Looker vs Sisense

embedded BI head-to-head for ERP teams: evidenced capabilities, published pricing, and which ERPs each actually integrates with.

	Looker	Sisense
Starting price	Quote-based	Quote-based
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud, On-premises
Company size	Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Stated ERP integrations	NetSuite, SAP, Oracle Fusion Cloud	NetSuite, SAP
Vendor	Google Cloud	Sisense

Our take

Where Looker leads

Stronger evidenced coverage on 11 of the 19 capabilities where they differ (led by governed semantic layer / centralized metrics and calculated fields / custom formula language).
Stated Oracle Fusion Cloud integration the alternative doesn't list.

Where Sisense leads

Stronger evidenced coverage on 8 of the 19 capabilities where they differ (led by in-memory columnar query engine and built-in etl / data preparation).

Where they differ

The 19 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	Looker	Sisense
Governed semantic layer / centralized metricsData Modeling & Semantic Layer	Core strength	Not evidenced
In-memory columnar query engineData Modeling & Semantic Layer	Not evidenced	Core strength
Calculated fields / custom formula languageData Modeling & Semantic Layer	Core strength	Not evidenced
SSO / enterprise identity integrationGovernance & Administration	Core strength	Not evidenced
Built-in ETL / data preparationData Modeling & Semantic Layer	Not evidenced	Supported Custom tables and SQL transformations
Cross-source data blending and joinsData Modeling & Semantic Layer	Not evidenced	Supported Data modeling and relationships across sources
Scheduled and incremental data refreshData Connectivity	Supported Caching policies and persistent derived tables (PDTs)	Not evidenced
API-based data ingestionData Connectivity	Not evidenced	Supported API-based data ingestion
Predictive forecasting / AutoMLAI & Augmented Analytics	Not evidenced	Supported Forecasting and trend detection
Content lifecycle managementGovernance & Administration	Supported Version control and Git integration for LookML models	Not evidenced
Scheduled report/dashboard deliveryReporting, Alerting & Distribution	Supported Scheduled delivery and alerting	Not evidenced
Data-driven alerts on thresholdsReporting, Alerting & Distribution	Supported Scheduled delivery and alerting	Not evidenced
Planning write-back to source systemEnterprise Planning & Forecasting	Supported Data actions and write-back integrations	Not evidenced
Live/direct query against the sourceData Modeling & Semantic Layer	Core strength	Supported Live connections to cloud data warehouses
Generative-AI conversational assistantAI & Augmented Analytics	Core strength	Supported AI-powered analytics chat experiences
White-label / full-theming customizationEmbedded & Developer Analytics	Supported Private and public embedding with custom branding	Core strength
REST API for automation and provisioningEmbedded & Developer Analytics	Supported Full REST API	Core strength
Licensing model for customer-facing (ISV) embeddingEmbedded & Developer Analytics	Supported Dedicated Embed edition with API call allowances	Core strength
Row-/column-level securityGovernance & Administration	Core strength	Supported Row-level security

Both grade identically on the other 26 capabilities — see each product's full profile: Looker, Sisense.

Looker vs Sisense — FAQs

Is Looker or Sisense better for ERP integration?

Both state integrations with NetSuite, SAP. Looker additionally lists Oracle Fusion Cloud. Always verify the connector against your ERP version with a reference customer.

Which is cheaper, Looker or Sisense?

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 Sisense should each cost you — and whether a third option belongs on your shortlist.

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Looker vs Sisense

Embedded BI — full capability comparison

erpresearch.com · Independent ERP software comparison
erpresearch.com/erp-add-ons/embedded-bi/looker-vs-sisense

	Looker	Sisense
Starting price	Quote-based	Quote-based
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud, On-premises
Company size	Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Stated ERP integrations	NetSuite, SAP, Oracle Fusion Cloud	NetSuite, SAP
Vendor	Google Cloud	Sisense

Dashboards & Visualization

Capability	Looker	Sisense
Drag-and-drop dashboard/report authoring	Supported — Looker Studio for free-form visualization	Supported — Drag-and-drop dashboard and widget builder
Interactive filtering, drill-down and cross-filtering	Supported — Explores for self-service querying	Supported — Interactive filters and drill-down
Broad chart and visualization library	Supported — Custom visualizations and the Marketplace	Supported — Wide range of visualization types; custom widgets and plugins
Mobile-optimized dashboards	Not evidenced	Not evidenced
Geospatial / map visualizations	Not evidenced	Not evidenced
Pixel-perfect / paginated report layouts	Not evidenced	Not evidenced
Narrative data storytelling	Not evidenced	Not evidenced

Data Modeling & Semantic Layer

Capability	Looker	Sisense
Governed semantic layer / centralized metrics	Core strength	Not evidenced
In-memory columnar query engine	Not evidenced	Core strength
Live/direct query against the source	Core strength	Supported — Live connections to cloud data warehouses
Built-in ETL / data preparation	Not evidenced	Supported — Custom tables and SQL transformations
Calculated fields / custom formula language	Core strength	Not evidenced
Cross-source data blending and joins	Not evidenced	Supported — Data modeling and relationships across sources

Data Connectivity

Capability	Looker	Sisense
Native/prebuilt ERP connectors	Not evidenced	Not evidenced
Broad database & cloud warehouse connectors	Supported — Native dialects for BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift and 50+ databases	Supported — Connectors for Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift and other warehouses
ODBC/JDBC driver access	Not evidenced	Not evidenced
Scheduled and incremental data refresh	Supported — Caching policies and persistent derived tables (PDTs)	Not evidenced
On-premises data gateway	Not evidenced	Not evidenced
API-based data ingestion	Not evidenced	Supported — API-based data ingestion

AI & Augmented Analytics

Capability	Looker	Sisense
Natural-language query	Supported — Gemini-powered natural-language querying via Conversational Analytics	Supported — Natural-language query and generative-AI assistance
Generative-AI conversational assistant	Core strength	Supported — AI-powered analytics chat experiences
Automated insight / anomaly detection	Supported — Agentic insights and automated decisions	Supported — Automated insights and narratives
Predictive forecasting / AutoML	Not evidenced	Supported — Forecasting and trend detection
Key-driver / root-cause analysis	Not evidenced	Not evidenced
Agentic AI actions/workflows	Not evidenced	Not evidenced

Embedded & Developer Analytics

Capability	Looker	Sisense
Embed SDK / JavaScript client library	Core strength	Core strength
White-label / full-theming customization	Supported — Private and public embedding with custom branding	Core strength
Multi-tenant row-level security for embedding	Core strength	Core strength
REST API for automation and provisioning	Supported — Full REST API	Core strength
Licensing model for customer-facing (ISV) embedding	Supported — Dedicated Embed edition with API call allowances	Core strength

Governance & Administration

Capability	Looker	Sisense
Role-based access control	Supported — Centralized permissions, model access and content folders	Supported — Role-based access control
Row-/column-level security	Core strength	Supported — Row-level security
SSO / enterprise identity integration	Core strength	Not evidenced
Audit logging and usage monitoring	Supported — Usage and performance monitoring	Supported — Audit and usage monitoring
Content lifecycle management	Supported — Version control and Git integration for LookML models	Not evidenced
Data cataloging and lineage	Not evidenced	Not evidenced

Reporting, Alerting & Distribution

Capability	Looker	Sisense
Scheduled report/dashboard delivery	Supported — Scheduled delivery and alerting	Not evidenced
Data-driven alerts on thresholds	Supported — Scheduled delivery and alerting	Not evidenced
Export to Excel/PDF/PowerPoint	Not evidenced	Not evidenced
Sharing, comments and collaboration	Not evidenced	Not evidenced
Subscriptions to reports/dashboards	Not evidenced	Not evidenced

Enterprise Planning & Forecasting

Capability	Looker	Sisense
Multidimensional / integrated planning models	Not evidenced	Not evidenced
What-if scenario modeling	Not evidenced	Not evidenced
Planning write-back to source system	Supported — Data actions and write-back integrations	Not evidenced
Collaborative planning workflow / approvals	Not evidenced	Not evidenced

“Not evidenced” means our research found no public documentation of this capability — the vendor may still offer it. Confirm on a demo. Sourced from vendor documentation and marketplaces; verify against your ERP version. © ERP Research — independent, no vendor sponsorship.