Looker Studio vs Microsoft Power BI vs ThoughtSpot comparison

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Looker Studio

Microsoft Power BI

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Looker Studio, Microsoft Power BI, and ThoughtSpot based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Salesforce, Qlik and others in Reporting.

To learn more, read our detailed Reporting Report (Updated: September 2025).

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Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

Reporting Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Looker Studio	3.1%
Microsoft Power BI	23.8%
Tableau Enterprise	20.2%
Other	52.9%

Reporting

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Power BI	14.1%
Tableau Enterprise	10.3%
Amazon QuickSight	4.9%
Other	70.7%

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
ThoughtSpot	1.5%
Microsoft Power BI	14.1%
Tableau Enterprise	10.3%
Other	74.1%

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools

Featured Reviews

Vijay Subramanyam

Delivery Head at cblsolutions

The ability to perform aggregation before visualization allows for effective data slicing and dicing

Looker's ability to perform aggregation before visualization allows for effective data slicing and dicing. The seamless integration with Excel and Google Sheets and custom filter creation features facilitate detailed trend reports and analysis. Looker has significantly improved productivity by reducing the time spent on creating summary reports from weeks to a day.

Facilitates seamless data aggregation with some outdated visual elements hindering user appeal

Shoury Priyanshu

Senior Manager, Strategy & Consulting at Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd

Real-time data integration is an area for improvement. Although I've worked on several solutions involving real-time integration, it's not very user-friendly and often lags, especially with over a million data rows. This makes Power BI difficult to manage as loading times can reach one or two minutes, which is problematic today. There are challenges with scalability, requiring multiple pages in dashboards to manage these issues. Visualization could be improved as it appears outdated. Users, especially newcomers, find it unappealing and not user-friendly.

Creates user-friendly analysis environments for large datasets

Sushma Polavarapu

Sr Data Analytics Consultant at Capgemini

The tool is user-friendly for the end users. It is primarily a search-based tool. Users do not need a technical background to work directly on the dataset. Its compatibility with most databases, including the latest from FlexMovely and Redshift, allows users to create joins and worksheets easily. ThoughtSpot is fast, even with one to ten terabytes of data.

More Microsoft Power BI pros

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."

"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."

"Data Studio integrates seamlessly with other Google products, and we can use it with other APIs if we like."

"I am impressed with the tool's scheduling mechanism, refresh mechanism, and different types of charts."

"This has improved our organization by allowing people to see their data and develop visualizations themselves."

"The ability to integrate with a great variety of data sources."

"The solution is free so that is a good feature."

More Looker Studio pros

"I like the downloadable visualizations a lot. I think that they give the user a very nice starting point in creating awesome dashboards, with the right way to tell their data story."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is real-time report tracking."

"In the process of using data there is the Extract, Transform and Load (ETL). For extracting we are using another software, for transforming we are using our own coding in C#, and then we use Microsoft BI for loading the information. Microsoft BI displays information very well."

"Two valuable most features are the ability to create columns and create measures."

"Microsoft BI's most valuable feature is flexibility."

"Provides data feeds for enterprise KPI reporting."

"The visuals are great and make everything look very professional. We can change the look and feel or manipulate the data according to our requirements. It's extremely flexible."

"The most valuable features of Microsoft BI are the variety of possibilities to connect to various data sources. The visualizations are easily done, have useful rollover functions, and there are continuous updates being made to the system. You can benefit from the various improvements."

"The scalability is good."

"I would say the return on investment is good. Whatever we invested, we got results. We have been finding it easy to use and onboard new use cases."

"Stability is very important, and ThoughtSpot performs well."

"ThoughtSpot saves a significant amount of time compared to other tools and is very user-friendly."

"The main core of ThoughtSpot is to create models, connect data pipelines, and create business models and dashboards on top of them."

"It's easy to drill down or expand data to get more details right out of the box."

"ThoughtSpot is much easier to work with and maintain than other BI solutions, and it significantly reduces costs related to manual labor."

"I like ThoughtSpot's search capabilities. You can also create custom analytics even if you aren't an experienced data analyst. We have users with no data analytics experience making some of the dashboards we've created, copying components, and customizing them to their specific use cases."

More ThoughtSpot pros

Cons

"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."

"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."

"There is a significant degree of sophistication required to compete with Tableau or Cognos."

"Insisting on forums, blogs and community outreach in communications, and posting videos on an established calendar would be useful."

"The tool should come up with data modeling layer features that are present in other products like Power BI."

"Panels are not as easy to use as other data extraction UIs."

"The performance of Looker needs improvement, particularly the report loading time, which is critical for business users."

More Looker Studio cons

"In Microsoft Excel, you are able to have tabs. However, in Microsoft BI you do not have this flexibility."

"Its setup and support should be improved. We would like to see more material for developers that provides clear explanations about how we can do data mining by using Microsoft BI. It would also be good if we can connect a feature to other customized machine learning solutions."

"Sometimes in Power BI, the logic can be challenging to follow."

"Power BI's administration could use some work, and the user experience needs to improve because it is a client-based tool. If you want to generate a model or report, you need to use client tools, but client tools are limited for end-users who don't have enough hardware. For example, maybe a client lacks enough memory or CPU power for report generators. If you use a model that requires a massive amount of data, your client will face several problems."

"Power BI's drillthrough feature could be improved. I didn't like drillthrough and those options much, but I did like it in MicroStrategy."

"From an improvement perspective, I think if the Power BI developers of that platform would really focus on being more detailed and specific on the error messages, it would help a lot of developers troubleshoot and maintain the report ECT or the dashboard ECT."

"SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is not user friendly."

"It should have more integrations."

More Microsoft Power BI cons

"I encountered limitations mainly around UI and dashboard configuration."

"Some areas for improvement include the pixel-perfect dashboards, which are not as refined as those in Tableau."

"The one area of the solution that I do hear needs improvement is on the visualization front."

"I would like to see more flexibility in adding the pins. Currently, we have four different sizes in which I can add pins, but I would like to be able to resize my pins."

"The prediction model needs improvement. While NLQ is working perfectly fine and the data understanding capabilities of ThoughtSpot are good, there is room for improvement."

"The customer service and support are not good. I stopped opening tickets due to insufficient and untimely responses."

"In terms of features, I'd like to be able to pivot data - for example, going from rows to columns. It's not easy to do."

"ThoughtSpot is a fairly new product, so some usability aspects aren't as mature as we'd like them to be. One example is their organizational methodology, like how objects are organized in their dashboards inside the product. They're all on a flat list, which works if you've got five or 10 dashboards. However, it's insufficient when you're a large enterprise with multiple groups looking at the same dashboards. It isn't organized well."

More ThoughtSpot cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is available for free."

"The tool is free."

"The solution is free but the Google Looker is expensive."

"The cost is quite affordable based on feature analysis."

"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."

"They have a free Power BI Desktop version, but it has limitations."

"Its pricing is great."

"Pricing, that's where Microsoft beats Tableau. It is priced much cheaper."

"This solution came free, it was offered by Microsoft with our E3 license."

"Power BI is cheaper for smaller groups when comparing to competitors. It requires a monthly per-user subscription."

"Microsoft BI is not expensive."

"I have not had a customer suggest the solution is too expensive. There are licenses to use the solution."

"Microsoft BI requires licenses."

More Microsoft Power BI pricing and cost advice

"I give the pricing a six out of ten."

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Comparison Review

it_user79932

Senior Manager - BI Head at NVidia

Feb 4, 2015

Comparison of SAP BO, Tableau, QlikView, Cognos, Microsoft, OBIEE and Pentaho

1. SAP BO/BI Enterprise scalability Security Ease of use Semantic layer 2. Tableau Visualization Data discovery Turnaround time 3. IBM Cognos Enterprise scalability Security In-memory feature 4. MS BI - Flexibility 5. Pentaho - Open source but still enterprise grade 6. QlikView Data…

What do you like most about Google Data Studio?

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

University

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

Government

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

19%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	134
Midsize Enterprise	57
Large Enterprise	165

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Large Enterprise	12

Questions from the Community

The company dashboard is useful because we could share it via a link as a reminder for everyone to check it weekly. W...

What needs improvement with Google Data Studio?

We are aware that there are areas in Looker Studio that could be improved. Out of the box, if you don't utilize a tem...

What is your primary use case for Google Data Studio?

Regarding the product, I was doing research for a client in the LMS industry. I was seeing what else was out there an...

Seeking lightweight open source BI software

There are many...It would rather depend what System BI architecture or Enterprise legacy you have at your end...I wou...

Is Power BI a complete platform or only a visualization tool?

Power BI is an advanced visualization tool oriented to big data with a very complete set of widgets to visualize info...

How does Oracle OBIEE compare with Microsoft BI?

Oracle OBIEE is great in allowing design and creativity per the individual needs of the organization. Dashboards are ...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ThoughtSpot?

The pricing is on the higher end but reasonable for what ThoughtSpot offers.

What needs improvement with ThoughtSpot?

I do not think there is anything that needs improvement at the moment. It is being improved continuously. They are co...

What is your primary use case for ThoughtSpot?

Clients use ThoughtSpot because of its search facility. It is easy for searching and does not require analysts to pro...

Amazon QuickSight vs Looker Studio

Comparisons

Compared 41% of the time

Tableau Enterprise vs Looker Studio

Compared 7% of the time

Qlik Sense vs Looker Studio

Compared 4% of the time

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services vs Looker Studio

Compared 4% of the time

IBM Cognos vs Looker Studio

Compared 4% of the time

More Looker Studio Competitors

Tableau Enterprise vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 12% of the time

Amazon QuickSight vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 11% of the time

Databricks vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 7% of the time

Domo vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 5% of the time

KNIME Business Hub vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 4% of the time

More Microsoft Power BI Competitors

Databricks vs ThoughtSpot

Compared 14% of the time

Tableau Enterprise vs ThoughtSpot

Compared 10% of the time

Napkin AI vs ThoughtSpot

Compared 7% of the time

Julius AI vs ThoughtSpot

Compared 7% of the time

Omni vs ThoughtSpot

Compared 6% of the time

More ThoughtSpot Competitors

Product Reports

Looker Studio

Download Looker Studio product report

Microsoft Power BI

Download Microsoft Power BI product report

Download ThoughtSpot product report

Also Known As

Data Studio

SSRS, SSAS, MSBI, MS Reporting Services, Microsoft BI Tools, Microsoft Big Data, Power BI Pro, MS BI

No data available

Overview

Google Looker Studio is a free tool designed to help users create visually appealing reports and dashboards, making data easier to understand. It allows you to connect to various data sources such as Google Analytics, Facebook Ads, and spreadsheets. With Looker Studio, you can create charts and graphs to showcase trends and comparisons, build comprehensive dashboards that provide an overview of your data, and customize reports to match your brand or preferences. Additionally, you can share your reports online or export them as PDFs for wider distribution.

Google

Microsoft Power BI is a powerful tool for data analysis and visualization. This tool stands out for its ability to merge and analyze data from various sources. Widely adopted across different industries and departments, Power BI is instrumental in creating visually appealing dashboards and generating insightful business intelligence reports. Its intuitive interface, robust visualization capabilities, and seamless integration with other Microsoft applications empower users to easily create interactive reports and gain valuable insights.

Microsoft

ThoughtSpot is a powerful business intelligence tool that allows easy searching and drilling into data. Its ad hoc exploration and query-based search features are highly valued, and it is easy to set up, stable, and scalable.

The solution is used for reporting purposes, self-service BI, and embedding into other applications for customers to do self-service analytics. It helps businesses with metrics, KPIs, and important insights by sourcing data from various sources into one golden source and visualizing it in an easy way for the business to consume. The pricing model is ideal, charging for data rather than the number of users.