Lightdash vs Looker
Lightdash and Looker are both BI & dashboards tools. Lightdash is aimed at developers and small businesses, while Looker is aimed at enterprise and developers. Both have a free plan.
| Pricing | Open source · $3000 | Paid |
| Starting price | $3000/mo | Not published |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | 21 days | 30 days |
| Built for | Developers, Small businesses | Enterprise, Developers |
| Platforms | web | web |
| Country | GB · 2020 | US · 2012 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Lightdash if
Data teams using dbt who want a semantic-layer BI.
- Governed metrics in code
- Tight dbt integration
- Unlimited viewers
Look elsewhere if: Teams without dbt (Metabase).
Choose Looker if
Data teams on a modern cloud warehouse, especially BigQuery, that need governed metrics or embedded analytics at scale.
- Single source of truth for metrics across the whole company
- No data extracts: always queries live warehouse data
- Strong embedded analytics and API for customer-facing use
Look elsewhere if: Small teams that need a few dashboards on a budget (Data Studio, Metabase, Power BI).
Lightdash vs Looker pricing
Lightdash
- Open Source$0Self-hosted, core BI features, community Slack support
- Cloud Pro$3,000/moNo per-seat pricing, unlimited users, AI agents, onboarding
- EnterpriseCustomCloud or on-prem, SSO/SAML/SCIM, SOC 2, HIPAA
Looker
- StandardCustomUnder 50 users; incl. 10 standard + 2 developer users; annual
- EnterpriseCustomInternal BI at scale; 1 to 3 year commitments
- EmbedCustomExternal and customer-facing analytics at scale
- Trial$030 days; 5 viewer, 1 standard, 1 developer user
Lightdash · Key features
- Metrics defined in dbt YAML
- Self-serve exploration for business users
- Dashboards and scheduled deliveries
- AI analyst for natural language queries
- Embedding
- Open source and cloud
Cons
- Requires dbt
- Cloud pricing starts high
- Visualization less rich than Tableau
Looker · Key features
- LookML semantic layer with Git version control for governed metrics
- In-database querying on BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift and Databricks
- Gemini conversational analytics across up to five Explores
- Explores for self-service drill-down without writing SQL
- Embedded analytics with signed embedding and APIs for customer apps
- Scheduled deliveries and alerts to email, Slack and webhooks
Cons
- No published prices; contracts are typically five figures and up
- Requires developers who know LookML
- Visualisation options are weaker than Tableau
Lightdash vs Looker: FAQ
Do Lightdash and Looker have a free plan?
Yes, both Lightdash and Looker have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.
Which is better for small businesses, Lightdash or Looker?
Lightdash lists small businesses as a core audience, while Looker is aimed more at enterprise and developers.