Cogny vs Improvado: AI Agent vs Enterprise ETL

Question

What's the difference between Cogny and Improvado for marketing analytics?

Answer

Improvado is an enterprise-grade data pipeline platform for large marketing teams.

Cogny is an AI agent that analyzes your data and generates actionable growth tickets.

Improvado centralizes data. Cogny tells you what to do with it.

At a Glance Comparison

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Core Difference: AI Agent vs Data Infrastructure

Improvado: Enterprise Data Pipeline

Improvado is a marketing data platform for large organizations.

What it does:

• Extracts data from 500+ marketing sources
• Transforms data into unified schema
• Loads to your data warehouse or BI tool
• Manages complex data pipelines
• Handles enterprise-scale data volumes
• Provides data governance

What it's built for:

• Enterprise marketing teams (20+ people)
• Complex tech stacks (50+ tools)
• Large budgets ($500K+/month ad spend)
• Sophisticated reporting needs
• Data compliance requirements

What you get:

• Centralized data
• Clean, normalized data models
• BI tool integration
• Dedicated support team
• Custom data transformations

What you still need:

• BI tool (Tableau, Power BI, Looker)
• Data analysts to build reports
• Marketers to interpret data
• Someone to decide what to do

Cogny: AI Analysis Agent

Cogny is an AI agent that analyzes marketing data.

What it does:

• Connects to your data sources
• AI analyzes all your data
• Generates specific, actionable tickets
• Tells you exactly what to optimize

What it's built for:

• Small to mid-size teams (2-20 people)
• Teams without data analysts
• Companies wanting AI insights fast
• Marketers tired of manual analysis

What you get:

• AI-generated growth tickets
• Specific recommendations
• Natural language queries
• Continuous optimization suggestions

What you don't need:

• Separate BI tool
• Data analysts
• Dashboard building
• Manual interpretation

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When to Choose Improvado

You should choose Improvado if:

1. You're a large enterprise

   • 50+ marketing tools
   • $500K+/month marketing budget
   • 20+ person marketing team
   • Enterprise data governance needs

2. You have complex data requirements

   • Need custom data transformations
   • Multi-brand, multi-region reporting
   • Sophisticated attribution models
   • Data compliance (GDPR, CCPA, etc.)

3. You already have BI infrastructure

   • Using Tableau, Power BI, or Looker
   • Data analysts on staff
   • Want to enhance existing setup
   • Need data centralization, not analysis

4. You need 500+ connectors

   • Running campaigns on dozens of platforms
   • Obscure or legacy systems
   • Custom integrations required

5. You value white-glove service

   • Want implementation team
   • Need ongoing data engineering support
   • Have budget for premium service

Best for:

• Fortune 500 companies
• Large e-commerce brands
• Multi-brand enterprises
• Companies with data teams

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When to Choose Cogny

You should choose Cogny if:

1. You want AI to do the analysis

   • Don't have time for dashboards
   • Want specific recommendations
   • Prefer "what to do" over "here's data"

2. You're a lean team

   • 2-20 person marketing team
   • No dedicated data analysts
   • Can't spend weeks on implementation
   • Need insights tomorrow, not next quarter

3. You're focused on optimization

   • Want to reduce CAC
   • Improve ROAS
   • Find wasted spend
   • Scale efficiently

4. Your budget is $20K-500K/month

   • Big enough for AI to find patterns
   • Not so big you need enterprise infrastructure
   • Sweet spot for Cogny's capabilities

5. You want fast setup

   • Connect accounts in 5 minutes
   • First insights within 24 hours
   • No implementation project

Best for:

• Mid-market SaaS companies
• Growth-stage startups
• Performance marketing teams
• Marketing agencies
• E-commerce brands ($2M-50M revenue)

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Can You Use Both?

Yes, but rare.

Common pattern:

Companies start with Cogny. Scale to Improvado + Cogny as they grow.

Example architecture:

500+ Marketing Tools
    ↓
Improvado (data pipeline)
    ↓
Data Warehouse
    ↓
Tableau (executive dashboards)
    +
Cogny (AI optimization)

Why this works:

Improvado handles:

• Enterprise-scale data ingestion
• Complex transformations
• Data governance
• Executive reporting

Cogny handles:

• AI-powered optimization insights
• Day-to-day campaign recommendations
• Performance marketer workflows

Total cost: $4,000-7,000/month Use case: Large enterprise needing both infrastructure and intelligence

But most companies choose one:

• Mid-market → Cogny
• Enterprise → Improvado

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Feature Deep Dive

Data Connectivity

Improvado:

• 500+ connectors
• Every major platform + obscure tools
• Custom connector development available
• Enterprise API reliability
• High data volume handling

Cogny:

• Core platforms: Google Ads, Meta Ads, GA4, BigQuery
• Fewer connectors, but covers 80% of use cases
• Can connect via BigQuery for unlimited sources
• Focused on common platforms

Winner: Improvado for breadth. Cogny sufficient for most.

Setup & Implementation

Improvado:

• Implementation: 4-12 weeks
• Dedicated implementation team
• Custom data modeling
• Training sessions
• High-touch onboarding

Cogny:

• Setup: 5 minutes
• Self-service
• First insights: 24 hours
• No training needed

Winner: Cogny for speed. Improvado for enterprise needs.

Analysis Capability

Improvado:

• Zero analysis
• Provides clean data
• You analyze in BI tool
• Need data analysts on staff

Cogny:

• AI-powered deep analysis
• Automatic pattern detection
• Generates actionable tickets
• No analysts needed

Winner: Cogny. Improvado doesn't do analysis.

Cost Structure

Improvado:

• Base: $2,000-3,000/month
• Enterprise: $5,000+/month
• Annual contracts
• Implementation fees (often $10K-50K)

Cogny:

• Starting: $500/month
• Mid-market: $1,000-2,000/month
• Monthly billing
• No implementation fees

Winner: Cogny for cost. Improvado for enterprise budgets.

Support Level

Improvado:

• Dedicated customer success manager
• Data engineering support
• Custom development
• Enterprise SLAs
• White-glove service

Cogny:

• Email + chat support
• Documentation
• Demo calls
• Optional premium support

Winner: Improvado for high-touch. Cogny for self-service.

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Pricing Comparison

Improvado Pricing

Growth: ~$2,000-3,000/month

• Up to 15 data sources
• Standard support
• Basic transformations

Enterprise: $5,000-15,000+/month

• Unlimited sources
• Custom transformations
• Dedicated CSM
• Enterprise SLAs

Additional costs:

• Implementation: $10K-50K
• Custom connector development
• Data engineering services
• Annual commitment

Typical first-year cost: $40K-80K

Cogny Pricing

Standard: ~$500-800/month

• All core features
• Unlimited AI analysis
• Natural language queries

Scale: $1,000-2,000/month

• Higher data volumes
• Multiple warehouses
• Priority support

Enterprise: Custom

• White-glove service
• Custom integrations
• Dedicated support

Typical first-year cost: $6K-24K

ROI Comparison

Improvado ROI:

• Saves data engineering time
• Eliminates manual data consolidation
• Enables better reporting
• Typical savings: 40+ hours/month data work
• Value: Operational efficiency

Cogny ROI:

• Saves analysis time (15-20 hours/week)
• Improves ad efficiency (10-30%)
• Finds wasted spend
• Typical value: $5K-50K/month in savings + optimization
• Value: Direct revenue impact

Example: $100K/month ad spend

With Improvado:

• Cost: $3,500/month
• Saves: Data engineering time
• Better reporting
• Still need analysts to generate insights

With Cogny:

• Cost: $1,200/month
• Saves: 20 hours/week analysis time
• Finds 15% efficiency gain = $15K/month
• Direct P&L impact

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Real User Scenarios

Scenario 1: Series B SaaS Company

Profile:

• $150K/month ad spend
• 8-person marketing team
• No data analyst
• Using Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn
• Already have BigQuery

Best choice: Cogny

Why not Improvado:

• Overkill for 3 main platforms
• Too expensive ($3K vs $800)
• 12-week implementation too slow
• No analyst to use the data

Why Cogny:

• Fast setup (same day)
• AI analysis included
• Direct platform connections work fine
• Perfect for this scale

Outcome:

• Up and running in 1 day
• First optimization tickets in 24 hours
• 10x lower cost

Scenario 2: Global Enterprise Brand

Profile:

• $2M/month marketing budget
• 40+ person marketing team
• 80+ marketing tools
• Operating in 25 countries
• Existing Tableau infrastructure
• 3 data engineers on staff

Best choice: Improvado

Why not Cogny:

• Only covers 5 main platforms
• Can't handle 80+ tool integrations
• Not built for enterprise governance
• Won't integrate with existing Tableau setup

Why Improvado:

• Handles enterprise complexity
• 500+ connectors cover all tools
• Integrates with existing BI stack
• White-glove support
• Data governance features

Outcome:

• Centralized data across all tools
• Executive dashboards in Tableau
• Clean, governed data

Scenario 3: Performance Marketing Agency

Profile:

• Managing 30 clients
• Mix of budgets ($10K-200K/month per client)
• Need insights fast
• Can't spend weeks on setup per client

Best choice: Cogny

Why:

• Fast setup per client
• AI scales across 30 accounts
• No implementation projects
• Generates client-ready insights

Cost comparison:

• Improvado: $2,500/month × 30 clients = too expensive
• Cogny: Scale pricing for agencies, much lower

Outcome:

• AI analysis across all clients
• Optimization tickets per account
• Cross-client benchmarking
• Scales with agency growth

Scenario 4: E-commerce Brand Scaling Fast

Profile:

• Went from $50K to $300K/month ad spend in 6 months
• Small team (4 people)
• Rapid growth
• Need insights NOW

Best choice: Start with Cogny

Right now:

• Cogny for fast AI insights
• Immediate optimization
• Handles current scale perfectly

In 12-18 months:

• If they hit $1M+/month and 50+ tools
• Consider adding Improvado
• Or just scale with Cogny

Why not Improvado now:

• 12-week implementation = too slow
• Overkill for current needs
• Budget better spent on ads

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Migration Between Tools

From Improvado to Cogny

Rare scenario.

Only happens if:

• Company downsized
• Over-engineered data stack
• Realize they need insights, not just data

Process:

1. Keep Improvado feeding warehouse
2. Add Cogny on top of warehouse
3. Evaluate if Improvado still needed

From Cogny to Improvado

Common growth path.

Happens when:

• Company scales to enterprise level
• Now using 50+ marketing tools
• Built out data team
• Need enterprise governance

Process:

1. Implement Improvado (12 weeks)
2. Keep Cogny for AI layer
3. Or migrate to pure Improvado + BI tool setup

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The Fundamental Question

Do you need data infrastructure or AI insights?

You need Improvado if:

• Your problem is "I can't get all my data in one place"
• You have 50+ tools
• You have analysts to interpret data
• You have enterprise budgets and timeline

You need Cogny if:

• Your problem is "I have data but don't know what to do"
• You want specific recommendations
• You want insights tomorrow
• You don't want to build dashboards

Different problems. Different solutions.

Most mid-market companies have the "what to do" problem. Not the "data infrastructure" problem.

For them: Cogny.

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FAQ

Q: Is Cogny a competitor to Improvado?

Not really.

They solve different problems.

Improvado = Enterprise ETL Cogny = AI Agent

Like comparing a data warehouse to an AI assistant.

Q: Can Cogny work with Improvado?

Yes.

Improvado feeds BigQuery → Cogny analyzes BigQuery.

Works great for enterprise teams wanting AI layer.

Q: Which is easier to use?

Cogny. No contest.

Improvado is powerful but complex. Built for data teams.

Cogny is simple. Built for marketers.

Q: Which has better data quality?

Improvado.

Enterprise-grade data transformation. Custom data models. Governed data pipelines.

Cogny uses data as-is from platforms. Good enough for AI analysis.

Q: Do I need a data warehouse for either?

Improvado: Usually yes

• Destinations: Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift
• Or direct to BI tools

Cogny: Optional

• Works standalone
• Even better with BigQuery

Q: Which scales better?

Different dimensions:

Data volume: Improvado (built for enterprise scale) Number of tools: Improvado (500+ connectors) Analysis depth: Cogny (AI scales infinitely) Team size: Improvado (enterprise focus)

Q: If I'm spending $200K/month on ads, which should I choose?

Depends on your setup:

If you have:

• 5-10 main platforms
• Small team
• No data infrastructure

Choose: Cogny

If you have:

• 50+ marketing tools
• 20+ person team
• Existing BI setup
• Data team

Choose: Improvado

Or both.

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The Bottom Line

Choose Improvado if:

• Enterprise organization
• 50+ marketing tools
• Large marketing team (20+)
• Existing BI infrastructure
• Need data governance
• Have enterprise budget and timeline

Choose Cogny if:

• Mid-market company
• Lean marketing team
• Want AI insights, not data pipelines
• Need setup in minutes, not months
• Focused on optimization over infrastructure
• Want to spend budget on ads, not data tools

Most companies should choose:

Cogny

Why:

• Faster time to value
• 10x lower cost
• Solves the actual problem (optimization)
• No implementation project

Use Improvado when you're big enough that:

• Data infrastructure becomes the bottleneck
• You have dozens of analysts
• You're managing $1M+/month across 50+ tools
• Data governance is critical

That's 1% of companies.

For the other 99%: Cogny.

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See What AI Finds in Your Campaigns

You probably don't need enterprise data infrastructure.

You need to know:

• Where you're wasting money
• What to optimize
• How to improve ROAS
• What to do next

AI finds this in hours.

See it yourself:

Schedule a demo and we'll analyze your campaigns live.

No 12-week implementation. No data engineering project. Just insights.

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About This Comparison

Written by the Cogny team—built by the founders who created AI optimization systems for Netflix, Zalando, and Momondo at Campanja, and scaled growth for Kry, Epidemic Sound, and Yubico through GrowthHackers.se.

Improvado is a solid enterprise platform. But most companies don't need enterprise infrastructure. They need AI insights.

Last Updated: December 9, 2024