In April 2026 Google renamed Looker Studio back to Data Studio, the name many people had kept using anyway. Whatever you call it, it is one of the most popular ways for UK organisations to build dashboards, and for good reason. But it is not the only option, and it is not always the best one. Here is how we help clients decide.
What Data Studio does well
- It is free to use. Anyone with a Google account can build and share a report.
- It connects to a lot. Google Sheets, Google Analytics and BigQuery work straight away, and partner connectors reach many other tools, although some of those charge a fee.
- It is easy to share. Reports are shared like a Google Doc, and can be emailed out on a schedule.
- It is quick. A useful first dashboard can often be ready in days rather than weeks.
When Data Studio is the right choice
- You already use Google Workspace, or your data lives in Google Sheets or BigQuery.
- You need clear, shareable reports rather than a full application.
- Your data is a manageable size, and the rules behind your numbers are fairly simple.
- You want to get started quickly and keep costs low.
Where it starts to struggle
- Large or complicated data. Reports built directly on big spreadsheets, or on several sources blended together, can become slow. Preparing the data first, for example in BigQuery, usually solves this, but it is worth planning for.
- Complex business rules. If your measures need lots of calculated fields and exceptions, they become hard to maintain inside the report itself.
- Strict access rules. If each customer or team must only ever see their own data, it needs careful design, and sometimes a different tool.
- Dashboards inside your own product. If customers should see their dashboard inside your portal, with your branding and your sign-in, a bespoke build is usually the better fit.
What a bespoke dashboard gives you
A bespoke dashboard is built into a website or web app, designed around exactly what your users need to see and do. It can combine any data source, apply any business rule, sit behind your own sign-in and look entirely like your organisation. There are no per-user licences, so it costs the same whether ten people use it or ten thousand.
The trade-off is cost and time. A bespoke dashboard takes longer to build, and like any software it needs looking after.
A simple way to decide
- Start with Data Studio if you need insight quickly, your data lives in Google tools and the people using it are your own team.
- Go bespoke if the dashboard is part of what you offer customers, needs complex rules or permissions, or has to handle large volumes of data.
- Or do both. Many organisations use Data Studio for internal reporting and a bespoke view for their customers.
Our approach
We are not tied to any one tool, and we will recommend the simplest option that does the job, even when it is a free one. Our dashboards start at £750 for a single report, and our Dashboard quick-start costs £1,950 to £5,000. Both can be built in Data Studio or as a web dashboard, so you get the right tool for the job rather than the one we happen to sell.