Looker Studio vs Qlik Sense comparison

Why PeerSpot?

The compared Google and Qlik solutions aren't in the same category. Google is ranked #9 in RT , with an average rating of 7.8, and holds a 2.5% mindshare in the category. Qlik is ranked #6 in DV , with an average rating of 7.8, and holds a 4.8% mindshare. Additionally, 83% of Google users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Qlik users who would recommend it.

Looker Studio

Read 16 Looker Studio reviews

4,439 Views
2,930 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

Qlik Sense

Read 126 Qlik Sense reviews

14,606 Views
8,325 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Looker Studio

Qlik Sense

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Looker Studio and Qlik Sense based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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

To learn more, read our detailed Reporting Report (Updated: October 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Reporting

October 2026

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Helped 920,769 peers since 2012

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

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Reporting (9th)

Qlik Sense

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

126

Ranking in other categories

Data Visualization (6th), Embedded BI (4th), AI Data Analysis (17th)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Business Intelligence solutions, they serve different purposes. Looker Studio is designed for Reporting and holds a mindshare of 2.5%, down 2.6% compared to last year.
Qlik Sense, on the other hand, focuses on Data Visualization, holds 4.8% mindshare, down 7.1% since last year.

Reporting Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Looker Studio	2.5%
Tableau Enterprise	13.3%
Microsoft Power BI	12.4%
Other	71.8%

Reporting

Data Visualization Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Qlik Sense	4.8%
Tableau Enterprise	9.6%
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence	4.0%
Other	81.6%

Data Visualization

Featured Reviews

Heron Ziegel

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.

Read full review

Saranya Deepthi

Project Engineer at Wipro

Improved AI-driven dashboards have accelerated decisions but still need better visuals and faster refresh

Absolutely, nothing is entirely positive, and everything has both advantages and disadvantages. When I worked with Qlik Sense, circular charts were not available, which meant I had to look for alternative solutions that would be reliable or make the functionality work. There are some features that need to be added. Additionally, there is a limit to the number of fields that can be added in Qlik Sense, and I believe it would be beneficial if they increased the count for fields and columns. There might be requirements where an Excel file contains many columns that need to be displayed as visual representations to clients, and in those situations, it becomes very difficult and I have to use alternative approaches. When this problem arose, I used HTML code to write a solution and make it work. Qlik Sense should avoid these types of limitations in future updates. Another issue is page resolution. If a client wants to view the dashboard on a single page without scrolling, bar charts appear small and the values in KPIs, bar charts, scatter plots, and line graphs cannot be seen very clearly. Adding more extensions to make the job easier would also be beneficial. Improvements to reporting would be helpful as well, because working with large datasets makes reporting very difficult. Additionally, when data is refreshed, it cannot be completed in a short timeframe. Refreshing very large datasets can take one, two, or even three hours, so reducing the refresh time would be very useful for customers.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Looker's ability to perform aggregation before visualization allows for effective data slicing and dicing."

"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."

"The ability to design complex data models and equations."

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

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

"The most valuable features of this solution are its ease of use and the plethora of query sources."

"The integration with Excel and Google Sheets is a valuable feature, making it easy to access and visualize data."

More Looker Studio pros

"Qlik helped a lot during this uncertain period."

"This solution is easy to use, intuitive and has great power for the exploitation of data."

"Leveraging and reusability of already existing QlikView assets and knowledge."

"A great analysis tool helps us in many ways for showing the great potential of our ERP through Qlik tools."

"It has improved the amount of time it takes to get information out to the business in a few ways."

"The most valuable feature is that all pieces work together as a platform that allows you to easily provide BI solutions."

"It has high performance when interacting with dashboards and reports."

"The extensibility of the Platform with either internally created extensions or the use of third-party provided items really opens the platform up."

More Qlik Sense pros

Cons

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

"The tool should improve on live data integration for quicker data reflection."

"It's not yet a replacement for a complete BI tool."

"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."

"Other tools might be worth considering if you need more advanced features or support for a larger user base."

"There are issues with integration and I encountered limits and warnings, especially with my pivot table size."

"The challenges with Google Data Studio are associated with the security part, making it an area where improvements are required."

"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."

More Looker Studio cons

"The SaaS offering is being enriched quickly in order to attract new customers to that space and encouraging existing customers to make the switch. The Enterprise solution is therefore lagging behind SaaS in features."

"A valuable improvement for this solution would be the enabling of us to host dashboards for our customers."

"The next version should include more standard integrations."

"The "vanilla" Qlik Sense tool is limited in some areas."

"The technical support provided by the Qlik Sense team isn't great as it's very slow."

"Qlik Sense is very easy to use, but sometimes integration is a bit challenging."

"My advice to others is to make sure they have a good technical team. We have found that a lot of the consultants go in and out of the business and sometimes you are left alone without assistance."

"The augmented intelligence features don't work well for the analytical user."

More Qlik Sense cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"The product is available for free."

"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."

"I'm not able to reveal the licensing cost for Qlik Sense, but because it was a huge deal, the cost was less than the usual cost. The license wasn't that costly. It was the infrastructure that was very costly."

"The cost is not bad considering the flexibility and support you receive from Qlik. I believe it is worth the cost."

"Qlik Sense is pretty good in terms of price."

"Ultimately, the cost is low, and it implements fast. The limiting factor is how quickly your staff can keep up."

"Start small with tokens. You can always buy more."

"Understand the break over price point for switching to the Enterprise license."

"You need to pay 5,000 Norwegian kroner per user. Microsoft Power BI is slightly more expensive than Qlik Sense."

"I would rate Qlik's pricing four out of five."

More Qlik Sense pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

17%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Construction Company

Outsourcing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	6

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	34
Midsize Enterprise	40
Large Enterprise	89

Questions from the Community

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Google Data Studio?

I confirm that we have a call regarding my experience with Zoho. Looker Studio is a good visualization tool, but I wouldn't say there's a specific feature that stands out in terms of tracking metri...

See all answers

Seeking lightweight open source BI software

It depends on the Data architecture and the complexity of your requirement. Some great tools in the market are Qlik Sense, Power BI, OBIEE, Tableau, etc. I have recently started using Cognos Enter...

See all answers

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 would recommend as follows: 1) If you have legacies of SAP, Oracle - look for SAP...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qlik Sense?

It is not about performance. It is just about how expensive it is to implement.

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Power BI vs Looker Studio

Compared 12% of the time

Tableau Enterprise vs Looker Studio

Compared 9% of the time

Amazon QuickSight vs Looker Studio

Compared 7% of the time

RStudio Connect vs Looker Studio

Compared 6% of the time

Mode Enterprise vs Looker Studio

Compared 3% of the time

More Looker Studio Competitors

Tableau Enterprise vs Qlik Sense

Compared 7% of the time

OpenText Intelligence vs Qlik Sense

Compared 4% of the time

Apache Superset vs Qlik Sense

Compared 4% of the time

Microsoft Power BI vs Qlik Sense

Compared 4% of the time

Amazon QuickSight vs Qlik Sense

Compared 3% of the time

More Qlik Sense Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Looker Studio

October 2026

Download Looker Studio product report

Buyer's Guide

Qlik Sense

October 2026

Download Qlik Sense product report

Also Known As

Data Studio

QlikSense, Qlik Analytics Platform

Overview

Looker Studio offers seamless integration with Google products, supporting business visualization and collaboration through efficient data management and analytics, catering to teams aiming for quick analytics solutions.

Looker Studio combines diverse data source integration including SQL and MongoDB with powerful visualization and custom filter creation. Users find its visuals clean and its platform user-friendly, enhanced by collaboration features and pricing. It aids decision-making and is popular for tracking metrics and analyzing sales funnels. Despite its strengths, users seek faster report loading, simpler data modeling, and better interface usability. Advertising system limitations, delayed data reflections, and integration challenges affect performance. Security and stability improvements alongside a richer data modeling layer are desirable, with pricing impacting large organizations.

What are the most important features of Looker Studio?

Google Integration: Easily integrates with Google products for efficient workflow.
Diverse Data Sources: Connects to databases like SQL and MongoDB.
Custom Filters: Offers flexible filter options for tailored analyses.
Data Visualization: Enables powerful, clear visual data representation.
Collaboration: Supports team collaboration for shared insights.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Ease of Use: Accessibility and user-friendly operation for teams.
Decision-Making Support: Facilitates informed business decisions.
Flexibility: Adapts to different business analytics needs.
Cost-Effectiveness: Competitive pricing for budget-conscious teams.

Looker Studio supports business visualization for different industries, creating dashboards and reports for sales and marketing analysis. It's used to track metrics and sales funnels from sources like Google Sheets and BigQuery. Many companies integrate Looker Studio within web apps, providing data insights tailored to sectors such as e-commerce, finance, and more.

Google

Qlik Sense offers drag-and-drop dashboard creation, multi-data source integration, and self-service analytics. Users benefit from associative data modeling and real-time insights. The platform enhances quick deployment across any device with its flexibility and ease of use.

Qlik Sense provides rapid dashboard creation and seamless multi-data source integration, supporting real-time analytics and high-speed ETL capabilities. Users enjoy advanced visualizations and natural language processing within an intuitive interface. The solution's in-memory engine ensures fast data processing while offering flexibility and quick deployment on all devices. Its open API facilitates extensive customization and integration with chatbots and third-party extensions.

What are the key features of Qlik Sense?

Rapid Dashboard Creation: Enables quick creation of insightful dashboards using a drag-and-drop interface.
Multi-Data Source Integration: Supports seamless integration across various data sources for comprehensive analysis.
Self-Service Analytics: Empowers users with intuitive tools for independent data exploration and insights generation.
Associative Data Modeling: Enhances understanding of complex datasets and relationships.
Advanced Visualizations: Offers sophisticated visual options to present data clearly and engagingly.
Real-Time Insights: Provides up-to-the-minute data analysis capabilities.
Open API Integration: Allows extensive customization and integration with third-party tools.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Fast Deployment: Enjoys rapid setup and integration across devices, facilitating immediate data access.
Enhanced Flexibility: Customization options allow tailored solutions that meet specific user needs.
Comprehensive Integration: Capable of integrating multiple data sources, improving analytical scope.
Improved Data Accessibility: Offers easy access and understanding of complex data.
Automation Efficiency: Streamlines reporting and analytics tasks, boosting productivity.

In industries such as finance and sales, Qlik Sense enables interactive data analyses and dashboard creation across departments. It supports business intelligence for financial reporting, sales analysis, and decision-making. By automating reporting and combining data from multiple sources, it facilitates users in generating insights and enhancing data accessibility for informed business decisions.

Qlik

Sample Customers

Genesys, Shueisha

Abbvie, Airbus, Barclays, BT Openreach, BMW, Daimler AG, HSBC, IKEA, Nationwide Building Society, Royal Mail Group, Sanofi, Siemens, Wendy'', Vodafone, Volvo

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