Looker Studio vs Power BI: Which Dashboard Tool Is Right for You in 2026?

Choosing between Google Looker Studio and Microsoft Power BI is one of the most common decisions organisations face when building their reporting stack. Both tools produce beautiful, interactive dashboards — but they solve slightly different problems. At Data Studio Experts, we work with both platforms daily.

Pricing and Licensing

Looker Studio is free — every Google account gets unlimited reports, data sources and viewers. There is a Pro tier for enterprises, but the free version is remarkably full-featured. Power BI Desktop is also free, but sharing requires Pro licences at roughly $10 per user per month. For a 50-person team, this cost difference is significant. Learn about Looker Studio Pro vs Free.