Data Studio vs Looker: What are the differences?

Comparison between Data Studio and Looker

Introduction

This comparison will highlight the key differences between Data Studio and Looker. Both Data Studio and Looker are data visualization and business intelligence tools that help in analyzing and visualizing data to make data-driven decisions. However, there are several differences that set them apart.

1. Data Integration: Data Studio is a Google product and offers seamless integration with other Google services such as Google Analytics, Google Sheets, and BigQuery. Looker, on the other hand, can connect to a wide range of data sources including SQL databases, cloud data warehouses, and APIs, making it more versatile in terms of data integration capabilities.

2. Flexibility and Customization: Data Studio provides a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface with pre-built templates and visualization options. While this makes it easy for beginners to create their dashboards quickly, it may limit the flexibility for advanced customization. Looker, on the contrary, allows for more advanced customization and offers a robust modeling layer that enables users to manipulate data and create complex calculations and transformations.

3. Collaboration and Sharing: Data Studio allows users to share their dashboards and reports with others by granting access or embedding them in websites. Looker, on the other hand, provides more sophisticated collaboration features, allowing users to create and share interactive dashboards, schedule and distribute reports via email, and collaborate in real-time within the platform.

4. Data Exploration: Data Studio focuses more on data visualization and reporting, providing users with a wide range of visualization options and the ability to create interactive dashboards. Looker, on the other hand, is designed for data exploration and analysis. It provides users with a powerful querying language and tools to explore data, drill down into details, and perform complex analyses.

5. Security and Governance: Data Studio inherits the security and governance features of the Google Cloud Platform, ensuring data confidentiality and compliance with industry standards. Looker, being an enterprise-grade BI platform, offers advanced security features such as user authentication, role-based access control, data encryption, and audit logs to provide a secure environment for data analytics.

6. Pricing Structure: Data Studio is a free tool offered by Google, which makes it an attractive choice for small businesses or individual users. Looker, on the other hand, is a commercial product with tiered pricing based on the number of users and data volume. This pricing structure may make Looker more suitable for larger organizations with complex data needs and more extensive user requirements.

In summary, Data Studio is a user-friendly and beginner-friendly tool with a focus on data visualization, while Looker provides more advanced capabilities for data exploration, customization, and collaboration. The choice between the two ultimately depends on the specific needs and requirements of the organization or individual users.