Softwr

AI · head to head

Helicone vs LlamaIndex

Helicone logo

Helicone

AI

Open-source LLM observability and gateway platform for AI applications

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
LlamaIndex logo

LlamaIndex

Machine Learning

Data framework for LLM applications

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; LlamaIndex the free LlamaCloud plan includes 10K credits and has no pay as you go option, so work stops when credits run out
  • They diverge on capability: Helicone covers Request dashboard and tracking, LlamaIndex covers Data connectors.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Helicone and LlamaIndex actually diverge.

Attributes where Helicone and LlamaIndex differ
AttributeHeliconeLlamaIndex
Pricing modelfreemiumusage-based
Platformsweb, apiLinux, Mac, Windows
CategoryAIMachine Learning
FoundedUnknown2022

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 LlamaIndex

  • Data connectors
  • Indexing
  • Query engine
  • RAG pipelines
  • Agents
  • OpenAI
  • Anthropic
  • Pinecone

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 LlamaIndex
  • Debugging multi-step agent sessionsnot LlamaIndex
  • Managing and iterating on prompts across a teamnot LlamaIndex
  • Routing requests across multiple LLM providersnot LlamaIndex

LlamaIndex

  • Parsing PDFs and complex documents into structured text for RAGnot Helicone
  • Building retrieval augmented generation pipelines over private datanot Helicone
  • Indexing and querying enterprise documents from an LLM applicationnot Helicone

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.

LlamaIndex

  • The free LlamaCloud plan includes 10K credits and has no pay as you go option, so work stops when credits run out
  • Concurrent parse jobs are capped at 5 on Free and Starter, 20 on Pro and 100 on Enterprise
  • Pay as you go spend is capped at $500 per month on Starter and $5,000 per month on Pro
  • Enterprise SSO is Enterprise plan only
  • Volume discounts on credits and 5x higher rate limits are Enterprise only
  • SaaS or hybrid cloud deployment choice and a dedicated account manager are Enterprise only
  • Enterprise pricing is by quote with no published rate

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

LlamaIndex

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 10K monthly credits
    • Basic parsing
    • 5 concurrent jobs
  • Starter$50/month
    • 40K credits + pay-as-you-go
    • Up to 400K credits
    • 5 concurrent jobs
  • Pro$500/month
    • 400K credits + limited-time bonus
    • 20 concurrent jobs
    • Priority Slack support
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • Custom volume discounts
    • 5x higher rate limits
    • SSO

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.
Helicone review

Choose LlamaIndex if

  • You need data connectors.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Mac, Windows.
  • You also want indexing.
LlamaIndex review

Questions people ask

Is Helicone or LlamaIndex better?
Neither clearly leads. Helicone starts at Free and LlamaIndex at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Helicone or LlamaIndex?
Helicone starts at Free and LlamaIndex at Free.
Does Helicone or LlamaIndex run on more platforms?
Helicone runs on web, api. LlamaIndex runs on Linux, Mac, Windows.
Can I use Helicone for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 LlamaIndex is typically brought in for.
What can Helicone do that LlamaIndex cannot?
Helicone covers Request dashboard and tracking, Sessions and segments, Helicone Query Language (HQL), Prompt datasets and improvement. LlamaIndex covers Data connectors, Indexing, Query engine, RAG pipelines.

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.

Source
LlamaIndex: How much does LlamaIndex (LlamaParse) cost?

LlamaIndex offers a Free plan with 10K monthly credits at $0/month. The Starter plan is $50/month for 40K credits plus pay-as-you-go overage up to 400K total. The Pro plan is $500/month for 400K credits. Credits are priced at 1,000 credits for $1.25.

Source
Helicone: 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.

Source
LlamaIndex: Is LlamaIndex free?

Yes, LlamaIndex offers a free plan with 10K monthly credits, basic parsing, 5 concurrent jobs, and support for up to 100 users with no upfront payment required.

Source
Helicone: 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.

Source
LlamaIndex: What are LlamaIndex's concurrent job limits?

The Free and Starter plans allow 5 concurrent jobs. The Pro plan increases this to 20 concurrent jobs. Enterprise plans offer custom configurations with 5x higher rate limits.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Helicone

More on LlamaIndex

Keep looking

Other head to heads