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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Looker

    Score8.1 out of 10
    N/ALooker is a BI application with an analytics-oriented application server that sits on top of relational data stores. It includes an end-user interface for exploring data, a reusable development paradigm for data discovery, and an API for supporting data in other systems.N/A

    MySQL

    Score8.4 out of 10
    N/AMySQL is a popular open-source relational and embedded database, now owned by Oracle.N/A
    Pricing
    LookerMySQL
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    LookerMySQL
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsMust contact sales team for pricing.—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    LookerMySQL
    Considered Both Products
    Google
    Chose Looker
    In my opinion, Looker is no Power BI. It is good, but I think Power BI is amazing. That said, in my experience, Power BI is nowhere near as easy to setup and report on Google services as Looker is. We plan to continue using Power BI for c-suite and corporate reporting, …
    Incentivized
    Chose Looker
    I used Mixpanel a bit a while ago at the same company and our set-up of the program wasn't good so it was impossible to find what I needed to do my reporting. Now with Looker the setup is generally solid and if you have SQL Runner access in Looker you can get anything you need.
    Incentivized
    Chose Looker
    Sisense aims to do too many things, such as ETL, at the cost of not excelling at any one thing. Looker excels by keeping the focus on data exploration and doing it extremely well.
    Incentivized
    Chose Looker
    Mode & Chartio require user to write SQL. Looker – Looker has very powerful data modeling layer – LookML that allows data engineers to abstract end users away from the complexity of underlying data (and SQL). End users can perform analysis by selecting dimensions, measures, …
    Incentivized
    Chose Looker
    RJMetrics - Looker is clearly better than RJMetrics. RJMetrics was getting the connector ready for Mixpanel and they were working on one for Facebook. But we had too many issues with it. The data had to be taken from MySQL and ported into their data warehouse and it took hours …
    Incentivized
    Chose Looker
    • Birst: very opaque for teams accustomed to DevOps (i.e., programmable infrastructure)
    • Tableau: no cloud strategy. Does not scale horizontally
    • GoodData: flexible, but cumbersome. Requires Java
    Incentivized
    Chose Looker
    We selected Looker for control over the data model, pricing, and to get into business with a young and growing company.
    Incentivized
    Chose Looker
    Looker is much better at allowing users to interact with the data and "explore" to answer their "ad-hoc" questions. Tableau is better at pixel perfect visualizations. On balance, the interactivity is more important for our uses rather than "polished" visualizations.
    Incentivized
    Chose Looker
    Looker was selected because of their willingness to work with us. They built a custom demo for us and showed us our data within the application.
    Incentivized
    Oracle
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    98%
    Would buy again
    85 Answers
    94%
    Would buy again
    49 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    99%
    Delivers good value for the price
    75 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    51 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    87 Answers
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    51 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    98%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    55 Answers
    97%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    36 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    97%
    Implementation went as expected
    69 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    46 Answers
    Features
    LookerMySQL
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Looker and MySQL
    Feature
    Looker
    7.4
    134 Ratings
    10% below category average
    MySQL
    -
    Ratings
    Pixel Perfect reports6.5110 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards8.2133 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates7.5115 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Looker and MySQL
    Feature
    Looker
    6.8
    132 Ratings
    16% below category average
    MySQL
    -
    Ratings
    Drill-down analysis6.3128 Ratings00 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities6.6130 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages5.655 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration8.8131 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Looker and MySQL
    Feature
    Looker
    7.9
    128 Ratings
    4% below category average
    MySQL
    -
    Ratings
    Publish to Web7.7105 Ratings00 Ratings
    Publish to PDF7.8113 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Versioning7.984 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling8.2110 Ratings00 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Looker and MySQL
    Feature
    Looker
    6.6
    128 Ratings
    19% below category average
    MySQL
    -
    Ratings
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)7.7124 Ratings00 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization7.5110 Ratings00 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics4.66 Ratings00 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Looker and MySQL
    Feature
    Looker
    7.3
    128 Ratings
    15% below category average
    MySQL
    -
    Ratings
    Multi-User Support (named login)7.5120 Ratings00 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model7.2105 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)7.2122 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control7.360 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Looker and MySQL
    Feature
    Looker
    5.2
    95 Ratings
    39% below category average
    MySQL
    -
    Ratings
    Responsive Design for Web Access4.991 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Application5.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile5.885 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    LookerMySQL
    Small Businesses
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    MariaDB Platform
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    PostgreSQL
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Sisense
    Score6.9 out of 10
    SQLite
    Score8 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    LookerMySQL
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (134 ratings)
    8.5
    (146 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.2
    (8 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    Usability
    8.8
    (12 ratings)
    7.9
    (18 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.8
    (14 ratings)
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Configurability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    8.5
    (51 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Data Sources
    7.3
    (51 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Professional Services
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    LookerMySQL
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Google
    When data drives potential for new orders, Looker earns its place in our tech stack. If, on the other hand, we are hoping for pipeline generation, Looker is useful if you are willing to repeatedly go check customer utilizations .... it is not appropriate if you are hoping to automate data analysis for this purpose.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Oracle
    MySQL is best suited for applications on platform like high-traffic content-driven websites, small-scale web apps, data warehouses which regards light analytical workloads. However its less suited for areas like enterprise data warehouse, OLAP cubes, large-scale reporting, applications requiring flexible or semi-structured data like event logging systems, product configurations, dynamic forms.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Google
    • Show visited pages - sessions, pageviews - which programs are viewed the most.
    • Displays session source/medium views to see where users are coming from.
    • It shows the video titles, URLs, and event counts so we can monitor the performance of our videos.
    • It gives a graphic face to the numbers, such as using bar charts, pie graphs, and other charts to show user trends or which channels are driving engagement.
    • Our clients like to see the top pages visited for a month.
    • I like the drop-and-drag approach, and building charts is a little easier than it was before.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Oracle
    • Stable - it just runs, with minimal downtime or errors
    • Fast - well-structured data is quickly written and read
    • Secure - MySQL is easy to keep data secure from people and applications that shouldn't see it
    • Easy to use - SQL is industry standard so no problems with adding, editing and reading data stored in MySQL
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Google
    • Documentation is scarce, and very difficult to find when you need it.
    • Pricing is unclear, particularly as you look to scale your reports across the business.
    • Data from other sources is not represented in the system as well as first party Google services.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Oracle
    • Learning curve: is big. Newbies will face problems in understanding the platform initially. However, with plenty of online resources, one can easily find solutions to problems and learn on the go.
    • Backup and restore: MySQL is not very seamless. Although the data is never ruptured or missed, the process involved is not very much user-friendly. Maybe, a new command-line interface for only the backup-restore functionality shall be set up again to make this very important step much easier to perform and maintain.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Google
    I give it this rating because it deems as effective, I am able to complete majority of my tasks using this app. It is very helpful when analyzing the data provided and shown in the app and it's just overall a great app for Operational use, despite the small hiccups it has (live data).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Oracle
    For teaching Databases and SQL, I would definitely continue to use MySQL. It provides a good, solid foundation to learn about databases. Also to learn about the SQL language and how it works with the creation, insertion, deletion, updating, and manipulation of data, tables, and databases. This SQL language is a foundation and can be used to learn many other database related concepts.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Google
    Looker is relatively easy to use, even as it is set up. The customers for the front-end only have issues with the initial setup for looker ml creations. Other "looks" are relatively easy to set up, depending on the ETL and the data which is coming into Looker on a regular basis.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Oracle
    I give MySQL a 9/10 overall because I really like it but I feel like there are a lot of tech people who would hate it if I gave it a 10/10. I've never had any problems with it or reached any of its limitations but I know a few people who have so I can't give it a 10/10 based on those complaints.
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Google
    No objections
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Oracle
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Google
    Somehow resources heavy, both on server and client. I recommned at least 50Mbs data rate and high performance desktop comouter to be abke to run comolex tasks and configure larger amount of data. On the other hand, the client does not need to worry when viewing, the performance is usually ok
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Oracle
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Google
    Never had to work with support for issues. Any questions we had, they would respond promptly and clearly. The one-time setup was easy, by reading documentation. If the feature is not supported, they will add a feature request. In this case, LDAP support was requested over OKTA. They are looking into it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Oracle
    We have never contacted MySQL enterprise support team for any issues related to MySQL. This is because we have been using primarily the MySQL Server community edition and have been using the MySQL support forums for any questions and practical guidance that we needed before and during the technical implementations. Overall, the support community has been very helpful and allowed us to make the most out of the community edition.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Google
    Very satisfied, easy to implement
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Oracle
    1. Estimate your data size. 2. Test, test, and test.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Google
    Looker Studio, you can easily report on data from various sources without programming. Looker Studio is available at no charge for creators and report viewers. Enterprise customers who upgrade to Looker Studio Pro will receive support and expanded administrative features, including team content management. So it's good.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Oracle
    MongoDB has a dynamic schema for how data is stored in 'documents' whereas MySQL is more structured with tables, columns, and rows. MongoDB was built for high availability whereas MySQL can be a challenge when it comes to replication of the data and making everything redundant in the event of a DR or outage.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    Google
    Perfect price to performance
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Oracle
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Google
    • Looker has a poignant impact on our business's ROI objectives. As an advertising exchange we have specific goals for daily requests and fill, and having premade Looks to monitor this is an integral piece of our operational capability
    • To facilitate an efficient monthly billing cycle in our organization, Looker is essential to track estimated revenue and impression delivery by publisher. Without the Looks we have set up, we would spend considerably more time and effort segmenting revenue by vertical.
    • Looker's unique value proposition is making analytical tools more digestible to people without conventional analytical experience. Other competing tools like Tableau require considerably more training and context to successfully use, and the ability to easily plot different visualizations is one of its greatest selling points.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Oracle
    • As it is an open source solution through community solution, we can use it in a multitude of projects without cost license
    • The acquisition by Oracle makes you need to contract support for the enterprise version
    • If you have knowledge about oracle databases, you can get more out of the enterprise version
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Looker Screenshots

    Screenshot of a Looker dashboard with a geo chart.