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Head-to-head · Business Intelligence Tools

Looker vs Sisense

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 5 checks side by side
Higher score Looker #5 in Business Intelligence Tools 9.0/10 Pricing on request ✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Looker
Sisense #6 in Business Intelligence Tools 8.9/10 Pricing on request · 7-day trial Free trial✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Sisense

Looker leads on 0 checks, Sisense on 0, and 5 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 5 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreLooker · 9.0/10
  • Free trialonly Sisense

Looker scores higher on our rubric for business intelligence tools: 9.0 against 8.9 out of 10; our editors rank them #5 and #6.

On refresh frequency, Sisense gives you Real-time where Looker offers Hourly.

Looker is the better fit for governed analytics on Google Cloud. Sisense is the better fit for embedded analytics with many connectors.

  • Looker fits best

    Governed analytics on Google Cloud

  • Sisense fits best

    Embedded analytics with many connectors

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Side by side

Feature Looker 9.0/10 Visit ↗ Sisense 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.0 8.9
Ranking #5 in Business Intelligence Tools #6 in Business Intelligence Tools
Best for Governed analytics on Google Cloud Embedded analytics with many connectors
Pricing model Paid Paid
Starting price — —
Free plan — —
Free trial — 7 days
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms Web Web
Support Live chat, Phone, Tickets, Docs · 24/7 Email, Live chat, Tickets, Community, Docs
Compliance SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, SSO/SAML, 2FA SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, SSO/SAML
Integrations 6 integrations 400+ integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Looker 4/4 · Sisense 4/4
Row-level security ✓ ✓
Scheduled reports ✓ ✓
Embedded analytics ✓ ✓
Natural-language queries ✓ ✓
Specs
Deployment Hybrid Hybrid
Refresh frequency Hourly Real-time
Viewer seats Not checked yet Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • LookML creates a governed semantic layer for shared metrics.
  • Access filters support row-level data restrictions.
  • Embedding, APIs, scheduling, and Gemini-powered analytics extend its reach.
  • More than 400 connectors plus live warehouse connections
  • Embedded analytics through iframes and Compose SDK
  • Row-level security, RBAC, and scheduled reports
Cons
  • Pricing requires contacting sales and has no free plan.
  • The published plans limit included users to 10 Standard and 2 Developer Users.
  • Its governance depth may exceed the needs of simpler reporting teams.
  • Paid pricing requires contact sales
  • No free plan is available
  • Refresh frequency is manual
Our verdict

Looker is a business intelligence platform for organizations that need governed metrics, self-service exploration, dashboards, scheduled delivery, sharing, and embedded analytics. LookML provides the semantic modeling layer, while Explores…

Read the review →

Sisense is an analytics platform for product teams, developers, data teams, and business users. It combines data modeling, blending, dashboards, visualization, embedded analytics, and AI-assisted exploration. The platform supports web,…

Read the review →
  1. LookerBusiness Intelligence Tools 9.0Pricing on request
  2. SisenseBusiness Intelligence Tools 8.9Pricing on request · 7-day trial

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Looker — where it wins

    • LookML creates a governed semantic layer for shared metrics.
    • Access filters support row-level data restrictions.
    • Embedding, APIs, scheduling, and Gemini-powered analytics extend its reach.

    Where it doesn't

    • Pricing requires contacting sales and has no free plan.
    • The published plans limit included users to 10 Standard and 2 Developer Users.
    • Its governance depth may exceed the needs of simpler reporting teams.

  • Sisense — where it wins

    • More than 400 connectors plus live warehouse connections
    • Embedded analytics through iframes and Compose SDK
    • Row-level security, RBAC, and scheduled reports

    Where it doesn't

    • Paid pricing requires contact sales
    • No free plan is available
    • Refresh frequency is manual
  • Looker9.0/10 · Pricing on request

    A deep governed analytics platform for Google Cloud environments, with contact-sales pricing.

    Visit LookerFull verdict →
  • Sisense8.9/10 · Pricing on request · 7-day trial

    A broad embedded analytics platform, but contact-sales pricing and manual refresh limit general BI appeal.

    Visit SisenseFull verdict →

More comparisons

All business intelligence tools comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update