Looker Studio, which you may recognize as Google Data Studio, is a cloud-based data analytics tool created to provide big data analytics services for small businesses. Some of the key advantages of using Looker Studio include free access, no-code data integration, and data blending using native connectors.
Looker Studio has a premium version known as Looker Studio Pro and costs $9 per user per project per month. The premium version was created to provide more advanced features and to bridge Looker Studio and its more advanced version, Looker. Currently, Looker Studio Pro provides administrator features for enhanced collaboration and data governance.
Looker, the most advanced version of Looker Studio, provides access to developer tools, including LookML and custom apps. Looker does not have a price tag, but you should expect it to be more than $35K per year. Looker is for large enterprises with extensive data needs and the requisite technical capacity. The screen below captures all three versions of Looker Studio.
There are many reasons why companies consider Looker Studio and Looker alternatives. Here are the key challenges faced by verified Looker Studio customers:
- Though Looker Studio is easy to use, there is a steep learning curve before you get used to it.
- Looker Studio has limitations on data integration and blending. You can only work with a maximum of five data sources at a time. Working with large datasets makes the platform clunky and slow.
- Sometimes, data breaks occur, affecting the functionality of your reporting dashboards, and you can’t download the data blends.
- Looker Studio lacks dedicated support. You either rely on online resources or pay for a premium package with a support plan.
- Upgrading to Looker Studio Pro or Looker is expensive, especially for small businesses. There are cheaper Looker Studio alternatives.
Top Five Alternatives to Looker Studio
The top Looker Studio competitors and alternatives provide all the core data tools, functionalities, and features of a business intelligence platform. These include extraction, loading, transformation, visualization, and reporting through dashboards. The top Looker Studio competitors provide at least similar or better efficiencies and effectiveness in functionality. That is why this list includes paid and free Looker Studio alternatives.
Metabase: Best Open Source Alternative for Self Service Analytics
Metabase is the best Looker Studio alternative with open-source access. Metabase is built for self-service analytics. Compared to Looker Studio, this alternative has a lower learning curve and more ease of use. Metabase also enables advanced drilling and slicing of your data and you can transfer or download the data using codeless connectors.
Metabase also provides more advanced charting tools than Looker Studio. A good example is the Sankey diagram which is unavailable on other Looker Studio alternatives. Metabase is suitable for organizations of all sizes with options for managed cloud-based and on-premise local hosting. The screen below shows Metabase analytics tools.
Power BI: Top Alternative with Easy Integration of Microsoft Apps
Power BI is an advanced analytical software that offers easy integration with Microsoft apps including ERP data tools. It also integrates with third-party apps using third-party or custom data connectors. Power BI has a free package and the premium plans are also cheaper than other paid Looker Studio alternatives and versions. The screen below captures Power BI capabilities.
AgencyAnalytics: Top Alternative with Higher Data Integration Capabilities
AgencyAnalytics was created specifically for marketing agencies. That is why pricing is based on the number of client campaigns. AgencyAnalytics is better than Looker Studio on the aspect of data integration since it has the capacity to blend more data sources. Compared to Looker Studio, AgencyAnalytics is both more capable and easier to use for digital marketing data analytics tools.
Whatagraph: Top Alternative with Advanced Visualization Tools
Whatagraph is a top Looker Studio alternative because it provides ease of use, codeless data transfer, and advanced data blending. It gives you the capability to work with larger datasets from multiple disparate sources. Whatagraph also provides top-notch reporting features with white label report templates and better collaboration on data. Some of its key features are pictured below.
Grow.com: Top Alternative for Full-Stack Analytics Tools
While most platforms, including Looker Studio, are designed for digital marketing analytics first, Grow.com provides full-stack BI analytics tools. The service provides analytics tools to serve all business functions with easy integration of ERP, accounting, HRM, and customer data platforms through 75+ data tools. The service is also scalable to the needs of growing organizations. Most companies find Grow.com to be a better Looker Studio alternative for organization-wide analytics. The key properties of Grow are pictured below.
Looker Studio Functionality vs Other Digital Marketing Tools
There are various functionalities considered in the evaluation of Looker Studio alternatives. Notably, all Looker Studio alternatives serve all the requisite functions of BI analytics tools. Looker Studio lags on the aspects of data transfer and native report sharing because you cannot download the data from Looker Studio and you might have to pay to add collaborators. The comparison is presented below.
| Looker Studio | Metabase | Power BI | Whatagraph | Agency Analytics | Grow.com | |
| Data integrations | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Data transfer | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Data Blending | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom metrics and dimensions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Native visualization dashboards | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Native report sharing | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Looker Studio Pricing vs Competitors’ Pricing
Looker Studio Pricing
Looker Studio is free. That means you can use Looker Studio without any cost for life. Most businesses would, however, need an upgrade to the Looker Studio Pro version to enable governance and collaboration on data. Pricing starts at $9 per user per project per month for Looker Studio Pro. For large enterprises, upgrading to Looker would attract a price of more than $35K per year, based on a lower limit estimate.
Metabase Pricing
Metabase has a free open-source plan that allows access to all data connectors with self-hosting. The next plan is the starter package that only allows cloud hosting. For most companies, the best plan is Metabase Pro, which starts at $500 per month and allows both managed cloud and self-hosting. Companies with many users and projects would benefit more from Metabase Pro than the Looker Studio Pro alternative. Those with more extensive data integration needs may opt for custom pricing under the enterprise plan, as shown below.
Power BI Pricing
Power BI has a free plan. The next plan is Power BI Pro, which starts from $10 per user per month. The third plan is Power BI Premium, which is priced at $20 per user per month. Lastly, you can get Power BI Embedded for a custom price. The latter is only important if you need to embed Power BI reports in websites as either static or interactive dashboards. The modelling capabilities increase with the pricing, as shown below.
Whatagraph Pricing
Whatagraph’s pricing page lacks numbers. You need to contact sales to get a price quote that depends on the functionalities you intend to use. The pricing page is as shown below.
AgencyAnalytics Pricing
AgencyAnalytics pricing is specifically designed for marketing agencies. The lowest plan is Launch, which starts from $59 per month and allows the management of up to 5 client campaigns. The next plan is Grow, which is priced at $179 for 10 client campaigns. Lastly, the Perform plan is for 15 client campaigns and is charged $349. All prices are billed monthly, as shown below.
Grow.com Pricing
Grow.com does not publish its pricing information. The company emphasizes its focus on enhancing your ROI. Further, Grow.com mentions that prices can vary from as low as $20 to a few thousand. To determine the cost, Grow considers your industry and the number of employees or potential users. The parameters are used to estimate your data integration needs and price.
Looker Studio Customer Reviews vs Competitors
Looker Studio has both positive and negative reviews. So is the case with the alternatives. Based on reviews from G2, Looker Studio has a rating of 4.4 stars, at par with Metabase. Power BI and Whatagraph have 4.5-star ratings. The best-rated platform is AgencyAnalytics, with 4.7 stars, while the least-rated was Grow.com, at 4.3 stars.
The reviews of Looker Studio and the alternatives are driven by various factors. The main factors include competitive pricing, ease of use, learning curve, and customer support.
Looker Studio and its Power BI alternative are considerably harder to use when compared to the remaining platforms, which are significantly automated. Customer support is lacking for Looker Studio and it is limited for Power BI. The rest of the analytical tools have better customer service offerings. Lastly, concerning the learning curve, Looker Studio and Grow.com are considerably harder to learn but easy to use once you get used to the services. The views are summarized in the table below.
| Looker Studio | Metabase | Power BI | Whatagraph | Agency Analytics | Grow.com | |
| G2 Rating | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.3 |
| Ease of use | Hard | Easy | Hard | Easy | Easy | Easy |
| Customer support | Limited | Yes | Limited | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Learning curve | Steep | Low | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Overall, some customers even recommended Looker Studio alternatives based on experience. The screen below captures one such sentiment where Metabase was recommended.
Verdict
Advantages of Other Tools Against Looker Studio
Looker Studio alternatives like Metabase are easier to use for self-service analytics. The learning curve is low and support is excellent. The visualization tools are more advanced and include Sankey diagrams. Most importantly, Metabase has open source access with options for managed cloud and self-hosting.
For other Looker Studio competitors like AgencyAnalytics and Whatagraph, you get code-free data transfer and better report sharing.
Lastly, Grow.com offers full-stack business intelligence tools that cover all functional areas, while Looker Studio concentrates on marketing analytics tools.
Where Looker Studio Still Wins
Looker Studio still wins on price because it is free. Users who are interested in a free alternative can still benefit from Metabase and Microsoft Power BI. Looker Studio Pro and Looker, however, are not competitively priced.
Looker Studio also wins when using native Google connectors, which applies to most digital marketing data tools. Data breaks are only experienced when using third-party connectors.
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