Microsoft Power BI vs Data Studio (Looker Studio)

Microsoft Power BI vs Data Studio (Looker Studio) for AI data analysis: compare capabilities, integrations and pricing in 2026.

	Microsoft Power BI Best for: Business dashboards and reports with Copilot for questions, summaries and DAX	Data Studio (Looker Studio) Best for: Free-to-start, Google-integrated BI dashboards and reports (the product formerly called Looker Studio, renamed back to Data Studio in April 2026)
Overview	Microsoft Power BI is a business intelligence tool for building interactive reports and dashboards, with Copilot to answer data questions, summarize reports and write DAX. Sharing requires Power BI Pro, billed annually at $14 per user per month, and Copilot requires a paid Fabric (F2 or higher) or Premium (P1 or higher) capacity.	Data Studio (formerly Looker Studio, originally Google Data Studio) is Google's business intelligence tool for building interactive dashboards and reports from more than 1,400 data connectors, with a free self-service tier and an optional paid Pro tier. A natural-language Conversational Analytics preview is now available to all users, while some Gemini-assisted features remain tied to the paid tier.
Pricing	Freemium	Freemium
Users	—	—
Advantages	✅Copilot answers data questions, summarizes reports, builds report pages and writes DAX ✅Free Power BI Desktop and free account for building reports (no sharing or Copilot) ✅Power BI Pro, billed annually at $14 per user per month, is included in Microsoft 365 E5 and Office 365 E5 ✅Deep integration with Microsoft 365, Teams, Excel, Azure and Microsoft Fabric ✅Named a Leader in Gartner's 2026 Magic Quadrant for analytics and BI	✅Genuinely free tier with unlimited reports and data sources, only a Google account required ✅More than 1,400 data sources, including over 1,300 Community Connectors, plus deep native ties to BigQuery, Google Ads, Analytics and Sheets ✅Conversational Analytics now works in natural language for every user, with a 'Show reasoning' toggle for transparency ✅Pro tier brings real team governance: workspaces, scheduled delivery, mobile app and a 99.9% SLA ✅Browser-based with no installation and easy report sharing, similar to sharing a Google Doc
Disadvantages	❌Copilot needs a paid Fabric F2+ or Premium P1+ capacity; a Pro or Premium Per User license alone is not enough ❌Standalone Copilot, Copilot in apps and Copilot in web modeling are still in preview ❌Non-English prompts are not officially supported, and some regions and sovereign clouds lack Copilot ❌Power BI Desktop is Windows-only, and good models still require DAX and data-modeling skills ❌Sharing reports requires paid licenses for creators and viewers outside capacity plans	❌Some Gemini-assisted features, like AI-suggested calculated fields and Slides export, remain locked behind paid Pro ❌Pro is billed per project, so agencies pay $9/user for every client project separately ❌Performance can degrade on large datasets or reports with heavily blended data ❌Advanced enterprise modeling requires the separate, quote-based Looker product, not this tool ❌The product was renamed from Looker Studio back to Data Studio in April 2026, which can cause confusion with older links and documentation
Rating	…	…
Website	www.microsoft.com	datastudio.google.com
	Visit →Full review	Visit →Full review

Verdict: Which Should You Choose?

Choose Microsoft Power BI if…

✅ You already work inside Microsoft 365, Teams or Azure and want dashboards that fit directly into those tools.
✅ You need Copilot to write DAX queries, summarize reports or build report pages for you inside the BI tool itself.
✅ You want a BI platform recognized as a Leader in Gartner's 2026 Magic Quadrant for Analytics and Business Intelligence Platforms.
✅ You're on Microsoft 365 E5 or Office 365 E5 and want Power BI Pro sharing included rather than paid separately.

Choose Data Studio (Looker Studio) if…

✅ You want to start building dashboards for free with unlimited reports and data sources and no credit card.
✅ You need to connect to a huge range of sources, since Data Studio offers more than 1,400 data connectors including 1,300+ Community Connectors.
✅ You want natural-language Conversational Analytics with a 'Show reasoning' toggle available to every user, not gated behind a paid tier.
✅ You want a browser-based tool with no installation, where sharing a report feels as easy as sharing a Google Doc.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better for teams already using Microsoft 365 and Teams?

Microsoft Power BI fits more naturally there, since it integrates directly with Microsoft 365, Teams and Azure, and Pro is even included in some Microsoft 365 and Office 365 E5 plans.

Which is better for a small team that wants to start for free?

Data Studio (Looker Studio) has a genuinely free tier with unlimited reports and data sources using just a Google account, while Power BI's free tier does not support sharing or Copilot.

Do both tools include AI features for free?

No. Power BI's Copilot requires a paid Fabric F2+ or Premium P1+ capacity, while Data Studio's Conversational Analytics preview is now available to all users, though some Gemini-assisted features still require the paid Pro tier.

Which has more data source connectors?

Data Studio advertises more than 1,400 data connectors, including over 1,300 Community Connectors, while Power BI connects to hundreds of data sources through its own ecosystem.

Which is better for an agency managing many separate client projects?

Neither is ideal for cost control at scale: Data Studio Pro is billed per project at $9 per user, so costs multiply per client, while Power BI requires paid licenses for creators and viewers plus a separate Fabric capacity for Copilot.