Softwr

Machine Learning · head to head

Orange vs PromptLayer

Orange logo

Orange

Machine Learning

Data mining and visualization toolkit

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
PromptLayer logo

PromptLayer

AI

Collaboration platform for prompt management, evaluation, and observability

From
Free
Free plan
Yes

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Orange orange is licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3, so distributing modified or derived software requires releasing the source under the GPL; PromptLayer the free plan is capped at only 2,500 requests per month, quite limited for active production use.
  • They diverge on capability: Orange covers Visual programming, PromptLayer covers Visual prompt management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Orange and PromptLayer actually diverge.

Attributes where Orange and PromptLayer differ
AttributeOrangePromptLayer
Pricing modelopen-sourcefreemium
PlatformsLinux, Mac, Windowsweb, api
CategoryMachine LearningAI
Founded1996Unknown

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 Orange

  • Visual programming
  • Data visualization
  • Machine learning
  • Text mining
  • Bioinformatics
  • Python
  • scikit-learn
  • PyQt

Only in PromptLayer

  • Visual prompt management
  • Agent observability
  • Evaluations
  • Version control
  • Cost and latency monitoring
  • Agent workflow tracing

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Orange

  • Visual programming for data mining and machine learning workflowsnot PromptLayer
  • Teaching data science without writing codenot PromptLayer
  • Exploratory data visualisation and clustering on tabular datanot PromptLayer

PromptLayer

  • Versioning and deploying prompts without code redeploysnot Orange
  • Running evaluations with human review before production releasenot Orange
  • Tracing multi-step agent workflows for debuggingnot Orange
  • Monitoring LLM cost and latency by featurenot Orange

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Orange

  • Orange is licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3, so distributing modified or derived software requires releasing the source under the GPL
  • The widgets and canvas are built on Qt, which is itself distributed under GPL 3.0
  • Orange add-ons may carry additional licensing requirements set in their own licence files
  • Documentation and website content are under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike, which imposes an attribution and share-alike obligation on reuse
  • The software is distributed without any warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose

PromptLayer

  • The free plan is capped at only 2,500 requests per month, quite limited for active production use.
  • The Team plan jumps to $500/month, a large step up from the $49/month Pro plan.
  • Overage transaction fees apply on top of subscription costs, which can make total spend less predictable.
  • Enterprise-grade features like HIPAA BAAs and custom deployment require contacting sales.

Pricing, plan by plan

Orange

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Visual programming
    • Machine learning
    • Data visualization

PromptLayer

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 5 users
    • 2,500 requests/month
    • 1 workspace
  • Pro$49/month
    • Unlimited playgrounds and workspaces
    • 150MB datasets
    • Pay-as-you-go overage at $0.003/transaction
  • Team$500/month
    • 25 users
    • 100k+ monthly requests
    • Webhooks
  • Enterprise$undefined/mo
    • Custom limits
    • Role-based access controls
    • HIPAA with BAA

Which should you pick?

Choose Orange if

  • You need visual programming.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Mac, Windows.
  • You also want data visualization.

Choose PromptLayer if

  • You need visual prompt management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want agent observability.

Questions people ask

Is Orange or PromptLayer better?
Neither clearly leads. Orange starts at Free and PromptLayer at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Orange or PromptLayer?
Orange starts at Free and PromptLayer at Free.
Does Orange or PromptLayer run on more platforms?
Orange runs on Linux, Mac, Windows. PromptLayer runs on web, api.
Can I use Orange for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Orange best used for?
Orange is most often used for visual programming for data mining and machine learning workflows, teaching data science without writing code, exploratory data visualisation and clustering on tabular data. Of those, visual programming for data mining and machine learning workflows and teaching data science without writing code are not what PromptLayer is typically brought in for.
What can Orange do that PromptLayer cannot?
Orange covers Visual programming, Data visualization, Machine learning, Text mining. PromptLayer covers Visual prompt management, Agent observability, Evaluations, Version control.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Orange: What is the cost of Orange Data Mining?

Orange Data Mining is free open-source software available for Windows, Mac, and other platforms. There are no subscription fees, licensing costs, or paid tiers.

Source
PromptLayer: What does PromptLayer cost?

PromptLayer has a free plan, a Pro plan at $49/month, a Team plan at $500/month, and custom Enterprise pricing, with additional usage billed per transaction beyond plan limits.

Source
Orange: How is Orange Data Mining funded?

Orange Data Mining is supported through optional voluntary donations. The project encourages donations from users who value the software to support bug fixes, new features, educational content, and infrastructure maintenance.

Source
PromptLayer: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

The Free plan includes 5 users, 2,500 requests per month, 1 workspace, 250 monthly eval cell executions, and datasets up to 10MB.

Source
PromptLayer: How is usage metered beyond the plan limits?

Additional usage is charged per transaction for requests, agent runs, and evaluation cell runs, at $0.003/transaction on Pro and $0.002/transaction on Team.

Source
Share

Related pages

Other head to heads