Looker Studio
The Trade Desk
| Feature | Looker Studio | The Trade Desk |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $9/mo | Contact sales |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.2 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | marketers, analysts, google-ads-users, small-businesses | media-buyers, agencies, enterprise-advertisers, programmatic-teams |
| Founded | 2016 | 2009 |
| Dashboards | ✓ | ✗ |
| Data Connectors | ✓ | ✗ |
| Visualizations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sharing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Templates | ✓ | ✗ |
| Calculated Fields | ✓ | ✗ |
| Programmatic Buying | ✗ | ✓ |
| Connected Tv | ✗ | ✓ |
| Audio Ads | ✗ | ✓ |
| Data Marketplace | ✗ | ✓ |
| Attribution | ✗ | ✓ |
| Identity Graph | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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 Trade Desk Pros
- Best-in-class DSP technology
- Excellent CTV capabilities
- Strong data marketplace
- Transparent pricing
✗ The Trade Desk Cons
- Enterprise minimum spend
- Requires programmatic expertise
- Complex for beginners
The Verdict
Looker Studio is built for marketers and analysts, with a focus on dashboards and data-connectors. The Trade Desk targets media buyers and agencies and leads with programmatic-buying and connected-tv.
The Trade Desk 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. The Trade Desk requires a paid subscription from day one.
Bottom line: The Trade Desk has a slight overall edge — but if free matters most to you, Looker Studio may still be the right call.