Software Development · head to head
Humanloop vs LangSmith
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Humanloop no published pricing for standard plans; customers must contact sales for quotes; LangSmith usage-based pricing applies beyond included traces; LCU charges at $1.50/LCU and LSU at $1.00/LSU
- Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Humanloop and LangSmith actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Software Development).
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Humanloop
- LLM prompt management and evaluationnot LangSmith
- AI workflow automation and testingnot LangSmith
- Model monitoring and logging at scalenot LangSmith
LangSmith
- Tracing agent execution step-by-step in productionnot Humanloop
- Detecting agent failures affecting latency and costnot Humanloop
- Monitoring token usage and latency percentilesnot Humanloop
- Clustering traces to identify failure modesnot Humanloop
- Self-hosting traces within VPC for data residencynot Humanloop
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Humanloop
- No published pricing for standard plans; customers must contact sales for quotes
- Billing based on logs created per API call, making costs unpredictable without usage estimates
- Separate charges apply from AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.) using customer's own API keys, adding external costs
LangSmith
- Usage-based pricing applies beyond included traces; LCU charges at $1.50/LCU and LSU at $1.00/LSU
- Free tier limited to 1 seat and 5,000 traces per month
Pricing, plan by plan
Humanloop
Free- Free TrialFree
- 2 members
- 50 evaluation runs
- 10,000 logs per month
- Startup Program$null/contact-sales
- Tailored pricing for early-stage, VC-backed startups
- Enterprise$null/contact-sales
- Custom pricing
- SSO + SAML authentication
- Role-based access controls
LangSmith
Free- DeveloperFree
- 1 seat maximum
- 5,000 base traces monthly
- Plus$39/month
- Unlimited seats
- 10,000 base traces monthly
- 1 free small serverless deployment
- Enterprise$null/mo
- Custom pricing
- Self-hosted and hybrid options
- Custom SSO, ABAC, RBAC
Which should you pick?
Questions people ask
- Is Humanloop or LangSmith better?
- Neither clearly leads. Humanloop starts at Free and LangSmith at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Humanloop or LangSmith?
- Humanloop starts at Free and LangSmith at Free.
- Does Humanloop or LangSmith run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Humanloop for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Humanloop best used for?
- Humanloop is most often used for llm prompt management and evaluation, ai workflow automation and testing, model monitoring and logging at scale. Of those, llm prompt management and evaluation and ai workflow automation and testing are not what LangSmith is typically brought in for.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Humanloop: How much does Humanloop cost?
Humanloop offers a free trial with 2 members and 10,000 logs per month. Startup program and Enterprise plans require contacting sales for custom pricing based on usage needs.
SourceLangSmith: What does LangSmith cost?
LangSmith Developer plan is free with up to 5,000 base traces monthly. Plus plan costs $39/month per seat with 10,000 base traces included. Enterprise pricing is custom.
SourceHumanloop: What are the limits on Humanloop's free trial plan?
Free trial includes 2 members, 50 evaluation runs, and 10,000 logs per month with access to all features at limited volume.
SourceLangSmith: How does LangSmith usage-based pricing work?
Beyond included traces, LangSmith charges $1.50 per LCU (LangChain Compute Unit) for computational work and $1.00 per LSU (LangChain Storage Unit) for data storage.
SourceHumanloop: How is Humanloop usage billed?
Humanloop bills based on logs created per API call to prompts, tools, evaluators, or flows. Separate charges apply from external AI providers like OpenAI and Anthropic using the customer's own API keys.
SourceLangSmith: Is there a free tier for LangSmith?
Yes, the Developer plan is free with limits on seat count (1 seat maximum) and trace volume (5,000 base traces per month).
SourceHumanloop: Does Humanloop offer discounts for nonprofits or academics?
Academic and nonprofit pricing is available upon request, requiring contact with sales for customized rates.
SourceRelated pages
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