Teikametrics is the better pick for most Amazon sellers who run their own ads: public pricing ($179/mo, $149 annual, up to $10K in ad spend, then custom plus 3% over $10K) and ARI bidding that reacts to inventory and catalog signals. Quartile fits brands spending $20K+ a month that want a strategist running Amazon, Walmart, Google, Meta and ChatGPT ads, at roughly double the effective fee. SellerForge (ours) is neither: it is the profit layer that judges both.
Teikametrics vs Quartile is not really a software comparison. Teikametrics is retail software you steer yourself, with an optional managed service on top. Quartile is a managed service, with its own AI underneath and a strategist on every account. SellerForge, our product, is a third thing: the profit layer that judges both, and I will keep that disclosure in view. Pick the wrong model and you either pay agency rates for software you never needed, or buy software nobody has time to drive.
Both vendors make direct comparison hard. Teikametrics publishes its entry price and then goes custom above $10K in spend. Quartile publishes nothing at all. So below I priced both at four ad-spend levels, with every number sourced and every estimate labelled as one.
Teikametrics vs Quartile: The Short Answer
Choose Teikametrics if you have someone in-house who will steer ads weekly and your problem lives on the Amazon or Walmart shelf: stockouts, catalog gaps, bids that ignore inventory. Choose Quartile if you spend $20K+ a month, want a strategist to do the work, and need budget to move across retail and off-Amazon channels. Below $3K a month, choose neither.
| Teikametrics | Quartile | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Self-serve software (ARI), managed services optional | Managed service with proprietary AI, strategist on every account |
| Published pricing | Yes: $179/mo ($149 annual) up to $10K spend | No: demo only |
| Fee above $10K spend | Custom base + 3% of spend over $10K | Est. $895–$9,995/mo base + 2–5% of spend |
| Free trial | Yes, on Essentials | No; new-account discounts reported |
| Channels | Amazon, Walmart, TikTok; DSP + Walmart Onsite Display on Advanced | Amazon, DSP, Walmart, Instacart, Criteo, Google, Meta, Microsoft, ChatGPT ads |
| Differentiator | Bids against inventory, catalog and retail signals | One strategist and one budget across retail and DTC channels |
| Best fit | $3K–$100K/mo spend, in-house operator | $20K+/mo spend, no in-house PPC lead |
How Much Does Teikametrics Cost in 2026?
Teikametrics costs $179 per month on the Essentials plan, or $149 per month billed annually, for sellers spending up to $10,000 a month on ads, and Essentials comes with a free trial. Above $10K in monthly ad spend, the Advanced plan is custom-priced plus 3% of ad spend over $10K. Enterprise, for $100K+ spenders, is custom.
How Much Does Quartile Cost in 2026?
Quartile does not publish pricing; its pricing page offers only a demo. Third-party 2026 breakdowns put it at roughly $895 to $9,995 per month in base fees plus 2% to 5% of managed ad spend, around $500 per extra marketplace or account, $1,000 to $3,000 to onboard a messy account, and Amazon DSP billed as a separate line.
In exchange you get scale and people. Quartile says it manages over $2 billion in annual retail ad spend and $25 billion in sales for 5,300+ customers in 32 countries, and every account, including its small-business tier, gets a dedicated strategist who meets with you and adjusts campaigns. Its campaign architecture is famously granular, built on single-keyword, single-ASIN structures optimized on hourly data.
Read vendor performance claims for what they are. Quartile's site advertises a 41% average ROAS increase and Teikametrics names enterprise customers, but neither publishes a sample, timeframe or methodology behind its headline lift. Judge both on your own data during a defined test window.
What You Actually Pay at $5K, $20K, $50K and $150K in Ad Spend
At $50K a month in ad spend, Teikametrics Advanced costs an estimated $1,800 to $2,640 a month (about 4–5% of spend), and Quartile costs an estimated $3,500 to $6,000 (about 7–12%). The gap narrows at $150K and inverts in value if you would otherwise have to hire a PPC manager. Software and service are priced against different alternatives.
| Monthly ad spend | Teikametrics (est. monthly cost) | Quartile (est. monthly cost) | What the gap buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5,000 | $179 ($149 annual) = ~3% of spend | $895+ floor, if accepted = 18%+ | Nothing worth 15 points at this size |
| $20,000 | ~$900–$1,740 (base + $300) = 4.5–8.7% | ~$1,500–$4,500 = 7.5–22% | A strategist vs your own hours |
| $50,000 | ~$1,800–$2,640 (base + $1,200) = 3.6–5.3% | ~$3,500–$6,000 = 7–12% | Cross-channel budget + managed work |
| $150,000 | Enterprise, custom (3% math alone: $4,200+) | ~$6,500–$12,500 = 4.3–8.3% | Close to parity once Teikametrics managed services are added |
How the estimates are built: Teikametrics uses the live 3%-over-$10K rule plus the help-center base range ($599–$1,439); Quartile uses the third-party base and percentage bands for each spend tier. Neither includes DSP, extra marketplaces or onboarding, which add more to Quartile's bill because they are separate lines there. Your negotiated quote will differ; the shape of the curve will not.
Software vs Managed Service: What Actually Separates Them?
Teikametrics is built around the shelf: it reads inventory, catalog and retail signals and changes bids and listings in response, with your team in the driver's seat. Quartile is built around the budget: a strategist plus AI moves money across Amazon, Walmart, Instacart, Google, Meta and ChatGPT ads. The first sells leverage to an operator; the second sells the operator.
| Platform | Model and who does the work | Bidding | Inventory and profit awareness | Channels | Entry price (Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teikametrics | Self-serve ARI software; your team drives, managed services optional | Automated, goal-based (ARI) | Core: cuts spend on low-stock ASINs; profitability dashboards on Advanced | Amazon, Walmart, TikTok; DSP and Walmart Onsite Display on Advanced | $179/mo ($149 annual) to $10K spend; then custom + 3% over $10K |
| Quartile | Managed service on proprietary AI; a dedicated strategist drives | Automated, single-keyword structures on hourly data | Not a headline feature | Amazon, DSP, Walmart, Instacart, Criteo, Google, Meta, Microsoft, ChatGPT ads | Not published; est. $895–$9,995/mo + 2–5% of spend |
| SellerForge (ours) | AI account intelligence; you approve, AI drafts the analysis | No autobidder: proposes bid, negative and budget changes; Auto within limits on Pro/Agency | Core: TACoS and margin per ASIN after all fees, stock cover, account health, reimbursements | Amazon only; no DSP | From $49/mo (Core $49, Growth $99, Pro $199, Agency $499) |
One structural difference deserves its own sentence: with Teikametrics, the levers stay in your account and your team learns them. With Quartile, the single-keyword campaign architecture is built and maintained by their strategist, which is excellent while you are a customer and a real migration project if you ever leave. Ask before signing what your campaign structure looks like on the day you cancel.
The Shelf-or-Spread Test: Who Should Pick Which
The Shelf-or-Spread Test sorts the decision by where your advertising bottleneck actually sits. If the problem is on the Amazon or Walmart shelf (stock, catalog, bids that ignore inventory), you need shelf intelligence: Teikametrics. If the problem is spreading budget and labor across channels, you need a team: Quartile. If it is profit, neither fixes it.
The Shelf-or-Spread Test. Write down the last three ad problems that cost you real money. SHELF problems: stockouts while ads kept spending, listings that could not convert the traffic, bids blind to margin by ASIN. SPREAD problems: no one to run Google or Meta, budget stuck on Amazon while other channels starve, no hours to manage campaigns at all. Two or more SHELF answers: Teikametrics. Two or more SPREAD answers and $20K+ a month in spend: Quartile. Answers that are really about profit or account health: fix the measurement layer first, before buying either.
- 1Pull your last 90 days of ad spend and confirm your monthly average; this decides which pricing row you sit in.
- 2List the last three ad problems that cost money and tag each SHELF, SPREAD or PROFIT.
- 3Decide who drives: name the person who will log in weekly. If nobody, software is the wrong purchase.
- 4Price both at your spend level using the table above, then ask each vendor for a written quote with every line item, including DSP, marketplaces, onboarding and annual increases.
- 5Run a 60-day test on one brand or one marketplace with a frozen control set, judged on contribution margin and TACoS, not ACoS alone.
- 6Before signing, get the cancellation terms and the post-cancellation billing rules in writing.
Where Teikametrics Wins, Where Quartile Wins, and Where Neither Fits
Teikametrics wins on transparency, price below $50K in spend, a real free trial and inventory-aware bidding you control. Quartile wins on channel breadth, people, and early access to new surfaces like ChatGPT ads. Neither tells you whether the business is profitable after every fee, or protects the account those ads depend on.
Teikametrics wins when
- You spend $3K–$100K a month and have one person who will steer ads weekly.
- Stockouts and inventory swings are your most expensive ad mistakes.
- You sell on Walmart or TikTok Shop alongside Amazon and want one retail view.
- You want a published price, a free trial, and the levers to stay in your hands.
Quartile wins when
- You spend $20K+ a month and do not have, or want, an in-house PPC lead.
- Budget needs to move between Amazon, Instacart, Walmart, Google and Meta from one plan.
- You want early exposure to ChatGPT ads: Quartile announced a technology partnership supporting ads in ChatGPT on September 21, 2026, a surface reaching ChatGPT's 1 billion+ weekly users.
- You are comparing it with an agency retainer, not with a software subscription.
Neither fits when
How to Switch to Teikametrics or Quartile Without Losing a Quarter
Switch in parallel, never cold: keep the current system running on a control set, move one brand or marketplace for 60 days, and judge on contribution margin. Read the exit terms before the entry terms, because annual prepayments, post-cancellation fees and campaign structures you do not own are where switching costs hide.
- 1Export 12 months of search-term, campaign and placement reports before anyone restructures anything; a new vendor's rebuild will rename campaigns and break your history.
- 2Write down the baseline: TACoS, contribution margin per ASIN, organic rank on your top 20 terms, and stockout days.
- 3Give the new platform only the access it needs in Seller Central and the Ads console, and keep an admin login that is yours.
- 4Agree the success metric in writing before day one. ACoS alone is gameable by cutting top-of-funnel spend; insist on TACoS and margin.
- 5On Teikametrics, if you cancel, downgrade and then remove connected merchants so the 3%-over-$10K Basic billing stops. On Quartile, confirm notice periods and who owns the campaign build.
- 6Review at day 30 and day 60 against the baseline, then decide.
Across the 57 accounts I managed at Worldfront, we ran both models: software we steered ourselves on brands where we had a strong in-house operator, and managed partners where we did not. The managed side was never the problem. The problems came from the handoffs: nobody owned the baseline, the vendor reported ACoS while the brand's margin quietly fell, and when the contract ended the campaign structure walked out the door with the strategist. Every one of those is preventable with the six steps above.
The Operator's Bottom Line
For most private-label sellers spending $3K to $50K a month with someone willing to steer, Teikametrics is the better value: public pricing, a trial, and bidding that respects inventory. For brands spending $20K+ a month without a PPC lead, Quartile is a credible AI-assisted alternative to an agency. Under $3K, use Amazon's free tools.
Want to know if your PPC platform is actually making you money? Start a SellerForge trial, connect your Amazon account, and see TACoS and contribution margin per ASIN next to your ad spend, whichever bidder you use. Plans run from $49/mo; you can also ask your account questions from Claude or ChatGPT through SellerForge MCP.
About the author
David Gallo is the founder of SellerForge.ai. Before building SellerForge, he managed 57 Amazon seller accounts representing more than $350M in sales at Worldfront, running ads both in-house on software and through managed partners, and learned that the platform matters less than who owns the baseline.
