How to Set Up HubSpot Attribution Reports (Step by Step)

To set up attribution reports in HubSpot, go to Reporting > Reports, click Create report, choose Attribution report, pick the Contacts, Deals or Revenue data source, then select your attribution models, dimensions and filters and save the report to a dashboard. That takes about ten minutes. The part that takes longer is the groundwork: the HubSpot tracking code on every page, connected ad and social accounts, deals associated with contacts, and a closed-won stage with Amount, Create date and Close date filled in. Without those, the report builds fine and shows the wrong answer.

Plan check first: contact create attribution is available on Marketing Hub or Content Hub Professional and Enterprise, while deal create and deal revenue attribution are Marketing Hub Enterprise only, according to HubSpot's attribution reports guide (checked Nov 2026). This post is the setup walkthrough. If you are still deciding whether HubSpot's attribution is enough for you, read the 7 limits of HubSpot attribution first.

What do you need before building HubSpot attribution reports?

Run this checklist before you open the report builder. Every item comes from HubSpot's attribution reporting documentation.

Which HubSpot attribution report should you build?

HubSpot offers three report types. They were renamed, so older tutorials may use the old names.

For pricing context, HubSpot's pricing page lists Marketing Hub Professional at $800/month on annual billing with a $3,000 onboarding fee, and Enterprise at $3,600/month with a $7,000 onboarding fee (checked Nov 2026).

How do you create an attribution report in HubSpot step by step?

1. Open reports. Click More, then Reporting > Reports (or Reporting > Reports directly if More is not shown).
2. Start a new report. Click Create report in the top right.
3. Choose how to build it. You have three paths: the Template report library (filter Data sources to Contacts, Deals or Revenue and search "Attribution"), an AI-generated report (describe what you want and click Generate report), or the Attribution report custom builder. For control, choose Attribution report and click Next.
4. Select the data source. Contacts, Deals or Revenue, then click Next.
5. Pick a chart type. Donut, Pie and Summary only work with one attribution model or one dimension. Use a bar chart or table if you want to compare models.
6. Select attribution models. Open the Attribution model dropdown and choose one or more of First Touch, Last Touch, Linear, Time Decay and Empirical. Each selected model shows separately, which is the easiest way to compare them side by side.
7. Select dimensions. Choose one from the Dimensions dropdown (groups include Asset, Deal, Interaction, UTM and Other, such as ad keywords, CTAs and social posts). Click + Add another dimension to break it down further.
8. Add filters. In the Filters tab, set the date filter for your period. Note that date filters containing "Week" start on Sunday.
9. Save. Click Save, name the report, and choose Add to existing dashboard or Add to new dashboard. Set who can see it.

Empirical is HubSpot's replacement for the older U-shaped, W-shaped, J-shaped and inverse J-shaped models. If you need a refresher on what each model rewards, see multi-touch attribution models explained.

Which three attribution reports should you build first?

1. New contacts by interaction source, First Touch vs Last Touch. Data source: Contacts. Dimension: Interaction source. Shows which channels start relationships and which ones convert visitors into contacts.
2. Deals created by campaign, Linear. Data source: Deals. Dimension: Campaign or UTM campaign. Shows which campaigns produce pipeline, not just form fills.
3. Closed-won revenue by UTM source and campaign, Linear vs Time Decay vs First Touch. Data source: Revenue. Filter: Deal close date, last full quarter. This is the report to bring to a budget meeting.

Put all three on one dashboard so marketing and sales look at the same numbers. Our guide to marketing dashboards covers layout.

Example: reading a revenue attribution report

Example (hypothetical numbers): last quarter you closed $90,000 in deals. The revenue report, grouped by interaction source, shows:

How to read it: Meta opens most journeys (high first touch, low time decay), while email mainly closes them. Cutting Meta because its time decay number is lowest would likely shrink next quarter's pipeline. A fair budget conversation uses Linear as the headline and the other two as context.

What are the most common HubSpot attribution setup mistakes?

• Deals without contacts. HubSpot says a deal needs at least one associated contact to get attribution.
• Calls not linked to the deal. A logged call is auto-associated only if the deal is among the contact's five most recent open deals; otherwise associate it manually.
• Emails to secondary addresses. Marketing email clicks only count when the email went to the contact's primary email address.
• Untracked external pages. A landing page built outside HubSpot without the tracking code produces no page view interactions.
• No closed-won stage or empty Amount. Those deals are simply left out of revenue attribution.
• WhatsApp and phone leads typed in by hand. A contact created manually after a WhatsApp chat has no ad click interaction, so paid social looks weaker than it is.

Also know the volume limits: each report includes up to 20 million interactions after sampling, and sampling only applies to high-frequency types such as page views and email interactions. Form submissions, calls and meetings are not sampled.

When are native HubSpot attribution reports not enough?

When you need revenue per ad or creative, when many leads start in Click-to-WhatsApp ads, or when you want closed-won events sent back to Meta and Google so their algorithms optimize for sales. Admira connects HubSpot with Meta, Google Ads, TikTok and WhatsApp ads, ties those leads to deal revenue, and sends CRM events back through its Conversion API, starting at $199/month. It is a young brand with few public reviews, and HubSpot Enterprise teams that live inside HubSpot-tracked forms and emails may not need it.

Who this guide is for, and when it doesn't apply

For: HubSpot admins and marketing ops on Professional or Enterprise who need working attribution reports this week.

Not for: teams on Starter or free tools (attribution reports are not included), and teams whose revenue is recorded outside HubSpot deals. If your CRM is Salesforce, read Salesforce marketing attribution instead.

FAQ

Where are attribution reports in HubSpot?

In Reporting > Reports. Click Create report and choose Attribution report, or search "Attribution" in the template library.

Can I create revenue attribution reports on Marketing Hub Professional?

No. Professional includes contact create attribution. Deal create and deal revenue attribution require Marketing Hub Enterprise.

Which attribution models does HubSpot offer?

First Touch, Last Touch, Linear, Time Decay and Empirical. Empirical replaced the U-shaped, W-shaped, J-shaped and inverse J-shaped models.

Why does my revenue attribution report show less revenue than my pipeline report?

Usually because some closed-won deals have no associated contacts, no Amount, or sit in a stage that is not marked closed-won. Those deals are excluded.

Can I compare models in one report?

Yes. Select several models in the Attribution model dropdown and use a bar chart or table; each model shows as its own series.

Do Meta and Google ad clicks show up automatically?

Only if the ad accounts are connected to HubSpot. Disconnected accounts mean no ad click interactions.