CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Cribl vs SolarWinds

Cribl sells the AI Platform for Telemetry to IT and security teams. SolarWinds sells monitoring, observability and service management capabilities on a platform offered in self-hosted and SaaS deployment models. CISO Tribune files both under SIEM. This page sets the two records side by side: what each sells, where it is based, who owns and funds it, the customers it names and its recent news, each fact numbered to its source.

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  • Cribl
  • SolarWinds
Cribl vs SolarWinds: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
CriblCribl sells the AI Platform for Telemetry to IT and security teams.cribl.ioSolarWindsSolarWinds sells monitoring, observability and service management capabilities on a platform offered in self-hosted and SaaS deployment models.solarwinds.com
What it sells
  • Cribl SearchCribl Search searches data in place across data lakes, object stores, analytics services, and API endpoints.
  • Cribl Lake[2][9]Cribl Lake receives data that is less likely to be frequently used.
  • Cribl EdgeCribl Edge is a vendor-neutral agent for endpoint data collection.
  • Cribl GuardCribl Guard uses AI to spot sensitive data as it flows through Cribl Stream.
  • Cribl PacksCribl Packs are bundles that package data routes, pipelines, and configurations.
  • Cribl Detect[4][15]Cribl Detect is offered as a SIEM.
  • Cribl as Code[7]Cribl as Code gives teams programmatic control to automate, configure, and manage their Cribl environment.
  • Security Event Manager[1]An on-premise SIEM tool built with threat feeds designed to automatically detect and respond to user, application and network threats.
  • SolarWinds Observability SaaS[6]Observability delivered as SaaS, built to connect data from web applications, their services, and cloud and hybrid infrastructures.
  • SolarWinds Observability Self-HostedSelf-hosted observability that can be deployed behind a firewall or self-hosted in AWS, Microsoft Azure or GCP.
Categories
Headquarters
San Francisco, United StatesNot stated on its pages
Founded
2018[3]Not stated on its pages
Ownership and funding
Privately held[5][14]Not stated on its pages
Named customers
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Recent news
  • September 29, 2026Cribl introduced Cribl Detect, a SIEM built on its open data platform, claimed to cost up to 50% less than other companies.[15]
  • August 19, 2026Cribl acquired technology assets from Radiant Security's AI-native security operations center product, including intellectual property for autonomously triaging and investigating security alerts.[14]
Not stated on its pages
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: Not stated on its pages
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
  • G2: listed, seen November 10, 2026[4]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
Who it fits
From its own pages, Cribl sells mainly to IT and security teams at many of the world's largest enterprises. Its pages describe SREs, devs, and security teams who collect once and search anywhere. Cribl offers a consumption-based model on its cloud platform and volume-based licensing for customers who run their own infrastructure.SolarWinds offers a choice of self-hosted, SaaS or hybrid deployment. SolarWinds offers small business IT solutions and IT education solutions for students, staff and faculty. The federal government is a customer of SolarWinds. SolarWinds Service Desk can be used across the entire organization as an enterprise service management solution.
Last verified
September 27, 2026October 14, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Cribl and SolarWinds are both filed under SIEM.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Cribl's primary category is Security data lakes and pipelines; SolarWinds's is Network visibility and traffic brokering.
  • Cribl lists Cribl Search, Cribl Lake, Cribl Edge, Cribl Guard, Cribl Packs and 2 more. SolarWinds lists Security Event Manager, SolarWinds Observability SaaS and SolarWinds Observability Self-Hosted.
  • Cribl is headquartered in San Francisco, United States.
  • Cribl was founded in 2018.
  • Cribl is privately held.

What it sells: Cribl

What Cribl Search does
Cribl Search is powered by a federated engine that searches data at rest and a lakehouse engine that searches data as soon as it is ingested. Cribl Search includes collaborative Notebooks and AI-assisted KQL query generation. Cribl Search is a standalone offering.
What Cribl Guard does
Cribl Guard spots data like credit cards or social security numbers. Human-in-the-loop review lets operators approve or override actions before data is masked or blocked.

What it sells: SolarWinds

What Security Event Manager does[1]
Security Event Manager comes with hundreds of pre-built connectors that gather logs from various sources, parse their data and put it into a common readable format. Security Event Manager has built-in File Integrity Monitoring capabilities to monitor and alert on suspicious or potentially malicious activity in sensitive files. Active Response provides preconfigured, customizable actions for incident response based on which trigger conditions are satisfied. SEM provides hundreds of out-of-the-box reports for HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOX, ISO, DISA STIGs, FISMA, FERPA, NERC CIP, GLBA, GPG13 and more.
What SolarWinds Observability SaaS does[6]
The application performance monitoring solution collects metrics, logs, traces and user experience data. It is extensible with an open-source framework, a public API and out-of-the-box third-party integrations. Through Platform Connect, SolarWinds Observability, the SaaS-delivered observability solution, can consume data from self-hosted Hybrid Cloud Observability.
What SolarWinds Observability Self-Hosted does
AIOps capabilities are part of SolarWinds Service Desk, SolarWinds Observability Self-Hosted and SaaS. Customers running self-hosted Orion modules on version 2022.2 or later are using the SolarWinds Platform. Self-hosted Hybrid Cloud Observability data can be consumed by SolarWinds Observability through Platform Connect.

Questions about Cribl and SolarWinds

What do Cribl and SolarWinds sell?
Cribl sells Cribl Search, Cribl Lake, Cribl Edge, Cribl Guard, Cribl Packs and 2 more. SolarWinds sells Security Event Manager, SolarWinds Observability SaaS and SolarWinds Observability Self-Hosted.
Are Cribl and SolarWinds in the same category?
They share SIEM. Cribl's primary category is Security data lakes and pipelines and SolarWinds's is Network visibility and traffic brokering.
Where are Cribl and SolarWinds headquartered?
Cribl is headquartered in San Francisco, United States.
When were Cribl and SolarWinds founded?
Cribl was founded in 2018.
Who owns Cribl and SolarWinds?
Cribl is privately held.
Who are Cribl and SolarWinds sold to?
From its own pages, Cribl sells mainly to IT and security teams at many of the world's largest enterprises. SolarWinds offers a choice of self-hosted, SaaS or hybrid deployment.
What have Cribl and SolarWinds announced recently?
September 29, 2026: Cribl introduced Cribl Detect, a SIEM built on its open data platform, claimed to cost up to 50% less than other companies.

About Cribl

Cribl sells the AI Platform for Telemetry to IT and security teams. Cribl says it was founded to address a problem in which telemetry was exploding while the tools to manage and search it were rigid, expensive, and siloed. Cribl started by giving customers a way to route and shape telemetry, so they could keep more data and send it to the right places. Cribl describes its platform as vendor-agnostic, with a telemetry engine to automate investigations. Cribl says telemetry data continues to grow at 28% a year and logging systems are at capacity. Cribl says its platform turns telemetry into a shared, reusable foundation for IT, security, and AI-driven operations.[4][6][7][10][11]

Cribl Stream integrates with 80+ sources and destinations, and portable Packs move entire pipelines as reusable bundles. Cribl Packs are bundles that package data routes, pipelines, and configurations. Collectors are fully supported in Cribl Packs for managing and shipping data from cloud, databases, and APIs. Copilot Editor in Cribl Stream maps schemas, transforms data, and filters data from plain language prompts.[1][7]

Cribl Stream offers dynamic sampling to filter events or roll up logs into metrics. Cribl Stream can keep a full-fidelity copy in low-cost storage or a data lake and replay it later. Cribl Guard uses AI to spot sensitive data, like credit cards or social security numbers, as it flows through Cribl Stream. Cribl Guard includes human-in-the-loop review, so operators can approve or override actions before data is masked or blocked. Cribl as Code gives security, IT, and engineering teams programmatic control to automate, configure, and manage their Cribl environment.[7][11]

Cribl Edge is a vendor-neutral agent for endpoint data collection. Cribl Edge is an agent for file monitoring, upgrades, and configurations that are managed through a GUI. Cribl Lake receives data that is less likely to be frequently used. Cribl Lake and Cribl Search are used for lower-cost retention and in-place search. Cribl Search is powered by a federated engine that searches data at rest and a lakehouse engine that searches data as soon as it is ingested. Cribl Search is a standalone offering, so Cribl Stream is not required to use it.[8][9][10]

Cribl Search searches data in place and supports data lakes, object stores, analytics services, API endpoints, and more. Cribl Search includes AI-guided incident investigations, collaborative Notebooks, AI-assisted KQL query generation, reporting, and visualizations.

Cribl Detect is offered as a SIEM. Cribl describes its SIEM approach as decoupling analysis from storage. Cribl Copilot Editor helps create pipelines using natural language to accelerate migration to new SIEMs and storage locations. Cribl Stream adds context to security data sources, like GeoIP, indicators of compromise, and any other threat intelligence database. Cribl supports storing data in low-cost object storage and replaying it to any destination for incident response. Cribl says most organizations route all telemetry, logs, metrics, and traces, into a single costly tier. Cribl supports routing frequently used data to SIEMs and observability tools, less-used data to a lakehouse, and data to an archive tier for retention requirements. Cribl supports delivering log management as a governed, multi-tenant shared service.[4][9][10][11]

Cribl offers a consumption-based model on its cloud platform, where Cribl Credits let customers allocate spending as demands change. Cribl offers volume-based licensing for Stream and Edge for customers who run their own infrastructure. Cribl offers multiple editions of its product suite. Enterprise customers get up to 3 Workspaces included for free, and additional Workspaces cost 250 credits per Workspace per month. FinOps Center tracks changes in data usage over time and ties them to events such as onboarding new sources or infrastructure shifts. Cribl Consulting Services provides advisory, delivery, optimization, and enablement work across a customer's Cribl environment, purchased through Service Credits.[12][13]

Cribl was formed in San Francisco, California. Cribl completed a Series A with $7.4M in funding and a Series B with $35M raised, led by Sequoia Capital. Cribl announced a Series C with $200M led by Greylock and Redpoint Ventures. Cribl secured $150M in Series D funding led by Tiger Global Management. Cribl closed a $319 million Series E at a $3.5 billion valuation. Cribl acquired CardinalOps to expand its AI platform into security operations. Cribl achieved FedRAMP Authority to Operate for U.S. federal government agencies.[2][4][7][10][12]

Cribl on the record

Sources

Cribl full record

  1. [1]StreamCribl · cribl.io · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]cribl.ioCribl · cribl.io · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Cribl announces 319m series eCribl · cribl.io · published August 27, 2024 · Tier A
  4. [4]The AI Platform for Telemetry | CriblCribl · undated page, accessed October 27, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]About Cribl | CriblCribl · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Data Optimization Initiative | CriblCribl · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Cribl Stream - Simplify Data Collection, Control, & Routing | CriblCribl · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Consolidate Multiple Legacy Agents to Save Resources | CriblCribl · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Cribl data tiering solution: ​​boost telemetry value & speed | CriblCribl · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Cribl Search - Faster Log Investigations Without SIEM Costs or Complexity | CriblCribl · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]SIEM Migrations Made Easier with Cribl | CriblCribl · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Cribl Pricing Plans | CriblCribl · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]Cribl Service Credits | CriblCribl · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]Cribl Advances AI-Powered Security Operations with New AI SOC AcquisitionCribl · published August 19, 2026 · Tier A
  15. [15]Introducing Cribl Detect, Delivering a New Way to SIEMCribl · published September 29, 2026 · Tier A

SolarWinds full record

  1. [1]Security Event Manager - View Event Logs Remotely | SolarWindsSolarWinds · undated page, accessed October 14, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]SolarWinds productsSolarWinds · undated page, accessed November 2, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Observability, Database, and IT Service Management | SolarWindsSolarWinds · undated page, accessed November 2, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]SolarWinds Observability Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2G2 · undated page, accessed November 2, 2026 · Tier C
  5. [5]Orion Platform now self-hosted on the SolarWinds Platform | SolarWindsSolarWinds · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Application Performance Monitoring | SolarWindsSolarWinds · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]AIOps Solutions & AI-Powered IT Operations | SolarWindsSolarWinds · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Security Resources | SolarWindsSolarWinds · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Deployment Services | Customer SuccessSolarWinds · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]IT Service Management Software Solutions | SolarWindsSolarWinds · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]IT Asset Management Solutions | SolarWindsSolarWinds · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]SolarWinds SolutionsSolarWinds · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]IT Service Desk Software | SolarWindsSolarWinds · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A

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