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Spreadsheets · head to head

Looker vs Snowplow

Looker logo

Looker

Spreadsheets

Modern business intelligence platform by Google

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Snowplow logo

Snowplow

Business Intelligence

Behavioural data pipeline you run in your own cloud, relicensed away from Apache 2.0 in 2024

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Looker no pricing published on website; quote-based model requires contacting Google Cloud sales; Snowplow the core pipeline was relicensed from Apache 2.0 on 8 January 2024 to the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement and a Confluent-derived community licence, so organisations that adopted it as permissively licensed software must now review their entitlement, buy a licence, or migrate.
  • They diverge on capability: Looker covers LookML Data Modeling, Snowplow covers Own-cloud deployment.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Looker and Snowplow actually diverge.

Attributes where Looker and Snowplow differ
AttributeLookerSnowplow
Pricing modelUnknownquote
PlatformsWeb, Cloud (Google Cloud Platform)Linux, Web, Docker
CategorySpreadsheetsBusiness Intelligence
Founded2008Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (On request), 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 Looker

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

Only in Snowplow

  • Own-cloud deployment
  • Schema enforcement
  • Warehouse loading
  • Enrichment
  • Trackers
  • Streaming output
  • Data models
  • Snowplow BDP

What people use each for

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

Looker

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

Snowplow

  • A data team that needs full-fidelity event data in its own warehouse to build attribution or machine learning features rather than to populate dashboardsnot Looker
  • A regulated business that cannot send behavioural data to a third-party analytics vendor and must keep collection inside its own cloud accountnot Looker
  • A product organisation tired of silently malformed events, which wants a schema contract enforced at collection timenot Looker
  • A company modelling customer behaviour across web, mobile and server events that needs them in one consistent structurenot Looker

Where each one falls short

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

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

Snowplow

  • The core pipeline was relicensed from Apache 2.0 on 8 January 2024 to the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement and a Confluent-derived community licence, so organisations that adopted it as permissively licensed software must now review their entitlement, buy a licence, or migrate.
  • You run the pipeline in your own cloud, which means the infrastructure bill, the on-call rota and the upgrade work are yours, and at high event volume that operational cost frequently exceeds what a hosted product would have charged.
  • Schema enforcement is the main benefit and the main friction, because every new event requires a schema to be authored and versioned, and teams without discipline around that end up blocked on their own governance process.
  • There is no analysis layer: Snowplow delivers data to your warehouse and nothing else, so you still need modelling, a BI tool and the people to run them before anyone sees a number.
  • The licence change fractured the community, spawning an Apache 2.0 fork, which means community contributions and third-party tooling are now split across two codebases with uncertain long-term maintenance.

Pricing, plan by plan

Looker

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Looker review.

Snowplow

On request
  • Snowplow BDP$undefined/year
    • Commercial pricing quoted by event volume and deployment
    • Core pipeline components under the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement, not Apache 2.0
    • Trackers, analytics SDKs and Iglu SDKs remain Apache 2.0

Which should you pick?

Choose Looker if

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

Choose Snowplow if

  • You need own-cloud deployment.
  • You work on Linux, Web, Docker.
  • You also want schema enforcement.
Snowplow review

Questions people ask

Is Looker or Snowplow better?
Neither clearly leads. Looker starts at On request and Snowplow at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Looker or Snowplow?
Looker starts at On request and Snowplow at On request.
Does Looker or Snowplow run on more platforms?
Looker runs on Web, Cloud (Google Cloud Platform). Snowplow runs on Linux, Web, Docker.
What is Looker best used for?
Looker is most often used for business intelligence and interactive dashboards for data-driven decision making, embedded analytics for integrating bi capabilities into third-party applications. Of those, business intelligence and interactive dashboards for data-driven decision making and embedded analytics for integrating bi capabilities into third-party applications are not what Snowplow is typically brought in for.
What can Looker do that Snowplow cannot?
Looker covers LookML Data Modeling, Embedded Analytics, API Access, Version Control. Snowplow covers Own-cloud deployment, Schema enforcement, Warehouse loading, Enrichment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Snowplow: Is Snowplow still open source?

Not in the permissive sense. On 8 January 2024 the core pipeline moved from Apache 2.0 to the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement, with version 1.1 following in December 2024, alongside a community licence based on the Confluent Community Licence. Trackers and analytics SDKs remain Apache 2.0.

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
Snowplow: Can we still run it for free in production?

Free use of the relicensed core components is materially constrained and commercial use generally requires an agreement. Read the current licence text against your intended use rather than relying on older documentation.

Snowplow: Is there an Apache 2.0 alternative?

Yes, a fork called OpenSnowcat was created in response to the relicensing and continues under Apache 2.0.

Snowplow: What does Snowplow BDP cost?

Not published. It is quoted by event volume and deployment, and your own cloud infrastructure costs are separate and additional.

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