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Looker vs Metabase vs Superset: What are the differences?
Introduction
In this markdown, I will provide the key differences between Looker, Metabase, and Superset. Below are the six specific differences between these three data visualization tools.
Data Sources and Integration: Looker offers extensive integrations with various data sources, including databases, cloud services, and third-party tools. Metabase supports fewer data sources compared to Looker but is still capable of connecting with popular databases. Superset, on the other hand, provides a wide range of connectors but may require additional configuration for integrating with some data sources.
Ease of Use: Looker focuses on providing a user-friendly interface with drag-and-drop features and a simple query language, making it easy for non-technical users to generate reports and visualizations. Metabase comes with a more intuitive interface, suitable for users with basic SQL knowledge. Superset, as an open-source tool, requires users to have a good understanding of SQL and data modeling concepts to utilize its advanced features.
Advanced Analytics and Visualization: Looker offers advanced analytics capabilities, including predictive modeling and statistical analysis, allowing users to uncover insights from their data. Metabase provides basic visualization options, suitable for simple reporting and data exploration tasks. Superset offers powerful visualization features and supports a wide range of chart types, making it suitable for complex data visualization requirements.
Collaborative Features: Looker provides collaboration features such as data sharing, commenting, and data permissions, allowing teams to work together on data analysis and reporting. Metabase also supports collaborative features but with limited capabilities compared to Looker. Superset offers basic collaborative capabilities but may require additional customization and configuration for advanced collaboration needs.
Security and Governance: Looker offers robust security and governance features, including data encryption, single sign-on (SSO) support, and fine-grained access controls. Metabase provides basic security features but may require additional configuration for more advanced security requirements. Superset, being an open-source tool, requires users to implement security measures according to their specific needs.
Cost and Licensing: Looker is a commercial tool and requires a license for usage. Metabase is an open-source tool and is free to use, making it a more cost-effective option for smaller organizations. Superset is also an open-source tool, enabling organizations to customize and use it without incurring any licensing costs.
In summary, Looker offers extensive data integration, advanced analytics, and collaboration features with a user-friendly interface, while Metabase provides a simpler, more cost-effective solution for basic reporting and data exploration needs. Superset offers powerful visualization capabilities and customization options, making it suitable for complex data visualization requirements at no licensing cost.
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.
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,
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.
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.
Pros of Looker
- Real time in app customer chat support4
- GitHub integration4
- Reduces the barrier of entry to utilizing data1
Pros of Metabase
- Database visualisation62
- Open Source45
- Easy setup41
- Dashboard out of the box36
- Free23
- Simple14
- Support for many dbs9
- Easy embedding7
- Easy6
- It's good6
- AGPL : wont help with adoption but depends on your goal5
- BI doesn't get easier than that5
- Google analytics integration4
- Multiple integrations4
- Easy set up4
Pros of Superset
- Awesome interactive filtering13
- Free9
- Wide SQL database support6
- Shareable & editable dashboards6
- Great for data collaborating on data exploration5
- User & Role Management3
- Easy to share charts & dasboards3
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Cons of Looker
- Price3
Cons of Metabase
- Harder to setup than similar tools7
Cons of Superset
- Link diff db together "Data Modeling "4
- It is difficult to install on the server3
- Ugly GUI3