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Looker pros and cons

Vendor: Google
4.0 out of 5

Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

Looker ensures optimal SQL query generation with UI actions.
Looker is highly stable and effectively integrates with BigQuery.
Looker centralizes data models efficiently.
Looker is a cloud-based platform offering real-time data updates.
Looker enhances usability and shareability.

CONS

Looker does not connect to Excel, which limits data presentation options.
It cannot directly consume data from REST APIs, which is necessary for diverse data sources.
Integrations with other BI tools and databases are lacking.
Blending data from different sources, including cloud and internal data, needs improvement.
Visualization capabilities are limited.
 

Looker Pros review quotes

reviewer1856880 - PeerSpot reviewer
Vice President Engineering at a pharma/biotech company with 5,001-10,000 employees
May 12, 2022
From a developer's perspective, the way the functionality's being handled is great.
Subramani R - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Data Engineer at PayPal
Oct 5, 2022
Looker allows you to generate the most optimal SQL queries in a DC through UI actions. We had signed a contract with Google Cloud to use BigQuery. That was the primary reason we adopted Looker. It works better with BigQuery than any other BI platform. We also like how this tool was developed. It was designed with an eye toward microservices architecture.
Dmitri Solodovnik - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Intelligence Team Lead at Oxagile
Oct 18, 2023
I would rate the stability a ten out of ten. I didn't face any issues with stability.
Learn what your peers think about Looker. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Luiz Cesar Gosi - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Analytics Engineer at TalkDesk
Oct 19, 2023
We can centralize all our data models.
Anton Nenov - PeerSpot reviewer
Credit Risk Manager at ITF Group JSC
Oct 31, 2023
It is a pretty stable solution because it is a cloud-based product.
Adedayo Iyanda - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Intelligence Analyst || Data Engineer at Traction Apps
Nov 1, 2023
It's quite effortless to navigate through various applications and review their updated data in real-time.
Abhishek Swain - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer at Adaequare
Nov 7, 2023
The product is easy to use.
reviewer2143233 - PeerSpot reviewer
Student at a university with 501-1,000 employees
Dec 26, 2023
With Looker, I have experienced benefits in terms of usability and shareability.
 

Looker Cons review quotes

reviewer1856880 - PeerSpot reviewer
Vice President Engineering at a pharma/biotech company with 5,001-10,000 employees
May 12, 2022
It needs to be more user-friendly.
Subramani R - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Data Engineer at PayPal
Oct 5, 2022
Looker doesn't connect to Excel, which is a huge disappointment because a lot of data is presented in Excel. Also, it can't consume data directly from REST APIs, which is necessary. Looker needs to expand its horizons when it comes to data sources. The inability to connect to different data sources is hampering our use cases. Currently, it only has an ODBC connection that connects to a database. It needs to connect to other data sources, such as Excel, APIs, and different platforms.
Dmitri Solodovnik - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Intelligence Team Lead at Oxagile
Oct 18, 2023
Integrations with other BI tools could be better.
Learn what your peers think about Looker. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Luiz Cesar Gosi - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Analytics Engineer at TalkDesk
Oct 19, 2023
The integration with different databases must be improved.
Anton Nenov - PeerSpot reviewer
Credit Risk Manager at ITF Group JSC
Oct 31, 2023
The main area of concern in Looker is probably related to blending the data from the different sources, including the data present internally in the company and on the cloud.
Adedayo Iyanda - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Intelligence Analyst || Data Engineer at Traction Apps
Nov 1, 2023
Stability needs improvement.
Abhishek Swain - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer at Adaequare
Nov 7, 2023
The product does not have documented material.
reviewer2143233 - PeerSpot reviewer
Student at a university with 501-1,000 employees
Dec 26, 2023
The visualization capability of the product is limited.