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Databases · head to head

Amazon Redshift vs Looker

Amazon Redshift logo

Amazon Redshift

Databases

Fast, scalable cloud data warehouse from AWS

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Looker logo

Looker

Spreadsheets

Modern business intelligence platform by Google

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Amazon Redshift has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Amazon Redshift on-demand pricing runs up to 75% higher than competitors like Snowflake and BigQuery; Looker no pricing published on website; quote-based model requires contacting Google Cloud sales
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon Redshift covers Columnar Storage, 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 Redshift and Looker actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon Redshift and Looker differ
AttributeAmazon RedshiftLooker
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, Cloud (Google Cloud Platform)
CategoryDatabasesSpreadsheets
Founded20122008

Identical on both: 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 Redshift

  • Columnar Storage
  • Massively Parallel
  • Machine Learning
  • AQUA Acceleration
  • Data Sharing
  • Federated Query
  • Concurrency Scaling
  • S3

Only in Looker

  • LookML Data Modeling
  • Embedded Analytics
  • API Access
  • Version Control
  • Data Actions
  • BigQuery
  • Snowflake
  • Redshift

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Amazon Redshift

  • Business intelligencenot Looker
  • Data warehousingnot Looker
  • Real-time analyticsnot Looker
  • Reportingnot Looker
  • Machine learningnot Looker

Looker

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

Where each one falls short

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

Amazon Redshift

  • On-demand pricing runs up to 75% higher than competitors like Snowflake and BigQuery
  • Requires significant manual tuning including managing concurrency scaling costs and configuring Workload Management queues
  • Performance degrades without proper design of distribution keys and sort keys
  • Limited elastic resize options - can only halve or double current cluster size
  • AWS lock-in makes it unsuitable for multi-cloud architectures

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 Redshift

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • 750 DC2.Large hours
    • 2 months free
    • Full features
  • On-Demand$0.25/hour
    • Pay per node hour
    • All features
    • Standard support

Looker

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Looker review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Amazon Redshift if

  • You need columnar storage.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want massively parallel.
Amazon Redshift review

Choose Looker if

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

Questions people ask

Is Amazon Redshift or Looker better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon Redshift starts at Free and Looker at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon Redshift or Looker?
Amazon Redshift has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Amazon Redshift and On request for Looker.
Does Amazon Redshift or Looker run on more platforms?
Amazon Redshift runs on Web. Looker runs on Web, Cloud (Google Cloud Platform).
Can I use Amazon Redshift for free?
Yes. Amazon Redshift has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Looker starts at On request.
What is Amazon Redshift best used for?
Amazon Redshift is most often used for business intelligence, data warehousing, real-time analytics, reporting. Of those, business intelligence and data warehousing are not what Looker is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon Redshift do that Looker cannot?
Amazon Redshift covers Columnar Storage, Massively Parallel, Machine Learning, AQUA Acceleration. Looker covers LookML Data Modeling, Embedded Analytics, API Access, Version Control. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amazon Redshift: What deployment options does Amazon Redshift offer?

Redshift offers Provisioned Cluster (with RA3 or DC2 nodes) and Serverless options to match varying workloads. The new Redshift RG instance family, powered by Graviton, delivers 2.4x faster performance than RA3 at 30% lower cost per vCPU.

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 Redshift: What does Amazon Redshift cost?

Provisioned cluster pricing: RA3 on-demand starts at $1.086/hour for ra3.xlplus. Serverless costs approximately $0.375 per RPU-hour with 4-RPU minimum (roughly $1.50/hour active workload). Managed storage costs $0.024/GB-month.

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 Redshift: Does Redshift work with data lakes?

Yes, Redshift's integrated data lake query engine processes workloads on Apache Iceberg tables and other supported formats in Amazon S3, allowing you to run SQL analytics across your data warehouse and data lake from the same engine.

Source
Amazon Redshift: Is there a free tier for Amazon Redshift?

AWS offers a free trial with $300 USD in Serverless credits valid for 90 days, but Redshift is not part of the permanent AWS Free Tier.

Source
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