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Microsoft Power BI VS Looker

Compare Microsoft Power BI VS Looker and see what are their differences

Microsoft Power BI logo Microsoft Power BI

BI visualization and reporting for desktop, web or mobile

Looker logo Looker

Looker makes it easy for analysts to create and curate custom data experiences—so everyone in the business can explore the data that matters to them, in the context that makes it truly meaningful.
  • Microsoft Power BI Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-14
  • Looker Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-11

Looker is a business intelligence platform with an analytics-oriented application server that sits on top of relational data stores. The Looker platform includes an end-user interface for exploring data, a reusable development paradigm for creating data discovery experiences, and an extensible API set so the data can exist in other systems. Looker enables anyone to search and explore data, build dashboards and reports, and share everything easily and quickly.

Microsoft Power BI features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Power BI has an intuitive drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy for users to create reports and dashboards without extensive technical knowledge.
  • Integration with Microsoft Products
    Seamlessly integrates with other Microsoft products like Excel, Azure, and Office 365, enhancing productivity and data accessibility.
  • Real-Time Data
    Supports real-time data streaming, which allows users to get up-to-date insights and make informed decisions quickly.
  • Custom Visualizations
    Offers a wide range of built-in visualizations, as well as the ability to create custom visuals, helping users present data in a meaningful way.
  • Robust Security
    Provides strong security features including role-based access, data encryption, and compliance with global regulatory standards.

Possible disadvantages of Microsoft Power BI

  • Complex Licensing
    The licensing model can be confusing and expensive, especially for small businesses or individual users.
  • Performance Issues with Large Data Sets
    Performance can be impacted when handling very large data sets, making it less suitable for extremely data-intensive applications.
  • Limited Customization
    While offering many built-in features, deep customization options may require advanced knowledge of DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) and Power Query.
  • Learning Curve
    Users new to business intelligence tools may find there is a significant learning curve to fully utilize all of Power BI's features.
  • Dependency on Internet Connection
    Many features, especially those involving cloud services, require a stable internet connection, which may be a limitation for some users.

Looker features and specs

  • Powerful Data Modeling
    Looker uses LookML, a proprietary modeling language, making it possible to transform raw data into meaningful metrics and dimensions, providing deep insights without needing SQL expertise.
  • Ease of Use
    Its intuitive user interface enables non-technical users to create visualizations and reports with relative ease, reducing the workload on data teams.
  • Customization
    Looker offers extensive customization options for data exploration and visualization, allowing dashboards and reports to be tailored to specific user needs.
  • Embedded Analytics
    Provides robust capabilities for embedding analytics into applications or portals, broadening the scope of data-driven decision-making throughout the organization.
  • Real-time Data
    Supports real-time data analytics by querying live data, which ensures up-to-date insights and helps in making timely decisions.
  • Integrations
    Looker integrates seamlessly with a wide range of databases and cloud data warehouses, including Google BigQuery, Amazon Redshift, and Snowflake.

Possible disadvantages of Looker

  • Learning Curve
    LookML, while powerful, can be complex for beginners who are not already familiar with data modeling or SQL, resulting in a steep learning curve.
  • Cost
    Looker can be expensive, especially for small businesses, as pricing is typically based on the number of users and the data volume processed.
  • Performance
    Query performance can sometimes be slow, especially with complex data models and large data sets, which may impact the user experience.
  • Customization Constraints
    While Looker offers great customization, certain advanced customizations may require significant expertise and time, posing a potential barrier.
  • Limited Offline Capabilities
    Looker is primarily designed for online use, so it lacks robust offline capabilities, which can be a limitation for users who need access to data in situations without internet connectivity.

Microsoft Power BI videos

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Looker videos

Looker Review

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How To Use Looker as a Business User
  • Review - Looker Review - Off The Shelf Reviews

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Microsoft Power BI and Looker)
Data Dashboard
48 48%
52% 52
Data Visualization
63 63%
37% 37
Business Intelligence
47 47%
53% 53
AI
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Microsoft Power BI and Looker

Microsoft Power BI Reviews

Explore 7 Tableau Alternatives for Data Visualization and Analysis
Microsoft Power BI is a robust data visualization and business intelligence tool that enables users to create interactive, real-time dashboards and reports with minimal coding. It supports over 100 data connectors, integrates seamlessly with the Azure SQL Database, and features advanced data modeling with the DAX language. Power BI's intuitive interface, frequent AI-driven...
Source: www.draxlr.com
Explore 6 Metabase Alternatives for Data Visualization and Analysis
It offers multiple pricing options, including a free version for individual users and paid plans like Power BI Pro and Power BI Premium. Pricing is based on user and capacity needs.
Source: www.draxlr.com
5 best Looker alternatives
Power BI: Microsoft Power BI is a legacy BI tool that is known for its seamless integration to Microsoft ecosystem, which is one of its strongest advantages. However, this tight integration can also be a drawback, as it tends to have limited compatibility with other ecosystems and often relies on Microsoft tools for optimal functionality.
Source: www.draxlr.com
10 Best Alternatives to Looker in 2024
Power BI: Microsoft's Power BI stands out for its seamless integration with other Microsoft products, making it a top choice for organizations deeply invested in the Microsoft ecosystem. Its powerful data visualization tools and extensive community support make it a strong contender in the BI landscape.
Top 10 AI Data Analysis Tools in 2024
Microsoft Power BI is a versatile business intelligence platform that enables users to sort through their data and visualize it for actionable insights. One of its key strengths lies in its ability to import data from nearly any source, allowing users to build reports and dashboards effortlessly. Additionally, Power BI empowers users to build machine learning models and...
Source: powerdrill.ai

Looker Reviews

Explore 7 Tableau Alternatives for Data Visualization and Analysis
Looker Studio, formerly Google Data Studio, is a user-friendly business intelligence tool that transforms raw data into interactive, customizable dashboards and reports. It integrates seamlessly with Google's ecosystem and supports various data sources, including Google Analytics and BigQuery. Looker Studio offers robust visualization capabilities and real-time collaborative...
Source: www.draxlr.com
Explore 6 Metabase Alternatives for Data Visualization and Analysis
To find the best Metabase alternative for your business, start by listing your specific requirements, such as customer support, data integrations, visualization options, user access controls, and budget. Compare these needs with the features of other BI tools like Draxlr, Tableau, Power BI, Looker, or Holistics. Once you've identified a few suitable options, take advantage...
Source: www.draxlr.com
5 best Looker alternatives
In this blog, we’ll dive into the best 5 Looker alternatives currently dominating the market. Whether you're seeking a Looker alternative with enhanced features, better pricing, or a more tailored fit for your analytics needs, this guide will help you discover BI tool that could be a perfect match for your business.
Source: www.draxlr.com
10 Best Alternatives to Looker in 2024
Exploring alternatives to Looker isn't just about finding a different tool; it's about uncovering solutions that better address your specific business challenges and operational workflows. Here, we highlight five areas where Looker's limitations might lead you to consider other options.
6 Best Looker alternatives
So who are Looker’s competitors? Our top 5 Looker alternatives provide data visualisation and exploration for business intelligence but also offer lower price points, less of a learning curve, and more accessibility for your non-tech team.
Source: trevor.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Microsoft Power BI might be a bit more popular than Looker. We know about 17 links to it since March 2021 and only 14 links to Looker. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Microsoft Power BI mentions (17)

  • Unified Analytics Platform: Microsoft Fabric
    Microsoft Fabric is currently in preview and provides data integration, engineering, data warehousing, data science, real-time analytics, applied observability, and business intelligence under a single architecture by integrating services such as Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse Analytics, Data Activator, and Power BI. In addition, it comes with a SaaS, multi-cloud data lake called "OneLake" that is built-in and... Source: almost 2 years ago
  • NSS Data Analytics Program Question
    I'd suggest spending some time learning the material before you invest thousands in tuition only to find that you don't like it or aren't good at it. Download Tableau Public or Power BI and force yourself to use them for a few months. That's how I taught myself R. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Why Is Data Analytics Important?
    Discover why business analytics is crucial for your business and how to utilise data analytics and PowerBI to make informed and data-backed decisions! Source: about 2 years ago
  • Cloud dB reporting tool?
    Power BI is popular... But for table reports with Excel/PDF export you can use Pebble Reports. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Asking for guidance on migrating to a database from Excel
    Yes, MySQL can do the job. You can use Airforms to do data entry. No need to learn MySQL syntax. You will also need a reporting tool, such as Power BI. Source: about 2 years ago
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Looker mentions (14)

  • edit home page to add folder section
    Then in the "foldername" you can have 5 folders, each one for each of the groups. This means that when group1 enters looker.com, his default page will be the "foldername", which contains group1folder (he cannot see the rest of the folders if you have set the permissions correctly for each folder). Source: about 2 years ago
  • Stars, tables, and activities: How do we model the real world?
    Even if you want to make Wide Tables, combining fact and dimensions is often the easiest way to create them, so why not make them available? Looker, for example, is well suited to dimensional models because it takes care of the joins that can make Kimball warehouses hard to navigate for business users. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • dbt for Data Quality Testing & Alerting at FINN
    We take daily snapshots of test results, aggregate them, and send Looker dashboards to the appropriate teams. - Source: dev.to / about 3 years ago
  • I'm a dev ID 10 T please help me
    Dashboard: I like to use Datastudio because it's easy (just like using google sheets), but you can also try out Looker. Source: over 3 years ago
  • The Data Stack Journey: Lessons from Architecting Stacks at Heroku and Mattermost
    For Growth and larger, I would recommend Looker. The only reason I wouldn't recommend it for the smaller company stages is that the cost is much higher than alternatives such as Metabase. With Looker, you define your data model in LookML, which Looker then uses to provide a drag-and-drop interface for end-users that enables them to build their own visualizations without needing to write SQL. This lets your... - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Microsoft Power BI and Looker, you can also consider the following products

Tableau - Tableau can help anyone see and understand their data. Connect to almost any database, drag and drop to create visualizations, and share with a click.

Sisense - The BI & Dashboard Software to handle multiple, large data sets.

Qlik - Qlik offers an Active Intelligence platform, delivering end-to-end, real-time data integration and analytics cloud solutions to close the gaps between data, insights, and action.

Domo - Domo: business intelligence, data visualization, dashboards and reporting all together. Simplify your big data and improve your business with Domo's agile and mobile-ready platform.

Metabase - Metabase is the easy, open source way for everyone in your company to ask questions and learn from...

QlikSense - A business discovery platform that delivers self-service business intelligence capabilities