The Data Studio Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Data Studio in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Data Studio
The Insider’s Guide
Google's free report and dashboard builder, formerly Looker Studio
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among marketing reporting and call tracking tools, read from Data Studio’s own pages.
Made by Google · checked Oct 18, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Data Studio’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Data Studio’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 18, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
3.0
GPA, above 13 of the 13 other marketing reporting and call tracking tools we grade
Data Studio, Google's free reporting dashboard tool and the product previously called Looker Studio, turns data from Google Analytics, Google Ads, Sheets, BigQuery and other sources into shareable, interactive reports. It is built for individuals and teams in general rather than agencies in particular. Data Studio Pro is the paid version, adding organization-owned content, team workspaces, more scheduling and Google Cloud support.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Data Studio, taken from its own pages and our grades.
- 1
Best for free reports on Google Analytics and Ads data
Just know it's a report builder, not an agency tool, and most non-Google sources come in through connectors built by third parties.
- 2
Paid plans start at $9 a month for each person
As its pricing page puts it: $9 per user / month, per project.
- 3
There is a free plan
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.
- 4
It runs on 3 platforms
Web, iOS and Android.
- 5
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.
- 6
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.
- 7
Sharing and embedding
Share reports with people or groups, edit them together in real time, or embed them on any web page.
- 8
A 3.0 GPA, above 13 of 13
That is against the other marketing reporting and call tracking tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
The plain part of Data Studio you could make: reports. What surrounds it you could not. The 5 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
Data Studio at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $9 per user / month, per project
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- 30-day free trial of Data Studio Pro with no limit on users
- Runs on
- Web, iOS, Android
- Made by
- Category
- Marketing Reports & Call Tracking
- Our grade
- 3.0 GPA, very good
The report card
Best for free reports on Google Analytics and Ads data
Data Studio, the product Google used to call Looker Studio, builds shareable, interactive reports from Google Analytics, Google Ads, Sheets, BigQuery and more, and the whole editor is free. It's the obvious place to start. Just know it's a report builder, not an agency tool, and most non-Google sources come in through connectors built by third parties.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A | Free 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 | A | Data 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 | C | A 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 | C | No 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 | B | Web, 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. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Data Studio is for
- Great if your numbers mostly live in Google Analytics, Google Ads and Sheets
- Handy when you need a live report embedded on a website
- Good for freelancers who want client reports without a monthly bill
Who it is not for
- Skip it if most of your data sits in non-Google ad platforms, which need third-party connectors
- Not for you if you want help from Google, which needs Pro and a separate Cloud support plan
Good to know
Good for
- 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
- 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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$9
A month to start, for each person. There is a free plan too
Data Studio has a free plan. Paid plans start at $9 per user / month, per project.
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.
The free plan
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.
Trying it first
30-day free trial of Data Studio Pro with no limit on users
Read from cloud.google.com on Oct 18, 2026.
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
3
Places it runs: Web, iOS and Android
Google's free report and dashboard builder, formerly Looker Studio. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: AI features, real-time collaboration, reports, dashboards.
Web, plus Google's Looker app on iPhone and Android, though it only opens Data Studio content for Pro users.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
- Google Analytics
- Google Ads
- Google Sheets
- BigQuery
- Microsoft Excel
- MySQL
- PostgreSQL
- Amazon Redshift
Data Studio is made by Google.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
13/13
Other marketing reporting and call tracking tools it is graded above
Data Studio's GPA of 3.0 is higher than 13 of the 13 other marketing reporting and call tracking tools we grade.
It stands best on value for money (A, above 13 of 13) and worst on features (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $9 a month for each person, against a middle price of $63.50 for the category: 0 of the 13 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4, and no tool on the category's chart scores higher without costing more.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 14 marketing reporting and call tracking tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Data Studio’s own letter is outlined.
- AValue for moneyAbove 13 of 13
- AFree plan and trialAbove 13 of 13
- CFeaturesAbove 0 of 13
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 13
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 13
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 14 marketing reporting and call tracking tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Data Studio is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
The plain part of Data Studio you could make: reports. What surrounds it you could not. The 5 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 3.0 is higher than 13 of the 13 other marketing reporting and call tracking tools we grade. It costs $108 a year.
What you could make
- Reports: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- Connections that pull numbers from dozens of other services.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- Several people working in it at the same moment.
- It plugs into other products, Google Analytics, Google Ads and Google Sheets among them.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
What this rests on. Data Studio’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Databox, Klipfolio, Geckoboard, DashThis and AgencyAnalytics
The 5 tools Data Studio is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.4GPA
Databox
Free plan · from $71/mo
Reporting dashboards with an AI analyst over 130+ connected sources.
- Only Data Studio lists iOS and Android apps.
- Databox also covers goals.
- 2.4GPA
Klipfolio
Free trial · from $120/mo
Custom-built business dashboards from 130+ sources and APIs.
- Data Studio has a free plan. Klipfolio does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Data Studio lists iOS and Android apps.
- Klipfolio also covers spreadsheets.
- 2.2GPA
Geckoboard
Free trial · from $79/mo
Live KPI dashboards for TV screens, Slack and shared links.
- 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.
- 2.2GPA
DashThis
Free trial · from $44/mo
White-labeled marketing report dashboards priced by dashboard.
- Data Studio has a free plan. DashThis does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Data Studio lists iOS and Android apps.
- 2.6GPA
AgencyAnalytics
Free trial · from $20/mo
White-labeled client reporting dashboards for marketing agencies.
- Data Studio has a free plan. AgencyAnalytics does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Data Studio lists iOS and Android apps.
- AgencyAnalytics also covers rank tracking and backlink analysis.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
13
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Data Studio free?
Data Studio has a free plan. 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.
How much does Data Studio cost?
Data Studio lists 2 plans. Data Studio: $0.
What platforms does Data Studio work on?
Data Studio is available on Web, iOS and Android.
Does Data Studio have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Data Studio is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Data Studio have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Data Studio is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Data Studio open source?
Data Studio is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
What does Data Studio integrate with?
Data Studio's listing names Google Analytics, Google Ads, Google Sheets, BigQuery, Microsoft Excel, MySQL, PostgreSQL and Amazon Redshift.
Does Data Studio have a free trial?
Yes. 30-day free trial of Data Studio Pro with no limit on users.
Who makes Data Studio?
Data Studio is made by Google.
What are the alternatives to Data Studio?
The closest alternatives to Data Studio in our directory are Databox, Klipfolio, Geckoboard, DashThis and AgencyAnalytics.
How does Data Studio compare with other marketing reporting and call tracking tools?
Data Studio's GPA of 3.0 is higher than 13 of the 13 other marketing reporting and call tracking tools we grade.
Is Data Studio good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Data Studio A for value for money. Its paid plans start at $9 a month for each person, against a middle price of $63.50 for the category: 0 of the 13 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Data Studio?
The plain part of Data Studio you could make: reports. What surrounds it you could not.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Data Studio’s own pages on Oct 18, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 18, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Google's own pages on 18 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Google. Prices change, so check datastudio.google.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
2,281
Tools graded, in 73 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
2,281
tools graded
73
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Data Studio, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/looker-studio
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Data Studio: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 18, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/looker-studio
Know someone choosing between marketing reporting and call tracking tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/looker-studio/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded marketing reporting and call tracking tools after Data Studio, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Marketing Reports & Call Tracking Insider's GuideEvery one of the 14 marketing reporting and call tracking tools we grade, compared
- AgencyAnalytics Insider's GuideWhite-labeled client reporting dashboards for marketing agencies2.6 GPA
- CallRail Insider's GuideCall tracking and attribution that ties phone leads to campaigns2.4 GPA
- Databox Insider's GuideReporting dashboards with an AI analyst over 130+ connected sources2.4 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Data Studio’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. ToolGPA uses affiliate links and may earn a commission from them, and it works with sponsors; anything paid for is labelled, and no one can pay for a grade. Data Studio is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Google. Prices and plans change: check datastudio.google.com before you buy.