AI Tools · head to head
Helicone vs Langfuse
Helicone
AI Tools
Open-source LLM observability and gateway platform for AI applications
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Langfuse
Software Development
Simple pricing for projects of all sizes
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Helicone has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Helicone the free Hobby plan is capped at 10,000 requests per month, which teams with production traffic can exceed quickly.; Langfuse billing is metered per unit, where a unit is any trace, observation, or score sent to the platform; the free Hobby tier includes only 50,000 units per month before graduated per-unit charges apply, as of August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Helicone and Langfuse actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Helicone
- Request dashboard and tracking
- Sessions and segments
- Helicone Query Language (HQL)
- Prompt datasets and improvement
- Playground
- Rate limits and alerts
Only in Langfuse
Nothing recorded that Helicone does not also cover.
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Helicone
- Monitoring cost and latency of production LLM applicationsnot Langfuse
- Debugging multi-step agent sessionsnot Langfuse
- Managing and iterating on prompts across a teamnot Langfuse
- Routing requests across multiple LLM providersnot Langfuse
Langfuse
No use cases recorded yet. See the Langfuse review.
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Helicone
- The free Hobby plan is capped at 10,000 requests per month, which teams with production traffic can exceed quickly.
- Advanced compliance features like SOC 2 and HIPAA are only available starting at the $799/month Team plan.
- Usage beyond the free tier is billed on top of the base subscription, adding cost unpredictability at scale.
- On-premises deployment is restricted to the custom Enterprise tier.
Langfuse
- Billing is metered per unit, where a unit is any trace, observation, or score sent to the platform; the free Hobby tier includes only 50,000 units per month before graduated per-unit charges apply, as of August 2026.
Pricing, plan by plan
Helicone
Free- HobbyFree
- 10,000 free requests
- 1 GB storage
- 1 seat
- Pro$79/month
- 10K free requests included, usage-based beyond
- 7-day free trial
- Unlimited playgrounds and workspaces
- Team$799/month
- 5 organizations
- SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance
- Dedicated Slack channel access
- Enterprise$undefined/mo
- Custom MSAs and SAML SSO
- On-premises deployment
- Bulk cloud discounts
Langfuse
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Langfuse review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Helicone if
- You need request dashboard and tracking.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on web, api.
- You also want sessions and segments.
Choose Langfuse if
Nothing in the data separates Langfuse from Helicone on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Questions people ask
- Is Helicone or Langfuse better?
- Neither clearly leads. Helicone starts at Free and Langfuse at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Helicone or Langfuse?
- Helicone has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Helicone and On request for Langfuse.
- Does Helicone or Langfuse run on more platforms?
- Helicone runs on web, api. Langfuse runs on Web.
- Can I use Helicone for free?
- Yes. Helicone has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Langfuse starts at On request.
- What is Helicone best used for?
- Helicone is most often used for monitoring cost and latency of production llm applications, debugging multi-step agent sessions, managing and iterating on prompts across a team, routing requests across multiple llm providers. Of those, monitoring cost and latency of production llm applications and debugging multi-step agent sessions are not what Langfuse is typically brought in for.
- What can Helicone do that Langfuse cannot?
- Helicone covers Request dashboard and tracking, Sessions and segments, Helicone Query Language (HQL), Prompt datasets and improvement.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Helicone: What does Helicone cost?
Helicone offers a free Hobby plan, a Pro plan at $79/month, a Team plan at $799/month, and custom Enterprise pricing, with usage-based charges applying beyond included request limits.
SourceHelicone: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?
The free Hobby plan includes 10,000 requests per month, 1 GB of storage, 1 seat, and 1 organization, aimed at kickstarting AI projects.
SourceHelicone: Are there discounts available?
Helicone offers 50% off the first year for qualifying startups, discounts for non-profits, a $100 annual credit for open-source projects, and free access for students.
SourceRelated pages
Other head to heads
- Helicone vs Pika
- Helicone vs Anthropic API
- Helicone vs D-ID
- Helicone vs Fathom
- Helicone vs Stable Diffusion
- Helicone vs Perplexity
- Helicone vs Arize AI
- Helicone vs Black Forest Labs
- Helicone vs Cartesia
- Helicone vs Deepgram
- Helicone vs Ideogram
- Helicone vs Jasper
- Helicone vs PromptLayer
- Helicone vs Resemble AI
- Helicone vs Together AI
- Helicone vs AI21 Labs
- Helicone vs Copy.ai
- Helicone vs HeyGen
- Helicone vs Cursor
- Helicone vs Windsurf
- Helicone vs Zed
- Helicone vs Amp
- Helicone vs Codacy
- Helicone vs DeepSource
- Helicone vs Augment Code
- Helicone vs Drizzle ORM
- Helicone vs Flagsmith
- Helicone vs Unleash
- Helicone vs Baseten
- Helicone vs Braintrust
- Helicone vs Bun
- Helicone vs Cline
- Helicone vs Devin
- Helicone vs Factory
- Helicone vs Humanloop
- Helicone vs LangSmith
- Langfuse vs Pika
- Langfuse vs Anthropic API
- Langfuse vs D-ID
- Langfuse vs Fathom
- Langfuse vs Stable Diffusion
- Langfuse vs Perplexity
- Langfuse vs Arize AI
- Langfuse vs Black Forest Labs
- Langfuse vs Cartesia
- Langfuse vs Deepgram
- Langfuse vs Ideogram
- Langfuse vs Jasper
- Langfuse vs PromptLayer
- Langfuse vs Resemble AI
- Langfuse vs Together AI
- Langfuse vs AI21 Labs
- Langfuse vs Copy.ai
- Langfuse vs HeyGen
- Langfuse vs Cursor
- Langfuse vs Windsurf
- Langfuse vs Zed
- Langfuse vs Amp
- Langfuse vs Codacy
- Langfuse vs DeepSource
- Langfuse vs Augment Code
- Langfuse vs Drizzle ORM
- Langfuse vs Flagsmith
- Langfuse vs Unleash
- Langfuse vs Baseten
- Langfuse vs Braintrust
- Langfuse vs Bun
- Langfuse vs Cline
- Langfuse vs Devin
- Langfuse vs Factory
- Langfuse vs Humanloop
- Langfuse vs LangSmith
