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GoodData vs Looker
March 17, 2025 | Author: Michael Stromann
5★
Powered by advanced business intelligence tools & technology, the GoodData platform leads the industry in SaaS BI. Connect to structured and unstructured data from any source. Gather and store complete history. Integrate and validate data, and apply business rules on the fly for contextual analysis. Execute descriptive and predictive analysis through an extensive library of functions and features. Report, collaborate, and uncover insights through a comprehensive, diverse set of visualizations
16★
Looker is a business intelligence software and big data analytics platform that helps you explore, analyze and share real-time business analytics easily.
GoodData and Looker are both cloud-based analytics platforms, which means they exist somewhere in the digital ether, tirelessly crunching numbers and presenting insights in ways that make business executives nod sagely. They let users create dashboards, generate reports and integrate with various data sources—thus giving the illusion that data is well-behaved and neatly organized, rather than the chaotic beast it actually is. Both platforms also feature APIs, which, like the entrances to hyperspace, are extremely useful but somewhat incomprehensible to the average human.
GoodData has been around since 2007 and, like all good things with an air of mystery, hails from the Czech Republic. It prides itself on an API-first approach, allowing developers to weave analytics into applications with the finesse of a particularly well-trained cat burglar. It also boasts a managed data warehouse, which means that rather than having to store and manage your own pile of unruly data, you can shove it into GoodData’s system and let it do the heavy lifting. The platform is often used for embedded analytics in SaaS applications, meaning you’ve probably interacted with it without even realizing—rather like a well-camouflaged time traveler.
Looker, by contrast, was founded in the United States in 2012 and was later absorbed into the ever-growing empire of Google, presumably as part of its plan to eventually index all known reality. Unlike GoodData, which prefers to let you integrate however you please, Looker demands allegiance to its own language, LookML, which allows for intricate data modeling—assuming you are willing to learn its arcane syntax. It works beautifully with Google Cloud but will tolerate other cloud environments with a diplomatic nod. Companies tend to use Looker for internal business intelligence, enabling vast teams to generate reports about things that, with any luck, might one day make sense.
See also: Top 10 Business Intelligence software
GoodData has been around since 2007 and, like all good things with an air of mystery, hails from the Czech Republic. It prides itself on an API-first approach, allowing developers to weave analytics into applications with the finesse of a particularly well-trained cat burglar. It also boasts a managed data warehouse, which means that rather than having to store and manage your own pile of unruly data, you can shove it into GoodData’s system and let it do the heavy lifting. The platform is often used for embedded analytics in SaaS applications, meaning you’ve probably interacted with it without even realizing—rather like a well-camouflaged time traveler.
Looker, by contrast, was founded in the United States in 2012 and was later absorbed into the ever-growing empire of Google, presumably as part of its plan to eventually index all known reality. Unlike GoodData, which prefers to let you integrate however you please, Looker demands allegiance to its own language, LookML, which allows for intricate data modeling—assuming you are willing to learn its arcane syntax. It works beautifully with Google Cloud but will tolerate other cloud environments with a diplomatic nod. Companies tend to use Looker for internal business intelligence, enabling vast teams to generate reports about things that, with any luck, might one day make sense.
See also: Top 10 Business Intelligence software
