When do I use "Breakdown by" vs "Attribution Options" for Reports?

When building reports, you’ll use both Breakdown by and Attribution Options, but each serves a different purpose. One for structuring how data is sliced, and the other for determining how credit is assigned.

Breakdown by

Breakdowns help you slice and dice your funnel data by static values. They can be specific fields directly from your CRM or custom dimensions you create in the "Breakdowns" tab, like Region or Industry.

Think of it as "How do I segment my results?"

• What it does: It groups your report's data into categories based on a chosen Breakdown.

• Use Case: You're asking questions like:

  • "How many MQLs did we get from each Industry ?"

  • How many Leads came from what Territory (NAMER, APAC, EMEA, etc.)?

  All of them belong in "Breakdown by".

Attribution Options

Attribution Options help you determine which touchpoints contributed to your goals. You should use Attribution Options when asking questions about contribution of particular touchpoints.

Think of it as "Who gets credit for the win?"

• What it does: It lets you choose which touchpoint property should be included and then apply an attribution model to distribute credit for your goals across interactions.

• Use Case: You're asking questions like:

  • "Which marketing channels (touchpoints) contributed to our Closed Won deals?"

  • "What are the most popular touchpoints before a lead becomes an SQL?"

  All of these questions belong in "Attribution Options".