specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
provider: Google Data Studio
providerId: google-data-studio
publisherName: Google LLC
serviceCategory: Business Intelligence / Analytics
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-05'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - Business Intelligence
  - Reporting
  - Dashboards
  - Google Cloud
  - FinOps
  - FOCUS
description: 'FOCUS-aligned FinOps for Looker Studio / Looker: Looker Studio Pro is a per-user subscription
  billed via Google Cloud; Looker editions (Standard / Enterprise / Embed) are annual instance-based commitments
  with included user allocations and API call buckets; Conversational Analytics adds a token meter starting
  October 2026. Indirect cost flows through the underlying data source (often BigQuery), which dominates
  total dashboarding spend.'
sources:
  - https://cloud.google.com/looker/pricing
  - https://cloud.google.com/billing/docs/how-to/export-data-bigquery
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Subscription + Usage (tokens)
  billingFrequency: Monthly
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
    - Usage
    - Purchase
    - Tax
    - Adjustment
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Looker Studio / Looker
  ServiceCategory: Business Intelligence
  ProviderName: Google Cloud
  PublisherName: Google LLC
  InvoiceIssuerName: Google LLC
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Usage
meters:
  - name: looker_studio_pro_seats
    description: Active Looker Studio Pro per-user licenses
    unit: seat-month
    aggregation: max
    dimensions:
      - workspace
  - name: looker_instance
    description: Looker production instance under annual commitment (Standard / Enterprise / Embed)
    unit: instance-month
    aggregation: max
    dimensions:
      - edition
      - region
  - name: looker_user_licenses
    description: Looker per-user licenses by class (Developer / Standard / Viewer)
    unit: seat-month
    aggregation: max
    dimensions:
      - user_class
      - edition
  - name: query_api_calls
    description: Looker Query API calls
    unit: request
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - edition
      - instance
  - name: admin_api_calls
    description: Looker Admin API calls
    unit: request
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - edition
      - instance
  - name: data_tokens_input
    description: Conversational Analytics input tokens
    unit: token
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - user_class
      - instance
  - name: data_tokens_output
    description: Conversational Analytics output tokens
    unit: token
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - user_class
      - instance
  - name: underlying_data_source_cost
    description: Cost incurred at the connected data source (e.g., BigQuery bytes-scanned) when dashboards
      run queries
    unit: USD
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - data_source
      - dashboard
apis:
  - name: Looker Studio
    baseURL: https://lookerstudio.google.com
    serviceName: Looker Studio
    serviceCategory: Business Intelligence
  - name: Looker (Google Cloud Core)
    baseURL: https://cloud.google.com/looker
    serviceName: Looker
    serviceCategory: Business Intelligence
principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: Use Cloud Billing detailed export filtered to the Looker SKU and Looker Studio Pro SKU;
      pair with INFORMATION_SCHEMA on connected BigQuery datasets to attribute query cost to the originating
      report.
  - name: Allocation
    description: Allocate Looker Studio Pro seats to product/marketing teams; tag connected data sources
      with team labels so dashboard query cost can be charged back through the BigQuery (or other source)
      bill.
  - name: Optimization
    description: Use Looker extract scheduling and dashboard caching to avoid re-running expensive queries
      on every viewer load; right-size BigQuery on-demand vs slot reservation per dashboard workload;
      monitor Conversational Analytics token burn approaching the October 2026 paid cutover.
  - name: Accountability
    description: Designate a dashboard owner per top-spending data source query; review monthly Looker
      API call usage to avoid edition-level API quota overages; review Conversational Analytics token
      consumption per user class.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com