Looker Studio vs Microsoft Power BI
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
AI tool · Free
Google's free dashboard and reporting tool that connects to Analytics, Ads, Sheets and BigQuery.
AI tool · Freemium
Microsoft's business intelligence tool for reports and dashboards, with Copilot for building visuals.
The short answer
Choose Looker Studio if you need…
- Marketing reports
- Free dashboards on Google data
Choose Microsoft Power BI if you need…
- Microsoft-centric organisations
- Affordable enterprise BI
Side-by-side
| Looker Studio | Microsoft Power BI | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Data & analytics · BI & dashboards | Data & analytics · BI & dashboards |
| Price | Free | Freemium |
| Platforms | Web | Windows, Web, iOS, Android |
| Works with | Google Workspace, Google Analytics | Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams |
| Hands-on tested by us | Not yet | Not yet |
| Last checked | 2026-10-29 | 2026-10-29 |
What each one is
Looker Studio
Google's free dashboard and reporting tool that connects to Analytics, Ads, Sheets and BigQuery. Free and convenient for Google data. Slows down on large datasets and complex blends.
Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft's business intelligence tool for reports and dashboards, with Copilot for building visuals. Great value for Microsoft shops. Desktop authoring is Windows-only and DAX has a learning curve.
Best for
Looker Studio
- Marketing reports
- Free dashboards on Google data
Microsoft Power BI
- Microsoft-centric organisations
- Affordable enterprise BI
Strengths
Looker Studio
- Drag-and-drop reports
- Google data connectors
- Sharing and scheduling
- Partner connectors
Microsoft Power BI
- Report builder
- DAX modelling
- Copilot report creation
- Teams and Excel integration
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Looker Studio and Microsoft Power BI?
Looker Studio: Google's free dashboard and reporting tool that connects to Analytics, Ads, Sheets and BigQuery. Microsoft Power BI: Microsoft's business intelligence tool for reports and dashboards, with Copilot for building visuals. Looker Studio suits marketing reports, while Microsoft Power BI suits microsoft-centric organisations.
Are Looker Studio and Microsoft Power BI free?
Looker Studio: Free. Microsoft Power BI: Freemium.
What are other alternatives to Looker Studio and Microsoft Power BI?
Other options people compare them with include Metabase, Tableau, ThoughtSpot.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.