Looker Studio (formerly known as Google Data Studio) is a popular powerful data analytics and visualization tool used by marketers and agencies around the world. It has many great features that allow marketers to evaluate their campaign’s strengths and weaknesses and make data-based decisions.
Sep 21 2022 ● 8 min read
However, Looker Studio is not the ultimate data visualization and reporting tool out there. Despite being (technically) free and having a wealth of features, it still has some limitations that may get you looking for something else.
Today, we give you eight of the very best Looker Studio alternatives for your consideration.
If Looker Studio (or Looker Studio, as it is called now) is the perfect tool for you, you may not even think about getting another tool. But the reality is that no tool is perfect and despite being made by Google, there are some downsides to this popular web analytics tool.
The most common complaints about Looker Studio include:
These issues are the most common ones that current users complain about on G2 and similar software review platforms.
If you consider using the tool, look at our Looker Studio review. It covers all of the main complaints, pros and cons of Looker Studio.
Having said all of that, you might want to consider something that fixes all of Looker Studio’s flaws and provides a superior experience. Here are our top contenders.
Whatagraph is a leading marketing data reporting software and one of the most common Looker Studio alternatives.
Many marketing agencies and in-house marketers use this tool to create reports due to its intuitiveness and interactiveness. No matter your expertise and tech knowledge level, you can easily pull your data and create stunning reports for your use case.
How Whatagraph is better than Looker Studio
First, Whatagraph provides unlimited customization options, whereas Looker Studio limits how many widgets, data points and other visual elements you can include in a marketing report. In Whatagraph, you can create all the widgets, bars, graphs and charts you want.
Moreover, Whatagraph offers a white-labelling option that you can use to improve your client reporting. Simply put, the reports your clients get will have your labeling only and all mentions of Whatagraph are gone.
These reports can then be automated, allowing clients to see them any place and any time they want.
Another way in which Whatagraph is better - reports and dashboards are visually beautiful and professional, whereas Looker Studio are rather plain and similar to Excel and Google sheets.
Also, Whatagraph provides customer support and onboarding services, whereas with Looker Studio - you are left alone to figure the tool out.
Lastly, Whatagraph provides three clear pricing options with the possibility to get a customized option. On the other hand, Looker Studio claims to be free, yet their pricing is a bit more complex. Depending on your specific marketing tool stack, you may end up paying more than $600 per month for Looker Studio.
Where Looker Studio may be better than Whatagraph
First of all, Looker Studio offers 600 data integrations, whereas Whatagraph offers only 40. If your budget is unlimited, Looker Studio could offer you much flexibility, albeit at a greater cost.
Second, Looker Studio works the best with the products provided by Google. Their customers express how much they appreciate that there are zero to no bugs when reporting Google Analytics or BigQuery data.
Lastly, to get access to Whatagraph’s template gallery, automation and other beneficial features - you’d need to purchase a plan. On the other hand, you have the possibility to create reports and dashboards for free with Looker Studio.
Pricing
Whatagraph offers three pricing options Professional, Premium, and Custom, with the cheapest starting at $199 per month.
Klipfolio is a business intelligence platform that analyses marketing data and allows marketers to create visual reports. It connects hundreds of databases, cloud applications and APIs to develop an insightful data-driven marketing report for your manager or client.
How Klipfolio is better than Looker Studio
First off, Klipfolio provides a report automation feature that allows marketers to create and send reports on needed periods, such as weekly or monthly. Looker Studio does not have this feature.
Second, Klipfolio has customer support to offer the best reporting practices and solve any occurring bugs. Looker Studio does not have any customer support.
Third, Klipfolio offers a white-label feature to alter your report however you require.
Lastly, Klipfolio provides an Agency Starter pack with key features for $54/mo, whereas Looker Studio may be a bit costly if you use a lot of connectors.
How Klipfolio is worse than Looker Studio
To begin with, Klipfolio only has 300 integrations, whereas Looker Studio provides 600.
Secondly, Looker Studio can be free if only the products provided by Google are used.
Lastly, Looker Studio provides 50+ templates. On the other hand Klipfolio - only 12.
Pricing
Agency Starter - $54/mo. While this does seem more expensive than the “free” Looker Studio, it really is cheaper.
DashThis is another powerful marketing data reporting tool. This solution creates visual dashboards and reports to get the best insights into the performance of your strategy.
DashThis is one of the rare tools that offer social media reporting and actionable insights.
How DashThis is better than Looker Studio
First and foremost, DashThis allows marketers to pull data from unlimited sources, whereas Looker Studio works best with 5.
Moreover, DashThis provides the opportunity to create white-label reports. Looker Studio only allows customizing reports, to some extent.
In addition, DashThis presents KPIs from all types and formats of marketing tools, whereas Looker Studio shows only Looker sources by default.
Finally, DashThis reports and dashboards are visually beautiful, whereas Looker Studio are less than inspiring, to say the least.
How DashThis is worse than Looker Studio
Firstly, DashThis has 34 integrations, whereas Looker Studio provides 600.
Secondly, Looker Studio can be free if only the products provided by Google are used.
Lastly, Looker Studio provides 50+ templates. On the other hand, DashThis provides 37 out of the box.
Pricing
DashThis provides 4 plans Individual, Professional, Business, and Standard, with the cheapest starting at $39 per month.
Tableau is a business intelligence data visualization tool. It offers business forecasts, analyses strategies, and allows for data-driven decisions.
How Tableau is better than Looker Studio
First, Tableau offers real-time data, whereas Looker Studio needs to be manually updated whenever you want to get the most up-to-date information.
Second, Tableau offers interactive dashboards that can be altered however you need. On the other hand, Looker Studio has very limited customization options.
Third, Tableau's charting and exploring features are more sophisticated than Looker Studio.
Last but not least, Tableau has customer service to fix your bugs, whereas Looker Studio doesn’t have this feature.
How Tableau is worse than Looker Studio
First, Tableau has 60 integrations, whereas Looker Studio provides 600.
Second, Looker Studio is only technically free if you use their own proprietary platforms.
Lastly, G2 reviews say that Looker Studio is easier to understand and use than Tableau, which requires expert knowledge.
Pricing
Tableau offers three pricing plans: Viewer, Explorer, and Creator, with the cheapest one starting at $15 per month.
DataBox is another BI analytics tool that pulls marketing data from connected sources and creates visual reports.
Both Data Studio and DataBox are tied in 2 similar feature sets: data discovery and visualization, report output and scheduling.
How DataBox is better than Looker Studio
In the first place, DataBox supports iPhone, Android and web-based apps, whereas Looker Studio only has web-based apps.
To boot, DataBox offers daily and weekly scorecards. Looker Studio simply does not provide this feature.
Additionally, DataBox provides full white-label options, whereas Looker Studio does not.
On top of that, with DataBox, you have unlimited report and dashboard customization options. On the other hand, Google does offer customization, but they are very limited.
Lastly, DataBox offers personalized guided 1:1 onboarding whilst you are left alone with Looker Studio to figure the tool out.
How DataBox is worse than Looker Studio
First, DataBox offers access to 70 integrations, whilst Looker Studio - offers 600.
Second, both DataBox and Looker Studio offer free trials. However, DataBox’s free trial is extremely limited as you can only get access to 3 panels. With Looker Studio, you get access to all panels for free, for as long as you want.
Last, users complain that it is fairly difficult to do custom mapping within DataBox. Whereas with Looker Studio, this is is quite easy.
Pricing
DataBox offers three pricing options Starter, Professional, and Performers with the cheapest one starting at $91/mo.
Microsoft PowerBI is a business intelligence software suite that includes apps, services, and data connectors. It is a cloud-based solution that allows marketers to combine data from multiple sources into a single data set.
How PowerBI is better than Looker Studio
The first-way PowerBI is better than Data Studio is that it offers a range of attractive visualizations. When you look at Data Studio reports and provided templates, they look rather Excel-like. PowerBi, on the other hand, creates beautiful visualizations.
Another thing worth mentioning would be the auto-refresh of data of a cloud-based data source. This is a significant thing because Data Studio needs to be updated manually.
Lastly, PowerBI offers a 24/7 customer support service help desk, which is helpful when bugs occur. On the other hand, there is no one at Google to answer your questions because there is no customer support for Data Studio as a product.
How PowerBI is worse than Looker Studio
Well, to begin with, PowerBi connections are limited to 59 apps. To add, most users notice that the tool works the best with other Microsoft platforms such as Microsoft Edge and Office 365.
The second thing worth knowing is that according to Getapp reviews, Looker Studio is way easier to use than PowerBI. Apparently, it takes a long time to properly understand how to use the tool and it has a steep learning curve.
Lastly, when it comes to sharing your marketing reports or real-time dashboards, keep in mind that with a PowerBI Desktop licence, you will only be able to share them via email or drive. If you are deciding between the two tools, sharing with Looker Studio might be easier as you can generate a link and permit permissions.
Pricing
Microsoft PowerBI offers three plans:
Pro - $9.99 per user per month;
Premium - $20.00 per user per month;
Premium - $4,995.00 per capacity per month.
AgencyAnalytics is an all-in-one robust client reporting tool. It allows marketers to manage their team workflows, collaborate with them effectively and monitor their work progress.
Additionally, it is also an excellent data reporting tool that creates beautiful reports and offers many great marketing features that we will mention above.
How AgencyAnalytics is better than Looker Studio
AgencyAnalytics is a solution that can work as a keyword research tool. They offer keyword suggestions, relevant terms, and metrics to measure them. If your strategies aim to improve your client’s SERPs, or any other SEO-related experiment, then getting this tool may be more beneficial than Looker Studio, as they simply don't offer this option.
Moreover, AgencyAnalytics provides 350+ templates. That’s more than 300 extra compared to what Looker Studio offers.
Lastly, AgencyAnalytics reports can be white-labelled and automated. This is significant for marketing agencies or marketers who want to improve client reporting.
How AgencyAnalytics is worse than Looker Studio
According to G2 reviews, current AgencyAnalytics users are dissatisfied with how unintuitive the tool is. Especially when looking for metrics to include in reports. Some of the namings are odd and unusual, making it difficult for them to find metrics quickly. The same problem was not discovered among Looker Studio users.
Moreover, depending on the metrics you need to track, not all tools will have all of them. However, some of the tools allow you to create and customize metrics. If you have this requirement, keep in mind that AgencyAnalytics does not offer this feature, whereas Looker Studio does.
Pricing
AgencyAnalytics offers three plans Freelancer, Agency, and Enterprise, with the cheapest one starting at $12/mo.
Last but not least, we have Geckoboard. This tool is a marketing and business data monitoring and analytics platform for small businesses. It can be a very useful tool for marketers who need to handle huge volumes of data and display some values using basic pre-made widgets.
How Geckoboard is better than Looker Studio
To begin with, Geckoboard is easy to use and has an excellent user interface. Users in G2 say that compared to Looker Studio, it is less complicated and easier to use.
Moreover, for marketers who use Slack and want to introduce more automation - Geckoboard can deliver daily/weekly/monthly snapshots to your Slack channels, which Looker Studio cannot.
Lastly, Geckoboard offers helpful customer support service that in no time solve users’ bugs and issue.
How Geckoboard is worse than Looker Studio
One of the most common reviews on G2 says that Geckoboard is too expensive. If you have a limited budget, you may be more linear towards the free version of Looker Studio.
Another thing we noticed was that Geckoboard doesn’t have enough integrations for the price they are paying. If you want to receive more value from your data reporting tool investments, Looker Studio may offer you more advantages.
Pricing
Geckoboard offers 4 pricing ties Starter, Team, Team Plus, and Company, with the cheapest one starting at $28/mo,
Looker Studio is a powerful tool, and it is hard for any other tool to compete with it. Yet, because they don’t update their features according to user needs, it is becoming irrelevant to digital marketing agencies and marketers.
This list provided 8 alternatives with better functionalities and data reporting capabilities to marketers than Looker Studio. Depending on your niche, clientele and strategies, choose the one that best fits your needs.
Whatagraph is well known to be a tool to be one of the leading marketing agencies’ choices. Test it out yourself and see what the buzz is all about. You have 7 full days to play with widgets, go through our marketing report templates and create amazing reports that will impress your clients. Sign up today to get started!
Published on Sep 21 2022
WRITTEN BY
Dominyka VaičiūnaitėDominyka is a copywriter at Whatagraph with a background in product marketing and customer success. Her degree in Mass Communications/Media Studies helps her to use simple words to explain complex ideas. In addition to adding value to our landing pages, you can find her name behind numerous product releases, in-app notifications, and guides in our help center.
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