Pick Looker Studio if
marketers and analysts who already live in Google Analytics / Ads / Sheets.
Read the Looker Studio pageLooker Studio vs Metabase
Our take
Pick Looker Studio if you're marketers and analysts who already live in Google Analytics / Ads / Sheets. Pick Metabase if you're on a ops / data team who will self-host OSS at $0 (unlimited internal users, no embed SKU) while they ask a first Orders question, or start the Cloud Starter 14-day trial and land on $100/month (5 users included, then $6/user) when they do not want to run the stack. Skip Looker Studio if
Best for
Looker Studio A Google-connected report you start at $0
Metabase Charts you start at $100 Cloud or OSS $0
Free plan
Looker Studio $0 · self-service reports and viewers. Included as a no-cost additional Google service
Metabase $0 · aGPL. Unlimited internal users. No embed SKU. You run it
Lowest paid
Looker Studio Looker Studio Pro / Data Studio Pro $9/user/mo
Metabase Transforms $0.01
Next step up
Looker Studio
Metabase AI add-on $3.75
Runs where
Looker Studio
Metabase Local; you host it
Watch out
Looker Studio Pro is $9 per user (and Cloud also says per project)
Metabase Starter’s $100 includes 5 users
Last checked
Looker Studio 2026-10-28 · knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/getting-started/editions
Metabase 2026-10-22 · metabase.com/pricing
Which one, then?
Pick Metabase if
ops / data teams who will self-host OSS at $0 (unlimited internal users, no embed SKU) while they ask a first Orders question, or start the Cloud Starter 14-day trial and land on $100/month (5 users included, then $6/user) when they do not want to run the stack.
Read the Metabase page