Looker is a Business intelligence and data analytics platform by Google LLC (acquired 2019). This profile pulls together Looker's ratings across the major review sites, its company and funding details, leadership, features, pricing, and the latest news, with every external source cited at the bottom.
About Google LLC (acquired 2019)
Looker is a business intelligence and data analytics platform founded in 2012 by Lloyd Tabb and Ben Porterfield in Santa Cruz, California. Looker introduced LookML, a modeling language that defines business metrics and dimensions at the semantic layer, enabling consistent reporting across an organization. Google acquired Looker in 2019 for $2.6B and integrated it into Google Cloud as the BI platform of choice. Looker is particularly strong for data teams that want to enable self-service analytics without losing control over metric definitions. The platform competes directly with Tableau, Power BI, and Metabase. Looker is now sold both as a standalone product and as Looker Studio Pro (formerly Data Studio) for Google Workspace customers.
| Category | Business intelligence and data analytics platform |
| Company | Google LLC (acquired 2019) |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, US (Google LLC) |
| Industry | Software Development · Business Intelligence |
| Team size | Part of Google Cloud |
| Ownership | Acquired by Google (2019, $2.6B) |
| Founder / CEO | Lloyd Tabb (CTO) and Ben Porterfield |
| Specialties | Business intelligence, LookML semantic layer, embedded analytics, data modeling, self-service BI |
| Website | looker.com |
Find Looker on: Wikipedia · Crunchbase · LinkedIn · G2 · Capterra
Looker ratings across the web
Aggregated from the major review platforms. Each links to the source.
Rating breakdown
Per-category scores from G2 and Capterra, ~850 reviews, 2025-2026.
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What people say about Looker
Our synthesis across ~850 G2 and Capterra reviews, 2025-2026. No fabricated quotes, this is the consistent pattern across reviews and third-party analyses.
Most praised
- LookML semantic layer ensures every team uses the same metric definitions
- Best BigQuery BI integration of any platform (native, fast, no data movement)
- Embedded analytics lets you put BI directly inside your product
- Self-service analytics without giving untrained users access to raw SQL
Most cited complaints
- Pricing is enterprise-level and not transparent; SMBs are priced out
- LookML has a steep learning curve for non-technical users
- Google post-acquisition support quality has been inconsistent per reviewers
Looker funding & ownership
| Round | Amount | Date | Lead investor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series D | $81M | 2018 | CapitalG |
| Acquisition | $2.6B | 2019 |
Extremely strong. Google ownership ensures long-term investment and integration with GCP. Native BigQuery integration makes it the default BI choice for Google Cloud shops.
Looker features & integrations
Security & compliance
| Standard | Availability |
|---|---|
| GDPR | Yes |
| HIPAA | Yes (Google Cloud BAA) |
| SOC 2 Type II | Yes (Type II) |
| SSO / SAML | Yes (SAML, OIDC) |
Integrations: BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift, Databricks, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Salesforce, Google Analytics, Segment, dbt, Slack, and Tableau (migration).
Looker leadership
Looker pricing
| Plan | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Looker Platform | Custom (enterprise) | Mid-market and enterprise data teams |
| Looker Studio Pro | $9/user/mo | Google Workspace teams needing BI |
| Looker Studio | Free | Basic dashboards connected to Google data sources |
The catch: Looker pricing is not publicly listed and requires a Google Cloud sales conversation. Community reports suggest minimum spend of $3,000-$5,000/month for standard deployments. Looker Studio (free) and Looker Studio Pro ($9/user/month) are separate, lighter products.
Looker product changelog
What Looker has actually shipped, summarized from its own release notes and dated. Not auto-generated, updated as part of our freshness checks.
Latest Looker news
Auto-pulled from Google News, refreshed on each deploy. Headlines link to the source.
- Researchers Uncover ‘LeakyLooker’ Vulnerabilities in Google Looker Studio - Infosecurity MagazineWed, 11 Mar 2026
- The 5 Best Looker Training and Online Courses for 2026 Compared - solutionsreview.comMon, 01 Dec 2025
- Google Looker Bugs Allow Cross-Tenant RCE, Data Exfil - Dark ReadingWed, 04 Feb 2026
- 9 Power BI Alternatives - coursera.orgSat, 14 Mar 2026
- Vulnerabilities Allowed Full Compromise of Google Looker Instances - SecurityWeekWed, 04 Feb 2026
- 12 Top Business Intelligence Tools (2024) - Exploding TopicsSun, 25 Jan 2026
Looker FAQs
What is LookML?
LookML is Looker's proprietary modeling language for defining business logic in a semantic layer. It lets data teams define dimensions, measures, and relationships once, and every dashboard and report uses these consistent definitions automatically.
How does Looker compare to Tableau?
Looker is code-first with LookML and favors data team control over business definitions. Tableau is drag-and-drop and more accessible to non-technical analysts. Looker wins for organizations with mature data teams; Tableau wins for analyst-driven exploration.
Sources
Every external figure on this page traces to a public source, last collected on the dates shown.
- Looker website — Product overview (accessed 2026-09-02)
- G2 Looker reviews — User reviews (accessed 2026-09-02)