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Business Intelligence · head to head

Amazon QuickSight vs Looker

Amazon QuickSight logo

Amazon QuickSight

Business Intelligence

Scalable, serverless BI by AWS

From
$3/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Looker logo

Looker

Spreadsheets

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 no pricing published on website; quote-based model requires contacting Google Cloud sales
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon QuickSight covers SPICE In-memory Engine, Looker covers LookML Data Modeling.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

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/monthOn request
Pricing modelper-userUnknown
PlatformsAWSWeb, Cloud (Google Cloud Platform)
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceSpreadsheets
Founded20062008

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

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 intelligencenot Looker
  • Dashboard creationnot Looker
  • Data visualizationnot 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

  • No pricing published on website; quote-based model requires contacting Google Cloud sales
  • Pricing typically based on user count, deployment type, and feature requirements with no transparency

Pricing, plan by plan

Amazon QuickSight

$3/month
  • Reader$3/month
    • Dashboard viewing only
  • Reader Pro$20/month
    • Enhanced reader capabilities
  • Author$24/month
    • Dashboard creation and editing
  • Author Pro$40/month
    • Advanced authoring features

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 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 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, dashboard creation, data visualization. Of those, business intelligence and dashboard creation 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.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amazon QuickSight: What does Amazon QuickSight cost per user?

QuickSight pricing varies by user role. Readers start at $3/month, Reader Pro at $20/month, Authors at $24/month, and Author Pro at $40/month. All prices are per user per month.

Source
Looker: How much does Looker cost?

Looker does not publish pricing on its website. The platform uses a custom quote model where organizations contact Google Cloud sales for personalized pricing. Pricing is typically based on factors including user count, deployment type (cloud-hosted versus self-hosted), and required feature set.

Source
Amazon QuickSight: Does QuickSight charge an infrastructure fee?

Yes, QuickSight charges an infrastructure fee of $250/month per account if the account has at least one Pro user, has Q&A enabled via topics, or has dashboard Q&A enabled.

Source
Looker: What are Looker's pricing tiers?

Looker offers subscription-based tiers typically including Standard with core BI capabilities, Advanced with enhanced features and integrations, and Premium with enterprise-grade features. Specific pricing and feature distinctions require contacting Google Cloud sales.

Source
Amazon QuickSight: What are QuickSight's session capacity pricing options?

Session capacity pricing starts at $250/month for 500 sessions. Annual plans range from $20,000/year for 50,000 sessions to $258,000/year for 1,600,000 sessions, with volume discounts reducing unit costs from $0.50 to $0.16 per additional session.

Source
Amazon QuickSight: How much does additional SPICE storage cost?

Additional SPICE storage beyond the included 10 GB costs $0.38 per GB per month. Authors receive 10 GB included, but Readers do not.

Source
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