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Software · head to head

Helicone vs Tabnine

Helicone logo

Helicone

Software

Open-source LLM observability and gateway platform for AI applications

From
Free
Rated
-
Tabnine logo

Tabnine

Software

AI coding agents built for enterprise privacy and control

From
$39/month
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.; Tabnine no published free tier as of the current pricing page, unlike several competitors that offer free individual plans
  • They diverge on capability: Helicone covers Request dashboard and tracking, Tabnine covers Code Completions.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Helicone and Tabnine actually diverge.

Attributes where Helicone and Tabnine differ
AttributeHeliconeTabnine
Starting priceFree$39/month
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, apiwindows, mac, linux, web
FoundedUnknown2017

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Tabnine

  • Code Completions
  • AI Chat
  • Agentic Workflows
  • Context Engine
  • Zero Code Retention
  • Flexible Deployment
  • Codebase Integrations

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

Tabnine

  • Enterprise teams requiring on-premises or air-gapped AI coding toolsnot Helicone
  • Organizations with strict IP and data privacy requirementsnot Helicone
  • Teams wanting codebase-aware code completionsnot Helicone
  • Regulated industries needing compliance-certified AI toolingnot 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.

Tabnine

  • No published free tier as of the current pricing page, unlike several competitors that offer free individual plans
  • Pricing is higher than many consumer-focused AI coding assistants, targeting enterprise budgets
  • Now owned by Tricentis, a testing-focused company, introducing uncertainty about long-term product direction outside quality engineering use cases
  • LLM usage costs apply separately when using Tabnine-provided model access, on top of the per-seat license fee

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

Tabnine

$39/month
  • Code Assistant Platform$39/month
    • AI code completions
    • AI chat across the SDLC
    • Works with all major IDEs
  • Agentic Platform$59/month
    • Everything in Code Assistant Platform
    • Autonomous coding agents
    • Customizable coaching guidelines

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 Tabnine if

  • You need code completions.
  • You work on windows, mac, linux, web.
  • You also want ai chat.

Questions people ask

Is Helicone or Tabnine better?
Neither clearly leads. Helicone starts at Free and Tabnine at $39/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Helicone or Tabnine?
Helicone has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Helicone and $39/month for Tabnine.
Does Helicone or Tabnine run on more platforms?
Helicone runs on web, api. Tabnine runs on windows, mac, linux, web.
Can I use Helicone for free?
Yes. Helicone has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Tabnine starts at $39/month.
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 Tabnine is typically brought in for.
What can Helicone do that Tabnine cannot?
Helicone covers Request dashboard and tracking, Sessions and segments, Helicone Query Language (HQL), Prompt datasets and improvement. Tabnine covers Code Completions, AI Chat, Agentic Workflows, Context Engine.

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
Tabnine: What does Tabnine cost?

The Code Assistant Platform is $39/user/month and the Agentic Platform, which adds autonomous agents and the CLI, is $59/user/month, both billed as annual subscriptions.

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
Tabnine: Is there a free plan?

Tabnine's pricing page does not list a permanent free tier; both published plans are paid per-seat subscriptions aimed at professional and enterprise teams.

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
Tabnine: Does Tabnine charge extra for LLM usage?

Usage is unlimited when connecting your own on-prem or cloud LLM endpoint, but additional fees apply when using Tabnine-provided model access on top of the seat license.

Source
Tabnine: What deployment options does Tabnine support?

Tabnine can be deployed as SaaS, in a private VPC, fully on-premises, or in a completely air-gapped environment to meet enterprise data-control requirements.

Source
Tabnine: What is included in the Agentic Platform tier?

It adds autonomous coding agents with optional human oversight, the Tabnine CLI, the Context Engine, MCP integration, and unlimited codebase connections beyond the base Code Assistant plan.

Source
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