In this guide · 8 sections
- 01Power BI vs Looker Studio: the quick comparison
- 02What each one really costs a small team
- 03Data sources: Xero, Shopify, Google Sheets and Excel
- 04Sharing dashboards with people outside the company
- 05Refresh limits: how live is the data?
- 06When a small custom dashboard is cheaper
- 07Do it yourself or get help?
- 08Frequently asked questions
Short answer
For most SMEs under 20 people, Data Studio (formerly Looker Studio) is the cheaper start: free, browser-based and easy to share. Pick Power BI if you already run on Microsoft 365, need serious data modelling, and can pay about US$14 per viewer per month.
Power BI vs Looker Studio: the quick comparison
First, the name. Google rebranded Looker Studio as Data Studio in April 2026. Same product, same reports, new address (datastudio.google.com). Most people still search for Looker Studio, so this guide uses both names.
Data Studio (Looker Studio)
Cheapest startFree; Pro US$9/user/project/mo
- Runs in the browser, nothing to install
- Shares like Google Docs, including with outsiders
- Native Google Sheets, GA4, Google Ads, BigQuery connectors
- Light data modelling: blends, calculated fields
Best for: Marketing and sales dashboards for teams on Google Workspace.
Power BI
Strongest modellingPro US$14/user/mo; PPU US$24
- Desktop app (Windows) to build, web service to share
- Powerful data model, DAX formulas, Excel-friendly
- Viewers of shared reports usually need Pro too
- Fits Microsoft 365, SharePoint and Teams
Best for: Finance and operations reporting in Microsoft 365 companies.
Prices are approximate, as of October 2026, from Microsoft's Power BI pricing page (US dollars, paid yearly) and Google's Data Studio page. Singapore list prices in SGD can differ, so check your own admin centre before you buy.
What each one really costs a small team
The biggest difference is who pays. In Data Studio, the free edition lets anyone build and share reports. In Power BI, the person who publishes needs Pro, and so does every colleague who opens the shared report. Microsoft's own guide says free-licence users can only view shared content when it sits on a large Fabric F64 or Premium capacity, which is far beyond a typical SME budget (Microsoft Learn).
| Team setup | Data Studio | Power BI |
|---|---|---|
| 1 builder, 4 viewers | US$0 | 5 x Pro = about US$70/mo |
| 1 builder, 10 viewers | US$0 | 11 x Pro = about US$154/mo |
| Need admin controls or AI features | Pro: US$9 per user per project/mo | Premium Per User: about US$24/user/mo |
| Already on Microsoft 365 E5 | US$0 | Pro is included in E5 |
Power BI Pro is bundled only with Microsoft 365 E5 and Office 365 E5, per Microsoft's licensing guidance. Most SMEs are on Business Standard or Business Premium, so it is an extra line on the bill.
Data sources: Xero, Shopify, Google Sheets and Excel
Most SME dashboards pull from the same few places: accounting (Xero or QuickBooks), sales (Shopify, a POS or a booking system), ads and analytics, and a spreadsheet someone updates by hand.
- Google Sheets, GA4, Google Ads, Search Console: native and free in Data Studio. Power BI can read Sheets and Excel, but Google marketing data needs a connector.
- Excel files in OneDrive or SharePoint: native and easy in Power BI. Data Studio can read them only through an export or a connector.
- Xero and QuickBooks: neither tool ships a free built-in connector for Xero. Both rely on paid third-party connectors (for example CData or Dataddo for Power BI, partner connectors in Data Studio's gallery of 1,300+ community connectors).
- Shopify: same story. Use a partner connector, or schedule an export of orders to Google Sheets and report from there.
That last option is often the cheapest. A small automation that copies yesterday's Xero invoices or Shopify orders into a Google Sheet each morning gives you a clean, owned data source and avoids a monthly connector fee. If you are still choosing an accounting system, our Xero vs QuickBooks guide covers which has the better reporting add-ons.
Refresh limits: how live is the data?
A dashboard is only useful if the numbers are current enough for the decision it supports. Daily is fine for a sales summary; a kitchen or warehouse screen may need updates every few minutes.
| Data Studio | Power BI Pro | Power BI PPU / capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Sheets | Every 15 min (default), up to 12 h | Scheduled refresh | Scheduled refresh |
| Google Ads, GA4 | Every 12 h (GA4 can be 1-12 h) | Via connector | Via connector |
| Databases | Every 1 min to 12 h | Up to 8 refreshes/day | Up to 48 refreshes/day |
| Manual refresh | Any viewer can refresh | Owner can refresh on demand | Owner can refresh on demand |
Sources: Data Studio data freshness and Power BI data refresh. Power BI's limit of eight scheduled refreshes a day on shared capacity catches many small teams. If a dataset on Pro must update hourly, you need Premium Per User or a different design such as DirectQuery to a database.
When a small custom dashboard is cheaper
Off-the-shelf BI is not always the best value. A custom page that reads directly from your systems' APIs can be cheaper over three years when you have many viewers and simple metrics.
- Choose Data Studio if your data is mostly in Google tools or Sheets and you want something running this week.
- Choose Power BI if an accountant or analyst will build complex finance models and everyone is on Microsoft 365.
- Choose custom if many staff, franchisees or clients need a login, the metrics are fixed, and per-seat fees would keep growing.
Where your files live matters too. If you are still deciding between Google Drive and OneDrive, read our Google Drive vs OneDrive vs Dropbox comparison first, because the dashboard tool usually follows the file platform.
Do it yourself or get help?
Building the first dashboard yourself is realistic in Data Studio: connect a Google Sheet, drag in a few charts, share it. Power BI has a steeper learning curve but excellent free training on Microsoft Learn.
Before you build a dashboard
If you want the data plumbing done for you, our Workflow Automation service (S$390 per workflow) can feed Xero, Shopify or form data into a Google Sheet on a schedule. For a dashboard with logins for staff or clients and no per-seat fees, see Custom Tool or Dashboard (from S$1,990). Our workflow automation cost guide explains how those projects are usually scoped.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Looker Studio is now called Data Studio and the standard edition is still free for building and sharing reports. Data Studio Pro, at about US$9 per user per project per month as of October 2026, adds team workspaces, admin controls and AI features. Paid partner connectors for tools such as Xero or Shopify are charged separately by those partners.
Normally no. On Power BI Pro, both the publisher and every viewer need a Pro or Premium Per User licence. Free users can view shared content only when it sits on a Fabric F64 or Premium capacity, which costs far more than a small team's licences. The other route, Publish to web, makes the report public to anyone, so it is not suitable for business data.
No. Microsoft lists Power BI Pro as included only in Microsoft 365 E5 and Office 365 E5. Business Basic, Business Standard and Business Premium users get the free Power BI account, which lets them build reports for themselves, but sharing with colleagues needs Pro licences added to the subscription.
There are three common routes. Use a paid third-party connector built for Power BI or Data Studio. Export Xero reports to Google Sheets or Excel on a schedule with an automation tool. Or build a small integration that reads the Xero API and stores the data in a database the dashboard reads. The export route is often the cheapest for a small business.
Data Studio is usually easier. It runs in the browser, works like other Google tools and connects to Google Sheets in a few clicks. Power BI Desktop is a Windows app with a richer but more complex data model. If your bookkeeper or analyst already knows Excel well, Power BI's learning curve is less of an issue.