If you have managed ad budgets at an agency in the past five years, you have probably heard of Shape.io. It was one of the first tools built specifically for budget pacing, and it earned a loyal following among media teams who were tired of managing spend in spreadsheets. The Shape.io vs. Pace Ads comparison matters because the pacing tool landscape has changed significantly since NinjaCat's acquisition.
I used Shape.io at my agency before the acquisition. It did what it promised: connected to ad platforms, tracked spend against monthly targets, and gave you a visual dashboard to see which campaigns were on track. It was straightforward and purpose-built. That focus is what made it valuable.
Shape.io's History and the NinjaCat Acquisition
Shape.io launched as a standalone budget pacing tool for digital agencies. It connected to Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and a handful of other platforms, pulled spend data, and displayed pacing status against monthly budgets. The interface was clean, the setup was simple, and it solved a specific problem well.
In 2022, NinjaCat acquired Shape.io. NinjaCat is a data management and reporting platform built for agencies. The acquisition made strategic sense: NinjaCat wanted to add budget pacing to its reporting suite, and Shape.io needed resources to scale.
If you visit shape.io today, it redirects to ninjacat.io. The standalone product no longer exists as a separate entity. Shape.io's pacing features have been folded into NinjaCat's broader platform, which now includes reporting, data warehousing, AI agents, and client dashboards.
What Happened to Shape.io's Budget Pacing Features
Post-acquisition, NinjaCat integrated Shape.io's pacing capabilities into its reporting workflow. Budget pacing became one component within a larger platform, rather than the core product. For agencies that only needed pacing, this meant adopting a broader (and more expensive) platform to access a feature that was previously standalone.
NinjaCat's current product direction emphasises AI agents, automated reporting, and data management. Their 2026 roadmap focuses on AI-powered insights and data unification across marketing channels. Budget pacing is still available, but it is no longer the primary focus of the product.
This is a common pattern in ad tech. A focused tool gets acquired, folded into a larger suite, and gradually deprioritised as the parent company pursues its own strategic goals. The original users, who chose the tool for its simplicity and focus, are left with a product that no longer matches their needs.
Budget Pacing Tools Compared: NinjaCat vs. Pace Ads
Pace Ads was built specifically for cross-platform budget pacing. Unlike NinjaCat, which offers pacing as one feature within a reporting suite, Pace is purpose-built around the pacing workflow. Here is how the two compare across the features that matter most to agencies.
Platform support. NinjaCat connects to a wide range of data sources for reporting purposes, including Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, Microsoft Ads, and many others. Pace connects to Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, and Microsoft Ads with a focused integration that goes deeper on budget management. Pace's roadmap includes TikTok, Snapchat, Amazon, and additional platforms.
Auto-pacing. NinjaCat's pacing features track spend against budgets and surface alerts. Pace goes further by automatically calculating and applying daily budget adjustments based on remaining budget and remaining days. The system recalculates multiple times daily and can apply changes without manual intervention.
Transparency and audit trails. Pace logs every budget change with a timestamp, the old value, the new value, and the reason for the change. This creates a complete audit trail that agencies can share with clients. NinjaCat provides reporting on budget status but does not offer the same level of change-level transparency.
Ease of setup. Pace connects via OAuth in minutes. You authorise your ad accounts, set monthly budget targets, and the system starts tracking and adjusting. NinjaCat requires a more involved onboarding process because you are setting up a full reporting and data management platform, not just a pacing tool.
Pricing model. NinjaCat is an enterprise-oriented platform with pricing that reflects its broad feature set. Pace is designed to be accessible to agencies of all sizes, with pricing based on the number of ad accounts managed.
Feature Comparison at a Glance
| Feature | NinjaCat (Shape.io) | Pace Ads |
|---|---|---|
| Primary focus | Reporting + data management | Budget pacing + optimisation |
| Auto budget adjustments | Alerts only | Automated daily adjustments |
| Change audit trail | Limited | Full log with reasoning |
| Setup time | Days to weeks | Minutes |
| AI-driven pacing | General AI agents | Predictive pacing models |
| Google Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Meta Ads | Yes | Yes |
| LinkedIn Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Best for | Agencies needing full reporting suite | Agencies needing focused pacing |
Who NinjaCat Is Better For
NinjaCat is a strong choice for agencies that need a comprehensive reporting and data management platform. If your primary pain point is client reporting across dozens of data sources, and budget pacing is a secondary need, NinjaCat's integrated approach makes sense.
Agencies already using NinjaCat for reporting will find that the built-in pacing features (inherited from Shape.io) provide adequate visibility into budget status without adding another tool to their stack. The trade-off is less depth and automation on the pacing side.
Who Pace Ads Is Better For
Pace is built for agencies where budget pacing is the primary problem. If you are losing time to spreadsheet-based pacing, missing monthly targets, or struggling to explain budget variances to clients, Pace addresses those issues directly.
Agencies managing budgets across Google, Meta, LinkedIn, and Microsoft Ads benefit from Pace's cross-platform dashboard and automated adjustments. The audit trail and change logging features are particularly valuable for agencies that need to maintain transparency with clients, as we covered in our comparison of budget pacing tools.
If you previously relied on Shape.io and are looking for a dedicated replacement that focuses on pacing rather than general reporting, Pace is the closest match to what Shape.io originally offered, with modern AI-driven optimisation built in.
The bottom line: NinjaCat and Pace serve different needs. Choose NinjaCat if reporting is your priority. Choose Pace if pacing accuracy is what keeps you up at night.
