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Looker Studio vs Power BI: A Comparison for Business Users
Looker Studio is free and built around Google Analytics and BigQuery. Power BI costs $14 per user per month and is built around DAX. How to choose.
Sajagan Thirugnanam
·
Updated
Looker Studio is free, connects natively to Google Analytics and BigQuery, and suits a team that already lives in Google Workspace and Google Cloud. Power BI costs $14 per user per month for Pro, has a full modeling language in DAX, and suits a team already on Microsoft 365 or Azure. The choice usually comes down to which cloud stack the rest of the company already runs on.
What each tool is for
Power BI is a Microsoft product that covers data preparation, modeling, and reporting in one tool. It connects to Excel, SQL Server, Azure services, and hundreds of other sources, and its DAX language handles calculations far past what a spreadsheet formula can express.
Looker Studio is a Google product built for fast, visual reporting on top of Google data. It connects natively to Google Analytics, Google Ads, Google Sheets, and BigQuery, and its interface has fewer settings than Power BI's, which is also why new users tend to find it faster to pick up.
A worked example: the same calculation in both tools
Say you want a conversion rate: conversions divided by sessions. In Power BI, that is a DAX measure that recalculates for whatever the reader has filtered:
Conversion Rate = DIVIDE([Conversions], [Sessions])DIVIDE returns blank instead of an error when sessions are zero, which a plain / does not handle safely.
In Looker Studio, the same calculation is a calculated field using the tool's own formula syntax:
Conversion Rate = Conversions / SessionsLooker Studio's formula language covers arithmetic, text, and date functions, comparable to a spreadsheet formula bar. It does not have DAX's row context and filter context model, which is what lets a single Power BI measure behave differently across a table, a chart, and a card without being rewritten for each one.
Feature comparison
Feature | Power BI | Looker Studio |
|---|---|---|
Cost | Free Desktop; Pro is $14/user/month | Free; Pro adds team features, priced through Google Cloud |
Primary data sources | Excel, SQL Server, Azure, hundreds of connectors including BigQuery | Google Analytics, Google Ads, Google Sheets, BigQuery, 800+ connectors |
Calculation language | DAX, with row and filter context | Calculated fields, spreadsheet-style formulas |
Data modeling | Star schema, relationships, Import or DirectQuery | Blends multiple data sources at the report level, with fewer modeling options |
Best fit | Teams on Microsoft 365 or Azure, or needing governed enterprise reporting | Teams on Google Workspace or Google Cloud, or reporting mainly on marketing and web data |
Which one fits your team
Choose Looker Studio if the team already runs on Google Analytics, Google Ads, or BigQuery, and the reports are mainly marketing or web performance dashboards for a non-technical audience. It gets a simple report in front of people faster, with no license cost.
Choose Power BI if the company already runs on Microsoft 365 or Azure, or if the reporting needs to combine several source systems rather than just Google's own. It is also the better fit when the team needs DAX for calculations a spreadsheet-style formula cannot express, such as a running total that resets by fiscal year or a comparison against the same period a year earlier.
If your comparison also needs to include Tableau and Excel, see our four-way comparison of Power BI, Tableau, Excel, and Looker Studio.
FAQs
Is Looker Studio free?
Yes. Looker Studio itself is free with a Google account. Looker Studio Pro is a paid version that adds team workspaces, asset management and support. Power BI Desktop is also free, but sharing reports in the Power BI service needs a Pro or PPU license.
Can Looker Studio connect to Microsoft data sources?
It can connect to some, such as Microsoft SQL Server, through its built-in connectors. Its connector library is strongest for Google products. Power BI has the reverse strength: native connectors for Microsoft sources, and Google BigQuery and Google Analytics connectors alongside them.
Can I move a Looker Studio report into Power BI?
Not automatically. There is no converter between the two. You rebuild the report in Power BI: connect to the same source, recreate the calculated fields as DAX measures, and lay out the visuals again.
Sources
Power BI pricing - Microsoft
DIVIDE function (DAX) - Microsoft Learn
About Looker Studio Pro - Google Cloud
Looker Studio is free, connects natively to Google Analytics and BigQuery, and suits a team that already lives in Google Workspace and Google Cloud. Power BI costs $14 per user per month for Pro, has a full modeling language in DAX, and suits a team already on Microsoft 365 or Azure. The choice usually comes down to which cloud stack the rest of the company already runs on.
What each tool is for
Power BI is a Microsoft product that covers data preparation, modeling, and reporting in one tool. It connects to Excel, SQL Server, Azure services, and hundreds of other sources, and its DAX language handles calculations far past what a spreadsheet formula can express.
Looker Studio is a Google product built for fast, visual reporting on top of Google data. It connects natively to Google Analytics, Google Ads, Google Sheets, and BigQuery, and its interface has fewer settings than Power BI's, which is also why new users tend to find it faster to pick up.
A worked example: the same calculation in both tools
Say you want a conversion rate: conversions divided by sessions. In Power BI, that is a DAX measure that recalculates for whatever the reader has filtered:
Conversion Rate = DIVIDE([Conversions], [Sessions])DIVIDE returns blank instead of an error when sessions are zero, which a plain / does not handle safely.
In Looker Studio, the same calculation is a calculated field using the tool's own formula syntax:
Conversion Rate = Conversions / SessionsLooker Studio's formula language covers arithmetic, text, and date functions, comparable to a spreadsheet formula bar. It does not have DAX's row context and filter context model, which is what lets a single Power BI measure behave differently across a table, a chart, and a card without being rewritten for each one.
Feature comparison
Feature | Power BI | Looker Studio |
|---|---|---|
Cost | Free Desktop; Pro is $14/user/month | Free; Pro adds team features, priced through Google Cloud |
Primary data sources | Excel, SQL Server, Azure, hundreds of connectors including BigQuery | Google Analytics, Google Ads, Google Sheets, BigQuery, 800+ connectors |
Calculation language | DAX, with row and filter context | Calculated fields, spreadsheet-style formulas |
Data modeling | Star schema, relationships, Import or DirectQuery | Blends multiple data sources at the report level, with fewer modeling options |
Best fit | Teams on Microsoft 365 or Azure, or needing governed enterprise reporting | Teams on Google Workspace or Google Cloud, or reporting mainly on marketing and web data |
Which one fits your team
Choose Looker Studio if the team already runs on Google Analytics, Google Ads, or BigQuery, and the reports are mainly marketing or web performance dashboards for a non-technical audience. It gets a simple report in front of people faster, with no license cost.
Choose Power BI if the company already runs on Microsoft 365 or Azure, or if the reporting needs to combine several source systems rather than just Google's own. It is also the better fit when the team needs DAX for calculations a spreadsheet-style formula cannot express, such as a running total that resets by fiscal year or a comparison against the same period a year earlier.
If your comparison also needs to include Tableau and Excel, see our four-way comparison of Power BI, Tableau, Excel, and Looker Studio.
FAQs
Is Looker Studio free?
Yes. Looker Studio itself is free with a Google account. Looker Studio Pro is a paid version that adds team workspaces, asset management and support. Power BI Desktop is also free, but sharing reports in the Power BI service needs a Pro or PPU license.
Can Looker Studio connect to Microsoft data sources?
It can connect to some, such as Microsoft SQL Server, through its built-in connectors. Its connector library is strongest for Google products. Power BI has the reverse strength: native connectors for Microsoft sources, and Google BigQuery and Google Analytics connectors alongside them.
Can I move a Looker Studio report into Power BI?
Not automatically. There is no converter between the two. You rebuild the report in Power BI: connect to the same source, recreate the calculated fields as DAX measures, and lay out the visuals again.
Sources
Power BI pricing - Microsoft
DIVIDE function (DAX) - Microsoft Learn
About Looker Studio Pro - Google Cloud
Show us your report nobody trusts.
1 · A 30-minute call.
2 · We look at your current reports together.
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Show us your report nobody trusts.
1 · A 30-minute call.
2 · We look at your current reports together.
3 · We tell you what we would do.
Show us your report nobody trusts.
1 · A 30-minute call.
2 · We look at your current reports together.
3 · We tell you what we would do.
CaseWhen is a Berlin BI consultancy that builds reporting that leaders can trust, on the Microsoft stack: Power BI, Fabric and Azure.
Berlin, Germany
Free tools
CaseWhen is a Berlin BI consultancy that builds reporting that leaders can trust, on the Microsoft stack: Power BI, Fabric and Azure.
Berlin, Germany
Free tools
CaseWhen is a Berlin BI consultancy that builds reporting that leaders can trust, on the Microsoft stack: Power BI, Fabric and Azure.
Berlin, Germany