Looker Studio vs Sisense comparison

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95% willing to recommend

Looker Studio

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

Sisense and Looker Studio are key players in the business intelligence tools category, each offering unique features. Sisense seems to have the upper hand in handling diverse data sources and providing robust analysis capabilities.

Features: Sisense is favored for powerful data integration, ease of use, and rapid deployment. It allows non-technical users to create custom analytics and provides a user-friendly setup. Looker Studio offers seamless Google services integration, ease of collaboration, and simplicity, ideal for teams utilizing Google's ecosystem.

Room for Improvement: Sisense could improve handling of large datasets and integration with tools like R. It lacks advanced settings for data manipulation. Looker Studio needs faster live data integration, a more sophisticated data modeling layer, and better scalability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Sisense provides flexibility with on-premises and cloud options and strong customer support, praised for its responsiveness. Looker Studio operates mainly in public and hybrid clouds. Its customer service is good but can improve in support communication.

Pricing and ROI: Sisense, perceived as expensive, offers a return on investment through reduced manual reporting and efficient business solutions. Looker Studio is mainly free, although additional integrations incur costs. Users appreciate its affordability but recognize the need for further expenses for complete data analysis.

To learn more, read our detailed Looker Studio vs. Sisense Report (Updated: September 2026).

Looker Studio vs. Sisense

September 2026

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Helped 913,924 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

Ranking in Reporting

10th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Sisense

Ranking in Reporting

9th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (13th), Cloud Analytics (4th), Data Visualization (11th), Embedded BI (6th)

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Reporting category, the mindshare of Looker Studio is 2.5%, down from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sisense is 2.1%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Reporting Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Sisense	2.1%
Looker Studio	2.5%
Other	95.4%

Reporting

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.

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Vishal Halbe

System Integration Specialist at a non-profit with self employed

Has improved project turnaround time with customizable dashboards and faster data delivery to stakeholders

Sisense has some limitations, especially in rendering tables or graphs. For example, if you want to perform custom sorting or searching based on multiple columns, that becomes quite tricky. Providing more control over how the data is sorted or filtered would be quite useful. Additionally, it could provide more connectors to integrate with emerging different data sources to exponentially increase the amount of data it can handle. Sisense should provide more support for CI/CD, as we found the CI/CD approach quite limited, which is something that can be worked on. Some data scientists suggested more features can be offered by providing different models for data analytics. Sisense can improve by adding more features for handling complex schemas and making the pricing straightforward. The dashboarding features are good enough, but additional features could make it even more attractive. Also, CI/CD support or source control support would be really helpful.

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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

"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."

"We previously used Microsoft Power BI, but Google is better."

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

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

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

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

"This is a great tool if your organization leverages other sets of Google tools and needs some quick ideas that are a prettier and more interactive than Google Analytics."

"This solution is a powerful way to have several tools integrated at one location and convert data into beautiful reports that can be easily edited and viewed."

More Looker Studio pros

"We implemented the solution into an environment that had been using Excel as a business intelligence tool with data delivered on a monthly basis and we have freed our sales staff from being Excel pivot table experts."

"The Sisense solution was very easy to set up, and its visualizations were effective."

"ElastiCube Manager is a very easy to use ETL tool, which includes the ability to easily transform raw data into reusable data."

"Support is very responsive and clearly one of the strengths of Sisense. I have always received a fast response and the staff is very helpful."

"Sisense is one of the best BI tools that can load more data and has consistently no downtime compared to other modern BI tools."

"The Sisense data cube allows us to execute heavy, complex computations on the fly so customers can slice and dice the data based on their business needs."

"A very simple setup: Easy to download, install, and updates are pain free."

"This solution is easy to learn how to use."

More Sisense pros

Cons

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

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

"We are aware that there are areas in Looker Studio that could be improved. Out of the box, if you don't utilize a template or create a template, which can take significant time, it's not the most user-friendly from an interface perspective."

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

"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."

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

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

"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

"We are moving to a better tool."

"I would like to see more development and growth for the support of Knowledge Base and Community forums."

"I would like Sisense to improve its performance, particularly when we are dealing with large-scale data."

"The solution's setup process could be easier."

"Sisense doesn't have connections with statistical packages like R, SAS, etc."

"Sisense has some limitations, especially in rendering tables or graphs. For example, if you want to perform custom sorting or searching based on multiple columns, that becomes quite tricky."

"The initial version we purchased only ran on Windows servers, which was less than ideal for our DevOps team. I believe that has been remedied in the latest release."

"The document is definitely a sore spot as well as the limited inner join functionality of the cubes."

More Sisense cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"The tool is free."

"The product is available for free."

"Compared to Power BI or Tableau, Sisense is much more expensive."

"This solution is more expensive than Tableau, Qlik and Dundas. It is an expensive tool. They charge $75,000 while Tableau is $45,000."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

Construction Company

13%

Outsourcing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

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	29
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	16

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...

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...

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...

What needs improvement with Sisense?

So far, Sisense is performing well, but some visualizations lack flexibility in design options. Sisense should improve on handling extremely large data sets, and they should improve on maintaining ...

What is your primary use case for Sisense?

In our organization, we use Sisense for business intelligence where it helps us with complex data from multiple sources and provides excellent insights, which makes it easy for us to make data-driv...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sisense?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing has been positive, as the price is relatively affordable compared to other solutions, and I have no challenges with the pricing. The setup is s...

Microsoft Power BI vs Looker Studio

Comparisons

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RStudio Connect vs Looker Studio

Compared 7% of the time

Zendesk vs Looker Studio

Compared 6% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

Tableau Enterprise vs Sisense

Compared 6% of the time

Omni vs Sisense

Compared 6% of the time

Embeddable vs Sisense

Compared 4% of the time

Redwood Reporting - Report2Web vs Sisense

Compared 3% of the time

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Product Reports

Download Looker Studio product report

Looker Studio

September 2026

Download Sisense product report

August 2026

Also Known As

Data Studio

No data available

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

Sisense enables data visualization and analytics with ease of use and fast setup, effectively integrating different data sources for efficient decision-making.

Sisense provides an intuitive platform for companies to handle data visualization and advanced analytics without requiring extensive technical knowledge. Quick deployment, custom dashboard creation, and seamless embedding are supported by an API-first approach. It allows integration of data from multiple databases, enhancing speed through in-chip methodology and real-time updates. Users benefit from its ElastiCube Manager and reduced deployment time, contributing to data-driven decisions. Comprehensive documentation supports users in navigating potential challenges.

What are the key features of Sisense?

Ease of Use: Facilitates quick data visualizations without technical expertise.
ElastiCube Manager: Allows custom data management and dashboard creation.
API-First Approach: Enhances integration flexibility across databases.
Real-Time Updates: Ensures timely and accurate data insights.
In-Chip Methodology: Optimizes processing speed and performance.

What benefits should users expect from Sisense?

Reduced Deployment Time: Accelerates analytics implementation.
Data-Driven Decisions: Facilitates informed decisions with comprehensive insights.
Customer Support: Provides reliable assistance and documentation.

Sisense is commonly used across industries such as product development, sales, and marketing to deliver tailored analytics and dashboards for diverse departmental needs. Organizations leverage Sisense's capabilities for embedding analytics, optimizing financial models, and improving sales strategies. Its intuitive interface allows non-technical teams to efficiently handle and derive insights from large datasets.

Sample Customers

Genesys, Shueisha

Ebay, WIX, Wave Accounting, ESPN.com, Magellan Luxury Hotel, Paylogic, Sony, Merck, EDA, One Hour Translation, NASA, Plastic Jungle, Philips, Yahoo