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Looker Studio pros and cons

Vendor: Google
3.8 out of 5

Pros & Cons summary

Buyer's Guide

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

Looker Studio offers advanced integrated analysis and easy implementation, enhancing data exploration capabilities.
It provides seamless integration with a variety of data sources, including Excel and Google Sheets, which simplifies data access and visualization.
The tool's scheduling and refresh mechanisms, combined with its diverse chart options, enhance reporting efficiency.
The initial setup is simple, and Looker Studio being free makes it highly accessible for users.
It allows for easy sharing of information and dashboards online, backed by Google’s extensive documentation and community support.

CONS

It's not yet a replacement for a complete BI tool and lacks features like data modeling layer present in other products.
There are issues with integration, limits, and warnings with pivot table size and scalability improvements are needed.
Security challenges require improvements and the tool has room for improvement in professional calculations and customization options.
Performance needs enhancement, particularly in report loading time and live data integration for quicker reflections.
It did not fit scalability needs and improvements in data modeling features are necessary for analytics professionals.
 

Looker Studio Pros review quotes

Heron Ziegel - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Engineer at Quartz Consulting Group
Oct 17, 2025
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.
JG
Head of Infrastructure at Teamcore
Jun 5, 2025
I would rate this solution eight or nine out of ten.
NS
Business Intelligence Analyst at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Oct 10, 2025
What I appreciate about Looker Studio is mostly the clean visuals, which is good, as I prefer a dashboard with a clean aesthetic rather than feeling sort of an old Windows type of dashboard.
Learn what your peers think about Looker Studio. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Srini-Dhanaraj - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder & CEO at imfine.club
May 28, 2024
The product's initial setup phase is very simple.
Vijay Subramanyam - PeerSpot reviewer
Delivery Head at cblsolutions
Nov 26, 2024
Looker's ability to perform aggregation before visualization allows for effective data slicing and dicing.
Dmitriy Yugin - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Data/Web Analyst at Raiffeisen Bank
Jul 8, 2024
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.
FabianoMachado - PeerSpot reviewer
Financial Specialist at Grupo Boticário
May 31, 2022
Data Studio integrates seamlessly with other Google products, and we can use it with other APIs if we like.
reviewer2387007 - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Analyltics Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Apr 4, 2024
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.
SM
IT Consultant at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Nov 10, 2023
I find it favorable regarding speed of development, ease of building, and flexibility.
Jayabarath S - PeerSpot reviewer
RPA Developer at Atominos consulting
Dec 24, 2024
The integration with Excel and Google Sheets is a valuable feature, making it easy to access and visualize data.
 

Looker Studio Cons review quotes

Heron Ziegel - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Engineer at Quartz Consulting Group
Oct 17, 2025
Looker Studio did not fit our needs for scalability.
JG
Head of Infrastructure at Teamcore
Jun 5, 2025
From the perspective of infrastructure, I cannot provide a valuable opinion on the ease of use and customization options of Looker Studio.
NS
Business Intelligence Analyst at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Oct 10, 2025
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.
Learn what your peers think about Looker Studio. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Srini-Dhanaraj - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder & CEO at imfine.club
May 28, 2024
The challenges with Google Data Studio are associated with the security part, making it an area where improvements are required.
Vijay Subramanyam - PeerSpot reviewer
Delivery Head at cblsolutions
Nov 26, 2024
The performance of Looker needs improvement, particularly the report loading time, which is critical for business users.
Dmitriy Yugin - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Data/Web Analyst at Raiffeisen Bank
Jul 8, 2024
The tool has a lot of room for improvement. It's not very professional and allows for only simple tasks like indicating KPIs or quick calculations. It lacks a good calculation-based language like Power BI's DAX, making it less suitable for professional use. Additionally, the variety of visualization tools is limited, and customization options are restricted.
FabianoMachado - PeerSpot reviewer
Financial Specialist at Grupo Boticário
May 31, 2022
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.
reviewer2387007 - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Analyltics Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Apr 4, 2024
Other tools might be worth considering if you need more advanced features or support for a larger user base.
SM
IT Consultant at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Nov 10, 2023
There are issues with integration and I encountered limits and warnings, especially with my pivot table size.
Jayabarath S - PeerSpot reviewer
RPA Developer at Atominos consulting
Dec 24, 2024
The tool should improve on live data integration for quicker data reflection.