The verdict
If your team lives in Google Analytics, Google Ads and Sheets and you want dashboards without a software budget, I'd start with Looker Studio. It is free, and the weekly report becomes a link instead of a task.
If your data sits in several non-Google tools, or the joins are getting messy, add BigQuery. Land the data there, then report from it in Looker Studio. That is the usual route once connectors and blends stop being enough.
Do not buy a warehouse just to draw charts, and do not expect a dashboard tool to be your database. For a small company with a few thousand rows, a hosted Postgres database is simpler than BigQuery.
Side by side
| 8 points compared | ||
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $9/mo | |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | No |
| Ask questions in plain English | Yes | Yes |
| Blend data sources | Yes | Yes |
| Ready-made marketing connectors | Yes | Yes |
| SQL query editor | Yes | Yes |
| Links |
Plans and pricing
Google BigQuery
- Free usage tierFree
Looker Studio
- Data Studio (self-service)Free
- Data Studio Pro (project subscription)$9/mo/seat
Who each is for
Choose Google BigQuery if…
Pick BigQuery if the problem is the data itself. Numbers live in billing, the CRM and product analytics, and nobody can answer a cross-system question without an export. SQL gives you a way to ask anything across one store.
You need someone who can write SQL and own the model, and a plan for cost, since on-demand billing follows the bytes your queries scan. Partition large tables and set a maximum bytes billed on a query.
It also feeds the next step. Dashboards in Looker Studio, models and AI agents can all read from it, and Google offers a remote MCP server so assistants can run queries and read metadata. It is a poor fit when your data fits in a spreadsheet.
Choose Looker Studio if…
Pick Looker Studio if you are a lean marketing team working in Google Analytics, Google Ads and Sheets and you want shareable dashboards without paying for a separate BI tool. You connect a source, drag charts and filters onto a canvas and share the report with individuals, groups or as an embed.
Google says it connects to more than 1,400 data sources, partly through community connectors, and you can build your own. Outside Google you need a connector, or a sheet or BigQuery as a bridge, and each route is a step you maintain.
Expect a learning curve when you blend several sources. Google sells a paid Pro tier for team content management and support, so you can start free and add governance later.
Other options worth a look
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