--- title: "Looker vs Tableau: choose for the reporting you need | Rig" description: "Compare Looker and Tableau by modelling, reporting workflow, access and the work needed to migrate. Rig helps you choose and implement the setup against your business requirements." canonical: "https://rig.so/compare/looker-vs-tableau" format: markdown --- Comparison # Looker vs Tableau: choose for the reporting you need Compare Looker and Tableau by modelling, reporting workflow, access and the work needed to migrate. Rig helps you choose and implement the setup against your business requirements. By [Rig](https://rig.so/about) · Last updated 11 November 2026 [Get a migration plan](https://rig.so/book-demo) [Download the migration checklist](https://rig.so/downloads/migration-checklist.csv) ## At a glance - Choose against the workload and the people who will run it. - Compare licence, infrastructure and implementation costs together. - Rig can scope the migration after you choose a target. 01**Inventory** Records, logic and owners 02**Map and rebuild** Source to target definitions 03**Run in parallel** Counts, totals and access 04**Accept and switch** Sign-off and rollback plan Each wave ends with an acceptance check. This diagram shows the delivery process. ## Compare the work as well as the software These are decision criteria, rather than a universal ranking. Product editions and commercial terms vary. Check the linked vendor documentation and obtain a quote before buying. | Option | Approach | Cost model | Work your team owns | When to consider it | Trade-off | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Looker | LookML modelling with governed exploration | Request a quote for the deployment and users you need. | Maintain LookML, joins and access filters. | Teams that want centrally defined business metrics. | LookML definitions need translation when you leave. | | Tableau | Visual analysis with workbooks and published data sources | Confirm creator, explorer and viewer requirements. | Published sources, extracts and calculations need ownership. | Teams with established visual analysis workflows. | Moving calculations to another BI tool requires rebuilding and testing. | ## How to choose between them Looker suits a team that wants to maintain shared metric definitions in LookML. Tableau suits workbook-led visual analysis. Before moving between them, compare one report with non-trivial joins and filters, because matching chart appearance does not establish matching metric definitions. ## Test a report your business already depends on Choose a report with calculations, restricted data and scheduled delivery. Build it on the shortlisted target and compare the numbers, permissions and operating cost. Ask the finance or operations owner to use it before accepting the result. ## Have Rig implement the decision Rig is a data infrastructure and implementation partner. We audit usage, map the data and logic, then agree a fixed delivery scope. You can keep the warehouse and use a BI tool you choose. Rig Map retains the definitions and dependencies for later reporting and agent work. ## When keeping the current tool makes sense A working reporting setup with known costs may be worth keeping. Replacing software adds rebuild, training and parallel-run costs. Start with the specific reporting problem and compare the cost of fixing it against the cost of moving. ## Common questions Which option is best for our team? Use the comparison to make a shortlist, then test your actual data, calculations and access rules. The best fit depends on your users, existing models and operating capacity. Can Rig help without replacing our warehouse? Yes. Rig can assess and rebuild reporting on your existing warehouse. Agree access, refresh requirements and the target BI tool during discovery. How much does a migration cost? Rig maps the work and agrees a fixed delivery price before the migration starts. Source access, custom logic, history and the number of integrations affect the scope. Platform and third-party licence costs are agreed separately. Can we keep reporting history? Yes, where the source permits extraction. Agree which history belongs in the target system and which stays in a governed archive. Reconcile both against the original records. How do you check that the data matches? Compare record counts, identifiers, relationships and business totals for each wave. Record exceptions and require the business owner to accept the results before cutover. ## Related guides and services [Legacy BI migration: assess, rebuild and verify](https://rig.so/use-cases/bi-migration)[Data migration services for systems, warehouses and reporting](https://rig.so/services/data-migration)[Power BI alternatives in 2026](https://rig.so/alternatives/power-bi) ## Sources and product details Vendor information checked on 11 November 2026. Confirm current editions, licence terms and prices with the vendor before buying. - [Looker documentation](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs) - [Tableau documentation](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/default.htm) Talk to Rig ## Plan the move around the work you need to keep Tell us where your team spends time, loses money or needs better information. In a 30-minute call, we’ll discuss the data and systems work that could help. [Get a migration plan](https://rig.so/book-demo)Use the platform with your team, or add our engineers. --- - [This page as HTML](https://rig.so/compare/looker-vs-tableau) - [Site map for language models](https://rig.so/llms.txt) - [API and agent documentation](https://rig.so/developers)