A CallRail alternative, for businesses that mostly need the sale in Google Ads
The short version. CallRail is a full call tracking platform: tracking numbers, recordings, transcripts, forms and multi-channel reports. If you need those, stay. If what you actually want is for Google Ads to see the sales you close by phone, WhatsApp and Maps, with their value, Attributane does that for a flat price and covers calls CallRail’s own help centre says it can’t send to Google Ads.
We’re not going to pretend Attributane is a better CallRail. It isn’t a call tracking tool at all. The question is whether you need call tracking, or whether you need Google Ads to know which customers bought and what they spent.
Stay with CallRail if
- You want every call recorded, transcribed or scored by AI
- You need call routing, IVR menus or form tracking
- You report on many channels, like Meta, Bing and organic, not just Google Ads
- You want every single call counted automatically, with no action from your team
Where CallRail leaves a gap
Calls from your Business Profile and Maps. CallRail’s own documentation explains that Google doesn’t issue a click ID (GCLID) for calls from a Google Business Profile listing. Without it, those calls can’t be sent to Google Ads as conversions. For many local businesses that’s where a large share of calls come from.
Calls are not sales. A call that lasts over a minute is not a booking. Unless you qualify calls by hand or connect a CRM, Google Ads learns that the phone rang, not that you made $480.
The bill grows with your success. Plans include a set number of numbers and minutes. Busy months, long calls and extra numbers cost more.
Tracking numbers on your listing. Many local businesses would rather keep their real number on their Business Profile and website.
What Attributane does differently
Attributane counts the sale, not the call. When a booking or deal closes, your customer gets their voucher, quote or receipt as an Attributane touchpoint. When they open it, the sale reaches Google Ads with its real value, and Google matches it to the ads they interacted with, whether they clicked through to your site, called from Maps or messaged you days later.
There are no numbers to rent and no minutes to meter. The trade-off: your team sends a touchpoint per sale, and the customer opens it. In our hotel case study, 90% did.
Side by side
| CallRail | Attributane | |
|---|---|---|
| Counts every call automatically | Yes | No, it counts sales and qualified leads |
| Call recording and transcripts | Yes | No |
| Calls from Business Profile and Maps in Google Ads | Not as Google Ads conversions, per CallRail’s help centre | Yes, when the customer buys |
| Real sale value in Google Ads | Needs manual tagging or a CRM | Built in |
| Needs tracking numbers | Yes | No |
| Usage charges | Minutes, numbers, texts beyond the plan | None |
| Channels reported | Many | Google Ads only |
Pricing
CallRail’s plans list from $50 to $195 a month with 5 local numbers and 250 local minutes, then about $3 per extra number and 5¢ to 6¢ per extra local minute. Attributane is $49 to $79 a month for one business, or $199 for 10 client accounts, with no usage charges.
Using both
Plenty of businesses should run both. Keep CallRail for recordings and channel reports, and add Attributane so the sales from those calls, and from Maps calls CallRail can’t pass to Google Ads, reach your bidding with their value. Google dedupes by transaction ID, so a sale is only counted once per conversion action.
Not sure if this fits your business?
Four quick questions. We’ll tell you honestly, including when the answer is no.