Helicone review

Helicone takes a request-first approach. Its docs describe an open-source LLM observability product with an AI gateway that handles provider routing, caching, custom rate limits and fallbacks, so the same setup that records requests can also cut repeat calls. Observability covers sessions, user metrics, cost tracking, custom properties, alerts, reports and HQL, Helicone's query language. Hobby is free with 10,000 requests, 1 GB of storage and 7-day retention for 1 seat. Pro costs $79 a month plus usage, adds unlimited seats, alerts, reports and HQL, and keeps data for 1 month. Team at $799 a month adds 5 organizations, SOC-2 and HIPAA compliance and a dedicated Slack channel. It scores well on ease of use because logging sits in the request path, but its evaluation tools are thinner than those of Braintrust or LangSmith, and the jump from Pro to Team is steep.

Who it is for

teams that want request logging and a gateway in one setup

Price

Free Hobby plan with 10,000 requests; Pro $79 a month plus usage; 7-day free trial.

Pro POPULAR $79 per month For growing teams.
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 12, 2026.

Key features

• Request logging with sessions, user analytics and custom properties
• Gateway caching, rate limits and automatic fallbacks
• Prompts, playground, scores and datasets
• Alerts, reports and HQL query language on Pro
• Self-hosting documented in the Helicone docs

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Hobby is free with 10,000 requests and 1 GB of storage
• Strength: Pro includes unlimited seats
• Strength: Startups under 2 years old and $5M in funding get 50% off the first year
• Weakness: Hobby keeps data for 7 days and allows 1 seat
• Weakness: SAML SSO and on-prem deployment are Enterprise only
• Weakness: Usage-based charges apply on top of the Pro fee

Key facts

• Free plan: Hobby, 10,000 requests, 1 GB, 7-day retention
• Pro: $79 a month plus usage, unlimited seats
• Team: $799 a month, 5 organizations, SOC-2 and HIPAA
• Free trial: 7 days on Pro and Team

Where it ranks

Helicone is No. 7 in our Best LLM Observability Tools verdict.