With so many analytics tools to choose from, it can be hard to decide which one is right for your business. The two most popular and powerful tools on the market today are Google Data Studio and Looker.
But before you make your decision, it’s important to understand the advantages and disadvantages of both. Read on to learn what sets each tool apart so you can find the one that best suits your company’s needs.
What is Google Data Studio?
Google Data Studio is a data visualization and reporting tool that bridges the gap between marketing and the rest of the organization. With Google Data Studio, you can create reports on key metrics like engagement, traffic sources, conversion rates, and more.
Data Studio simplifies complex data sets into easy-to-understand visualizations by automatically creating graphs, tables, pie charts, and other helpful visuals. The interface also lets you drill down for more information about specific aspects of your business as needed.
This is especially helpful for non-technical people who want to access their company’s data without having to learn how to use complicated analytics tools or expensive business intelligence software.
What are the advantages of Google Data Studio?
Google Data Studio offers many benefits over competing analytics tools, but some stand out more than others:
- Ease of Use–Google Data Studio is designed with non-technical people in mind so you don’t have to be an expert in analytics software or business intelligence to use it effectively.
- Speed–The interface was designed to make it simple for users to access their company’s data quickly and easily.
- Reporting–You can create reports with all your important metrics in one place instead of having to navigate through different pages. You can also collaborate on reports with your team members within Data Studio without having to work on separate excel spreadsheets together.
What is Looker?
Looker is a data platform that can connect to any data source. Once it’s connected, the tool can analyze your data and create reports and dashboards for you. You can customize these reports with the information you want to share with the people in your company, or even make them public on your website.
Looker also features an interactive data model that lets you explore and analyze your data without writing SQL queries.
Google Data Studio Pros and Cons
Google Data Studio is a data visualization and reporting tool that helps people analyze data. It’s easy to use, giving beginners the ability to make sense of data without having any technical experience. With Google Data Studio you can create custom reports, build dashboards, and handle more than 10 data sources with ease.
Some of the pros of using Google Data Studio are:
- It’s simple and easy to use
- Can be useful for both beginners and experts alike
- You can view your reports on your desktop or mobile device
- Offers a free limited version for personal use only
Some of the cons of using Google Data Studio are:
- No real customer support available unless you pay for a premium account
Looker Pros
Looker, a data analytics and business intelligence (BI) platform, has many advantages for companies. First, the software is all about the data. It allows users to easily visualize their data and turn it into actionable insights. The software also includes predictive analytics tools that help companies make more meaningful predictions.
These predictive models can help a company better assess risks or opportunities in their industry. Looker also comes with dashboards and an intuitive interface, so businesses can easily see their KPIs dashboard.
This makes it easier to monitor key metrics like revenue, traffic sources, conversions, and more without having to spend hours sorting through reports on Excel spreadsheets.
Google Data Studio Cons
While Google Data Studio is a powerful and robust product, it’s not without disadvantages. One of the biggest drawbacks of Google Data Studio is that you need to be comfortable with data visualization. If you’re not, this tool may be more difficult for you to use.
Plus, data modeling in Google Data Studio might require some extra work on your part because it doesn’t come pre-built with common models like retention analysis or cohort analysis.
Looker Cons
One disadvantage of Looker is that it’s unable to generate beautiful data presentations. This is a common con among other analytics tools and if you’re trying to make your company more presentable, this might not be the best solution for you.
Another downside of Looker is that it’s more expensive than Google Data Studio. If you want to get the most out of your analytics tool, then Looker might be too costly for your business. With Google Data Studio, however, you don’t have to pay for anything extra.
Advantages of Google Data Studio
There are many features that Google Data Studio has that Looker doesn’t. For example, Google Data Studio has a dashboard builder which makes it easier to see trends in your data. If you’re using a different tool and want to see what the trends are, you would need to export your data into an Excel sheet and do some calculations yourself.
Google Data Studio also has a visual story builder which lets you make engaging reports for your clients or employees. This is especially helpful if you don’t have much experience in creating analytics presentations.
Another strength of Google Data Studio is its high level of security when it comes to loading sensitive data. There’s an option for on-boarding with OAuth authentication which will allow you to securely add third party data sources such as Marketo, Salesforce, and more.
Advantages of Looker
Looker is a business intelligence portal that provides analytics data and insights to help businesses make smarter decisions. With Looker, you can easily create dashboards and reports in minutes instead of hours or days.
It eliminates the need for your team to spend time gathering data from various sources, formatting it, and then trying to figure out how to present it in a meaningful way.
Looker has several advantages that are worth noting:
- Ease of use: The tool is easy for your team to navigate and intuitive for new users. -Integration: Most databases can be integrated with Looker so you don’t have to worry about missing out on important information. -Collaboration: Looker allows many people access to the same data which makes collaboration more effective.
- Interactive dashboard: This feature allows you to create interactive dashboards with just a few clicks.
What to consider when choosing your tool
A few factors to consider when choosing your analytics tool are its cost, the type of data you’re trying to collect and how often you need to analyze it, and the level of complexity needed.
For example, Google Data Studio is free and simple enough for beginners, while Looker offers more advanced analytics tools at a higher cost.
If you’re only looking for basic sales data on a monthly or quarterly basis, Google Data Studio is perfect. If you want additional features like forecasting and predictive analytics or have more complex needs like geospatial analysis, then Looker may be a better option.
Consider another example: if you need to look at your data every day or multiple times per day, then Google Data Studio would not be an ideal option because of its daily usage limit. On the other hand, if you only want to go back in time one month when analyzing your data with Looker, it would allow for more users at once.
Who should use which?
Google Data Studio is a free tool, with no limits on the amount of data you can upload. It’s made for business reporting that’s interactive and more visual. Looker is a paid service that offers unlimited data volumes and many more features than Google Data Studio, but it does require a monthly or annual payment.
So which one should you use? Google Data Studio is best for beginners who want an easy-to-use tool that doesn’t require any in-depth knowledge of analytics. Looker is best for people who have more experience in analytics and want something that really caters to their needs.