Databricks vs Looker
Complete comparison guide to help you choose the right analytics tool for your needs.
The Winner
Looker
Has a slight advantage based on user ratings and overall value. Both tools are excellent - Databricks may still be better for specific use cases.
Quick Comparison
| Criteria |  Databricks |  Looker |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | Free tier Best | Custom pricing |
| User Rating | 4.5 | 4.4 |
| Review Count | 927 | 3,278 Best |
| Free Trial | No | No |
| Annual Discount | N/A | N/A |
| Best For | Enterprise ML/AI workloads at scale | Google Cloud-native enterprises |
Feature Breakdown
Feature Comparison
Databricks Looker Databricks
- Free Community Edition
- Unified Lakehouse Architecture
- Multi-Cloud Unity Catalog
- Proven Enterprise ROI
- Complex DBU Pricing
- Steep Learning Curve
- Higher Entry Costs
Looker
- LookML Semantic Layer
- Native Gemini AI Integration
- Enterprise Embedded Analytics
- Real-Time Cloud Warehouse Queries
- Steep Learning Curve
- Weaker Visualizations Than Tableau
- Expensive Enterprise Pricing
Databricks Overview
Databricks unifies data engineering, data science, and ML on lakehouse architecture. Delivers 417-482% ROI with 49% time savings for data teams. Free Community Edition available; Premium tier uses DBU-based pricing. Best for ML/AI workloads at scale. Rated 4.45/5 across 927 reviews.
Best For:
- Enterprise ML/AI workloads at scale
- Data teams needing unified platform for data engineering, data science, and analytics
- Companies processing large-scale big data with Apache Spark
- Teams requiring real-time analytics and streaming data processing
- Multi-cloud deployments requiring portability across AWS, Azure, and GCP
- Enterprises seeking lakehouse architecture combining data lake and warehouse benefits
- Organizations with collaborative data science teams needing shared notebooks
Looker Overview
Enterprise BI platform with AI-powered conversational analytics, LookML semantic layer, and embedded analytics capabilities. Best for Google Cloud organizations needing governed, real-time data insights. Expensive ($36K-$360K+/year) but delivers genuine governance value.
Best For:
- Google Cloud-native enterprises
- Technical teams with SQL and LookML
- Enterprises needing centralized governance
- Companies needing embedded analytics
- Organizations prioritizing real-time queries
Our Verdict
Looker has a slight edge based on user ratings and overall value. Both tools are excellent - Databricks may still be better for Enterprise ML/AI workloads at scale.
Try Looker Free