Microsoft Power BI vs Looker

MPMicrosoft Power BI9.4Visit Looker9.0Visit

Higher score MP Microsoft Power BI #1 in Business Intelligence Tools 9.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Power BI

vs

Looker #5 in Business Intelligence Tools 9.0/10 Pricing on request ✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Looker

• Microsoft Power BI fits best

  Microsoft-centric teams needing full BI coverage

• Looker fits best

  Governed analytics on Google Cloud

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Side by side

Feature	MPMicrosoft Power BI 9.4/10 Visit ↗	Looker 9.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.4	9.0
Ranking	#1 in Business Intelligence Tools	#5 in Business Intelligence Tools
Best for	Microsoft-centric teams needing full BI coverage	Governed analytics on Google Cloud
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	$14/user/mo	—
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted, Desktop, Mobile	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web, Windows, iOS, Android	Web
Support	Community, Docs	Live chat, Phone, Tickets, Docs · 24/7
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Microsoft Power BI 4/4 · Looker 4/4
Row-level security	✓	✓
Scheduled reports	✓	✓
Embedded analytics	✓	✓
Natural-language queries	✓	✓
Specs
Deployment	Hybrid	Hybrid
Refresh frequency	Hourly	Hourly
Viewer seats	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Connects to more than 100 data sources Includes modeling, transformation, security, refresh, and embedding Supports web, Windows, iOS, Android, and on-premises reporting	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.
Cons	Power BI Pro pricing starts at $14 per user per month, billed annually Premium Per User raises the price to $24 per user per month Embedded analytics uses variable pricing and requires a sales contact	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.
Our verdict	Microsoft Power BI is a business analytics platform for business users, report creators, administrators, and developers. It connects to more than 100 data sources and supports data transformation through Power Query Editor, semantic… Read the review →	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 →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Microsoft Power BI — where it wins

  • Connects to more than 100 data sources
  • Includes modeling, transformation, security, refresh, and embedding
  • Supports web, Windows, iOS, Android, and on-premises reporting

  Where it doesn't

  • Power BI Pro pricing starts at $14 per user per month, billed annually
  • Premium Per User raises the price to $24 per user per month
  • Embedded analytics uses variable pricing and requires a sales contact

• 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.

• MPMicrosoft Power BI9.4/10 · Free plan

  A broad BI platform for Microsoft-centric teams that need modeling, security, sharing, and embedding.

  Visit Power BIFull verdict →
• Looker9.0/10 · Pricing on request

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

  Visit LookerFull verdict →