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Looker Studio vs SAP Crystal Reports comparison

Google and SAP are both solutions in the Reporting category. Google is ranked #9 with an average rating of 7.6, while SAP is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.4. Google holds a 2.9% mindshare in RT, compared to SAP’s 2.8% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of Google users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of SAP users who would recommend it.
Looker Studio
Read 13 Looker Studio reviews
  • 975 Views
  • 255 Comparison Views
86% willing to recommend
SAP Crystal Reports
Read 49 SAP Crystal Reports reviews
  • 1,619 Views
  • 534 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

SAP Crystal Reports and Looker Studio compete in the enterprise reporting tools category. Looker Studio has the upper hand due to its ease of use, cloud availability, and cost benefits, making it a favorite among users for functionality and user satisfaction.

Features: SAP Crystal Reports provides flexibility through sub-reports, formula creation, and diverse data source connections, allowing users to produce standardized reports. Supported data sources include DB2, MySQL, MS SQL, Oracle, and more, which make creating complex reports possible. Looker Studio excels with seamless integration with Google Sheets, enabling effective data aggregation, and offers the ability for custom filter creation.

Room for Improvement: SAP Crystal Reports can be challenging due to its complexity in understanding inherited reports and advanced features like graphing and formulas. Enhancing user interface intuitiveness could benefit users. Looker Studio may improve by enhancing real-time data reflection and lifting visualization limits.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SAP Crystal Reports requires on-premises deployment, often leading to complex setups, while relying on community support. Looker Studio offers greater deployment flexibility as a cloud-based tool, benefiting from feedback integration with Google's systems.

Pricing and ROI: Looker Studio stands out for its cost-effectiveness, being free for basic use, though complex data connections may incur additional costs. SAP Crystal Reports can be costly, which may deter smaller organizations, but offers significant ROI due to enterprise-focused functionalities. Looker Studio is valued for affordability and ease of use, though users might face extra costs for advanced features.

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To learn more, read our detailed Looker Studio vs. SAP Crystal Reports Report (Updated: June 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Looker Studio vs. SAP Crystals
June 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Looker Studio
Ranking in Reporting
9th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAP Crystal Reports
Ranking in Reporting
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Reporting category, the mindshare of Looker Studio is 2.9%, up from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Crystal Reports is 2.8%, down from 3.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Reporting
 

Featured Reviews

Srini-Dhanaraj - PeerSpot reviewer
Available for free and can help businesses resolve their data migration problems
It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten. Google Data Studio is a cloud-based tool. With cloud-based tools, there can be two challenges, the first one being associated with the bandwidth of your data strength. If I run a report from my home because of the wi-fi connection, it may give an excellent response. When I run the reports, Google Data Studio develops reports from my home, and because of wi-fi, it works in an excellent manner. When I am on the road or at the wheel, if I use the internet data from my mobile to browse my reports, the performance may not be good, and this issue is not because of the product but because of the bandwidth. The second issue arises when you connect Google Data Studio to a source system to extract the data to do the visualization. If the source system is not responding as quickly as expected, it could be the reason why the report may be printed slowly. Considering the aforementioned aspects, the problem may not be because of Google Data Studio but because of the source system.
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GhulamMustafa - PeerSpot reviewer
Data management and graphs help with decision-making and good at customization
The overall environment is the best. Data management, graphs, and layout – everything is the best, in my opinion. It is good at customization in context with Crystal Reports. I use Crystal Reports on the front end, and SQL Server on the back end. So we can build any kind of report and face no difficulties in our routine reporting. So, flexibility is of great importance to me.
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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Valuable features include advanced integrated analysis and easy implementation."
"I find it favorable regarding speed of development, ease of building, and flexibility."
"This has improved our organization by allowing people to see their data and develop visualizations themselves."
"I am impressed with the tool's scheduling mechanism, refresh mechanism, and different types of charts."
"The integration with Excel and Google Sheets is a valuable feature, making it easy to access and visualize data."
"Looker's ability to perform aggregation before visualization allows for effective data slicing and dicing."
"The product's initial setup phase is very simple."
"The ability to design complex data models and equations."
More Looker Studio pros
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is a fantastic way of generating reports."
"The initial setup of the solution is pretty easy."
"We use SAP Crystal Reports for operational reporting."
"The overall environment is the best. Data management, graphs, and layout – everything is the best, in my opinion."
"The most valuable feature is that from a user's point of view, it is easy to use and requires just a simple click to generate a report."
"I find Crystal Reports very easy to use, even for a non-technical person."
"It is an user-friendly solution."
"SAP Crystal Reports offers a plethora of features, many of which were available much earlier than in the Crystal Reports we previously used. We extensively use its capabilities for generating general reports, working with Kaspersky data, and even incorporating images into our reports. The range of functions available in SAP Crystal Reports is diverse, and we leverage them across various systems for our needs."
 

Cons

"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."
"Stability and scalability an be improved for a full ten."
"The performance of Looker needs improvement, particularly the report loading time, which is critical for business users."
"Insisting on forums, blogs and community outreach in communications, and posting videos on an established calendar would be useful."
"It's not yet a replacement for a complete BI tool."
"Panels are not as easy to use as other data extraction UIs."
"The tool should come up with data modeling layer features that are present in other products like Power BI."
More Looker Studio cons
"A real improvement would be a simpler system that allows users to play with the visualization without needing specialized skills and code."
"There could be improvements made to the analytics capabilities."
"Maybe some Power BI-related features could be added, like dashboards or direct editing in reports."
"SAP Crystal Reports should provide better support for dynamic connectors."
"If at all possible, a little bit of improvement on the analytical side is needed."
"It has significantly enhanced security features, especially when compared to the standard security features of the earlier PeerSpot version I purchased. I've observed improvements in security, and overall, it's quite commendable. Regarding potential enhancements for the next release of this solution, I haven't closely examined SAP Crystal Reports 53. I've only encountered it briefly, perhaps once or twice. However, I anticipate that it likely offers advanced features distinct from its predecessor. I believe there may be notable improvements and additions in the latest version, and I look forward to exploring them further."
"The financing part needs improvement."
"SAP Crystal Reports has some compatibility issues with third-party products."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is free."
"The solution is free but the Google Looker is expensive."
"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 product is available for free."
"The cost is quite affordable based on feature analysis."
"The cost of licensing can be a significant factor to consider when upgrading or transitioning to a new version of SAP Crystal Reports. It's important to evaluate the benefits and features offered by the new version against the associated costs to ensure it aligns with your organization's needs and budget."
"I feel that SAP Crystal Reports is a reasonably priced product."
"SAP Crystal Reports is a very expensive solution."
"We pay fifteen hundred dollars as licensing fee."
"This product costs a lot of money."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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...
See all answers
What needs improvement with Google Data Studio?
The tool should improve on live data integration for quicker data reflection. Currently, changes in Google Sheets take about three to five minutes to reflect in Looker Studio. Overall, the interfac...
See all answers
What is your primary use case for Google Data Studio?
I use Looker Studio primarily for dashboard creation and data analytics. I have integrated it with Google Sheets, and I use it for project plan maintenance and data tracking.
See all answers
What needs improvement with SAP Crystal Reports?
Maybe some Power BI-related features could be added, like dashboards or direct editing in reports. We use query language to build reports; this area could be improved more.
See all answers
What is your primary use case for SAP Crystal Reports?
We use SAP Crystal Reports for reporting. We use it for financial reports like statements of accounts, trial balances, and other management reports, salary slips, and many other purposes.
See all answers
What do you like most about SAP Crystal Reports?
We use SAP Crystal Reports for operational reporting.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Compared 18% of the time
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Compared 7% of the time
IBM Cognos vs Looker Studio Logo
IBM Cognos vs Looker Studio
Compared 5% of the time
Qlik Sense vs Looker Studio Logo
Qlik Sense vs Looker Studio
Compared 3% of the time
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Compared 20% of the time
TIBCO Jaspersoft vs SAP Crystal Reports Logo
TIBCO Jaspersoft vs SAP Crystal Reports
Compared 15% of the time
IBM Cognos vs SAP Crystal Reports Logo
IBM Cognos vs SAP Crystal Reports
Compared 12% of the time
Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services vs SAP Crystal Reports Logo
Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services vs SAP Crystal Reports
Compared 10% of the time
Oracle OBIEE vs SAP Crystal Reports Logo
Oracle OBIEE vs SAP Crystal Reports
Compared 7% of the time
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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Looker Studio
June 2025
Looker Studio reportDownload Looker Studio product report
Buyer's Guide
SAP Crystals
May 2025
SAP Crystal Reports reportDownload SAP Crystal Reports product report
 

Also Known As

Data Studio
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

Turn information from almost any data source into a sophisticated, interactive report with SAP Crystal Reports. This powerful, user-friendly application for small businesses and departments can help you deliver key insights to the right decision maker, at the right time, in the right format. 

Click here for a free trial

SAP
 

Sample Customers

Genesys, Shueisha
City of Buenos Aires, ASR Group, Citrix, EarlySense, Usha International Limited, Automotive Resources International (ARI), LivePerson, Coelba (Grupo Neoenergia), RZD Russian Railways, National Basketball Association - NBA, TALLY WEiJL, El Machetazo, Young Heroes, Mozzart, Mitsui Knowledge Industry (MKI) , Surgutneftegas Open Joint Stock Company, The VELUX Group, AOK Bundesverband, AL-KO KOBER GROUP
Buyer's Guide
Looker Studio vs. SAP Crystals
June 2025
Free Report: Looker Studio vs. SAP Crystal Reports
Find out what your peers are saying about Looker Studio vs. SAP Crystal Reports and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
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