Spreadsheet & Data · head to head
Looker vs Tableau
Looker
Spreadsheet & Data
Modern business intelligence platform by Google
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
Tableau
Spreadsheet & Data
Visual analytics platform for business intelligence
- From
- $70/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Looker requires annual commitment with no month-to-month billing option; Tableau listed on UK G-Cloud at £9.47 per device per month for the Salesforce Tableau Platform edition, via reseller XMA Limited
- They diverge on capability: Looker covers LookML Data Modeling, Tableau covers Interactive Dashboards.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Looker and Tableau actually diverge.
Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Spreadsheet & Data).
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
- Redshift
- PostgreSQL
Only in Tableau
- Interactive Dashboards
- Data Blending
- Real-time Analytics
- Advanced Visualizations
- Mobile Support
- SAP
- Oracle
- AWS
Both cover
- Snowflake
- Salesforce
- Web support
- Mobile support
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 Tableau
- Embedded analytics for integrating BI capabilities into third-party applicationsnot Tableau
Tableau
- Self-service analyticsnot Looker
- Data explorationnot Looker
- Ad-hoc reportingnot Looker
- Collaborative analysisnot Looker
- Embedded analyticsnot Looker
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
Tableau
- Listed on UK G-Cloud at £9.47 per device per month for the Salesforce Tableau Platform edition, via reseller XMA Limited
Pricing, plan by plan
Looker
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Looker review.
Tableau
$70/month- Creator$70/month
- Full authoring capabilities
- Prep Builder
- Data Management
- Explorer$42/month
- Web editing
- Self-service analytics
- Viewer$15/month
- View and interact with dashboards
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.
Choose Tableau if
- You need interactive dashboards.
- You work on Web, Desktop, Mobile.
- You also want data blending.
Questions people ask
- Is Looker or Tableau better?
- Neither clearly leads. Looker starts at On request and Tableau at $70/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Looker or Tableau?
- Looker starts at On request and Tableau at $70/month.
- Does Looker or Tableau run on more platforms?
- Looker runs on Web, Cloud (Google Cloud Platform). Tableau runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile.
- 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 Tableau is typically brought in for.
- What can Looker do that Tableau cannot?
- Looker covers LookML Data Modeling, Embedded Analytics, API Access, Version Control. Tableau covers Interactive Dashboards, Data Blending, Real-time Analytics, Advanced Visualizations. Both handle Snowflake, Salesforce, Web support, Mobile support.