Key Takeaways
- The selection is based on three criteria: Who creates it (you, a service provider, someone else), who reads it (an analyst, a marketing manager, an executive), and how many sources to link to.
- Free and flexible: Looker Studio, provided you pay for connectors for non-Google data sources and maintain the report.
- Powerful and time-consuming: Power BI and Tableau, for data teams.
- Ready to read: Integrated platforms that provide metrics, alerts, and actions without the need for custom development.
A marketing dashboard brings together metrics from multiple sources on a single screen: website (GA4, Search Console), advertising (Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn), social media, Google My Business, email marketing, and sometimes CRM and sales. The tools for building one range from spreadsheets to specialized platforms; they differ mainly in the effort they require and the audience they serve. This comparison categorizes five types and makes recommendations based on the situation. The design of the dashboard itself is covered in create a clear dashboard.
The Three Decisive Questions
- Who is building it? An analyst or marketing manager who is comfortable working with data can set up Looker Studio or Power BI; an executive alone will not be able to do so.
- Who's reading? An analyst wants to explore; an executive wants five figures, a trend, and a course of action. Exploration tools generate reports that executives don't even open.
- How many sources? Two Google sources can be connected for free; six sources, including Meta and LinkedIn, require paid connectors or a platform that integrates them.
The Comparison
| Family | Examples | Cost in 2026 | Construction Effort | Maintenance | Executive Readability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheet | Google Sheets, Excel | Free | High (manual imports or scripts) | High, manual | Average |
| Free visualization tool | Looker Studio | Free + connectors: €20–€150 per month for non-Google sources | Moderate (a few hours with a model) | Average (quotas, renamed fields) | Good—if well-designed |
| Business Intelligence | Power BI, Tableau, Qlik | €10–75 per user per month + connectors or storage | High (data proficiency) | High | Variable |
| Marketing Reporting Tool | Whatagraph, DashThis, AgencyAnalytics, Databox | 50 to 400 € / month | Low to medium (including models and connectors) | Low | Good |
| Integrated Control Platform | GreenRed | Subscription | None (indicators ready) | None | Designed for executives: alerts, action plan, AI assistant |
The Spreadsheet
Google Sheets remains useful for goals, offline data (calls, signed quotes), and small tracking tasks. As a comprehensive dashboard, it requires manual imports or unreliable scripts, and no one keeps it updated for very long. Use it as a supplementary source connected to another tool, not as your primary dashboard.
Looker Studio
The default choice for anyone who wants to build their own solution: free, natively integrated with GA4, Search Console, and Google Ads, with ready-made templates. Its limitations are well-known: GA4 API quotas, paid connectors for Meta, LinkedIn, and CRMs, maintenance is your responsibility, and no alerts. It’s suitable for a marketing manager who has two hours a month to devote to it; see Looker Studio: A Comprehensive Guide and the best connectors.
Power BI and Tableau
Business intelligence tools are designed to analyze large volumes of data and cross-reference internal sources (sales, ERP, CRM). For an SME marketing dashboard, they are overkill: connecting to marketing sources requires third-party connectors or a data warehouse, and building the dashboard demands rare expertise. They are justified when the company already has a data team and wants to integrate marketing into its overall management strategy; see GreenRed and Power BI.
Marketing Reporting Tools
Whatagraph, DashThis, AgencyAnalytics, and Databox are designed for agencies: they include marketing connectors, channel-specific templates, white-labeling, and automated delivery to clients. They reduce the effort required for setup and maintenance, at a cost of €50 to €400 per month depending on the number of clients and sources. They remain reporting tools: they display data, but they do not send alerts or make recommendations.
Integrated control platforms
They connect to data sources (GA4, Search Console, Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, Google My Business, AI engines), calculate metrics, compare them over time and across channels, flag anomalies, and suggest prioritized actions—often with an AI assistant that responds in everyday language. There’s nothing to build or maintain. This is the ideal option for an executive or agency that wants to analyze data and make decisions rather than build systems from scratch; the trade-off is less flexibility in customization compared to a custom-built tool. How it works is described in GreenRed: The Complete Guide.
Recommendations by Situation
| Location | Tool | Why |
|---|---|---|
| SME executive without data resources, multiple channels | Integrated Control Platform | No setup required, direct reading, alerts |
| Marketing Manager, primarily using Google sources, available time | Looker Studio with a model | Free, flexible, native to Google |
| Agency, 5 to 30 clients, monthly reporting | Marketing reporting tool or integrated platform with reporting capabilities | Connectors and white-label products included |
| Company with a data team and a data warehouse | Power BI or Tableau: Marketing Integrated into Overall Management | Power and consistency with the rest |
| One-time project follow-up | Google Sheets (online) | Simplicity |
The total cost (licenses, connectors, construction and maintenance time) is detailed in How much does a custom dashboard cost?. Regardless of the tool, the indicators to be displayed are the same; they are listed in the KPIs on a dashboard.
How GreenRed Can Help You
Instead of juggling multiple tools, GreenRed Overview brings these metrics together in a single dashboard, compares them over time, and shows you which actions to prioritize. You can try it for free—no credit card required—on the page Rates.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free tool for a marketing dashboard?
Looker Studio, which integrates natively with GA4, Search Console, and Google Ads, and comes with ready-made templates. It remains free as long as the data sources are from Google; for Meta, LinkedIn, or a CRM, paid connectors are required, and the reports require regular maintenance.
Is Power BI suitable for an SME's marketing efforts?
Rarely. Power BI is a business intelligence tool for data teams; connecting to marketing data sources requires third-party connectors or a data warehouse, and building models requires specific expertise. It makes sense if the company is already using it for sales and finance and wants to integrate marketing into it.
How long does it take to build a marketing dashboard?
With a Looker Studio model and Google data sources, it takes two to four hours for an initial version, followed by one to three hours per month for maintenance. With multiple advertising sources and a CRM, expect several days of development. An integrated platform delivers the metrics without any development—just a few minutes to set up.
Should there be a different dashboard for the executive and for the marketing team?
A page for the executive (five to eight metrics, trends, alerts, actions) and detailed pages by channel for the team. The same tool can support both levels; the mistake is to show the executive the detailed pages, which he or she will not open.