-destination fees, or want to validate results on a free plan before paying anything.
Converlay vs Elevar at a Glance
| Converlay | Elevar (Audiense Online) | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free (50 orders/mo), paid from $39/mo | $225/mo (Core, 2,000 orders) |
| Free plan | Yes, permanent | No — 15-day trial |
| Destinations | 26 across ads, analytics, email/SMS, attribution | 50+ claimed; plans cap 2–25 active, extras $125/mo each |
| Setup | ~5 minutes, no-code, no GTM | Data-layer/GTM based; paid expert install from $1,000 |
| Tracking health monitoring | 0–100 health score, alerts, live event log, bot filtering | Event monitoring dashboards and alerting |
| Best for | Stores of all sizes, multi-channel advertisers, agencies | Established stores wanting deep data-layer control |
Pricing: Free-to-$249 vs $225-to-$3,000
The pricing gap is the first thing most merchants notice, so let us lay it out at typical store volumes using each product's published list prices as of August 2026:
| Monthly orders | Converlay | Elevar (Audiense Online) |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 50 | Free | $225/mo |
| Up to 1,000 | $39/mo | $225/mo |
| Up to 5,000 | $99/mo | $650/mo |
| Up to 25,000 | $249/mo | $1,250/mo |
Three structural differences matter more than the headline numbers:
- Destination caps. Elevar's $225 Core plan includes 2 active destinations; each additional one costs $125 per month. Running Meta + Google + TikTok + Klaviyo on Core means $475/mo. Converlay's plans include 3 (Starter), 10 (Pro), or all 26 (Scale) destinations with no per-destination fees.
- Overage behavior. Elevar charges overage fees per order above your plan's cap. On Converlay, exceeding your order cap never stops conversion tracking — events keep flowing.
- Setup costs. Elevar's optional expert installation is $1,000 one-time ($4,500 for headless). Converlay's setup is self-serve in about five minutes, so there is nothing to pay for.
Where Elevar Is Genuinely Better
An honest comparison has to give Elevar its due. It has real advantages:
- A structured data layer you own. Elevar builds a comprehensive GTM data layer on your store. If your team wants granular control over exactly what events fire, with what parameters, into which tags — and has the GTM skills to manage it — that depth is Elevar's core value, and Converlay deliberately does not offer a GTM layer.
- Years of track record. Elevar predates iOS 14 and has processed events for thousands of large merchants. Converlay is newer and cannot match that history or the volume of third-party tutorials and community answers.
- Session enrichment. Elevar's cookieless identity feature recognizes returning visitors for up to a year, which helps attribution for long consideration cycles.
- Raw destination count. Elevar claims 50+ destinations overall — more than Converlay's 26 — though plan caps and $125/mo per extra destination make using many of them expensive.
Where Converlay Is Better
- Cost, at every volume. From free at the low end to $249/mo at 25,000 orders versus $1,250/mo — the gap funds a lot of ad spend.
- Setup speed and simplicity. Install the Shopify app, connect Google or Meta via OAuth, paste API keys for the rest — about five minutes, no GTM, no theme edits, no developer. Elevar's data-layer approach requires configuration and often troubleshooting on custom themes.
- All-plan platform breadth. All 26 destinations — including LinkedIn Ads, Amazon Ads, Mixpanel, Amplitude, PostHog, and Triple Whale — are available without per-destination pricing, capped only by plan tier (3/10/26).
- Tracking quality tooling as standard. Every plan gets the 0–100 Tracking Health Check with a prioritized fix list, automated alerts when conversions stop flowing, a live event log, and bot filtering before bad traffic pollutes your conversion data.
- Agency features. The agency portal adds a multi-store dashboard, team seats, and white-label PDF reports — without Elevar's per-store price multiplication.
Setup: Five Minutes vs a Data-Layer Project
Converlay's install flow is a step-by-step wizard: install from the Shopify App Store, pick destinations, authenticate (OAuth for Google and Meta, pasted credentials for others), done. Because events are captured server-side from Shopify webhooks rather than a browser data layer, there is nothing to add to your theme and nothing that breaks when you redesign.
Elevar's model is different by design: it builds a data layer in your storefront, which you then wire to destinations through GTM and Elevar's server-side infrastructure. That gives control, but it is a project — enough of one that Elevar sells professional installation starting at $1,000, and headless builds run $4,500.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose Elevar (Audiense Online) if…
- You spend $10K+/month on ads and attribution precision justifies a $225–$1,250 monthly tool.
- Your team actively uses GTM and wants full ownership of the data layer.
- You need its session enrichment for long purchase cycles.
Choose Converlay if…
- You want to validate server-side tracking before paying — the free plan has no time limit.
- You advertise across several platforms and refuse to pay $125/mo per extra destination.
- You have no GTM expertise in-house and want tracking running today.
- You are an agency reporting to clients and want white-label PDF reports included.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to Elevar? Is it still called Elevar?
Elevar was acquired in 2026 and now operates as Audiense Online, though its Shopify App Store listing still runs under the Elevar name. Pricing moved upmarket with the rebrand: the entry Core plan is $225/month with 2 active destinations included.
Is there a free alternative to Elevar?
Converlay offers a permanent free plan covering up to 50 orders per month with one connected destination, using the same server-side pipeline as paid plans — accuracy is never gated. Elevar offers a 15-day trial but no free tier.
Can I switch from Elevar to Converlay without losing data?
Yes. Historical events already delivered to Meta, GA4, or other platforms stay there — switching apps only changes who sends future events. Install Converlay alongside Elevar, verify events flow in the live event log, then uninstall Elevar to avoid duplicate sends. The transition takes minutes, not days.
Does Converlay support everything Elevar supports?
Not everything. Converlay covers 26 destinations spanning the major ad platforms (Meta, Google, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat, Reddit, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Amazon, Criteo, Taboola), analytics (GA4, Mixpanel, Amplitude, PostHog, Segment, RudderStack, server-side GTM), email/SMS (Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Omnisend, Attentive, Postscript), and attribution (Triple Whale, Northbeam). Elevar claims more total integrations and offers a GTM data layer Converlay does not. For the full landscape, see our complete comparison of Shopify server-side tracking apps.
Bottom Line
Elevar (Audiense Online) is a mature, powerful product priced for established stores with technical teams. Converlay delivers the same core outcome — accurate server-side conversions that survive ad blockers and iOS restrictions — at a fraction of the cost, with a setup anyone can finish before their coffee cools.
The cheapest way to decide is to test the free option first: install Converlay free on Shopify, watch your tracking health score, and see the recovered conversions in your own ad accounts before committing to anything.