LangSmith vs Helicone
Both are observability & tracing tools. Here is how they actually differ on price, billing model and deployment.
LangSmith
LangChain's proprietary observability and eval platform. Turnkey and deeply integrated with LangChain and LangGraph - but closed-source, and the trace bill explodes at production scale.
Helicone
An open-source, proxy-based LLM gateway and observability tool - now in maintenance mode after Mintlify acquired it in March 2026. Security and bug fixes only, no roadmap. Not a safe pick for new buyers.
| LangSmith | Helicone | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Observability & Tracing | Observability & Tracing |
| Our rating | 3/5 | 2/5 |
| Starting price | $39/seat/mo | $79/mo |
| Billing meter | seat | request |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free self-hosting | No or paid tier only | No or paid tier only |
| Best for | Teams already all-in on LangChain and LangGraph who want the tightest-integrated observability and don't mind the bill | Almost nobody new - existing users who need a light open-source logging proxy and understand it's frozen. New buyers should look elsewhere. |
Our verdict on LangSmith
The most turnkey observability platform if you already live in LangChain and LangGraph - the tracing is zero-config and the eval tooling is genuinely good. But it's closed source, self-hosting is Enterprise-only, and the trace bill is roughly 25x Langfuse at scale. It's great until you scale or want out, and you can't self-host your way around either problem.
Full LangSmith review →Our verdict on Helicone
Helicone was a clean, open-source, proxy-based observability tool - but Mintlify acquired it in March 2026 and put it in maintenance mode. Security patches, bug fixes and new-model support still ship, but there's no roadmap and Mintlify is actively helping customers migrate off. That makes it a dead end for new adopters, no matter how tidy the product is. We rate it low purely on that basis. If you're already on it, plan your exit. If you're evaluating it fresh, don't.
Full Helicone review →Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between LangSmith and Helicone?
LangSmith: Teams already all-in on LangChain and LangGraph who want the tightest-integrated observability and don't mind the bill Helicone: Almost nobody new - existing users who need a light open-source logging proxy and understand it's frozen. New buyers should look elsewhere. Both sit in Observability & Tracing, so the decision usually comes down to billing model and deployment rather than raw capability.
Which is cheaper, LangSmith or Helicone?
It depends entirely on your workload shape, because they meter differently - LangSmith bills on seat and Helicone bills on request. Published starting prices are $39/seat/mo and $79/mo respectively, but those numbers are not comparable until you apply them to the same traffic. Use our cost calculator to model both against your own request volume and span count.
Can I self-host LangSmith or Helicone?
LangSmith: No or paid tier only. Helicone: No or paid tier only. Free self-hosting means no licence fee, not no cost - you still own the infrastructure, upgrades and on-call.