Looker Studio vs Power BI Pricing (2026)
Compare / Looker Studio vs Power BI
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Team size
25 seats

Looker Studio vs Power BI

Business Intelligence pricing comparison · 2026

Looker Studio has a free plan, then $9/user/mo, while Power BI has a free plan, then $14–$24/user/mo. These products use different pricing models (Per-seat subscription vs ), so a direct price comparison isn't meaningful — costs depend on usage volume and mix.

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See pricing on each vendor's site
Above-the-fold path — each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Looker pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Visit Power pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Compare
2 products · Business Intelligence
Side-by-side · live
Looker Studio
Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio) is Google's business intelligence and data vis
verified 4mo ago
$699 $2.0K
View pricing →
Power BI
Power BI costs $14 per user per month for Pro and $24 per user per month for Premium Per U
verified 1d ago
$699 $2.0K
View pricing →
Recorded annual contract medians
Power median is $1.3K less than Looker · different customer contracts; not a quote
Cheapest $699
Spread 65%
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Pro
$2.7K/yr
year 1 license · $9/seat
Free account
$0/yr
year 1 license · $0/seat
What buyers actually pay
median, annual
Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.
Median annual
$2.0K/yr
Vendr · n=11
↓ Lowest median
Median annual
$699/yr
Vendr · n=161
REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources 7 sourced facts
4 hidden-cost · 1 contract · Vendr median · 1 review platform
Last verified 4mo ago
Confidence High confidence
Sources 9 sourced facts
6 hidden-cost · 1 contract · Vendr median · 1 review platform
Last verified 1d ago
Confidence Medium confidence
REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker
Severity-ranked, sourced
2 documented
  • Training & Learning Curve
    5-10% of license costs
    3 sources
  • Third-Party Connector Costs for Non-Google Data Sources
    5-15% of license costs
    1 source
4 documented
  • Tier Upgrade Required for Report Sharing
    $14/user/month
    1 source
  • IT Infrastructure Costs for Large Datasets
    10-20% of license costs
    3 sources
  • Undocumented Data Limits Requiring Engineering Workarounds
    5-10% of license costs
    1 source
  • Recurring Training Costs from Monthly UI Changes
    5-10% of license costs
    1 source
REF · 04

Contract terms

The fine print, surfaced. Green = buyer-friendly. Each clause backed by a quoted source.

Looker
Power
Auto-renewal
Yes
Yes
Cancellation
at any time
✓ Monthly subscriptions can be cancelled at any time; annual commitments require 30-day notice before renewal
Commitment
✓ monthly billing cycle
✓ Monthly or annual; no minimum term for monthly billing
Price escalation
—
Microsoft has historically increased Power BI pricing; Pro was $9.99/month before increasing to $10/month. Enterprise Agreement customers can lock in pricing for 1-3 years.
Can downgrade
—
✓ Yes
Based on 2 verified sources (Vendr · TrustRadius · BBB)
REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
No public ratings yet
Best for
Individual users and small teams using Google ecosystem
Watch out
Limited built-in connectors for non-Google data sources
TrustRadius
8.5out of 5 (10)
Best for
Teams collaborating on dashboards
Watch out
No Power BI Desktop version available for Mac users
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Looker pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Visit Power pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
Business Intelligence

Looker Studio

Free plan; paid $9
/user/mo
2 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
Business Intelligence

Power BI

Free plan; paid $14–$24
/user/mo
4 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →
⚖

Different Pricing Models

Direct price comparison isn't meaningful here — Looker Studio uses Per-seat subscription pricing while Power BI uses pricing. Your actual cost will depend on usage volume, team size, or both. Here's each product in its native unit.

Per-seat subscription

Looker Studio

Free plan; paid $9/user/mo
See full Looker Studio pricing →
vs

Power BI

Free plan; paid $14–$24/user/mo
See full Power BI pricing →

Looker Studio and Power BI both operate in the business intelligence category. This page compares their list pricing.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan Looker Studio Power BI
Free Free /month Free /month
Pro $9 /user/month Custom
Power BI Premium Per User — Custom
Power BI Embedded — Custom

Cost at Scale

Total cost of ownership — licenses, implementation, and hidden costs included.

Looker Studio

5 scenarios
$0/month
Small Business Analytics
$0/year
Individual Analyst (Free)
$540/year
Small Team — 5 Users (Pro)
See all 5 scenarios →

Power BI

4 scenarios
$0/month (Power BI Free)
Solo Analyst (Free)
$140/month ($14/user/month × 10 users)
Small Team — 10 Users on Pro
$700/month ($14/user/month × 50 users)
Mid-Size Team — 50 Users on Pro
See all 4 scenarios →

Market Intelligence

Looker Studio

Median annual cost
$2,000
Based on
11 deals

Power BI

Median annual cost
$699
Based on
161 deals

Hidden Costs

Beyond the sticker price — what catches buyers off guard.

Looker Studio 2 hidden costs

low
Training & Learning Curve 5-10% of license costs
medium
Third-Party Connector Costs for Non-Google Data Sources 5-15% of license costs
See all Looker Studio hidden costs →

Power BI 4 hidden costs

high
Tier Upgrade Required for Report Sharing $14/user/month
medium
IT Infrastructure Costs for Large Datasets 10-20% of license costs
low
Undocumented Data Limits Requiring Engineering Workarounds 5-10% of license costs
low
Recurring Training Costs from Monthly UI Changes 5-10% of license costs
See all Power BI hidden costs →

Contract Terms

Term Looker Studio Power BI
Auto-renewal Yes Yes
Cancellation at any time Monthly subscriptions can be cancelled at any time; annual commitments require 30-day notice before renewal
Minimum commitment monthly billing cycle Monthly or annual; no minimum term for monthly billing
Price escalation — Microsoft has historically increased Power BI pricing; Pro was $9.99/month before increasing to $10/month. Enterprise Agreement customers can lock in pricing for 1-3 years.
Can downgrade — Yes

Continue researching

Looker Studio

Power BI

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