Databox vs Data Studio
We give Databox a 2.4 GPA and Data Studio a 3.0, out of 4.0. Databox grades higher on features. Data Studio grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Databox
Reporting dashboards with an AI analyst over 130+ connected sources
Data Studio
Google's free report and dashboard builder, formerly Looker Studio
How we grade them
| 2.4GPADataboxFair | 3.0GPAData StudioVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CGraded on a small agency reporting on 5 clients. Agency is $79 a month billed annually for 4 client accounts, and the fifth needs a $20 account pack, so $99 a month. That's the middle of the road for this category, and white-labeling would add $200 more. | AFree for creators and viewers: the report editor, Google connectors, 1,300+ community connectors, sharing and embedding. A small agency can report on 5 clients for $0. Pro, at $9 per user per project a month, adds team workspaces, more scheduling, Gemini and support. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free plan that never runs out: 1 user, 3 data sources, 1 dashboard or report and 50 AI credits a month, with daily syncs. Three GA4 properties use up all three sources, so you'll hit the wall fast. Every paid plan has a 14-day trial too. | AData Studio itself costs nothing, and the free version is the real product: the editor, connectors, sharing, editing together live and embedding, with no cap a normal person would reach. There's a 30-day trial of Pro as well. |
| Features | B130+ integrations, plus sheets, SQL databases and REST APIs on paid plans, dashboards and reports, goals, anomaly alerts, an AI analyst and agency accounts with cross-client reporting. It covers the whole job; what the cheap plans lack is volume, not features. | CA flexible drag-and-drop report builder with 1,400+ sources and embedding. But it's a general report tool, not an agency one: most non-Google sources, such as other ad platforms, come through third-party community connectors, and team workspaces need Pro. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. You connect each app account as a source and build from ready-made metrics, which is quick enough, but the source caps take some planning. | CNo rating on record. Pulling in GA4 with a Google account is quick, but you build every report yourself on the canvas, and that takes some learning. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with no desktop or phone app. It connects to GA4, HubSpot, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Shopify, Salesforce and CallRail among 130+, and paid plans add an API and an MCP server for AI tools. | BWeb, plus Google's Looker app on iPhone and Android, though it only opens Data Studio content for Pro users. It connects to Google Analytics, Ads, Sheets, BigQuery, Excel, MySQL, PostgreSQL and Redshift, and reports embed on any web page. |
| Best for | dashboards with an AI analyst built in | free reports on Google Analytics and Ads data |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Databox and Data Studio. How we grade
Price against what you get
Databox starts at $71 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Data Studio starts at $9 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Databox scores higher, and starts $62 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other marketing reporting and call tracking tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Databox for less, and none scores higher than Data Studio for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Databox starts at $71 per month, billed annually ($89 billed monthly). Data Studio starts at $9 per user / month, per project.
- Only Data Studio lists iOS and Android apps.
- Databox also covers goals.
At a glance
| Databox | Data Studio | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $71 per month, billed annually ($89 billed monthly) | $9 per user / month, per project |
| Free plan | 1 user, 3 data sources, 1 dashboard or report, 10 custom metrics, 50 AI credits a month and daily data syncs. | Data Studio itself costs nothing for creators and viewers: the report editor, connectors to Google products and 1,300+ community connectors, sharing, embedding and live collaboration. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of any paid plan | 30-day free trial of Data Studio Pro with no limit on users |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Databox, Inc. | |
| Price read from | databox.com | cloud.google.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Databox
- Small teams that want marketing, sales and finance numbers on one screen
- Agencies sending scheduled reports to a handful of clients
- People who want to ask questions about their metrics in plain language
Data Studio
- Marketers building free reports on Google Analytics and Google Ads data
- Teams whose data already lives in Google Sheets or BigQuery
- Anyone who needs to embed a live report on a website
Worth knowing
Databox
- Plans are capped by data sources, and each account or property counts as one: three GA4 properties use three of the Free plan's three sources.
- Agency covers 4 client accounts and 20 sources; each extra pack of 1 account, 5 sources and 50 AI credits costs $20 a month billed annually ($25 monthly).
- White-labeling is a $200-a-month add-on ($250 billed monthly), and 15-minute syncs cost $14 a month per source; standard syncs are hourly or daily.
- The Free plan has no custom data integrations, so spreadsheets, databases and APIs need a paid plan.
Data Studio
- Pro costs $9 per user per project a month; Google says the per-user price varies with the length of the subscription.
- Technical support needs both a Pro subscription and a separate Google Cloud support plan.
- The mobile app is Google's Looker app and works with Data Studio content only for Pro users.
- Most non-Google sources, such as other ad platforms, connect through community connectors built by third parties.
Key features
Databox
- 130+ integrations and databases
- Pulls data from tools such as GA4, HubSpot, Google Ads and Shopify, and from paid plans also Google Sheets, Excel, SQL databases and most REST APIs.
- Dashboards and reports
- Build dashboards from thousands of ready-made metrics or your own, and share them by link with people who have no login.
- Genie AI analyst
- Ask questions about your numbers in plain language. Each question draws on a monthly pool of AI credits, from 50 on Free to 1,000 on Team Scale.
- Goals and anomaly detection
- Set targets against any metric and get alerts when a number moves outside its usual range.
- Agency account management
- The Agency plan groups each client as an account, with bulk actions, custom templates and reporting across all clients at once.
- MCP server and API
- From the Analyst plan, AI tools can read your Databox metrics through an MCP server, and data can be pushed in through the API.
Data Studio
- Drag-and-drop report editor
- Build multi-page interactive reports with charts, filters, images and text on a pixel-exact or snap-to-grid canvas.
- 1,400+ data sources
- Built-in connectors for Google Analytics, Google Ads, Sheets and BigQuery, plus databases and over 1,300 community connectors built by others.
- Sharing and embedding
- Share reports with people or groups, edit them together in real time, or embed them on any web page.
- Team workspaces (Pro)
- Pro keeps reports in shared workspaces owned by the organization, so they keep working when their creator leaves.
- Scheduled delivery and alerts (Pro)
- Pro allows up to 200 delivery schedules per report, delivery to Google Chat, and alerts when a chart meets set conditions.
- Gemini and conversational analytics
- Pro users can ask questions about their data in plain language, write calculated fields from prompts and send content to Slides.
Plans
Databox
Free$0
1 user, 3 data sources, 1 dashboard or report, 50 AI credits a month and daily syncs.
Analyst$71
per month, billed annually ($89 billed monthly)
1 user, 5 data sources, 150 AI credits, hourly syncs, custom integrations from sheets and databases, API access and the MCP server.
Team Core$199
per month for up to 3 users, billed annually ($249 billed monthly)
10 data sources and 500 AI credits a month, with routines, custom skills, sharing and notifications.
Team Scale$319
per month for up to 10 users, billed annually ($399 billed monthly)
Team Core with 30 data sources and 1,000 AI credits a month.
Agency$79
per month for up to 4 accounts, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
For agencies: 4 client accounts, unlimited users, 20 data sources, 300 AI credits and cross-account reporting. Each extra account pack is $20 a month.
CustomCustom
Sold through sales: unlimited users, more sources and credits, and Databox staff setting up the data and AI for you.
Data Studio
Data Studio$0
Self-service reports and dashboards at no charge, with built-in Google connectors, community connectors, sharing and embedding.
Data Studio Pro$9
per user / month, per project
Content owned by a Google Cloud project, team workspaces, up to 200 delivery schedules per report, Gemini assistance, the mobile app and Cloud support.
Ways to pay less
Databox
- Annual discount
20% off with annual billing
Databox takes 20% off for yearly billing: Analyst is $71 a month billed annually instead of $89, and Team Core $199 instead of $249.
Data Studio
No public discounts listed.
