Looker vs Metabase vs Redash

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Looker

615
643
+ 1
9
Metabase

902
1.2K
+ 1
271
Redash

347
502
+ 1
12

Looker vs Metabase vs Redash: What are the differences?

Introduction: In the realm of data visualization and analytics tools, Looker, Metabase, and Redash are popular choices among businesses and organizations. Each platform offers unique features and capabilities that cater to specific needs and requirements.

  1. Scalability and Performance: Looker is well-known for its scalability and performance, making it suitable for larger enterprises with complex data needs. Metabase and Redash, on the other hand, may not offer the same level of scalability and performance as Looker, particularly when dealing with large datasets and intricate analytical queries.

  2. Ease of Use and User Interface: Metabase prides itself on its user-friendly interface, making it easier for non-technical users to create and interpret visualizations. Looker also offers a relatively intuitive interface, but it may not be as straightforward as Metabase for beginners. Redash, while powerful, may have a steeper learning curve due to its complexity.

  3. Customization and Flexibility: Looker stands out for its robust customization options, allowing users to create detailed and tailored reports and dashboards. Metabase and Redash offer customization to some extent, but they may not provide the same level of flexibility and advanced features as Looker, especially when it comes to complex data modeling and analytics.

  4. Collaboration and Sharing Capabilities: Metabase emphasizes collaboration, enabling teams to share and discuss insights seamlessly within the platform. Looker also offers collaboration features, but Metabase may have a slight edge in terms of real-time interaction and feedback among team members. Redash, while functional for sharing visualizations, may lack certain collaborative features found in Metabase and Looker.

  5. Cost and Pricing Structure: Looker is known for its premium pricing, targeting larger enterprises with substantial budgets for data analytics tools. Metabase, on the other hand, is open-source and free to use, making it a cost-effective option for smaller businesses and startups. Redash falls in between, offering a balance between affordability and functionality with its open-source version and paid plans.

  6. Data Source Connectivity: Looker supports a wide range of data sources, allowing users to connect to diverse databases and applications seamlessly. Metabase and Redash also offer multiple data source connections, but Looker may have a more extensive library of integrations and connectors, catering to a broader spectrum of data environments.

In Summary, while Looker excels in scalability and performance, Metabase offers a user-friendly interface, and Redash strikes a balance between affordability and functionality, making each tool suitable for different organizational needs and preferences.

Advice on Looker, Metabase, and Redash
Mohan Ramanujam
Needs advice
on
AmplitudeAmplitudeData StudioData Studio
and
LookerLooker

We are a consumer mobile app IOS/Android startup. The app is instrumented with branch and Firebase. We use Google BigQuery. We are looking at tools that can support engagement and cohort analysis at an early stage price which we can grow with. Data Studio is the default but it would seem Looker provides more power. We don't have much insight into Amplitude other than the fact it is a popular PM tool. Please provide some insight.

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Replies (1)
Ruben Lozano
Growth Marketing Specialist at Ruben Lozano Me · | 4 upvotes · 24.7K views

Hello Mohan,

To be honest, I don't have experience working with analytics on apps and also I don't have experience with Looker, so I cannot say I will suggest that one. I know that Amplitude is a known product analytics tool for apps. I know that in the #GoPractice course, Oleg (CEO GoPractice) was using Amplitude in all his experience with mobile game apps, so I guess apps could work well too. I have experience using Amplitude for SaaS solutions and it is great to create all kinds of analytics for the product. Then Google Datastudio is the classic solution to create dashboards and reports connect it with any data source. Also, some people, instead of Amplitude are using the new Google Analytics, @GoogleAnalytics #GA4 or Mixpanel. However, my suggestion is to use Amplitude and if there are reports that you cannot answer with Amplitude, use Google Data Studio.

I hope that could help you.

Cheers,

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Decisions about Looker, Metabase, and Redash

Very easy-to-use UI. Good way to make data available inside the company for analysis.

Has some built-in visualizations and can be easily integrated with other JS visualization libraries such as D3.

Can be embedded into product to provide reporting functions.

Support team are helpful.

The only complain I have is lack of API support. Hard to track changes as codes and automate report deployment.

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Vojtech Kopal
Head of Data at Mews Systems · | 3 upvotes · 324.6K views

Power BI is really easy to start with. If you have just several Excel sheets or CSV files, or you build your first automated pipeline, it is actually quite intuitive to build your first reports.

And as we have kept growing, all the additional features and tools were just there within the Azure platform and/or Office 365.

Since we started building Mews, we have already passed several milestones in becoming start up, later also a scale up company and now getting ready to grow even further, and during all these phases Power BI was just the right tool for us.

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Pros of Looker
Pros of Metabase
Pros of Redash
  • 4
    Real time in app customer chat support
  • 4
    GitHub integration
  • 1
    Reduces the barrier of entry to utilizing data
  • 62
    Database visualisation
  • 45
    Open Source
  • 41
    Easy setup
  • 36
    Dashboard out of the box
  • 23
    Free
  • 14
    Simple
  • 9
    Support for many dbs
  • 7
    Easy embedding
  • 6
    Easy
  • 6
    It's good
  • 5
    AGPL : wont help with adoption but depends on your goal
  • 5
    BI doesn't get easier than that
  • 4
    Google analytics integration
  • 4
    Multiple integrations
  • 4
    Easy set up
  • 9
    Open Source
  • 3
    SQL Friendly

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Cons of Looker
Cons of Metabase
Cons of Redash
  • 3
    Price
  • 7
    Harder to setup than similar tools
  • 1
    All results are loaded into RAM before displaying
  • 1
    Memory Leaks

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What is Looker?

We've built a unique data modeling language, connections to today's fastest analytical databases, and a service that you can deploy on any infrastructure, and explore on any device. Plus, we'll help you every step of the way.

What is Metabase?

It is an easy way to generate charts and dashboards, ask simple ad hoc queries without using SQL, and see detailed information about rows in your Database. You can set it up in under 5 minutes, and then give yourself and others a place to ask simple questions and understand the data your application is generating.

What is Redash?

Redash helps you make sense of your data. Connect and query your data sources, build dashboards to visualize data and share them with your company.

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