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Looker Studio vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Looker Studio
Ranking in Reporting
12th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft SQL Server Report...
Ranking in Reporting
5th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Reporting category, the mindshare of Looker Studio is 2.7%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is 2.6%, down from 3.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Reporting Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services2.6%
Looker Studio2.7%
Other94.7%
Reporting
 

Featured Reviews

Heron Ziegel - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Engineer at Quartz Consulting Group
Has supported quick dashboard creation and data sharing but lacks tools for managing multiple reports efficiently
We integrated Looker Studio with other platforms in our data ecosystem; we tried integrating with Sheets, and that went okay, but it could have been better. It could have been better because it needed a very specific format to read the data, so we had to reformat the sheet file. Looker Studio was mostly just helpful in that it provided live updating charts for tracking performance indicators in the organization. Integrating with a database was very difficult because there wasn't a lot of feedback for what was going wrong with the connection. I don't remember if we reached out to support. I didn't personally reach out, but my boss may have. I didn't reach out to support, so I do not have experience with it to rate it. We worked with the free version of Looker Studio initially, and we upgraded at some point to the pro version; I don't remember if we actually paid for it or if it was just a free trial. The pricing was reasonable. I remember doing a price comparison, and it was pretty reasonable, but it did have fewer features than a lot of other software, which was okay for a comparable price but a little cheaper.
GD
Consulting IT Head at MYKLaticrete
Reports generation is efficient and saves effort, but integrating new features could enhance overall experience
I haven't contacted Microsoft technical support because of this tool, but for some other things I have, and I found them quite lacking. We had trouble with Azure Firewall, where we wanted logs from our VMs, but reaching out to Microsoft took a prolonged time to the extent that we were wondering why Microsoft was unable to get its own logs to us, which occurred a few months back. I would rate Microsoft support around 6.5 to seven, as they don't directly interact with medium-sized MSMEs, always referring to their partners, so it differs based on the partner's level of relationship with Microsoft.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The ability to design complex data models and equations."
"The company dashboard is useful because we could share it via a link as a reminder for everyone to check it weekly. We observed the progress of our portfolio from last week to the current week, allowing us to compare revenues."
"The fact that Looker Studio is free and has a free tier was probably the biggest benefit; it is very accessible and not too difficult to use."
"I would rate this solution eight or nine out of ten."
"The solution is free so that is a good feature."
"The product's initial setup phase is very simple."
"The ability to integrate with a great variety of data sources."
"The best thing about the tool is that it allows you to share information easily and dashboards with colleagues and teammates because it's all online. No matter where you are, as long as you have the Internet, you can connect and use these dashboards. Google made good documentation for this tool. There are many examples of how to use and create dashboards and videos on YouTube. So, I think it's easy to learn."
"In Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services, the installation and configuration are easy."
"We were able to embed the report builder within our internal proprietary systems, improving our reporting capabilities."
"Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is reliable for management dashboard and reporting purposes. It is helpful for user reporting and administrative tasks, such as monitoring progress. It is easy to use since it is lightweight and integrates well with the SQL Server database, making reporting straightforward. The visualization capabilities enhance our reporting needs with good pagination and KPI features. It integrates well with data servers and workbooks, allowing us to publish reports on mobile applications and tablets easily. Integrating other tools and platforms in our tech ecosystem is generally straightforward. However, if we need to perform something very specialized, we might have to use third-party tools rather than inbuilt options."
"The solution is known for its robust security features."
"The initial setup is easy."
"With SQL Server Reporting Services, I can create reports and printable reports, known as paginated reports."
"I am impressed with the product's seamless integration. It can work with different databases like Oracle."
"Outside of that, it's a pretty solid tool, pretty straightforward, and I have no issues with it."
 

Cons

"It's not yet a replacement for a complete BI tool."
"Stability and scalability an be improved for a full ten."
"Panels are not as easy to use as other data extraction UIs."
"Looker Studio did not fit our needs for scalability."
"The tool should improve on live data integration for quicker data reflection."
"From the perspective of infrastructure, I cannot provide a valuable opinion on the ease of use and customization options of Looker Studio."
"When you physically install a product on one machine instead of the cloud, you have a better visibility, best icon quality, etc.. It's more of an issue with how we are adapting to the transition. We are still in the early moments of using this tool, and we need to go deeper to discover some improvements."
"Other tools might be worth considering if you need more advanced features or support for a larger user base."
"Tableau is more user-friendly because it doesn't need to do any extra programming. It has drag-and-drop functionality."
"There is room for improvement in the pricing model."
"In this solution, the cost should be reduced for the enterprise edition."
"Sometimes, we need to make sure that the configuration stays consistent across the reporting instances. They all connect to the same database. So, it shares that same backend, but the reporting services itself can also be configured. On the application level, for reporting level. And it is, based on my own experience, it is a manual effort to make sure that the reporting servers are configured the same across the environment."
"The complex tuning for report performance is complicated. There is a lack of native support for source code control. We often need to use separate tools like VS Code or other software to manage version control and changes in the database. It would be beneficial if source code management were integrated directly into SSRS, thus eliminating the need to rely on external tools. While CLI-based operations are exemplary, the trend is towards GUI for a better user experience. Integrating both visualization and source code management within SSRS would simplify the process for users."
"The solution's interface is old."
"We encounter some barriers while trying to build a report."
"Technical support is in minor need of improvement so that they can solve problems in a more timely manner."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is free."
"I think the tool is cheap because you don't need to pay anything for using the tool. However, when connecting and analyzing other data sources, you should consider where to analyze this information because Google Data Studio doesn't handle much data well. You must also consider how you will connect this data to it. In this case, you might need to hire DevOps or a data team to help with these issues."
"The cost is quite affordable based on feature analysis."
"The solution is free but the Google Looker is expensive."
"The product is available for free."
"The solution is cheaper than its alternatives."
"The product pricing is reasonable in terms of suitable features for business."
"The tool's licensing costs are expensive."
"The pricing is high."
"The solution is free to use for developers."
"The price is pretty good."
"Value-wise, the solution's pricing is good for the price that we pay."
"The solution is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise15
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Google Data Studio?
The company dashboard is useful because we could share it via a link as a reminder for everyone to check it weekly. We observed the progress of our portfolio from last week to the current week, all...
What needs improvement with Google Data Studio?
I would appreciate improvements in the data modeling features, as it's not straightforward, and it's not what people in analytics are used to. Specifically, most people using this visualization too...
What is your primary use case for Google Data Studio?
I used Looker Studio mainly for reporting, where I created multiple dashboards on it. I wouldn't say I made the most of the usage of the connections because all the connections were based on flat f...
What do you like most about Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services?
I mainly use the solution for the ease of reporting and for executive dashboards.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services?
I would consider it cost effective for our environment, and we don't have to invest in another big tool to generate these reports, making it all integrated and easier. Otherwise, you need to write ...
What needs improvement with Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services?
Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is not difficult to use, but my main issue is troubleshooting whenever there is any problem, as the logs can be unclear. Perhaps I don't have enough experien...
 

Also Known As

Data Studio
SQL Server Reporting Services, Microsoft SSRS, SSRS, MS SQL Server Reporting Services
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Genesys, Shueisha
CMS Wire, The New York Times
Find out what your peers are saying about Looker Studio vs. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,707 professionals have used our research since 2012.