Looker vs. Sigma Computing

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Looker
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
Looker is a BI application with an analytics-oriented application server that sits on top of relational data stores. It includes an end-user interface for exploring data, a reusable development paradigm for data discovery, and an API for supporting data in other systems.N/A
Sigma
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Sigma Computing headquartered in San Francisco provides a suite of data services such as code free data modeling, data search and explorating, and related BI and data visualization services.N/A
Pricing
LookerSigma Computing
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
LookerSigma
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredOptional
Additional DetailsMust contact sales team for pricing.Contact us for pricing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
LookerSigma Computing
Considered Both Products
Looker

No answer on this topic

Sigma
Chose Sigma Computing
I prefer Google Sheets, Looker, and Tableau over Sigma Computing. I was not involved in the purchasing decision but if it were up to me, we would use a different tool.
Chose Sigma Computing
We considered Looker when purchasing a BI tool, Looker seemed like it was less user friendly and support wouldn't be as responsive as Sigma.
Chose Sigma Computing
I was not involved in the decision-making process, and we stopped using chartio because it was discontinued. Chartio was great for looking under the hood at individual queries. Sigma is superior in the visualization aspects - it looks more professional and clean-cut. I've …
Chose Sigma Computing
With Looker, to be effective, a substantial amount of coding & modeling needs to happen in LookML. Being another language to learn, users have to context switch again from at a minimum either SQL or Python into LookML. The concept of being able to source control, code review, …
Chose Sigma Computing
I'd rate Sigma to be extremely similar to Sisense except it looks not as nice. I would say that as a tool, Sigma is more user-friendly than Tableau, Power BI, Trevor, and Metabase.

I do feel that Looker is far more powerful and looks great, but I also recognize that Looker does …
Chose Sigma Computing
I am not an expert in any of these, though from my brief exposure to Looker it felt like a steeper learning curve, more appropriate to companies with dedicated and skilled BI engineers, whereas Sigma (and Tableau, and Looker Studio) offer a quicker and more intuitive interface …
Chose Sigma Computing
Sigma has the capabilities of the other BI tools. I think it's pretty user friendly and easy to learn. Many of our stakeholders are used to using Excel so it's nice that it is a smooth onboarding process for them. We haven't looked into much of the visualization capabilities so …
Chose Sigma Computing
2 biggest reasons for Sigma were easy of use for power users, and cost of having a large amount of viewers of the data.
Chose Sigma Computing
flexibility, works really well with Snowflake, export capability, level of support, the fact that Sigma Computing is a start up and improving so quickly. Web based software
Chose Sigma Computing
Sigma offered a novel approach to data analysis with its Excel-like functionality.
Chose Sigma Computing
Data Studio was used in the past but Sigma Computing is far more powerful, customizable, and sharable across teams.
Chose Sigma Computing
Google Data Studio is free, intuitive and easy to use but the analytics are limited. In-table calculations can't be done easily and it lacks a native connector for Snowflake. Moreover, table columns cannot be arranged in any order--they must be dimension first, and metrics …
Chose Sigma Computing
Easy entry tool that can grow with you as the data expertise and literacy grows within the org. Start up effort and cost is too high in the tools that are built for large corporate solutions.
Chose Sigma Computing
It doesn't have its own language (like lookML) this is positive. Web dashboards, you don't need to send attached spreadsheets by e-mail
Chose Sigma Computing
Sigma was chosen for three reasons. 1. Excel-like workflow. Many of our researchers have a background in excel, and the excel-like workflow Sigma offers enabled them to get up and running quickly. 2. Embeds. We can easily embed dashboards into our SAS platform 3. Price. Sigma …
Chose Sigma Computing
Sigma has a good balance of affordability, self-service ability for technical teams, and ease of use. We chose it over the others basically based on ROI.
Chose Sigma Computing
Sigma Computing was the best bang for the buck and employed modern cloud-based computing while providing an easy-to-use Excel-like UI.
Chose Sigma Computing
Sigma Computing was our top choice due to the ease of use of the platform for end users doing self-exploration of data. The structure of the platform for how datasets are created and access provisioned was much better than other products we considered. Sigma Computing may not …
Chose Sigma Computing
Sigma is my least favorite BI tool I have used. Its unintuitive, takes longer to develop on, and has very limited functionality to re-use work (ie scripting, copying to a new project).
Chose Sigma Computing
Sigma's combination of key features from each of these with native dB access under a UI that makes collaboration easy has made it an easy choice for us.
Features
LookerSigma Computing
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Looker
8.2
116 Ratings
1% above category average
Sigma Computing
8.8
160 Ratings
8% above category average
Pixel Perfect reports7.695 Ratings8.7103 Ratings
Customizable dashboards8.8115 Ratings9.1158 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates8.199 Ratings8.6130 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Looker
8.3
116 Ratings
3% above category average
Sigma Computing
8.5
163 Ratings
5% above category average
Drill-down analysis8.0112 Ratings9.4153 Ratings
Formatting capabilities7.6114 Ratings8.2160 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages8.447 Ratings7.35 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration9.0116 Ratings9.3159 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
Looker
8.6
112 Ratings
4% above category average
Sigma Computing
9.1
153 Ratings
9% above category average
Publish to Web8.194 Ratings9.9102 Ratings
Publish to PDF8.9100 Ratings8.9127 Ratings
Report Versioning8.375 Ratings9.9117 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling9.097 Ratings9.7130 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers00 Ratings7.067 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
Looker
6.8
113 Ratings
16% below category average
Sigma Computing
6.6
146 Ratings
19% below category average
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)7.9109 Ratings7.9144 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization7.897 Ratings5.626 Ratings
Predictive Analytics4.66 Ratings6.218 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
Looker
8.1
112 Ratings
5% below category average
Sigma Computing
-
Ratings
Multi-User Support (named login)8.7106 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model7.993 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)7.9106 Ratings00 Ratings
Report-Level Access Control8.045 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
Looker
6.0
84 Ratings
27% below category average
Sigma Computing
-
Ratings
Responsive Design for Web Access7.181 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Application5.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile6.975 Ratings00 Ratings
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User Ratings
LookerSigma Computing
Likelihood to Recommend
8.7
(117 ratings)
8.2
(167 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.5
(7 ratings)
10.0
(6 ratings)
Usability
8.8
(12 ratings)
7.6
(48 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.2
(2 ratings)
Performance
6.0
(1 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
8.8
(14 ratings)
10.0
(47 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(1 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.2
(2 ratings)
Professional Services
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
LookerSigma Computing
Likelihood to Recommend
Google
Looker is ideal if you are heavily invested in Google Services, particularly marketing related services, and you with to quickly create reporting dashboards for that data. It gets more difficult when you try to tie in data from other services, and I would not use this were I already using BI package - it is not anywhere near as well supported or as widely known as some of its major competitors, but what it does do, it does do well.
Read full review
Sigma Computing
We were able to set up client-facing embedded reports with ease and security. The interface is not difficult to learn, although we may not be aware of or lack the necessary expertise to utilize more advanced features that would likely benefit us.
Read full review
Pros
Google
  • Show visited pages - sessions, pageviews - which programs are viewed the most.
  • Displays session source/medium views to see where users are coming from.
  • It shows the video titles, URLs, and event counts so we can monitor the performance of our videos.
  • It gives a graphic face to the numbers, such as using bar charts, pie graphs, and other charts to show user trends or which channels are driving engagement.
  • Our clients like to see the top pages visited for a month.
  • I like the drop-and-drag approach, and building charts is a little easier than it was before.
Read full review
Sigma Computing
  • Allows end users to easily dive into the data without having direct access to the table in our database management software.
  • Can easily turnaround dashboards that are detailed and visually pleasing.
  • Sigma is intuitive and as new features are rolled out it is easy to adopt and incorporate them into new and existing dashboards.
Read full review
Cons
Google
  • I wish I could get more granular in the Google ad data, such as down to the campaign type, instead of having to see only all campaigns.
  • The setup can be time-consuming if you're not using the product regularly.
  • Editing the dashboard requires a few logins; I wish it was more seamless.
Read full review
Sigma Computing
  • Sigma Computing does not allow custom ordering of pivot fields in pivot tables easily
  • Sigma Computing lacks functionality for creating tables or sections that dynamically adjust to the browser window's height while maintaining a fixed height textbox at the bottom
  • Sigma Computing does not provide straightforward options for formatting totals in tables, such as renaming 'Total' to 'Average', 'Team Total', etc
  • Sigma Computing does not support searching by individual tab names within a workbook
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Google
I give it this rating because it deems as effective, I am able to complete majority of my tasks using this app. It is very helpful when analyzing the data provided and shown in the app and it's just overall a great app for Operational use, despite the small hiccups it has (live data).
Read full review
Sigma Computing
Sigma has helped us a lot and has become an integral part of our daily workflow. It would be difficult to switch to another platform and have to rebuild the numerous metrics and performance reports that we have already established
Read full review
Usability
Google
Looker is relatively easy to use, even as it is set up. The customers for the front-end only have issues with the initial setup for looker ml creations. Other "looks" are relatively easy to set up, depending on the ETL and the data which is coming into Looker on a regular basis.
Read full review
Sigma Computing
It has a clean and modern interface. However, it is not completely intuitive. I think it would be better and easier to navigate with more Windows style drop down menus and/or tabls. There is a significant learning curve, but that may be due in part to the technical nature of this type of software tool.
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Reliability and Availability
Google
No objections
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Sigma Computing
Yes, as long as you don’t conduct user error sigma is always up and running and waiting for you to complete your dashboards
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Performance
Google
Somehow resources heavy, both on server and client. I recommned at least 50Mbs data rate and high performance desktop comouter to be abke to run comolex tasks and configure larger amount of data. On the other hand, the client does not need to worry when viewing, the performance is usually ok
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Sigma Computing
It depends, it loads quickly for smaller dashboards but when loading larger amounts of data it takes more time to do so
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Support Rating
Google
Never had to work with support for issues. Any questions we had, they would respond promptly and clearly. The one-time setup was easy, by reading documentation. If the feature is not supported, they will add a feature request. In this case, LDAP support was requested over OKTA. They are looking into it.
Read full review
Sigma Computing
They are very friendly and informative. They are quick in resolving our queries and help us understand very minute things as well. They are quick in creating feature tickets based on our custom requirements, and they would also create a bug ticket if there is any discrepancy and get that checked on time.
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Implementation Rating
Google
Very satisfied, easy to implement
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Sigma Computing
Was not involved in implementation
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Alternatives Considered
Google
Looker Studio, you can easily report on data from various sources without programming. Looker Studio is available at no charge for creators and report viewers. Enterprise customers who upgrade to Looker Studio Pro will receive support and expanded administrative features, including team content management. So it's good.
Read full review
Sigma Computing
With Looker, to be effective, a substantial amount of coding & modeling needs to happen in LookML. Being another language to learn, users have to context switch again from at a minimum either SQL or Python into LookML. The concept of being able to source control, code review, and deploy your models is a plus though.
Tableau is the gold standard for data visualization, no question. Power users will be able to create dazzling content that Sigma won't necessarily be able to easily match. However, since development usually happens via an extract, helping other users troubleshoot is an arduous process. Trying to re-do or un-do all the transformations and calculations that cause a certain number is very difficult.
With Sigma, all the queries happen directly against Snowflake and you can see the query logs. The data modeling happens right in a tabular, spreadsheet-like manner, so within only a few minutes, substantial transformations can happen, with visualizations just a few more clicks away.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Google
Perfect price to performance
Read full review
Sigma Computing
No answers on this topic
Scalability
Google
No answers on this topic
Sigma Computing
It is a cloud service offering that is able to expand based on your usage
Read full review
Return on Investment
Google
  • Looker has a poignant impact on our business's ROI objectives. As an advertising exchange we have specific goals for daily requests and fill, and having premade Looks to monitor this is an integral piece of our operational capability
  • To facilitate an efficient monthly billing cycle in our organization, Looker is essential to track estimated revenue and impression delivery by publisher. Without the Looks we have set up, we would spend considerably more time and effort segmenting revenue by vertical.
  • Looker's unique value proposition is making analytical tools more digestible to people without conventional analytical experience. Other competing tools like Tableau require considerably more training and context to successfully use, and the ability to easily plot different visualizations is one of its greatest selling points.
Read full review
Sigma Computing
  • Monitoring health of cloud platform has allowed the company to anticipate issues before they affect customers – Sigma prompted us building a canary monitoring process that provides customer container health.
  • Customer success has used an activity report to discover customers running runaway processes that they were unaware of, creating an alert to contact the customer and prevent an embarrassing situation.
  • Customer success uses the activity report to prompt conversations regarding increases or declines in behavior that led to increasing contract limits or addressing churn concerns.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Looker Screenshots

Screenshot of a Looker dashboard with a geo chart.