Lakehouse
Cribl Lake is a turnkey data lake designed for IT and security telemetry, part of Cribl's broader observability pipeline portfolio.
Publisher review
Cribl Lake is a turnkey data lake designed for IT and security telemetry, part of Cribl's broader observability pipeline portfolio. It stores data in open formats (Parquet, JSON) on object storage, enabling replay, search, and analysis without vendor lock-in. The product targets organizations that need to centralize access to logs, metrics, and distributed traces from multiple sources, particularly those managing Splunk costs or seeking a flexible archival layer. Cribl Lake is built for teams that already use Cribl Stream, Edge, or Search, and want a unified storage backend for telemetry data that can be queried on demand.
Cribl Lake ingests data via Cribl Stream pipelines, the Direct Access HTTP endpoint, or Splunk DDSS archiving. It uses a schema-on-need approach: data lands in open formats without predefined schemas, and schemas are applied at query time via Cribl Search. Storage options include Cribl-managed cloud storage or bring-your-own-storage (BYOS) on AWS S3, Azure Blob, or GCP. The Enterprise edition supports unlimited lake capacity, while the Free tier caps at 1 TB/day total ingest across all Cribl products. Automated security and policy controls allow teams to set retention rules, access permissions, and data masking at the lake level.
In the market, Cribl Lake competes with dedicated data lake platforms like Hydrolix and Snowflake for telemetry, as well as Splunk's own DDSS. Compared to Hydrolix, which starts at $0.20/GB for ingest, storage, and query, Cribl Lake's pricing is consumption-based via credits, with costs tied to data volume and retention length. Cribl's strength is tight integration with its own pipeline (Stream) and search (Search) products, creating a cohesive telemetry management stack. However, standalone use without Cribl Stream or Search is limited, as Lake is not a full query engine.
Key trade-offs include dependency on the Cribl ecosystem—Lake alone cannot replace a SIEM or observability platform. Pricing can be opaque without a sales conversation, and the credit-based model means costs scale with both ingest and retention, potentially surprising teams with high-volume archival needs. The Free tier's 1 TB/day limit across all Cribl products may constrain small deployments. Additionally, while Lake supports open formats, query performance depends on Cribl Search's ability to scan object storage, which can be slower than indexed systems for real-time analysis.
How it works
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Open format storage
Data is stored in Parquet and JSON on object storage, enabling replay, search, and analysis without vendor lock-in.
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Schema-on-need ingestion
No predefined schema required at ingest; schemas are applied at query time via Cribl Search for flexibility.
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Direct Access HTTP endpoint
Ingest data directly into Cribl Lake via HTTP, bypassing Stream pipelines for low-overhead ingestion.
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Splunk DDSS archiving support
Accepts Splunk DDSS archives, allowing organizations to offload cold data from Splunk to Cribl Lake.
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Automated security controls
Set retention policies, access permissions, and data masking at the lake level for compliance and governance.
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BYOS and managed storage
Choose between Cribl-managed cloud storage or bring-your-own-storage on AWS S3, Azure Blob, or GCP.
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Unlimited capacity in Enterprise
Enterprise edition removes all capacity limits on lake storage, scaling to any data volume.
Strengths and trade-offs
Strengths
- Cribl Lake stores data in open formats (Parquet, JSON), eliminating vendor lock-in and enabling direct query via any Parquet-compatible tool.
- The Enterprise edition offers unlimited lake capacity, allowing organizations to store petabytes of telemetry without per-GB overage charges.
- Direct Access HTTP ingestion enables low-overhead data collection without requiring Cribl Stream, reducing pipeline complexity for simple use cases.
- Integration with Splunk DDSS archiving lets teams offload cold Splunk data to Cribl Lake, cutting Splunk license costs by up to 50% or more.
Trade-offs
- Cribl Lake is not a standalone query engine; query performance depends on Cribl Search, which scans object storage and is slower than indexed systems for real-time analysis.
- Pricing is consumption-based via credits, with costs tied to both data volume and retention length, making total cost opaque without a sales quote.
- The Free tier's 1 TB/day limit applies across all Cribl products, restricting small deployments that need more than 1 TB/day of total ingest.
- Without Cribl Stream or Search, Lake's value is limited—it cannot route data to other destinations or provide native alerting or dashboarding.
Pricing context
Consumption-based pricing via Cribl Credits, charged on data volume stored and retention length. Free tier: up to 1 TB/day total ingest across all Cribl products. Standard: up to 5 TB/day.
Enterprise: unlimited capacity. Credits utilized at ingest. Specific per-GB costs not publicly listed; contact sales for quote.
Getting started with Lakehouse
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Sign up for Cribl Lake
Go to the Cribl website and create an account. Choose the Free tier for up to 1 TB/day ingest or contact sales for Standard or Enterprise plans. Verify your email and log in to the Cribl Lake console.
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Connect your storage backend
In the Lake settings, select either Cribl-managed storage or bring your own (BYOS) on AWS S3, Azure Blob, or GCP. Provide the necessary credentials and bucket details to link your object storage to the lake.
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Configure ingestion source
Set up a Direct Access HTTP endpoint in the Lake console to receive data without Cribl Stream. Alternatively, configure Cribl Stream or Splunk DDSS to forward archives to Lake. Define the data source and endpoint URL.
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Load sample telemetry data
Send a small batch of logs or metrics to the HTTP endpoint using a tool like curl or a script. Verify ingestion by checking the Lake dashboard for incoming data volume and confirming files appear in your storage in Parquet or JSON format.
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Set retention and access policies
In the Lake settings, define retention rules for your data, such as automatic deletion after 30 days. Configure access permissions and data masking at the lake level to enforce compliance and governance for your team.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cribl Lake and what does it do?
Cribl Lake is a turnkey data lake for IT and security telemetry. It stores logs, metrics, and traces in open formats like Parquet and JSON on object storage, enabling replay, search, and analysis without vendor lock-in.
How does Cribl Lake pricing work?
Cribl Lake uses consumption-based pricing via Cribl Credits, charged on data volume stored and retention length. There is a free tier up to 1 TB/day total ingest, Standard up to 5 TB/day, and Enterprise with unlimited capacity.
Can Cribl Lake replace Splunk or a SIEM?
No, Cribl Lake alone cannot replace a SIEM or observability platform. It is a storage backend for telemetry data, not a full query engine. Query performance depends on Cribl Search, which scans object storage and is slower than indexed systems.
What are the main benefits of using Cribl Lake for Splunk users?
Cribl Lake accepts Splunk DDSS archives, allowing teams to offload cold Splunk data to open format storage. This can cut Splunk license costs by up to 50% or more while keeping data accessible for on-demand query via Cribl Search.
What storage options does Cribl Lake support?
Cribl Lake supports both Cribl-managed cloud storage and bring-your-own-storage on AWS S3, Azure Blob, or GCP. Data is stored in open formats like Parquet and JSON, with schema applied at query time via Cribl Search.
What are the limitations of Cribl Lake?
Cribl Lake is not a standalone query engine and depends on Cribl Search for analysis, which can be slow for real-time queries. Pricing is opaque without a sales quote, and the free tier's 1 TB/day limit applies across all Cribl products.
Alternatives
How Lakehouse compares
Direct head-to-head against 3 competitors. Picked by 7wData.
Lakehouse
- Pricing
- Consumption-based pricing via Cribl Credits, charged on data volume stored and retention length. Free tier: up to 1 TB/day total ingest across all Cribl products. Standard: up to 5 TB/day. Enterprise: unlimited capacity. Credits utilized at ingest. Specific per-GB costs not publicly listed; contact sales for quote.
- Target
- Cribl Lake is a turnkey data lake designed for IT and security telemetry, part of Cribl's broader observability pipeline portfolio.
- Strength
- Cribl Lake stores data in open formats (Parquet, JSON), eliminating vendor lock-in and enabling direct query via any Parquet-compatible tool.
- Watch for
- Cribl Lake is not a standalone query engine; query performance depends on Cribl Search, which scans object storage and is slower than indexed systems for real-time analysis.
Databricks Lakehouse Platform
- Pricing
- Pay-as-you-go; DBU-based compute; contact sales for enterprise
- Target
- Data engineers and data scientists needing unified analytics and ML on a lakehouse
- Deployment
- AWS, Azure, GCP
- Strength
- Unified batch/streaming and ML workflows on Delta Lake
- Watch for
- Complex pricing with DBU consumption; vendor lock-in risk
Dremio Agentic Lakehouse Platform
- Pricing
- Custom/contact sales; free community edition available
- Target
- Teams wanting a SQL-based lakehouse with self-service data and semantic layers
- Deployment
- AWS, Azure, GCP, on-premises
- Strength
- SQL query engine with data reflections for fast BI on data lakes
- Watch for
- Limited native ML capabilities; smaller ecosystem than Databricks
Google Cloud Lakehouse
- Pricing
- Pay-as-you-go per query (BigQuery); storage separate; contact sales for committed use
- Target
- Organizations already on GCP needing integrated lakehouse with BigQuery
- Deployment
- GCP only
- Strength
- Native integration with BigQuery and Vertex AI for analytics and ML
- Watch for
- GCP lock-in; query costs can escalate with high concurrency
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