Looker
Google Cloud business intelligence with a semantic layer and embedded analytics
- #3 of 10 in best business intelligence tools
- Subscription
- Web
Ranked 3 of 10 in best business intelligence tools
A governed metrics layer and embedded analytics from Google Cloud, with a free trial and sales-led subscriptions. It is built for large deployments and data teams, so small teams will find Metabase quicker to start.
Best for Data teams governing metrics for many users
About Looker
Looker is business intelligence and embedded analytics software from Google Cloud. The site describes a semantic layer that keeps metrics consistent across dashboards and APIs, and it lists Gemini agents that answer questions from the same data. Looker is aimed at analytics teams that build governed reports for many users.
It suits companies with large data warehouses that want one governed metrics layer and embedded dashboards for customers. Access is through a sales-led subscription with a free trial, so the cost depends on the deployment. Smaller teams that want a free dashboard tool may prefer Metabase or Redash in this list.
Key features
- Semantic layer
- Embedded analytics
- Gemini agents
- Google Cloud
- Free trial
Strengths
- Semantic layer keeps metrics consistent
- Google Cloud infrastructure and Gemini agents
Limits
- Priced for larger deployments
- Needs a data warehouse and modeling work
Where Looker ranks
How Looker compares
| Product | Score | Price | Platforms | Deployment | Data sources | Desktop app |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
#1 Power BI | 91.5 | Free plan, paid upgrades | WindowsWeb | Windows app plus cloud service | Excel and many other sources | Yes |
#2 Tableau | 90.0 | Subscription | WindowsmacOSWeb | Desktop authoring plus Tableau Cloud or Server | Databases, files and cloud services | Yes |
| #3Looker | 89.0 | Subscription | Web | Google Cloud service | Cloud data warehouses and databases | No |
#4 Metabase | 88.0 | Free plan, paid upgrades | WebSelf-hosted | Cloud or self-hosted | 20+ data sources | No |
#5 Data Studio | 85.5 | Free | Web | Browser only | Built-in and partner connectors | No |
The full comparison table for best business intelligence tools has all 10 products.
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Questions about Looker
- Is Looker free?
- Looker is a paid product (subscription). Enterprise subscription; free trial and demo.
- Is Looker open source?
- No. Looker is proprietary software; its source code is not public.
- Which platforms does Looker support?
- Looker is available on: Web.
- What is Looker best for?
- Data teams governing metrics for many users. In our ranking of business intelligence tools it is number 3 of 10 with a score of 89.0.
- What are the best alternatives to Looker?
- The highest-ranked alternatives on listme.name are Power BI, Tableau, Metabase, Data Studio.
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