Looker has been a reliable tool to turn raw data into actionable insights. It helps teams make smarter decisions across marketing, sales, and operations. However, Looker can deliver that value only if the data feeding into it is accurate and connected to the right source.
That’s where you require Looker ETL tools. They automate data movement, reduce manual effort, and ensure your analytics always reflect a single source of truth.
In this article, we’ll compare the 10 best ETL tools for Looker based on their features, connectivity, pros, cons, and pricing.
Don’t have time to go through the entire list? Here are our top 3 picks.
- 1Best for no-code automation, real-time sync, and flexible transformations.Try Hevo for Free
- 2Best for enterprise-grade reliability and batch processing.
- 3Best for visual workflows with enterprise-grade monitoring.
- 15Tools considered
- 12Tools reviewed
- 10Best tools chosen
Table of Contents
What Are Looker ETL Tools?
Looker ETL tools extract data from multiple business applications, clean it, and load it into destinations where Looker can access it for analysis.
These platforms automatically sync information from sources like Salesforce, HubSpot, Google Analytics, and marketing automation tools. They eliminate tedious CSV exports by automating updates, ensuring your Looker dashboards always show current and accurate information without manual effort.
Additionally, these ETL tools provide the clean, consistent data foundation that Looker ML relies on. When considering data integration vs ETL, the latter ensures data is transformed and ready for advanced modeling. This helps Looker deliver accurate insights.
Top 10 Looker ETL Tools
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Reviews | 4.5 (250+ reviews) | 4.2 (400+ reviews) | 4.7 (200+ reviews) | 4.4 (80+ reviews) | 4.5 (50+ reviews) |
Pricing | Usage-based pricing | MAR-based pricing | Fixed-fee pricing model | Consumption-based pricing | Volume/capacity-based pricing |
Free Plan | Open source | ||||
Free Trial | 14-day free trial | 14-day free trial | 14 days free trial | 14-day free trial | 14-day free trial |
Best for | Automated no-code replication | Fully managed data integration | Visual ETL workflows | Enterprise-scale cloud data workflows | Open-source ETL pipelines |
Ease of use | No-code, easy | No-code, easy | No-code, easy | Low-code, easy | Technical, flexible |
Connectors | 150+ | 700+ | 150+ | 150+ | 600+ |
Real-time sync |
1. Hevo
G2 Rating: 4.4 (266)
Hevo is a no-code ETL platform connecting over 150 applications and databases to modern warehouses for Looker analytics. It syncs data from sources like Salesforce, Google Ads, and HubSpot automatically into BigQuery or Snowflake, so Looker can access the data to build a dashboard.
Hevo automates schema changes, and built-in transformations ensure data is standardized before reaching the warehouse.
What makes Hevo unique is its mix of simplicity and depth. It supports real-time sync, dbt compatibility, and enterprise-grade reliability without adding complexity.
Key features
- Failed events queue: Stores failed records separately to ensure no data loss. This allows smooth recovery before it impacts the dashboards in Looker.
- Alerts and monitoring: Offers instant notifications and detailed logs to spot pipeline errors before they affect analysis.
- Automatic handling of nested and JSON data: Enables flattening of hierarchical or JSON-based inputs to keep complex API responses or event logs cleanly structured for Looker Data Sciences workflows.
- Multiple workspaces support: Allows you to organize pipelines from different regions or business units under one account, making global Looker setups easier to manage.
Pros
- Expert customer support for all plans.
- High-speed, parallel processes.
- Enterprise-grade security.
Cons
- No on-premise support.
- Advanced transformations might require coding knowledge.
- Niche connectors may require custom creation or requests.
Pricing
Hevo offers a subscription plan with a 14-day trial.
- Free: Supports up to one million events per month and allows access for five users.
- Starter: Starts at $239 per month, includes up to 50 million events with SSH/SSL encryption for 10 users.
- Professional: Starts at $679 per month, includes up to 100 million events with reverse SSH and unlimited user access.
- Business Critical: Custom plans available for workloads exceeding 100 million events.
2. Fivetran
G2 Rating: 4.2 (440)
Fivetran is a cloud-based platform that automates data extraction, transformation, and loading from over 700 connectors. It syncs data from sources like Salesforce, Marketo, and internal systems into warehouses where Looker can access it directly.
It eliminates manual data engineering by automatically handling schema changes and maintaining fidelity as your business scales.
Fivetran is notable for its fully managed and zero-maintenance approach. It provides metadata on data usage and lineage, supports automatic recovery, and ensures data is delivered in a clean, standardized format.
Key features
- Hybrid deployment support: Offers the flexibility to run data pipelines securely within your network or VPC. This keeps sensitive data on-premises while you still get the benefits of Fivetran’s managed cloud-based platform.
- Custom connector support: Provides Connector SDK to build custom connectors for niche applications and extend Looker’s data sources beyond pre-built options.
- Column- hashing: Lets you mask sensitive data at the column level to ensure compliance and keep ETL workflows efficient in Looker.
- API configuration: Provides comprehensive APIs to programmatically configure connectors, monitor pipeline health, and automate Fivetran workflows.
Pros
- Handles large data volumes efficiently.
- SLA-backed reliability with 99.9% uptime.
- Integrates with dbt Core for advanced transformations.
Cons
- Unclear pricing that gets expensive with larger volumes.
- Doesn’t offer in-flight transformations.
- Limited real-time sync capabilities.
Pricing
Fivetran’s charge is based on Monthly Active Rows (MAR) per connection. The free plan offers 500,000 MAR and 5,000 model runs per month. Paid plans start at $500 per million MAR with a 14-day trial.
3. Integrate.io
G2 Rating: 4.3 (207)
Integrate.io merges visual workflow design with ETL capabilities for Looker analytics. It connects business and technical teams where analysts can create simple drag-and-drop pipelines with over 150 connectors, while engineers handle complex transformations.
It also provides visual monitoring so you can fix issues when dashboards show unexpected results. Integrate.io accommodates both real-time streaming and batch processing. You can use streaming connections to ensure Looker dashboards reflect up-to-date data, while batch processes handle historical analysis efficiently.
Key features
- Reverse ETL support: Lets you sync warehouse data back to operational systems for actionable Looker insights across business applications.
- Comprehensive data transformation: Offers more than 220 pre-built transformation functions to standardize data before loading it into warehouses.
- Data lineage tracking: Enables full visibility into the origin, movement, and transformation of data for governance.
- Advanced data masking: Supports masking and anonymization of sensitive information to keep dashboards secure.
Pros
- Transparent and predictable pricing.
- 24/7 support for all customers.
- Holds security certifications like SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR
Cons
- It might be expensive for smaller teams.
- Niche applications might require manual configurations.
- Limited Python transformation capabilities.
Pricing
Integrate.io has a fixed-free pricing model with a 14-day free trial. The Core plan is priced at $1,999/month, and a custom plan is available for enterprises.
4. Matillion
G2 Rating: 4.4 (81)
Matillion is a cloud-native ETL that connects over 150 sources to simplify data preparation for Looker analytics.
It follows the ETL best practices to ensure dashboards access reliable and ready-to-use data with optimized joining, aggregations, and calculations. Its version control features support collaborative workflow management. This helps multiple engineers develop, test, and deploy transformations without conflicts.
Matillion distinguishes itself with Git-based workflows that enable testing and deployment processes for reliable Looker data quality.
Key features
- Real-time data processing: Provides instant access to updated data to reflect the most current business metrics and trends.
- Integrated orchestration features: Lets you schedule, manage dependencies, and automatically trigger complex ETL workflows.
- Legacy system modernization: Ensures continuity while improving infrastructure scalability with easy data migration from outdated systems to cloud warehouses.
- Advanced data governance features: Maintains compliance with GDPR and CCPA while protecting data integrity.
Pros
- Visual pipelines with the AI-assistant, Copilot.
- Pre-built templates for common pipelines.
- Detects and logs failures efficiently.
Cons
- Steep learning curve for non-technical users.
- Limited on-premise deployment support.
- Higher cost at scale.
Pricing
Matillion uses a credit-based pricing model, starting at $2.50 per vCore hour for the Developer plan. Advanced plans require a minimum monthly credit commitment.
It provides a 14-day free trial.
5. Airbyte
G2 Rating: 4.4 (65)
Airbyte offers you both cloud and open-source data integration. Its 600+ connectors enable easy data replication from multiple sources into destinations like warehouses or databases. It supports complex scenarios such as Looker Elasticsearch integration.
The platform lets you customize or create connectors for proprietary systems. This results in a truly adaptable solution for any data stack.
Airbyte’s community-driven development ensures rapid updates, while its transparent approach reduces costs and avoids vendor lock-in.
Key features
- Schema change detection: Automatically identifies new, modified, or deleted fields in source data to ensure accuracy and consistency.
- AI-powered connector builder: Enables you to create new connectors quickly with an AI assistant that sets up and maps the API fields automatically.
- Programmatic control: Provides a Python SDK, API access, and Terraform support to let engineers automate and manage data pipelines as code.
- Comprehensive monitoring dashboard: Provides a centralized dashboard to track data sync status, performance metrics, and pipeline health in real-time.
Pros
- Free to start.
- Highly scalable architecture.
- Granular data control over pipelines.
Cons
- Requires technical expertise for the open-source features.
- Limited real-time sync.
- Initial setup for proprietary connectors may take time despite AI assistance.
Pricing
Airbyte offers flexible pricing to fit various needs. Its Open Source Edition is free forever for self-hosted use, while the Cloud plan starts at $10/month.
Teams and Enterprise plans offer scalable cloud and self-hosted solutions with custom pricing and advanced governance. A 14-day free trial is also available.
6. Keboola
G2 Rating: 4.6 (132)
Keboola is another cloud-based data operations platform that integrates easily with Looker. It offers over 700 pre-built connectors that extract data from various sources and load it into destinations like Snowflake.
Its Looker Writer exports transformed data straight into Looker projects for visualization and reporting.
The platform supports both cloud and self-hosted deployments. Its cloud-native design is built on Kubernetes, which allows you to scale your ETL processes incrementally. Keboola’s intuitive interface and competitive automation features simplify the data pipeline process and improve efficiency.
Key features
- Customizable data transformations: Enables you to process data using SQL, Python, or R to create pipelines tailored to Looker analytics requirements.
- Version control integration: Supports Git integration to track changes in data workflows and ensure collaborative control across teams.
- Comprehensive monitoring: Provides live tracking of pipeline performance and sends alerts for any issues.
- Reverse ETL support: Allows you to export processed warehouse data back into operational systems to make Looker insights actionable.
Pros
- Built-in data warehouse for simplified storage.
- Generous free tier.
- Data encryption at rest and in transit with multi-factor authentication.
Cons
- Some advanced features are available only in paid plans.
- Pricing can become expensive as usage scales.
- It might be overwhelming for small Looker setups.
Pricing
Keboola offers a flexible pricing model combining subscriptions with usage-based billing for processing time.
- Free Tier: Offers 120 computational minutes the first month and 60 minutes each subsequent month. Additional minutes are billed at $0.14.
- Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing for advanced features, such as multiple project architecture and support for unlimited users.
7. Stitch
G2 Rating: 4.9 (77)
Stitch provides dependable ETL pipelines through 130+ pre-built Singer-based connectors that move data into warehouses for Looker analytics. The platform connects CRM, marketing, and other systems without complex setup.
The Singer open standard ensures connector stability and benefits from community-driven support, so fixes and updates arrive quickly from multiple contributors. This keeps Looker dashboards updated and reliable.
Stitch uses volume-based pricing that scales with data growth. You can predict costs accurately based on data volume for Looker implementations with predictable workloads.
Key features
- Extensible data sources: The platform adds custom connectors or extends existing ones for unique Looker data requirements.
- API-based replication: Supports direct data movement using the Looker v4 API with required credentials for secure integration.
- Transparent logging: Gives full visibility into data pipelines to track all events and errors for reliable analytics.
- Data type validation: Ensures source data matches expected types before loading into a warehouse.
Pros
- Backfilling of historical records.
- Advanced sync scheduling options.
- Automated schema migration.
Cons
- Lacks built-in transformations.
- Lacks native real-time streaming.
- Some connectors require technical knowledge to implement.
Pricing
Stitch offers a subscription pricing system with a 14-day trial.
- Premium: costs $2,500 per month for one billion rows.
- Standard: Starting at $100 per month for 5 million rows
- Advanced: Costs $1,250 per month for 100 million rows.
8. Hightouch
G2 Rating: 4.6 (378)
Hightouch is a Reverse ETL platform that enables both data and business teams to operationalize analytics by syncing Looker models directly to business applications.
Non-technical users can access and use these models without SQL knowledge, which reduces dependency on data engineers and accelerates decision-making.
Hightouch supports over 250 integrations, including the Looker and AWS integration. This lets you use existing Looks as data models for consistency and accuracy across all tools.
Key features
- Flexible modeling methods: Provides multiple ways to define data models, including SQL queries, Looker Looks, table selectors, and dbt models.
- Primary key-based change detection: Enables efficient data sync by detecting new or updated records using unique primary keys.
- Version control: Offers Git integration to track changes, manage workflow, and ensure collaboration across teams.
- Real-time personalization API: Provides fast API access to deliver dynamic, real-time updates to operational applications.
Pros
- Deployment across multiple environments.
- Offers a live debugger to spot errors.
- Scalable for large data volumes.
Cons
- Unclear pricing.
- The learning curve can be steep for beginners.
- Some connectors may require additional configuration.
Pricing
Hightouch follows a usage-based pricing structure. Its basic Reverse ETL plan is free with one standard destination, two active syncs, and access for five users. A 30-minute demo is available for the Composable CDP and AI Decisioning plans.
9. Weld
G2 Rating: 4.8 (99)
Weld is a data integration platform that brings marketing data together for Looker analysis. It provides more than 200 ready-to-use connectors for tools like Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and Shopify. The platform supports both ETL and reverse ETL workflows to simplify data syncing across different systems.
Its integration with Looker allows teams to visualize data without a complex setup. Weld’s user-friendly interface helps you build scalable data warehouses for real-time analytics.
Key features
- Data deduplication: Provides automated removal of duplicate records to keep Looker datasets clean and accurate.
- Multi-workspace support: Offers separate environments for development, testing, and production to manage Looker pipelines.
- AI-powered SQL assistant: Enables you to create SQL queries with Weld’s AI assistant to simplify complex data modeling.
- Automated pipelines orchestrations: Provides scheduling and automation of ETL and materialized table jobs with real-time alerts for success or failure.
Pros
- Predictable pricing model.
- Integrates with dbt Cloud for complex transformation.
- SOC 2 Type II and GDPR compliant.
Cons
- Advanced features require technical expertise.
- Alerting is limited to email, Slack, or Webhook notifications only.
- No native data quality scoring for imported datasets.
Pricing
Weld has a subscription-based pricing model.
- Basic: Starting at $99/month for two connectors, one user, and a daily sync frequency.
- Premium: Starting at $399/month for six connectors, three users, a 1-hour sync frequency, premium support, and more.
- Business: Tailored pricing for custom connectors, advanced security, and SLA.
All plans include a 14-day free trial with a free demo available.
10. Panoply
G2 Rating: 4.5 (82)
Panoply is a cloud data platform that combines ETL and warehouse functionality in one system. It offers over 80 pre-built connectors to consolidate data from multiple sources into a managed warehouse. Looker connects directly to Panoply for reliable analytics.
It provides code-free ETL, which helps marketing and sales teams create tables without SQL knowledge. Additionally, automatic schema management adjusts to source changes and keeps Looker dashboards functional.
Panoply simplifies vendor management by providing ETL and warehouse services together. This integration reduces complexity and total cost of ownership with a complete solution for small and medium-sized businesses.
Key features
- Automated query optimization: Offers faster Looker queries with AI reindexing schemas and optimizing storage automatically.
- Flex connector: Provides a generic ETL tool called the ‘Flex Connector’ that allows you to connect to any REST API service.
- In-platform visualization: Enables creation of charts and dashboards directly inside Panoply using its SQL workbench.
- Nested data handling: Offers automatic flattening of nested API or NoSQL data for analysis-ready tables.
Pros
- Allows querying data with natural language processing (NLP).
- Provides role-based access and data encryption.
- Easy data updates with UPSERT functionality.
Cons
- It could be expensive for smaller teams.
- Limited number of data destinations.
- Some users reported slow performance with large datasets.
Pricing
Panoply offers a transparent subscription model.
- Lite: $1,558/month for 20 million rows, BigQuery data warehouse, and two TB storage.
- Standard: $2,498/month for 100 million rows, BigQuery data warehouse, and three TB storage.
- Premium: $3,798/month for 300 million rows, BigQuery data warehouse, and five TB storage.
You can contact them for further custom requirements. The tool offers a 21-day free trial with a 5,000 GiB query bytes limit, which is extensible upon request.
What Are the Key Factors in Selecting the Right ETL for Looker?
Here are some of the key factors to consider when choosing the right Looker ETL tool.
1. Ease of use
Not every team has a dedicated data engineer. Pick a no-code tool to shorten the learning period for the non-technical team members. If you have a developing team and want more flexibility in the future, open-source tools might be a good choice.
2. Connector availability
Ensure that the tool offers connectors for your data sources and warehouse to avoid any manual workarounds later. For example, marketers may need integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, or Google Ads, while sales ops teams might prioritize CRMs and billing systems.
3. Data sync frequency
Choose an ETL tool that supports the sync frequency required for your use case. It could be real-time, hourly, daily, or customized updates. This avoids any sync delays later.
4. Transformation capabilities
Unified data is essential before it reaches Looker. Look for ETL tools that support in-flight transformations, such as joins, aggregations, and field mappings, or work easily with your warehouse’s transformation layer. This keeps the LookML models accurate and manageable.
5. Pricing flexibility
ETL pricing varies widely from pay-per-connector to volume-based models. Ensure the tool fits your current budget and leaves room for future growth without becoming cost-prohibitive.
Why Should You Choose Hevo?
One of the biggest ETL challenges businesses face with Looker is data fragmentation. Oftentimes, sales, marketing, finance, and support teams each operate from their own silo.
Hevo solves this by automatically pulling all those sources together into a single warehouse. For example, its Looker Snowflake integration makes it easy to push reliable data into Snowflake for more accurate insights.
Hevo and Looker complement each other. While Hevo handles the ingestion, transformation, and real-time sync, Looker focuses on modeling and analysis. This means no more wasting time on CSV exports and schema mapping.
Security is non-negotiable, and Hevo comes with SOC 2 Type II certification and global compliance standards, like HIPAA and GDPR. Unlike several other ETL tools, Hevo is transparent about its prices and scales smoothly.
So, as your data grows, Hevo adjusts to it without any unexpected charges.
All in all, Hevo transforms your Looker analytics setup from a reporting tool to a true strategic advantage.
Want to give it a shot? Start your 14-day free trial today!
FAQs on Looker ETL tools
Q1. How does data integration from a data warehouse to Looker help?
Data integration from data warehouses to Looker ensures that all your business data is centralized, clean, and ready for analysis. Instead of pulling fragmented reports or manually exporting CSVs, you get a single source of truth that Looker can access from your warehouse. This makes Looker dashboards faster and more aligned with your real-time business metrics.
Q2. Which data can you extract from Looker?
You can extract reports, dashboards, and query results directly from Looker with its REST API. These often include sales, marketing, customer, and operational data, depending on your connected sources. Essentially, any dataset that Looker queries from your warehouse can be made available for downstream use.
Q3. How to start pulling data to Looker in minutes
The simplest way to get data into Looker is to use tools like Hevo that make this process straightforward. Simply connect your business apps and databases to a cloud warehouse like Snowflake or BigQuery in just a few clicks. The setup is no-code, so you don’t have to worry about complex configurations.
Once your data is flowing, Looker connects directly to the warehouse. Hevo then automates the workflow and ensures your Looker dashboards are built on fresh, reliable, and complete data.