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Head-to-head · Data Lake Software

Cloudera Data Lake Service vs lakeFS

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 5 checks side by side
Higher score Cloudera Data Lake Service #2 in Data Lake Software 9.1/10 Pricing on request ✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Cloudera
lakeFS #6 in Data Lake Software 8.5/10 Free plan · pricing on request · 15-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 4 of 4 features Visit lakeFS

Cloudera Data Lake Service leads on 0 checks, lakeFS on 0, and 5 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 5 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreCloudera Data Lake Service · 9.1/10
  • Free planonly lakeFS
  • Free trialonly lakeFS

Cloudera Data Lake Service scores higher on our rubric for data lake software: 9.1 against 8.5 out of 10; our editors rank them #2 and #6.

Cloudera Data Lake Service is the better fit for enterprise hybrid data lakes. lakeFS is the better fit for versioned, governed data lakes.

  • Cloudera Data Lake Service fits best

    Enterprise hybrid data lakes

  • lakeFS fits best

    Versioned, governed data lakes

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Side by side

Feature Cloudera Data Lake Service 9.1/10 Visit ↗ lakeFS 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.1 8.5
Ranking #2 in Data Lake Software #6 in Data Lake Software
Best for Enterprise hybrid data lakes Versioned, governed data lakes
Pricing model Paid Free plan + paid
Starting price Pricing on request —
Free plan Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Free trial — 15 days
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms Web Web
Support Tickets, Community, Docs · 24/7 Community, Docs
Integrations 7 integrations 20 integrations
Built for Enterprise Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Cloudera Data Lake Service 4/4 · lakeFS 4/4
Metadata catalog ✓ ✓
Governance controls ✓ ✓
Open table formats ✓ ✓
Data sharing ✓ ✓
Specs
Deployment model Hybrid Hybrid
Ingestion modes Both Not checked yet
Query interface Both Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Comprehensive cataloging, governance, lineage, and chain-of-custody auditing
  • Supports Apache Iceberg sharing, SQL access, Spark, Hive, and Impala
  • Hybrid deployment with role- and attribute-based access policies
  • Git-like branching, merges, tags, and rollbacks for data
  • Free-forever open-source edition with zero-copy branching
  • Broad integrations across analytics, catalogs, ML, and storage
Cons
  • Pricing uses consumption or contact-sales models instead of published tiers
  • Positioning centers on Cloudera Data Platform environments
  • Enterprise governance depth may exceed the needs of minimal lake setups
  • More specialized in versioning than ingestion and querying
  • Enterprise pricing requires contacting sales
  • Enterprise trial is separate from the permanent Community edition
Our verdict

Cloudera Data Lake Service provides governed data-lake capabilities for enterprise environments spanning cloud and on-premises deployments. It manages schemas and metadata, supports cataloging and search, applies role- and attribute-based…

Read the review →

lakeFS is an open-source and commercial data version-control platform for data, AI, and ML teams. It adds Git-like branching, commits, merges, rollbacks, tags, hooks, audit trails, lineage, and zero-copy data environments over object…

Read the review →
  1. Cloudera Data Lake ServiceData Lake Software 9.1Pricing on request
  2. lakeFSData Lake Software 8.5Free plan · pricing on request · 15-day trial

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Cloudera Data Lake Service — where it wins

    • Comprehensive cataloging, governance, lineage, and chain-of-custody auditing
    • Supports Apache Iceberg sharing, SQL access, Spark, Hive, and Impala
    • Hybrid deployment with role- and attribute-based access policies

    Where it doesn't

    • Pricing uses consumption or contact-sales models instead of published tiers
    • Positioning centers on Cloudera Data Platform environments
    • Enterprise governance depth may exceed the needs of minimal lake setups

  • lakeFS — where it wins

    • Git-like branching, merges, tags, and rollbacks for data
    • Free-forever open-source edition with zero-copy branching
    • Broad integrations across analytics, catalogs, ML, and storage

    Where it doesn't

    • More specialized in versioning than ingestion and querying
    • Enterprise pricing requires contacting sales
    • Enterprise trial is separate from the permanent Community edition
  • Cloudera Data Lake Service9.1/10 · Pricing on request

    A mature hybrid data lake service for enterprises needing governance, lineage, and Iceberg support.

    Visit ClouderaFull verdict →
  • lakeFS8.5/10 · Free plan · pricing on request · 15-day trial

    A governed, Git-like control layer for versioned data lakes.

    Visit lakeFSFull verdict →

More comparisons

All data lake software comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update