Comparison
AgentCost vs Helicone
Helicone is an LLM observability and monitoring platform, offered as a hosted service with a free tier and paid plans.
Both AgentCost and Helicone answer the same underlying question: where is your LLM spend actually going? They differ mainly in how you integrate them and what you pay.
Helicone is a hosted product with a generous free tier and paid plans that scale with usage. AgentCost is MIT-licensed and free at every level — use the free hosted cloud, or run the same stack on your own infrastructure.
AgentCost vs Helicone at a glance
| Feature | AgentCost | Helicone |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — no tiers, no seat limits | Hobby free; Pro $79/mo; Team $799/mo; Enterprise on request |
| Free tier limits | None — unlimited events, history, and users | 10,000 requests, 1 GB storage, 1 seat, 1 organization |
| License | MIT | Describes itself as open source; license not stated on the pricing page |
| Self-hosting | Yes, free — Docker on your infrastructure (hosted cloud also free) | On-prem deployment listed under the Enterprise tier |
| Integration | Two lines of Python; no proxy, no base-URL change | Typically routed through Helicone's gateway or SDK |
| Providers auto-instrumented | OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, LangChain | Broad provider coverage via the gateway |
| Model pricing database | 3,500+ models, synced from LiteLLM | Maintained by Helicone |
| Maturity | Alpha — young project, small team | Established product with SOC-2 and HIPAA on higher tiers |
Helicone details read from their own pricing page on 2026-07-28. Pricing changes — check the source before deciding.
When to choose Helicone
- You want a managed service with no infrastructure to run, and someone to call when it breaks.
- You need SOC-2 or HIPAA compliance, which Helicone offers on its Team tier.
- Your team is happy routing traffic through a hosted gateway.
- You want a product with a longer track record than AgentCost currently has.
When to choose AgentCost
- You don't want request volume to determine your bill — AgentCost is free at any scale.
- You want a free hosted cloud with a self-host escape hatch — same MIT code either way, no lock-in.
- You'd rather not put a proxy in the path of every LLM call. AgentCost instruments the client libraries in-process instead.
- You want per-agent attribution in a multi-agent system as a first-class feature.
Frequently asked questions
Is AgentCost a drop-in replacement for Helicone?
Not exactly. Helicone commonly sits in the request path as a gateway, while AgentCost instruments the provider SDKs in-process. If you rely on gateway-level features such as caching or request routing, AgentCost does not replace those.
Is AgentCost really free, or is there a paid tier later?
It is MIT-licensed and free, with no tiers, seat limits, or paywalled features. Use the free hosted cloud, or self-host it — then your only cost is the infrastructure you already run.
Can I run both?
Yes. They instrument at different layers, so running AgentCost alongside a gateway is possible, though you would be recording the same calls twice.
Try AgentCost in two minutes
Free hosted cloud, MIT-licensed, self-host optional. No signup needed for the live demo.
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