looker-vs-tableau-desktop

Looker and Tableau Desktop are Business Intelligence tools designed to help users perform data analysis and create visualizations to display their findings. Both Business Intelligence tools are used by businesses of all sizes, though large enterprises prefer Tableau Desktop while Looker is most popular with mid-sized businesses.

Tableau Desktop offers strong visualization features that allow data analysts to create sophisticated visualizations. Looker has robust analytics features that enable non-technical users to create simple queries, while technical staff can create complex, customized queries.

Features

Looker and Tableau Desktop both provide essential business intelligence features such as data visualization and analysis, but they also both have some standout features.

Looker includes a library of analytics code blocks that allow new users to perform analysis on stored data easily. These code blocks are entirely customizable as well, so advanced users can create custom queries. Looker also offers many built-in integrations and has a flexible system for pulling in data from applications that don’t have a native integration. As a result, Looker can collect data from many sources without issue.

Tableau Desktop includes OLAP compatibility, allowing for web-based analytics and data collection. Additionally, Tableau Desktop has APIs for many big data analytics tools, allowing for visualizations based on data analysis performed by big data software. Lastly, Tableau has robust visualization features that help users to create simple visualizations, or use advanced features to create complex, interactive visualizations.

Limitations

Though Looker and Tableau Desktop both have comprehensive features for business intelligence, they also have a few important limitations.

Looker doesn’t have any support for OLAP, which makes web-based analytics more difficult. Companies that need to make use of OLAP may not be able to use Looker. Additionally, Looker doesn’t offer as many tools or integrations for big data analysis. Lastly, though Looker offers visualization features, they are not as sophisticated as the advanced visualizations that Tableau Desktop provides.

Tableau Desktop doesn’t offer analytics tools that are as straightforward as Lookers analytics blocks. Performing analytics using Tableau requires technical staff to write queries using Tableau Desktop’s visual query language. Tableau Desktop’s tools for third-party data collection are not as robust as Looker’s multiple integrations and tools for third-party data collection.

Pricing

Looker pricing depends on the size and user needs of the business. Quotes from Looker can include or remove features as needed by the organization.

Tableau Desktop pricing depends on the number of licenses purchased. The Viewer license costs $12.00 per month per user and allows for data viewing and interaction. The Explorer package costs $35.00 per month per user and allows for data querying and content sharing. Lastly, the Creator package costs $70.00 per month per user and allows for the creation of sophisticated visualization.