Tracking and analytics · Guide
Is Looker Studio free? What Pro adds
By Limon Ghosh, Sydney · Updated 24 October 2026 · 6 min read
Short answer: yes. Google says Data Studio (formerly Looker Studio) is available at no charge for creators and report viewers. The paid Pro version adds team workspaces, support and organisation controls, and Google shows a price of $9 per user per project per month. Most small businesses and agencies do not need Pro.
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The short answer
Name change: Google’s documentation says the product name returned to Data Studio in April 2026, and the address is now datastudio.google.com. The old lookerstudio.google.com address redirects there. Many people still search for “Looker Studio”, so we use both names.
The standard tool costs nothing to build or to view. Google’s own page says “Data Studio is available at no charge for creators and report viewers.” Pro is a separate paid subscription that adds team and support features.
Free vs Pro
| Free | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | No charge for creators and viewers | $9 per user per project per month (Google, currency not stated on the page) |
| Who owns the reports | The person who made them | Your organisation owns Pro reports and data sources |
| Team workspaces | No | Yes: shared locations for team collaboration |
| Scheduled delivery | 1 schedule per report, at most once a day | Up to 200 schedules per report, plus delivery to Google Chat and Slack |
| Support | Help pages | Cloud Customer Care, which needs both a Google Cloud support plan and Pro |
| Security extras | Standard | Customer-managed encryption keys, customer-managed storage, data residency |
| Viewers | No licence needed | No Pro licence needed to view reports |
Sources: Google: about Pro, Google: Data Studio and scheduled delivery. We shortened the wording.
Scheduled emails: where the free version stops
Both versions can send a PDF of a report by email, with a preview of the first page and a link to the full report. The free version is limited to one schedule per report and a daily frequency at most. Email quotas depend on your account type:
Schedules you can set per report
Free vs Pro, as listed by Google
Source: Google: schedule automatic report delivery. Pro allows up to 200 schedules per report.
View as table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Free | 1 |
| Pro | 200 |
| Account type | Emails per day | Emails per month |
|---|---|---|
| Individual Google account | 200 | 800 |
| Google Workspace | 500 | 3,000 |
| Pro | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Source: Google scheduled delivery page. A schedule can have no more than 50 recipient addresses.
What the price means
Google’s Data Studio page shows $9 per user per project per month. The page shows no currency code and no date, so check the page before you budget. Google’s documentation also says price varies with the length of the subscription, that self-service Pro is billed monthly per licence whether or not it is used, and that each subscription is tied to one Google Cloud project. Google offers a 30-day free trial.
Check before you buy. We read this price on Google’s page on 24 October 2026. Prices change, and Google’s own documentation points to a separate page for current Pro pricing.
Do you need Pro?
Free is enough if you
- Build dashboards for yourself or your clients
- Share reports by link or with named people
- Send one weekly PDF to a few people
- Do not need Google support or special security
Look at Pro if you
- Need team workspaces and organisation-owned reports
- Need many schedules or delivery to Chat and Slack
- Need customer-managed encryption or data residency
- Need support through a Google Cloud plan
Looker Studio vs Looker
They are different products. Google describes Looker as a business intelligence platform with governance for key metric definitions, robust data access permissions, and operational analytics. It describes Data Studio as a no-cost tool for self-service analytics, ad-hoc reporting and interactive dashboards. Most marketing teams need the second.
What to do next
Start with the free version and see what you actually need. Our template guide and dashboard examples show how to build something useful in an afternoon. If you would rather have it done for you, see our reporting and dashboards service.
Sources
- Google: Data Studio (pricing and overview)
- Google: about Data Studio Pro
- Google: Pro subscription overview
- Google: schedule automatic report delivery
- Google: Looker and Data Studio comparison
Questions answered
Is Looker Studio free to use?
Yes. Google says Data Studio, formerly Looker Studio, is available at no charge for creators and report viewers.
How much is Looker Studio Pro?
Google’s Data Studio page shows $9 per user per project per month. The page does not state the currency or a date, and Google says price varies with subscription length, so check the current page before you budget.
Do viewers need a Pro licence?
No. Google says users who only need to view reports do not require a Pro licence.
Is there a free trial of Pro?
Yes. Google says you can try Data Studio Pro in your organisation at no cost for 30 days.
What is the difference between Looker and Looker Studio?
Google describes Looker as a business intelligence platform with governance and permissions, and Data Studio as a no-cost self-service reporting tool.
Limon Ghosh runs MindfulClicks from Sydney and manages paid ads, tracking and Claude AI automation for online stores and B2B companies in Australia and the USA.
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