The closest alternatives to Google Data Studio on Lister are Tableau, Looker and Qlik Sense, the companies that share the most rankings with it. Each is compared below on its stated best fit, starting price and Lister Score.
How to choose an alternative to Google Data Studio
Start from what you need it for. Where each fits best, as Lister records it:
- Tableau: Advanced enterprise data visualisation
- Looker: Data-driven companies seeking embedded analytics, strong governance, and a semantic layer approach
- Qlik Sense: Complex associative data discovery
- Sisense: Embedding analytics into products
- Apache Superset: Organisations seeking open-source BI with SQL flexibility and lower total cost of ownership
- Microsoft Power BI: Microsoft-centric organisations
- Microstrategy: Large enterprises with complex governance requirements and existing on-premise infrastructure
- Metabase: Small to medium teams prioritising quick deployment and simple self-service analytics without complex IT setup
- QlikView: Enterprises needing in-memory performance and associative analytics
- Plotly: Technical teams, data scientists, and developers building custom interactive visualisations and web applications
Closest to Google Data Studio by the rankings they share: Tableau (3 rankings), Looker (3 rankings) and Qlik Sense (3 rankings).
Free to start, by their stated pricing: Apache Superset, Metabase and Plotly.
Stated starting prices: Tableau ($75 per user per month) and Microsoft Power BI ($10 per user/month).
Custom or quote-based pricing: Looker, Qlik Sense, Sisense, Microstrategy and QlikView.
Each Lister Score is the alternative's score on the ranking named in its row, so compare scores within one ranking rather than across rankings. How the score is made.
Each alternative in brief
01
See and understand your data
#1 in Top 10 Business Intelligence Platforms: Tableau is a market-leading data visualisation and business intelligence platform acquired by Salesforce in 2019. It empowers users to connect to data, create interactive dashboards and share insights across organisations with ease.
PROS- Exceptional data visualisation capabilities
- Handles massive datasets with ease
CONS- Steep learning curve for beginners
- Can become expensive at scale
95.0
02
Data Platform for Every Decision
#3 in Top 10 Business Intelligence Platforms: Looker, acquired by Google Cloud in 2020, is a modern analytics platform built for embedded analytics and data applications. It enables organisations to explore data collaboratively through an intuitive interface backed by LookML modelling language.
PROS- Exceptional embedded analytics capabilities integrated into applications
- Strong data governance and centralised metric definitions via LookML
CONS- Pricing can exceed competitors for smaller deployments
- LookML has a steeper learning curve than competing platforms
90.3
03
Lead with data
#4 in Top 10 Business Intelligence Platforms: Qlik Sense is an enterprise-grade analytics platform featuring associative analytics that highlights connections in data. It supports both self-service and IT-governed analytics through intuitive visualisation and powerful data integration.
PROS- Unique associative data model
- Strong automated AI insights
CONS- Resource intensive setup
- High cost for enterprise deployment
88.0
04
Infuse analytics everywhere
#6 in Top 10 Business Intelligence Platforms: Sisense (now part of Perforce Software) is an embedded analytics platform enabling organisations to integrate analytics into their applications. It features in-chip processing technology, pre-built connectors and low-code development.
PROS- Great for embedded analytics
- Handles large volumes of disparate data
CONS- Can require dedicated IT resources
- Custom styling requires coding knowledge
83.3
05
Modern Data Visualisation Platform
#7 in Top 10 Data Visualization Tools: Apache Superset is an open-source, enterprise-ready visualisation and dashboarding platform that connects to diverse databases and data warehouses. It combines ease of use with powerful SQL querying and a rich component library for modern dashboards.
PROS- Completely open-source and free to deploy on your infrastructure
- Supports SQL queries directly, giving power users full flexibility
CONS- Less polished UI and fewer pre-built connectors than commercial tools
- Requires IT/technical resources for deployment and maintenance
81.0
06
Turn data into insights with Power BI
#2 in Top 10 Business Intelligence Platforms: Power BI is Microsoft's cloud-based business analytics tool that integrates seamlessly with Office 365 and Azure. It enables rapid insight generation through interactive dashboards, reports and embedded analytics.
PROS- Affordable pricing tiers
- Deep integration with Microsoft 365
CONS- Complex data models can slow performance
- Report sharing requires paid licenses for all viewers
92.7
07
Enterprise analytics and mobility
#8 in Top 10 Business Intelligence Tools: MicroStrategy delivers enterprise-grade analytics with advanced security, governance, and scalability. It supports complex metadata layers, managed self-service analytics, and integrated mobility for organisations with sophisticated BI requirements.
PROS- Enterprise-grade security, governance and scalability for large organisations
- Supports both on-premise and cloud deployment models providing flexibility
CONS- Complex implementation and higher cost of ownership compared to modern cloud-native platforms
- Steeper learning curve with less intuitive interface than newer competitors
78.7
08
Simple Analytics for Everyone
#9 in Top 10 Data Visualization Tools: Metabase is an open-source, lightweight analytics platform designed for ease of use. It requires minimal setup, connects to standard databases, and enables team members without SQL knowledge to explore data and build dashboards quickly.
PROS- Extremely simple to deploy and use; minimal technical setup required
- Free open-source version suitable for small to medium teams
CONS- Limited advanced features and customisation options for complex analytics
- Smaller user community and fewer third-party integrations than larger platforms
76.3
09
In-memory analytics and business intelligence platform
#4 in Top 10 Business Intelligence Tools: QlikView pioneered associative analytics, allowing users to explore data relationships intuitively. Its in-memory engine delivers rapid query performance and enables dynamic data discovery across connected datasets.
PROS- Fast in-memory analytics for large datasets
- Intuitive associative navigation and exploration capabilities
CONS- Higher licensing costs compared to newer competitors
- Less modern UI compared to Tableau or Power BI
88.0
10
Interactive Visualisation for Modern Analytics
#6 in Top 10 Data Visualization Tools: Plotly provides open-source and commercial tools for interactive, publication-quality visualisations. Its Plotly Dash framework enables building analytical web applications, while Plotly Chart Studio offers cloud-based dashboarding suitable for technical and non-technical users.
PROS- Powerful open-source library with extensive customisation and interactivity
- Dash framework excellent for building full analytical web applications
CONS- Requires programming knowledge; not ideal for non-technical business users
- Smaller ecosystem and community compared to enterprise BI tools
83.3