Helicone
Open-source LLM gateway with HQL query language across 10+ model providers
What is Helicone?
Helicone is an open-source AI gateway and LLM observability platform that routes, logs, and analyzes requests across providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure, and Together AI through a single proxy. It handles request tracking, session monitoring, prompt management, alerts, and cost analytics behind one unified dashboard. Its HQL (Helicone Query Language) lets teams slice traces with SQL-like queries across application instances.
Knowledge bases, internal search, operations, data, finance, HR, and back-office tools with AI workflows.
See the full Knowledge & Ops guide to compare more tools, buyer criteria, and related workflows.
Use cases to evaluate
Proxy and log every OpenAI/Anthropic call from a SaaS app to track per-customer cost
Run HQL queries to find which prompt template is regressing latency in production
Manage and version prompts centrally so PMs can ship copy changes without a deploy
Set spend and error-rate alerts on a single tenant before it impacts the rest of the platform
Fit to evaluate
Series A-C AI startups that need cost visibility across multiple LLM vendors
Platform engineers standardizing one LLM proxy across many product teams
Open-source-first shops that want to self-host the observability layer
Solo developers piloting LLM features under the 10K-request free tier
Business fit
Right for you if your team ships LLM features in production and wants one proxy to log every request, run prompt experiments, and query traces with SQL-like syntax without locking into one model vendor. Skip if you only call a single model occasionally, prefer a closed-source SaaS with no proxy hop, or need deep agent-graph tracing rather than per-request analytics. Self-hostable Hobby tier makes it cheap to pilot before committing budget. Multi-provider support pays off most when you actively route between OpenAI, Anthropic, and open-weights models.
How to evaluate Helicone
Use this category when operational data, policies, tasks, or internal requests are spread across disconnected systems.
Confirm the exact workflow
Map Helicone to one concrete workflow first, such as proxy and log every openai/anthropic call from a saas app to track per-customer cost. Avoid buying before the owner, trigger, output, and success metric are clear.
Check category fit
Compare internal search, permissions, workflow support, and reporting.
Compare practical alternatives
Shortlist Helicone against Glean, Guru, Slite so the decision is based on fit, effort, and workflow ownership rather than brand recognition alone.
Validate cost and rollout effort
Hobby free with 10K requests/month, 1GB storage, 7-day retention; Pro $79/month adds HQL, alerts, 1-month retention, 1K logs/min; Team $799/month covers 5 orgs, SOC-2/HIPAA, 15K logs/min; Enterprise custom with on-prem and forever retention. Also confirm implementation time, support needs, and whether the medium setup matches your team.
Compare Helicone with alternatives
Use this quick comparison before booking demos or moving data into a new system.
| Primary workflow | Proxy and log every OpenAI/Anthropic call from a SaaS app to track per-customer cost, Run HQL queries to find which prompt template is regressing latency in production |
|---|---|
| Best-fit team | Series A-C AI startups that need cost visibility across multiple LLM vendors, Platform engineers standardizing one LLM proxy across many product teams |
| Implementation effort | Medium setup and maintenance profile |
| Pricing check | Free plan + paid plans |
| Closest alternatives | GleanGuruSliteSlab |
Helicone pricing
| Model | Free plan + paid plans |
|---|---|
| Snapshot | Hobby free with 10K requests/month, 1GB storage, 7-day retention; Pro $79/month adds HQL, alerts, 1-month retention, 1K logs/min; Team $799/month covers 5 orgs, SOC-2/HIPAA, 15K logs/min; Enterprise custom with on-prem and forever retention. |
| Checked |
Common questions about Helicone
What is Helicone?
Helicone is an open-source AI gateway and LLM observability platform that routes, logs, and analyzes requests across providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure, and Together AI through a single proxy. It handles request tracking, session monitoring, prompt management, alerts, and cost analytics behind one unified dashboard. Its HQL (Helicone Query Language) lets teams slice traces with SQL-like queries across application instances.
What is Helicone used for?
Common use cases: Proxy and log every OpenAI/Anthropic call from a SaaS app to track per-customer cost; Run HQL queries to find which prompt template is regressing latency in production; Manage and version prompts centrally so PMs can ship copy changes without a deploy; Set spend and error-rate alerts on a single tenant before it impacts the rest of the platform.
How much does Helicone cost?
Hobby free with 10K requests/month, 1GB storage, 7-day retention; Pro $79/month adds HQL, alerts, 1-month retention, 1K logs/min; Team $799/month covers 5 orgs, SOC-2/HIPAA, 15K logs/min; Enterprise custom with on-prem and forever retention.
Who is Helicone best for?
Helicone fits Series A-C AI startups that need cost visibility across multiple LLM vendors, Platform engineers standardizing one LLM proxy across many product teams, Open-source-first shops that want to self-host the observability layer, Solo developers piloting LLM features under the 10K-request free tier. Right for you if your team ships LLM features in production and wants one proxy to log every request, run prompt experiments, and query traces with SQL-like syntax without locking into one model vendor. Skip if you only call a single model occasionally, prefer a closed-source SaaS with no proxy hop, or need deep agent-graph tracing rather than per-request analytics. Self-hostable Hobby tier makes it cheap to pilot before committing budget. Multi-provider support pays off most when you actively route between OpenAI, Anthropic, and open-weights models.
What are alternatives to Helicone?
Common alternatives to Helicone include Glean, Guru, Slite, Slab, Tettra, Sana.