Geckoboard vs Data Studio
We give Geckoboard a 2.2 GPA and Data Studio a 3.0, out of 4.0. Data Studio grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Geckoboard
Live KPI dashboards for TV screens, Slack and shared links
Data Studio
Google's free report and dashboard builder, formerly Looker Studio
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAGeckoboardFair | 3.0GPAData StudioVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CGraded on a small agency's 5 dashboards, though it's really built for in-house teams. Essentials is $79 a month billed annually for 2 dashboards and 1 editor, and 3 more dashboards at $24 each make $151. That's in the dear half, and alerts need Performance at $319. | 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 | CNo free plan. There's a 14-day free trial, and the listing doesn't say whether it wants a card. | 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 | CLive dashboards from 90+ sources with goals, TV screens, sharing links and scheduled snapshots, plus alerts and drilldown on Performance. It does that well, but there's no white-labeling on any plan, so it isn't built for reporting to clients. | 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. Pairing a TV needs no special hardware and apps connect directly, but building the metrics on each dashboard takes some setting up. | 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, plus office TVs paired without special hardware. It connects to HubSpot, Salesforce, Zendesk, Aircall, Shopify, Google Analytics, Sheets and SQL databases, posts to Slack and Teams, and has a Datasets API and an MCP server. | 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 | live team numbers on an office TV | 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: Geckoboard and Data Studio. How we grade
Price against what you get
Geckoboard starts at $79 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Data Studio starts at $9 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Data Studio starts $70 a month lower. Of the other marketing reporting and call tracking tools on the chart, 6 score higher than Geckoboard 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
- Geckoboard starts at $79 per month, billed annually. Data Studio starts at $9 per user / month, per project.
- Data Studio has a free plan. Geckoboard does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Data Studio lists iOS and Android apps.
- Geckoboard also covers goals.
At a glance
| Geckoboard | Data Studio | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $79 per month, billed annually | $9 per user / month, per project |
| Free plan | None | 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 | 30-day free trial of Data Studio Pro with no limit on users |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Geckoboard | |
| Price read from | geckoboard.com | cloud.google.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Geckoboard
- Support and sales teams showing live numbers on an office TV
- Teams that want key metrics posted to Slack or Teams on a schedule
- Managers who need one shared view of a few KPIs
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
Geckoboard
- Essentials includes only 2 dashboards and 1 editor; extras cost $24 per dashboard and $20 per editor.
- Custom themes and a custom logo are a $40 add-on on Essentials, and there is no white-labeling on any plan.
- Shopify, Zendesk Support and Aircall have data volume limits on Essentials that rise on Performance.
- The page shows yearly-billed prices; the monthly-billed rates were not displayed. Prices exclude VAT.
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
Geckoboard
- 90+ data sources
- Direct connections to HubSpot, Salesforce, Zendesk, Aircall, Shopify, Google Analytics, Google Ads and more, plus Google Sheets, Excel and SQL databases.
- TV screens and loops
- Pair office screens without special hardware, manage them remotely and rotate several dashboards on a timer.
- Sharing and snapshots
- Share dashboards by link with unlimited viewers, or schedule snapshots to Slack, Microsoft Teams or email.
- Alerts and drilldown
- Performance adds threshold alerts in Slack or Teams, full-screen celebrations, and drilldown to the tickets, calls or deals behind a number.
- Goals and status indicators
- Set goals and status colors on metrics so a team can see at a glance whether a number is on track.
- Metrics MCP and Datasets API
- Ask about your metrics from Claude or ChatGPT through an MCP server, and push custom data in through the Datasets 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
Geckoboard
Essentials$79
per month for 2 dashboards and 1 editor, billed annually
Unlimited viewers and data sources, sharing links, TV screens and snapshots. Extra dashboards are $24 each and extra editors $20 each.
Performance$319
per month for 20 dashboards and 3 editors, billed annually
5 screens, higher data volumes, Slack and Teams alerts, drilldown to source data, templates, folders and custom themes.
EnterpriseCustom
Sold through sales: custom limits, SSO, audit logs, data import controls, a metric-building service and a dedicated support manager.
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
Geckoboard
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
Geckoboard's pricing page says annual billing saves 20% against paying monthly; Essentials is from $79 a month billed annually.
- Nonprofit
20% off for non-profits
Through its non-profits program, Geckoboard gives a 20% discount on any plan, which it says lasts forever.
Data Studio
No public discounts listed.
