Google Data Studio

Google Data Studio is Google's free reporting and dashboard tool. You connect data from Google Analytics, Google Ads, BigQuery, Google Sheets and many other sources, then build interactive reports that you can share like a Google Doc.

Is it Data Studio or Looker Studio?

Both names refer to the same product. Google renamed Data Studio to Looker Studio in October 2022, after it bought Looker. In April 2026 Google switched back to the Data Studio name. According to Google, all existing reports, data sources and users moved over without any action. Looker itself is still Google's separate enterprise BI platform.

Who is Data Studio for?

Data Studio suits marketers, agencies and analysts who want free dashboards, especially on top of Google data. It is a common choice for Google Analytics reports, paid search reports and client dashboards. Larger teams that need shared ownership, scheduling and enterprise security can upgrade to Data Studio Pro.

What are Data Studio's main features?

Report editor and dashboard customization

The drag-and-drop editor lets you build reports with many pages, charts, tables, images and text. You can choose a pixel-perfect or a responsive grid layout. Unlike the built-in reports in Google Analytics, you can combine several properties and sources in one report.

Data connectors

Google says Data Studio connects directly to more than 1,400 data sources. Google's own sources, such as Google Ads, Google Analytics, Sheets and BigQuery, have prebuilt connectors. More than 1,300 Community Connectors cover other databases and apps; many are built by third parties and some are paid, such as Supermetrics or Cervinodata.

Calculated fields and controls

You can create your own metrics with formulas, from simple ratios to logic statements. Controls let viewers change date ranges and filters without editing the report. This makes one report usable for several clients, products or regions.

Sharing, embedding and AI agents

Reports are shared with people or groups, edited together in real time, or embedded on a web page or intranet. Since 2026, Data Studio is also where business users can chat with BigQuery conversational agents and open data apps built in Colab.

How much does Data Studio cost?

Prices were checked on Google's Data Studio page on 1 November 2026.

Google notes that the Pro price per user varies with the length of the subscription. Pro is bought through the Google Cloud console or the Google Workspace Admin Console. Third-party connectors are billed separately by their makers.

What do users say about Data Studio?

On G2, where it is still listed as Looker Studio, the tool holds about 4.4 out of 5 from more than 450 reviews. Reviewers most often praise its ease of use, quick interactive dashboards, the free tier and how well it works with other Google products. The most common complaint is slow performance with large datasets. Some reviewers also report that third-party connectors break.

When should you choose an alternative?

• You need ready-made marketing dashboards with alerts and goals: compare Databox or Klipfolio.
• You want all your ad and marketing data cleaned and stored before reporting: look at Funnel or Supermetrics.
• You need governed, company-wide BI with a semantic model: Google's own Looker, or another enterprise BI tool, fits better.
• You are moving from Universal Analytics reports: read our guide to Google Analytics 4.