Helicone vs Langfuse
Pick Helicone if you already run Helicone, or you want a proxy that logs requests by changing a base URL. Check its current owner and support status first: Mintlify said in March 2026 it would run Helicone in maintenance mode, and helicone.ai now says it is no longer part of Mintlify.
Pick Langfuse if you are choosing a tracing and evals platform today and want an MIT-licensed core you can self-host, plus a hosted plan from $29/mo.
How we rank: We don't pick a winner: the verdict says when each option fits, based on the sourced facts in the table. Every entry gets the same fields, taken from vendor pricing pages, docs and official repositories on the checked date, with a source link; anything we couldn't confirm says “not verified”. Commission and sponsorship don't affect order or what we say. We show no star ratings or user scores. How we review
The facts side by side
| Helicone | Langfuse | |
|---|---|---|
| Open source or hosted | Both: open-source code, plus Helicone Cloud [source, checked 2026-11-01] | Both: open-source code, plus Langfuse Cloud [source, checked 2026-11-01] |
| Self-host | Yes (Docker or Kubernetes) [source, checked 2026-11-01] | Yes, free (Docker Compose or Kubernetes) [source, checked 2026-11-01] |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 [source, checked 2026-11-01] | MIT for the core; code in `ee/` folders is under a separate licence [source, checked 2026-11-01] |
| Owner | Unclear. Mintlify announced it was acquiring Helicone on 3 Mar 2026. On 3 Nov 2026, helicone.ai still says Helicone "is no longer part of Mintlify. Details to come soon." [source, checked 2026-11-03] | ClickHouse, Inc. (Langfuse joined ClickHouse; the LICENSE copyright reads ClickHouse, Inc.) [source, checked 2026-11-01] |
| Price (checked 1 Nov 2026) | Free: 10,000 requests, 1 GB, 1 seat. Pro $79/mo + usage. Team $799/mo + usage [source, checked 2026-11-01] | Hobby free (50k units/mo). Core $29/mo, Pro $199/mo (each 100k units, then $8 per 100k). Enterprise $2,499/mo [source, checked 2026-11-01] |
| Integrations | Proxy/gateway (change the base URL) or async logging via OpenLLMetry [source, checked 2026-11-01] | Python and JS SDKs, OpenTelemetry, LiteLLM proxy, and framework integrations on its integrations page [source, checked 2026-11-01] |
Helicone status: what the primary sources say
- 3 Mar 2026: Mintlify announced it was acquiring Helicone and said Helicone "will continue operating in maintenance mode—security updates, bug fixes, and new models will keep shipping", and that it would help customers migrate to another platform. [source, checked 2026-11-03]
- 1 Nov 2026: The helicone.ai homepage and pricing page show the banner "Helicone is no longer part of Mintlify. Details to come soon." Helicone's own post about joining Mintlify (helicone.ai/blog/joining-mintlify) now returns a 404 error. [source, checked 2026-11-03]
- 3 Nov 2026: Re-checked: the banner is unchanged and the Helicone post still returns 404. Neither company has said who runs Helicone now or whether maintenance mode has ended. We list the owner as unclear until a primary source says. [source, checked 2026-11-01]
What we ran ourselves (2026-11-01)
We did not run either tool. Self-hosting either one needs Docker, which our test machine lacks today, and both clouds need a sign-up, which this test does not use. Instead we ran the same 5-row eval in Phoenix, LangSmith's SDK, Ragas and TruLens on other pages.
| Helicone | Langfuse | |
|---|---|---|
| Ran locally | No | No |
| Why not | Self-host needs Docker; the cloud needs an account | Self-host needs Docker; the cloud needs an account |
| What we checked instead | Pricing page, homepage banner, repo licence, Mintlify's post (1 Nov 2026) | Pricing page, LICENSE file, self-hosting and integrations docs (1 Nov 2026) |
Not tested:
- Request logging, the gateway, caching and fallbacks in Helicone.
- Tracing, datasets, experiments and LLM-as-judge evaluators in Langfuse.
- Self-host install time and resource use for either tool.
Where a vendor's own comparison favours itself
| Claim | Who says it | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| "Helicone or LangSmith?" box on the pricing page | Helicone [source, checked 2026-11-01] | This is Helicone's own short answer favouring itself on cost and openness. It compares against LangSmith, not Langfuse. |
| "Langfuse Cloud is cheaper than LangSmith, Braintrust, Arize, and Datadog" | Langfuse pricing FAQ [source, checked 2026-11-01] | This is based on Langfuse's own "representative workload". Helicone is not in that comparison. Price your own volume on both pricing pages. |
FAQ
Is Helicone in maintenance mode?
Mintlify said on 3 Mar 2026 that Helicone would keep operating in maintenance mode. On 3 Nov 2026, helicone.ai still says it is no longer part of Mintlify, with details to come. Neither has said whether maintenance mode has ended.
Who owns Langfuse?
Langfuse joined ClickHouse. Langfuse's LICENSE file reads "Copyright (c) 2023-2026 ClickHouse, Inc."
Can I self-host both?
Yes. Helicone is Apache-2.0 and documents Docker and Kubernetes. Langfuse's core is MIT and documents Docker Compose and Kubernetes.
Did you test them?
No. See "What we ran ourselves" for why.