Looker Studio (renamed Data Studio, 2026)
by Google (Google Cloud). Free, web-based dashboarding and reporting for Google and third-party data.
Rebrand
Google’s release notes (2026-04-16) say “We’ve rebranded Looker Studio as Data Studio”. Docs and press use both names; the paid tier is called Looker Studio Pro or Data Studio Pro depending on date. Not to be confused with Looker (the LookML platform).
History
Google Data Studio → Looker Studio → Data Studio (rebrand announced 2026-04-16 in the release notes). Only the 2026 rename is sourced here; the dates of the earlier names are not verified.
Editions
- Free: report builder, connectors, sharing, scheduling.
- Pro (Looker Studio Pro / Data Studio Pro): subscription for team workspaces and admin features, plus some Gemini features. Billing is per subscription; see https://cloud.google.com/looker/pricing (the Looker pricing page also lists Studio Pro).
Data and modelling
Connectors for Google sources (BigQuery, GA4, Google Ads, Sheets, Search Console) and partner/community connectors. Calculated fields and blending inside the report; no governed semantic layer (that is Looker’s LookML). For big data, aggregate in BigQuery first.
AI features (as of 2026-10-05, from Data Studio release notes)
- Conversational Analytics in Data Studio: preview 2026-04-16 (available to all users, no longer needs Gemini in Data Studio enabled); GA 2026-07-30. Agents can be filtered by Google Cloud project.
- Gemini in Data Studio (renamed from Gemini in Looker, 2026-04-16): AI help creating calculated fields and adding content to Google Slides (Pro).
- Code Interpreter / advanced analysis for Conversational Analytics: preview 2025-07-25 for Pro; a search result says the “Advanced Analytics” feature reached GA 2026-05-27 (not verified in the release notes I read).
- Home page now also surfaces BigQuery conversational agents and Colab data apps.
Strengths and weaknesses (opinion)
In the author’s view: quick and free to start, suited to marketing and Google-data reporting; limited modelling, governance and large-data performance compared with Looker or Power BI.
Learning
See Looker and Data Studio learning path. Official: https://lookerstudio.google.com/ and Data Studio release notes.
Sources (fetched 2026-10-05)
- https://docs.cloud.google.com/data-studio/release-notes
- https://cloud.google.com/looker/pricing
- https://www.dataslayer.ai/blog/looker-studio-updates-january-2026 (search result)
Open items
- Exact Pro tier name and what each tier unlocks; GA date of Advanced Analytics; whether the 1,000+ partner-connector and blending-limit claims of the earlier draft still hold (removed).