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Amazon QuickSight vs Looker

Amazon QuickSight logo

Amazon QuickSight

Software

Scalable, serverless BI by AWS

From
$3/month per user
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Looker logo

Looker

Software

Modern business intelligence platform by Google

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Amazon QuickSight reader and Reader Pro roles charged separately at $3 and $20/month; Looker requires annual commitment with no month-to-month billing option
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon QuickSight covers SPICE In-memory Engine, Looker covers LookML Data Modeling.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon QuickSight and Looker actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon QuickSight and Looker differ
AttributeAmazon QuickSightLooker
Starting price$3/month per userOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsAWSWeb, Cloud (Google Cloud Platform)
Founded20062008

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Amazon QuickSight

  • SPICE In-memory Engine
  • ML Insights
  • Natural Language Queries
  • Pay-per-session
  • S3
  • Athena
  • Aurora
  • RDS

Only in Looker

  • LookML Data Modeling
  • API Access
  • Version Control
  • Data Actions
  • BigQuery
  • Snowflake
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL

Both cover

  • Embedded Analytics
  • Redshift
  • Salesforce
  • Web support
  • Mobile support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Amazon QuickSight

  • Business intelligence dashboards and analyticsnot Looker
  • Scalable embedded analytics for applicationsnot Looker

Looker

  • Business intelligence and interactive dashboards for data-driven decision makingnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Embedded analytics for integrating BI capabilities into third-party applicationsnot Amazon QuickSight

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Amazon QuickSight

  • Reader and Reader Pro roles charged separately at $3 and $20/month
  • Author and Author Pro roles charged at $24 and $40/month
  • $250/month infrastructure fee required if Pro users or Q&A enabled
  • SPICE storage charged at $0.38/GB monthly (10 GB included)
  • Pixel-perfect reports start at $500/month for 500 monthly units
  • Alerts charged at $0.05-$0.50 per 1,000 metrics evaluated

Looker

  • Requires annual commitment with no month-to-month billing option
  • Conversational analytics will incur token overage charges ($3.00 per 1M input tokens, $20.00 per 1M output tokens) after October 1, 2026

Pricing, plan by plan

Amazon QuickSight

$3/month per user

No published plan breakdown. See the Amazon QuickSight review.

Looker

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Looker review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Amazon QuickSight if

  • You need spice in-memory engine.
  • You work on AWS.
  • You also want ml insights.
Amazon QuickSight review

Choose Looker if

  • You need lookml data modeling.
  • You work on Web, Cloud (Google Cloud Platform).
  • You also want api access.
Looker review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon QuickSight or Looker better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon QuickSight starts at $3/month per user and Looker at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon QuickSight or Looker?
Amazon QuickSight starts at $3/month per user and Looker at On request.
Does Amazon QuickSight or Looker run on more platforms?
Amazon QuickSight runs on AWS. Looker runs on Web, Cloud (Google Cloud Platform).
What is Amazon QuickSight best used for?
Amazon QuickSight is most often used for business intelligence dashboards and analytics, scalable embedded analytics for applications. Of those, business intelligence dashboards and analytics and scalable embedded analytics for applications are not what Looker is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon QuickSight do that Looker cannot?
Amazon QuickSight covers SPICE In-memory Engine, ML Insights, Natural Language Queries, Pay-per-session. Looker covers LookML Data Modeling, API Access, Version Control, Data Actions. Both handle Embedded Analytics, Redshift, Salesforce, Web support.
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Related pages

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