These three are not rivals. GA4 is where website data lives, Looker Studio (still widely called Data Studio) is a canvas that draws it, and Clearly is a finished report that reads it. This compares three ways to produce a monthly report.
The money row looks nearly identical, so it is the wrong row to decide on. The rows below are where they separate.
At a glance
Google facts and connector pricing checked August 2026.
| GA4 | Data Studio | Clearly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | An analytics tool | A report canvas | A finished report |
| What you pay | Nothing. | Nothing for Google's own sources. | Free for one report. $49 a month unlimited. |
| Growing costs | None. | Non-Google sources need a paid connector: $23 a month at 3 sources, $118 to $199 at 7. | Nothing is metered. Team is $149 a month. |
| Sources | Your website and app | Many, once the connector is paid | Six, already connected |
| Users | Account seats. | Share by link. Pro is licensed per user. | One on Pro, unlimited on Team. |
| Sending it to someone | An account seat, or an export | Share a link or schedule a PDF | A no-login link, themed per report |
| Explaining a change | You work it out from the data. | You build the view that shows it. | Names the likely drivers in plain language. |
| Who maintains it | Configured once, then it collects. | You do, for as long as the report exists. | Pick a goal and connect the sources. |
Google renamed "Data Studio" Looker Studio in 2022; both names remain in use. Connector pricing from windsor.ai/pricing and supermetrics.com/pricing/looker-studio, August 2026. Clearly is our own product.
What each one charges for
Looker Studio is free. The connectors for paid social usually are not.
Looker Studio is free for Google's own sources. GA4, Search Console, Google Ads, Sheets, BigQuery and YouTube all have official connectors that cost nothing, so reporting that stays inside Google costs nothing.
That changes when a report needs Meta or LinkedIn: Google does not build those connectors, so a third party rents them to you.
Figure 1. What a six-source report costs a month
The same six sources throughout: GA4, Search Console, Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn and Sheets.
Data Studio, Google only
Monthly
$0
GA4, Search Console, Google Ads and Sheets through Google's own connectors. No Meta, no LinkedIn. Complete for a business advertising only on Google.
Data Studio, all six
Monthly
$118 to $199
Looker Studio stays free; the connector is the bill. Windsor.ai Standard is $118 a month for 7 sources, $99 paid yearly. Supermetrics Growth is $199 for 7, $159 yearly. Both have cheaper 3-source tiers.
Clearly
Monthly
$49
All six connectors included, unlimited reports, $490 paid yearly. Free for one report, permanently. No connector bill, because there is no connector vendor.
Looker Studio Pro is licensed per user and billed monthly whether the licence is used or not. It adds enterprise governance: team workspaces, content management and project-level permissions through Google Cloud. It is not a connector upgrade, so the free version is the one that matters here.
The second cost never appears on an invoice: an hour a month rebuilding the same view is real money nobody bills for.
Where each one fits
Three different jobs often confused for one.
GA4
Answering a specific question about the website in depth. It is also the source the other two read from, so it is rarely either-or.
Data Studio
Google-only reporting at no cost, and any layout specific enough that nobody sells it. The canvas is free; the build and upkeep are the price.
Clearly
A recurring monthly report for one business, where the structure is decided and the explanation sits on the page.
What Clearly does not do
Against two Google products used by millions, the gaps are clear.
- Far fewer sources. Six, against whatever a paid connector can reach. A CRM, email platform, TikTok or warehouse table is out of scope.
- No blank canvas. A specific layout or a chart nobody else builds is not what an opinionated product does well.
- Less depth on the website itself. Path exploration, segment building and ad-hoc analysis are GA4's job.
- No decade of history. Neither Google product is going away, which counts for a tool you plan to depend on.
- Google-only reporting is free. Where nothing outside Google needs to appear, Looker Studio costs nothing at any scale.
Questions worth answering first
These four narrow it, fastest eliminations first.
-
1
Are you reporting, or investigating?
A recurring artefact somebody else reads is reporting. Chasing one specific question is investigating, and that is GA4's job either way.
-
2
How many of your platforms are Google's?
If all of them, Looker Studio is free and hard to beat. The first non-Google source is where a connector subscription enters.
-
3
Who maintains the dashboard in six months?
An unmaintained report is worse than none, because it can be wrong without anyone noticing.
-
4
Do you want control, or an answer?
A canvas gives control. An opinionated report gives an answer. Wanting both is how a dashboard gets rebuilt every year.
The short version
GA4 is the source and the place to investigate. Looker Studio is the canvas, free on Google data. Clearly is a finished report for the common case, and it reads GA4 rather than replacing it.
On cost: a Google-only report is far cheapest in Looker Studio, but one including paid social usually is not, because the connector fee exceeds the reporting subscription it was meant to avoid. Add the hour a month spent assembling it and the free option stops being free.
In Clearly: connect the GA4 property you already have, pick a goal, and see the report. Free for one report, permanently, reading the same data you have open in GA4 now.