Comparison

Helicone vs LangSmith

A like-for-like, spec-level comparison. Both entries are verified against their docs and repo.

Helicone

Proxy-based LLM observability with instant cost tracking.

  • + Fastest setup via a drop-in proxy
  • + Automatic cost and rate-limit tracking
  • − Eval features lighter than competitors
  • − Proxy model adds a hop

LangSmith

LangChain's observability and eval platform.

  • + Best-in-class when you already use LangChain
  • + Strong tracing UX
  • − Proprietary and cloud-only
  • − Vendor lock-in to LangChain
Spec Helicone LangSmith
Category eval-observability eval-observability
License Apache-2.0 Proprietary
Open source Yes No
Self-hostable Yes No
MCP support No No
Pricing freemium freemium
Starting price Free tier Free developer tier
Models multi multi
Languages typescript python, typescript
GitHub stars 5.9k
Last activity 2026-06-11