Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Pandas VS Looker

Compare Pandas VS Looker and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Pandas logo Pandas

Pandas is an open source library providing high-performance, easy-to-use data structures and data analysis tools for the Python.

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.
  • Pandas Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-12
  • 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.

Pandas features and specs

  • Data Wrangling
    Pandas offers robust tools for manipulating, cleaning, and transforming data, making it easier to prepare data for analysis.
  • Flexible Data Structures
    Pandas provides two primary data structures: Series and DataFrame, which are flexible and offer powerful capabilities for handling various types of datasets.
  • Integration with Other Libraries
    Pandas integrates seamlessly with other Python libraries such as NumPy, Matplotlib, and SciPy, facilitating comprehensive data analysis workflows.
  • Performance with Data Size
    For data sizes that fit into memory, Pandas performs excellently with operations and computations being highly optimized.
  • Rich Feature Set
    Pandas provides a wide array of functionalities, including but not limited to group-by operations, merging and joining data sets, time-series functionality, and input/output tools.
  • Community and Documentation
    Pandas has a strong community and extensive documentation, offering a wealth of tutorials, examples, and support for new and experienced users alike.

Possible disadvantages of Pandas

  • Memory Consumption
    Pandas can become memory inefficient with very large datasets because it relies heavily on in-memory operations.
  • Single-threaded
    Many Pandas operations are single-threaded, which can lead to performance bottlenecks when handling very large datasets.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    For users who are new to data analysis or Pandas, there can be a steep learning curve due to its extensive capabilities and complex syntax at times.
  • Less Suitable for Real-time Analytics
    Pandas is not designed for real-time analytics and is better suited for batch processing due to its in-memory operations and single-threaded nature.
  • Error Handling
    Error messages in Pandas can sometimes be cryptic and hard to interpret, making debugging a challenge for 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.

Pandas videos

Ozzy Man Reviews: Pandas

More videos:

  • Review - Ozzy Man Reviews: PANDAS Part 2
  • Review - Trash Pandas Review with Sam Healey

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 Pandas and Looker)
Data Science And Machine Learning
Data Dashboard
9 9%
91% 91
Data Science Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Business Intelligence
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

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

Pandas Reviews

25 Python Frameworks to Master
Pandas is a powerful and flexible open-source library used to perform data analysis in Python. It provides high-performance data structures (i.e., the famous DataFrame) and data analysis tools that make it easy to work with structured data.
Source: kinsta.com
Python & ETL 2020: A List and Comparison of the Top Python ETL Tools
When it comes to ETL, you can do almost anything with Pandas if you're willing to put in the time. Plus, pandas is extraordinarily easy to run. You can set up a simple script to load data from a Postgre table, transform and clean that data, and then write that data to another Postgre table.
Source: www.xplenty.com

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

Based on our record, Pandas seems to be a lot more popular than Looker. While we know about 219 links to Pandas, we've tracked only 14 mentions of 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.

Pandas mentions (219)

  • Top Programming Languages for AI Development in 2025
    Libraries for data science and deep learning that are always changing. - Source: dev.to / 8 days ago
  • How to import sample data into a Python notebook on watsonx.ai and other questions…
    # Read the content of nda.txt Try: Import os, types Import pandas as pd From botocore.client import Config Import ibm_boto3 Def __iter__(self): return 0 # @hidden_cell # The following code accesses a file in your IBM Cloud Object Storage. It includes your credentials. # You might want to remove those credentials before you share the notebook. Cos_client = ibm_boto3.client(service_name='s3', ... - Source: dev.to / 24 days ago
  • How I Hacked Uber’s Hidden API to Download 4379 Rides
    As with any web scraping or data processing project, I had to write a fair amount of code to clean this up and shape it into a format I needed for further analysis. I used a combination of Pandas and regular expressions to clean it up (full code here). - Source: dev.to / 28 days ago
  • Must-Know 2025 Developer’s Roadmap and Key Programming Trends
    Python’s Growth in Data Work and AI: Python continues to lead because of its easy-to-read style and the huge number of libraries available for tasks from data work to artificial intelligence. Tools like TensorFlow and PyTorch make it a must-have. Whether you’re experienced or just starting, Python’s clear style makes it a good choice for diving into machine learning. Actionable Tip: If you’re new to Python,... - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Sample Super Store Analysis Using Python & Pandas
    This tutorial provides a concise and foundational guide to exploring a dataset, specifically the Sample SuperStore dataset. This dataset, which appears to originate from a fictional e-commerce or online marketplace company's annual sales data, serves as an excellent example for learning and how to work with real-world data. The dataset includes a variety of data types, which demonstrate the full range of... - Source: dev.to / 8 months 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
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Pandas and Looker, you can also consider the following products

NumPy - NumPy is the fundamental package for scientific computing with Python

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.

Scikit-learn - scikit-learn (formerly scikits.learn) is an open source machine learning library for the Python programming language.

Microsoft Power BI - BI visualization and reporting for desktop, web or mobile

OpenCV - OpenCV is the world's biggest computer vision library

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