CoStar
Looker Studio
| Feature | CoStar | Looker Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Contact sales | Free / from $9/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.1 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Best For | commercial-brokers, property-investors, asset-managers, appraisers | marketers, analysts, google-ads-users, small-businesses |
| Founded | 1987 | 2016 |
| Property Data | ✓ | ✗ |
| Market Analytics | ✓ | ✗ |
| Tenant Information | ✓ | ✗ |
| Comparable Sales | ✓ | ✗ |
| Mapping | ✓ | ✗ |
| Forecasting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Alerts | ✓ | ✗ |
| Dashboards | ✗ | ✓ |
| Data Connectors | ✗ | ✓ |
| Visualizations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sharing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Templates | ✗ | ✓ |
| Calculated Fields | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ CoStar Pros
- Most comprehensive commercial real estate database
- Detailed property and tenant information
- Advanced analytics and market forecasting
- Verified data with dedicated research teams
✗ CoStar Cons
- Very expensive subscription costs
- Primarily focused on commercial real estate
- Steep learning curve for new users
✓ Looker Studio Pros
- Free
- Google data integration
- Shareable dashboards
- Many connectors
✗ Looker Studio Cons
- Can be slow
- Limited data blending
- Basic compared to paid tools
The Verdict
CoStar is built for commercial brokers and property investors, with a focus on property-data and market-analytics. Looker Studio targets marketers and analysts and leads with dashboards and data-connectors.
CoStar uses custom enterprise pricing, while Looker Studio starts at $9/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Looker Studio has a free plan, which gives it a meaningful edge for individuals and small teams exploring their options. CoStar requires a paid subscription from day one.
Feature-wise, CoStar offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Looker Studio takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.