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Verity vs Looker Studio (now Data Studio)

Looker Studio alternative

Verity vs Looker Studio (now Data Studio)

Data Studio (Looker Studio until April 2026) is Google’s report builder. It is free for people who build and view reports, connects directly to Google Ads, Google Analytics, Search Console and BigQuery, and is where many webshops build their first dashboard. Verity is for the moment that dashboard stops being enough: when Shopify, Meta Ads and Klaviyo have to sit next to the Google numbers, and revenue has to mean the same thing on every page. Verity loads the sources into your own BigQuery, models them and has the dashboards ready.

Checked against Data Studio’s public sources on 13 November 2026.* Compared as dashboards and BI.

Dashboards and BI in Verity →

At a glance

Yes

Partly

No, or not found in public sources*

VerityData Studio*
Where the data comes from
Loads your store, ad and email data for you
Yes: Managed, on a schedule
Partly: Reads Google sources live
Works on your own BigQuery
Yes
Yes
Data model built and maintained for you
Yes
Not found in public sources: You blend and calculate
KPIs and definitions
One definition per KPI in a semantic layer
Yes: You approve it
Not found in public sources: Through Looker only
KPIs against targets and budgets
Yes: Targets, budgets, guardrails
Partly: Per chart, alerts on Pro
Ready made marketing and ecommerce dashboards
Yes: Per source and combined
Partly: Templates, Google sources
Working with it
Build your own dashboards without code
Yes
Yes
Ask questions in plain language
Yes: Data Chat
Partly: On BigQuery data agents
MCP server for AI assistants
Yes: 100+ tools
Not found in public sources
AI assistant builds dashboards over MCP
Yes: As a draft for review
Not found in public sources
Sharing and taking it with you
Share with the team and send on a schedule
Yes: Workspaces, email, spreadsheet
Yes: Links, PDF by email
Dashboards as code
Yes: Export in seven formats
Not found in public sources
Embed dashboards in your own site or app
No
Yes: Any site, by iframe
Hosting and pricing
Open source or self hosted option
No: Managed cloud
Not found in public sources
Published pricing
Yes: From €500/mo, unlimited users
Yes: Free, Pro $9 per user

Where Data Studio is ahead

Price and speed. Data Studio is free for creators and viewers, and a report on Google Ads or Google Analytics is a few clicks away. It lists more than 1,300 community connectors, has a template gallery for Google sources, shares a report with a link the way you share a document, and embeds in any site that accepts an iframe. Verity does not offer embedding and starts at €500 per month. For reporting on Google sources alone, Data Studio is hard to beat.

Where the two differ most

Data Studio draws charts on the data you connect. Shopify, Meta Ads and Klaviyo are not among the connectors Google builds, so they come through partner connectors that Google says it does not provide or support. Combining sources happens in a blend of at most five tables, and definitions live in calculated fields per data source. Verity moves that work out of the report: sources are loaded into your own BigQuery, joined in maintained data models, and every KPI has one definition in a semantic layer.

How the pricing compares

Data Studio is free. Data Studio Pro costs $9 per user per project per month and adds team workspaces, ownership by your organisation, alerts and Gemini features. Partner connectors for the sources Google does not cover are priced by their makers, and a warehouse and the modelling are yours to arrange. Verity starts at €500 per month excluding VAT with unlimited users. If one free report on Google data is the need, stay with Data Studio. Compare again when you add up connectors, a warehouse and the hours spent fixing reports.

Which one fits

Choose Verity when

Your numbers come from Shopify or WooCommerce, Meta Ads and Klaviyo as well as Google, and you are tired of paying for and patching partner connectors.

Every report has its own calculated fields and they no longer agree. You want revenue, new customers and return on ad spend defined once.

You want the history kept in your own BigQuery, not read from each platform every time a report opens.

You want targets and budgets for the year next to the actuals, attribution models side by side and a written report by email.

You want to ask a question in plain language on all your sources, in Verity or from Claude or ChatGPT over MCP.

Choose Data Studio when

Your reporting is mostly Google Ads, Google Analytics and Search Console. Data Studio reads those directly and costs nothing.

You want a report this afternoon, built by yourself, without a warehouse or a contract.

You want to embed a report in a website or share it with a link, also with people who have no account.

You already have clean tables in BigQuery and only need charts on top of them.

You need a personal or ad hoc report, which is what Google itself positions Data Studio for.

Built in, add on or separate tool

What you get as part of each product, and what comes on a higher plan, as an add on or from another vendor.

VerityData Studio*
Google Ads, Google Analytics, Search ConsoleLoaded into your own BigQueryBuilt in connectors, read live
Shopify, Meta Ads, KlaviyoBuilt in, loaded into your own BigQueryPartner connectors from third parties
Combining sourcesData models maintained for youBlends of up to five tables, per report
KPI definitionsOne semantic layer for every dashboardCalculated fields per data source
TargetsTargets, budgets and guardrails per periodA comparison value or target per chart
AlertsMonitors, part of AutomationsData Studio Pro
AI questionsData Chat on every connected sourceConversational Analytics on data agents built in BigQuery
MCP serverBuilt in, 100+ toolsNot found in its public sources
Taking a dashboard elsewhereExport as code in seven formatsCopy a report or download a PDF; no export as code found
Embedding in a websiteNot offeredBuilt in, free

What we checked about Data Studio

Each statement comes from Data Studio’s own website or documentation, read on 13 November 2026.*

  • Google renamed Looker Studio back to Data Studio. The release note of 16 April 2026 reads: “We’ve rebranded Looker Studio as Data Studio.” The paid version is Data Studio Pro.

    Source: Data Studio release notes, read on

  • Data Studio is available at no charge for creators and report viewers. Data Studio Pro is listed at $9 per user per project per month.

    Source: Google Cloud: Data Studio, read on

  • Data Studio Pro is the paid version, with additional capabilities for teams and technical support: content owned by the organisation and linked to a Google Cloud project, team workspaces, more delivery schedules and alerts.

    Source: Data Studio docs: about Data Studio Pro, read on

  • The connectors Google builds include BigQuery, Google Analytics, Google Ads, Search Console, YouTube Analytics, Google Sheets, PostgreSQL and MySQL. Shopify, Meta Ads and Klaviyo are not in that list.

    Source: Data Studio docs: available connectors, read on

  • Google points to over 1,300 community connectors. The gallery states that connectors from third party partners are not provided by Google and that Google makes no promises about their performance, quality or content.

    Source: Data Studio connector gallery, read on

  • A blend can include up to five tables.

    Source: Data Studio docs: how blends work, read on

  • Data from Google marketing and measurement products, such as Google Ads and Google Analytics, refreshes every 12 hours, and that rate cannot be changed.

    Source: Data Studio docs: manage data freshness, read on

  • Conversational Analytics is available to all Data Studio users and works on data agents built in BigQuery. Data agents cannot be created within Data Studio, and a Google Cloud project is required.

    Source: Data Studio docs: Conversational Analytics overview, read on

  • A scorecard can compare its number with an earlier period, another metric or a specific value, and bullet and gauge charts show a metric against a target. Alerts on a chart are a Data Studio Pro feature.

    Source: Data Studio docs: create alerts on a chart, read on

  • A report can be embedded in any site or app that supports the HTML iframe tag, shared with people or by link, and sent as a PDF on a delivery schedule.

    Source: Data Studio docs: embed a report, read on

  • A report can be copied or downloaded as a PDF. The Data Studio API searches and manages assets and permissions; we found no export of a report definition as code.

    Source: Data Studio API, read on

  • The template gallery has templates from Google for sources such as BigQuery, Google Analytics, Google Ads and Search Console.

    Source: Data Studio docs: create a report from a template, read on

Questions

Is Looker Studio now called Data Studio?

Yes. According to Google's release notes (checked 13 November 2026), Looker Studio was renamed back to Data Studio on 16 April 2026, and the paid version is now Data Studio Pro. Existing reports keep working. Looker, Google's enterprise BI platform, is a separate product.

Is Verity a Looker Studio alternative?

For a webshop that has outgrown its Data Studio reports, yes: Verity loads Shopify, the ad platforms and email into your own BigQuery, defines the KPIs once and brings the dashboards. If a free report on Google Ads and Google Analytics does the job, Data Studio is the better choice and there is no reason to switch.

Can I keep Data Studio next to Verity?

Yes. Verity keeps the loaded and modelled data in a BigQuery project you own, and Data Studio has a BigQuery connector built by Google. A report you want to embed in a website or share with a public link can read the same tables.

Does Data Studio connect to Shopify, Meta Ads or Klaviyo?

Not with a connector built by Google (checked 13 November 2026). These sources are available as partner connectors, which the gallery says are built and supported by the partners and not by Google. In Verity, Shopify, WooCommerce, Meta Ads, Klaviyo, Brevo and ActiveCampaign are part of the product and land in your own BigQuery.

Does Data Studio have a semantic layer or an MCP server?

We found neither in Google's Data Studio documentation (checked 13 November 2026). Definitions are calculated fields on a data source, and a shared model is available by connecting to Looker, a separate product. Verity has a semantic layer that every dashboard, report and AI answer uses, and an MCP server with 100+ tools.

Read next

Dashboards and BI in VerityData models and the semantic layerAI analyticsVerity over MCPDocumentation: dashboard toolsPricing

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Sources

Google Cloud: Data StudioData Studio docs: welcomeData Studio release notesGoogle Cloud blog: Looker Studio is Data StudioData Studio docs: about Data Studio ProData Studio docs: available connectorsData Studio connector galleryData Studio docs: how blends workData Studio docs: calculated fieldsData Studio docs: connect to LookerData Studio docs: manage data freshnessData Studio docs: Conversational Analytics overviewData Studio docs: Gemini in Data StudioData Studio docs: scorecard referenceData Studio docs: create alerts on a chartData Studio docs: embed a reportData Studio docs: ways to share your reportsData Studio APIData Studio docs: copy a reportData Studio docs: create a report from a template

* Information about Data Studio is based on Data Studio’s public website and documentation as we read them on 13 November 2026. Products, features and prices change, and we may have missed or misread something. Check Data Studio’s own website for current details. Data Studio is a trademark of its owner. Verity is not affiliated with or endorsed by Data Studio. Spotted something that is not right? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.

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