LLM observability & evaluation · Helicone

Helicone

Open-source LLM observability platform that logs and analyzes requests via a proxy or async SDK, with a free-tier hosted cloud.

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Helicone is an open-source platform focused on logging and analyzing LLM API traffic: requests and responses are captured either by routing calls through Helicone's proxy or via an async SDK integration, then made queryable through its own query language (HQL) for cost, latency, and usage analysis across models and providers. It emphasizes request-level observability and alerting over deep multi-step agent evaluation. The underlying platform is open source and can be self-hosted; Helicone Cloud is the hosted equivalent, free for a limited monthly request volume, then paid Pro and Team plans that add unlimited seats, longer retention, and compliance features, with an Enterprise tier for on-premises deployment. Because it primarily observes API traffic rather than instrumenting application logic directly, it fits teams that want low-friction logging over deep custom tracing.

At a glance

Vendor Helicone
Pricing model Free tier + paid plans
Free tier Yes
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted
Open source Yes
Best for Teams that want low-friction, proxy-based logging of LLM API traffic without instrumenting application code deeply.

Pricing

Free Hobby tier for a limited number of monthly requests; paid Pro and Team monthly plans add unlimited seats, longer retention, and compliance, with usage-based overage beyond the included request volume; Enterprise is custom with on-prem deployment.

Plan Price Notes
Hobby $0/month 10,000 free requests, 1 GB storage, 1 seat, 7-day retention, community support
Pro $79/month Unlimited seats, alerts and reports, HQL query language, 1-month retention; usage-based pricing beyond 10k requests/month
Team $799/month All Pro features, 5 organizations, SOC 2 & HIPAA compliance, private Slack channel, 3-month retention
Enterprise Custom Everything in Team, SAML SSO, on-premises deployment, dedicated support engineer

Prices read from the vendor's own page on September 21, 2026. Vendors change prices; check the source before you budget.

Features

  • Proxy or async-SDK based request logging
  • Custom query language (HQL) over logged requests
  • Cost and latency analytics across models and providers
  • Alerting and usage reports
  • Open-source, self-hostable core platform
  • SOC 2 & HIPAA compliance on higher tiers

Integrations

Profile last reviewed September 21, 2026

Head to head

Alternatives

Langfuse Open-source LLM tracing and evaluation platform, available self-hosted for free or as a metered hosted cloud service. Portkey AI gateway that routes and load-balances LLM calls across providers while logging traces, prompts, and feedback for observability. LangSmith Tracing, evaluation, and deployment platform for LLM applications, built by the team behind LangChain and LangGraph. Lunary GDPR-focused LLM observability platform for tracing, prompt management, and human review, hosted in Europe or self-hosted.

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Terms to know

Data observability Continuous automated monitoring of pipelines and datasets to catch freshness, volume and quality problems early. Machine learning Building models that learn patterns from data to make predictions or decisions, rather than following hand-coded rules. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) The U.S. law that sets privacy and security rules for protected health information handled by healthcare providers and insurers. LLM observability Monitoring a language model's live behavior in production, tracking its inputs, outputs, latency, cost, and failure patterns.

Related guides

How to choose an LLM observability tool Pick an LLM tool by whether you need tracing, scoring or a gateway first — most teams eventually need all three, rarely from one vendor.