Looker vs Qlik Sense
embedded BI head-to-head for ERP teams: evidenced capabilities, published pricing, and which ERPs each actually integrates with.
| Starting price | Quote-based | Subscription |
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud, On-premises |
| Company size | Mid-market, Enterprise | Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Stated ERP integrations | NetSuite, SAP, Oracle Fusion Cloud | SAP, Oracle Fusion Cloud |
| Vendor | Google Cloud | Qlik |
Our take
Where Looker leads
- Stronger evidenced coverage on 12 of the 27 capabilities where they differ (led by governed semantic layer / centralized metrics and live/direct query against the source).
- Stated NetSuite integration the alternative doesn't list.
Where Qlik Sense leads
- Stronger evidenced coverage on 15 of the 27 capabilities where they differ (led by in-memory columnar query engine and native/prebuilt erp connectors).
Where they differ
The 27 capabilities (of 45 in the embedded BI taxonomy) where the evidence separates them, biggest gaps first. “Not evidenced” means our research found no public documentation of this capability — the vendor may still offer it. Confirm on a demo.
| Capability | ||
|---|---|---|
| Governed semantic layer / centralized metricsData Modeling & Semantic Layer | Core strength | Not evidenced |
| In-memory columnar query engineData Modeling & Semantic Layer | Not evidenced | Core strength |
| Live/direct query against the sourceData Modeling & Semantic Layer | Core strength | Not evidenced |
| Calculated fields / custom formula languageData Modeling & Semantic Layer | Core strength | Not evidenced |
| Native/prebuilt ERP connectorsData Connectivity | Not evidenced | Core strength |
| Predictive forecasting / AutoMLAI & Augmented Analytics | Not evidenced | Core strength |
| Multi-tenant row-level security for embeddingEmbedded & Developer Analytics | Core strength | Not evidenced |
| SSO / enterprise identity integrationGovernance & Administration | Core strength | Not evidenced |
| Mobile-optimized dashboardsDashboards & Visualization | Not evidenced | Supported Responsive dashboards |
| Pixel-perfect / paginated report layoutsDashboards & Visualization | Not evidenced | Supported Qlik Reporting Service for pixel-perfect and tabular reports |
| Built-in ETL / data preparationData Modeling & Semantic Layer | Not evidenced | Supported Qlik load script and data manager for visual data preparation |
| Cross-source data blending and joinsData Modeling & Semantic Layer | Not evidenced | Supported Combine SAP and non-SAP data in one associative model |
| Key-driver / root-cause analysisAI & Augmented Analytics | Not evidenced | Supported Associative Insights surfacing hidden relationships |
| REST API for automation and provisioningEmbedded & Developer Analytics | Supported Full REST API | Not evidenced |
| Licensing model for customer-facing (ISV) embeddingEmbedded & Developer Analytics | Supported Dedicated Embed edition with API call allowances | Not evidenced |
| Audit logging and usage monitoringGovernance & Administration | Supported Usage and performance monitoring | Not evidenced |
| Export to Excel/PDF/PowerPointReporting, Alerting & Distribution | Not evidenced | Supported Export to Excel, PDF and PowerPoint |
| What-if scenario modelingEnterprise Planning & Forecasting | Not evidenced | Supported What-if scenario analysis |
| Planning write-back to source systemEnterprise Planning & Forecasting | Supported Data actions and write-back integrations | Not evidenced |
| Interactive filtering, drill-down and cross-filteringDashboards & Visualization | Supported Explores for self-service querying | Core strength |
| Broad chart and visualization libraryDashboards & Visualization | Supported Custom visualizations and the Marketplace | Core strength |
| Broad database & cloud warehouse connectorsData Connectivity | Supported Native dialects for BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift and 50+ databases | Core strength |
| Natural-language queryAI & Augmented Analytics | Supported Gemini-powered natural-language querying via Conversational Analytics | Core strength |
| Generative-AI conversational assistantAI & Augmented Analytics | Core strength | Supported Qlik Answers generative-AI assistant in the broader portfolio |
| Automated insight / anomaly detectionAI & Augmented Analytics | Supported Agentic insights and automated decisions | Core strength |
| Embed SDK / JavaScript client libraryEmbedded & Developer Analytics | Core strength | Supported nebula.js / enigma.js libraries and single integration API |
| Row-/column-level securityGovernance & Administration | Core strength | Supported Section access for row- and column-level security |
Both grade identically on the other 18 capabilities — see each product's full profile: Looker, Qlik Sense.
Looker vs Qlik Sense — FAQs
Is Looker or Qlik Sense better for ERP integration?
Both state integrations with SAP, Oracle Fusion Cloud. Looker additionally lists NetSuite. Always verify the connector against your ERP version with a reference customer.
Which is cheaper, Looker or Qlik Sense?
Neither publishes a list price — both quote. Ask each for the all-in first-year cost at your seat count, as one number, and compare those.
Get pricing for both
Tell us your ERP, seat count and must-haves and we'll come back with an independent view of what Looker and Qlik Sense should each cost you — and whether a third option belongs on your shortlist.