Compare
MetricDeck vs Looker Studio
Google's free dashboard builder. You build each report yourself, from Google's connectors and connectors made by partners. MetricDeck watches every client's numbers and website for you, and says which client needs you today, and why.
The short answer
Which one fits
They do different jobs, and plenty of agencies use both.
Choose Looker Studio if
You want a free, fully custom dashboard and have the time to build and maintain one per client.
You need charts or blends of data MetricDeck doesn't make.
Your reports pull from many sources through partner connectors.
Choose MetricDeck if
You want to be told which client needs you today, and why, without opening a dashboard for each one.
Your clients run Google Ads, and you want the search terms wasting money found for you, with a negative keyword list to paste in.
You run ChatGPT ads, or want to know whether ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity can read your clients' sites.
You want uptime, SSL, domain expiry and page speed watched beside the marketing numbers.
You've spent too many evenings fixing broken charts and date ranges in client dashboards.
Side by side
How they differ
Free. Many partner connectors (for non-Google sources) are paid subscriptions, and Looker Studio Pro adds team features for a fee. See Looker Studio's prices
| Looker Studio | MetricDeck | |
|---|---|---|
| Setting up a client | A blank canvas: you pick every chart, filter and date range, for each client, and fix them when something changes. | Nothing to build: connect Google, pick the client's accounts, and every client gets the same checked tabs. |
| Spotting a problem | It shows the charts you built; noticing that something changed is up to whoever reads them. | Rules check every client after each sync and open an alert when spend, conversions, traffic or the site moves, with the numbers behind it. |
| Sources | Google's connectors free, other sources through partner connectors. | Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Google Ads, ChatGPT ads (OpenAI Ads) and any website today. Meta Ads and Microsoft Clarity are next. |
| How it charges | Free, with paid partner connectors and Pro. | Free for 1 project, then $19 a month for 3, $49 for 10 and $129 for 30. |
Written by MetricDeck, as fairly as we can, and checked on 6 October 2026. Features and prices change, so check Looker Studio's own site for today's. Something here wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.
- Can I use MetricDeck alongside Looker Studio?
- Yes. MetricDeck reads Google directly, so there's nothing to export or move: connect Google, pick each client's accounts, and the first sync brings in recent history. Keep Looker Studio for what it does well and let MetricDeck tell you where to look.
- Why pay when Looker Studio is free?
- Looker Studio is free to use, but each dashboard takes time to build and keep working, and it only shows what you put on it. MetricDeck is for finding problems across every client without reading every chart: wasted ad spend, traffic drops, a site that's down or shut out of AI search, each explained. Its free plan covers one project.
- Can MetricDeck make custom charts?
- No. It gives every client the same tabs with checked numbers, charts by day, week or month, and a client report. For one-off custom analysis, Looker Studio is the better tool.
See which client needs you today
Connect Google and the first sync finds what changed, what it cost and what to do next. Free for one project, no card, and it never changes your accounts.
Free for one client · No card · Read-only access