AI Tools · head to head
Helicone vs Runway
Helicone
AI Tools
Open-source LLM observability and gateway platform for AI applications
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
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.; Runway the free tier is 125 one-time credits rather than a monthly allowance, so it runs out and does not refill
- They diverge on capability: Helicone covers Request dashboard and tracking, Runway covers Gen-2 video generation.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Helicone and Runway actually diverge.
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 Runway
- Gen-2 video generation
- Green screen
- Inpainting
- Super resolution
- Motion tracking
- Adobe Premiere
- Final Cut Pro
- API access
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 Runway
- Debugging multi-step agent sessionsnot Runway
- Managing and iterating on prompts across a teamnot Runway
- Routing requests across multiple LLM providersnot Runway
Runway
- Generating video clips from text or image promptsnot Helicone
- Extending or editing existing footage with generative modelsnot Helicone
- Removing objects and backgrounds from videonot Helicone
- Storyboarding and previsualisation for productionnot 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.
Runway
- The free tier is 125 one-time credits rather than a monthly allowance, so it runs out and does not refill
- Outputs carry a watermark until the Standard plan at $12 a month
- Everything is metered in credits, and Gen-4.5 video costs 60 credits per 5 seconds, so a Standard plan covers roughly 125 short videos a year
- Only the Max plan at $76 a month rolls unused credits over, and only for one month
- The free tier gives a selection of models rather than the full set
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
Runway
Free- FreeFree
- 125 credits
- Basic tools
- 720p exports
- Standard$12/month
- 625 credits/month
- Gen-2 access
- 4K exports
- Pro$28/month
- 2250 credits/month
- All tools
- Priority processing
- Unlimited$76/month
- Unlimited generations
- Custom models
- API access
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 Runway if
- You need gen-2 video generation.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want green screen.
Questions people ask
- Is Helicone or Runway better?
- Neither clearly leads. Helicone starts at Free and Runway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Helicone or Runway?
- Helicone starts at Free and Runway at Free.
- Does Helicone or Runway run on more platforms?
- Helicone runs on web, api. Runway runs on Web.
- 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 Runway is typically brought in for.
- What can Helicone do that Runway cannot?
- Helicone covers Request dashboard and tracking, Sessions and segments, Helicone Query Language (HQL), Prompt datasets and improvement. Runway covers Gen-2 video generation, Green screen, Inpainting, Super resolution.
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
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- Runway vs Pika
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- Runway vs Fathom
- Runway vs Stable Diffusion
- Runway vs Perplexity
- Runway vs Arize AI
- Runway vs Black Forest Labs
- Runway vs Cartesia
- Runway vs Deepgram
- Runway vs Ideogram
- Runway vs Jasper
- Runway vs PromptLayer
- Runway vs Resemble AI
- Runway vs Together AI
- Runway vs AI21 Labs
- Runway vs Copy.ai
- Runway vs HeyGen
- Runway vs Midjourney
- Runway vs DALL-E
- Runway vs Brandwatch
- Runway vs Mention
- Runway vs Planoly
- Runway vs Metricool
- Runway vs Sked Social
- Runway vs Opus Clip
- Runway vs Sprinklr
- Runway vs Tailwind
- Runway vs Talkwalker

