
About Google Data Studio
Google Data Studio, a free and cloud-hosted application, allows users to create interactive dashboards and professionally styled reports from a wide variety of data sources. Deployed with a view to presenting the kind of insights useful for informing business decisions, the solution provides built-in and partner connectors that facilitate connections to most data sources. Data Studio reports are therefore able to leverage data from one or more possible sources. Possible data sets include Google Analytics, Google Sheets, Google Ads, Google Cloud Storage, Google Search Console, Google Attribution 360, and YouTube, with Google Drive also used to store generated reports for broader sharing purposes. Additional connectors cover BigQuery, SQL databases, Campaign Manager, plus CSV upload for Excel spreadsheets.
Data Studio's web-based reporting tools allow data to be transformed into "visualization art" and used to build interactive, real-time reports or dashboards. The drag-and-drop report editor offers configurable charts and tables such as line charts, bar charts, pie charts, geo maps, area/bubble graphs, paginated data tables, pivot tables, and more. Viewer filters and date range controls make reports interactive, while report templates can be created from standard reports through the data control tool. Custom text and images allow reports to be rebranded or annotated along with the application of links, clickable images, styles and color themes. Sharing and collaboration features are supported by centralized Google Drive storage of saved reports and data sources, with reports also able to be embedded within websites. When users elect to share a particular report or a data source with other editors, those authorized users are able to work on the same file together in real time.
Pricing starting from:
Not provided by vendor
- Free Version
- Free Trial
- Subscription
Top 5 alternatives to Google Data Studio
Key benefits of Google Data Studio
Typical Customers
- Freelancers
- Small Businesses (2-50)
- Mid-size Companies (51-500)
- Large enterprises (500 and more)
Deployment
- Cloud-based
- On-premise
Markets
United States
Supported Languages
English
Pricing starting from:
Not provided by vendor
- Free Version
- Free Trial
- Subscription
Top 5 alternatives to Google Data Studio
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Features
Total features of Google Data Studio: 24
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Reviews
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- Industry: Information Technology & Services
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Amazing Value At No Cost
Reviewed on 05/08/2022
Before DataStudio I had to prepare dashboards and reports in spreadsheets and documents and compile...
Before DataStudio I had to prepare dashboards and reports in spreadsheets and documents and compile the raw data into reports in a manual way.
I saved a tremendous amount of time by setting up the data flows and report/dashboard structures once in DataStudio and then just scheduling regular reports to go out automatically
Pros
The most impactful features of DataStudio are the wide range of visualizations you have access to in order to present your data in the most engaging and insightful way. Coupled with the wide range of data connectors that are available natively and also third-party connectors, which expands the scope widely.
Once you have understood the overall way of working, the tool is very easy to use. There are lots of training videos available and lots of support available over the internet, in case you get stuck.
Integration into my business practises was easy because of the flexibility in data input sources. If a specific connector does not exist, then you can always fall back on file imports.
Cons
The most important missing feature for me personally is a native (free) data connector to Facebook Ads. One has free access to all the Google platforms and I have a constant struggle to get a decent data connector to Facebook ad platform data.
One improvement that I suggest is to add the functionality to do processing on calculated fields to do for instance 7-day moving average calculations on the platform itself. Now I have to do those calculations on a Google Sheet first and then import the results into the DataStudo reports. Or even make that a built-in function?

- Industry: Marketing & Advertising
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10
Flexible and does the job
Reviewed on 17/08/2022
Google Data Studio has allowed us to create interactive Dashboard reporting for a number of users...
Google Data Studio has allowed us to create interactive Dashboard reporting for a number of users in the organization, as well as automating the updating of reporting, saving us countless hours that were dedicated to production. This frees up our team to spend more time on analysis and insights, which has immediate benefits to our customers (internal and external).
Pros
Google Data Studio provides a great option for creating dashboards that present your basic data, particularly if that data resides in a Google tool (Analytics, Analytics360, even Google Sheets, etc.) The learning curve for this tool is not extensive before you are ready to build dashboards and reports. The template library is useful to learn what ways you can style your data.
Cons
With any data tool there is a learning curve, and the documentation provided by Google is not extensive. Fortunately there is a large offering of YouTube user generated content that covers almost every possible question you may have to get the desired result out of the platform, making it one of easiest Data Visualization tools to learn and get current information.
Reasons for Switching to Google Data Studio
Cost, needs and requirements for the data that was central to our reporting.- Industry: Nonprofit Organization Management
- Company size: 10,000+ Employees
- Used Weekly for 6-12 months
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support Software
- Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10
A viable option for business intelligence automation when your software budget is near zero
Reviewed on 04/02/2021
Overall, after coming to terms with the constraints of DS as a business intelligence automation...
Overall, after coming to terms with the constraints of DS as a business intelligence automation tool we were a le to design great products for our teams that wouldn't have been possible otherwise. Being able to automate analysis because of the ubiquity of Google sheets connectors made this an incredible free option for a non profit organization.
Pros
It seems that every third party SaaS that collects data online has native synchronization support for Google sheets. And this is how Google Data Studio makes itself the best option for non profits and small businesses in need of automated business intelligence.
On top of the plug'n'play integration experience, data studio has a unique approach to interactive chart and dashboard design that lets you position elements as if you were working in Adobe Photoshop. You can add shapes, layer elements on top of each other, add text or objects anywhere. This means you can produce the most beautiful and intuitive dashboards and reports ever (or the least if you're more of a Picasso).
Cons
It really is the poor man's business intelligence automation tool. Some key setbacks for data scientists is that data studio can only do 1 type of join/blend (outter left) and when using blended data to create calculated fields it really feel more like art than science, and not always working out. There is also no way to create unions across all data sources or make a file directory a data source.
All this means that you really need to do a lot of data prep in Google sheets and find a way to do some automatic data blending in Google sheets as well in some cases. This will keep the complexity of your needs in Data Studio minimal, which seems to work best.
Reasons for Choosing Google Data Studio
Power BI doesn't have a connector for Google sheets (while all our data sources have native synchronization support for Google sheets) and third party data integration options to pull from Google sheets into PowerBI/MS OneDrive added complications and reduced reliability.Switched From
Microsoft Power BIReasons for Switching to Google Data Studio
Free, easy to use, ideal Integration support for my case and can be deployed with an ability to grant access permissions to individuals outside my organization (partners).- Industry: Research
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10
Great tool for reporting and dashboards
Reviewed on 04/01/2023
Great product for live dashboards. Great functionality and connectivity! Definitely recommended.
Great product for live dashboards. Great functionality and connectivity! Definitely recommended.
Pros
Great range of data source to connect to your dashboard! The filter functionality is good. Customised and great range of graphs. Easy to merge different data sources. It is a real live dashboard and you can modify the refresh rate of the data harvesting.
Cons
A bit slow and requires a very good graphics card in your computer to run smoothly, especially when you plan to build a multipage dashboard. Missing some more advanced graphs. Learning curve might be a bit steep in the beginning.
Reasons for Switching to Google Data Studio
We use different tools for different purposes- Industry: E-Learning
- Company size: 201–500 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support Software
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Google Data Studio will handle my needs?
Reviewed on 20/06/2022
I had a big concern that I would no be able to use Microsoft Power BI (budget issue), but in the...
I had a big concern that I would no be able to use Microsoft Power BI (budget issue), but in the end of the road Google Data Studion was a good surprise. Good price, everything you need to put a high quality data project running. No issues. In another company for example, it would be my choice.
Pros
Once it's build your data sources, it's easy to build your dashboards even they don't have the best data viz options. It's in the Google tech stack, that makes easy to your team keep running. Would like to have Microsoft Power BI? It was my concerto too! But yes, Google Data Studio will deliver all info you need in a beautiful interface - don't worry. Good price, clear and light interface, access from any device. Your data project will meet the needs.
Cons
Different from Microsoft Power BI for example, you don't have a on screen calculation, easy to work on. Many times you need to create new fields, build cases with calculations to have the field to use on. You need an administrator/builder with more tech skills. But any doubt that I found, I had case or example in the web to search and use. But once it's build the base, it's easy to build dashboards, deploy, upgrade and so one.
Alternatives Considered
PentahoReasons for Choosing Google Data Studio
We need a onde piece solution for data, where all data sources get together. In many times, price here, lack of features there were a problem. Now, we have a single source of truth.Reasons for Switching to Google Data Studio
Already part of Google tech stack (our choice), price, fast and easy.Google Data Studio FAQs
Below are some frequently asked questions for Google Data Studio.Q. What type of pricing plans does Google Data Studio offer?
Google Data Studio offers the following pricing plans:
- Pricing model: Free Version
- Free Trial: Not Available
Google Data Studio is available for free.
Q. Who are the typical users of Google Data Studio?
Google Data Studio has the following typical customers:
2–10, 11–50, 51–200, 201–500, 501–1,000, 1,001–5,000
Q. What languages does Google Data Studio support?
Google Data Studio supports the following languages:
English
Q. Does Google Data Studio support mobile devices?
Google Data Studio supports the following devices:
Q. What other apps does Google Data Studio integrate with?
Google Data Studio integrates with the following applications:
Google Ads, Google Analytics 360, Google Campaign Manager 360, Google Cloud SQL, Google Sheets, MySQL, PostgreSQL, YouTube
Q. What level of support does Google Data Studio offer?
Google Data Studio offers the following support options:
Email/Help Desk, Knowledge Base Software
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