Traceloop vs Helicone
Both are observability & tracing tools. Here is how they actually differ on price, billing model and deployment.
Traceloop
The company behind OpenLLMetry, acquired by ServiceNow in March 2026 to power AI Control Tower. The Apache-2.0 SDK is safe and still actively developed - the managed platform's standalone future is the open question.
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.
| Traceloop | Helicone | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Observability & Tracing | Observability & Tracing |
| Our rating | 3/5 | 2/5 |
| Starting price | Custom | $79/mo |
| Billing meter | span | request |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free self-hosting | Yes, free | No or paid tier only |
| Best for | Teams that want vendor-neutral OpenTelemetry LLM instrumentation via OpenLLMetry, which is genuinely safe to adopt. The managed platform suits existing ServiceNow customers, or teams needing air-gapped deployment who can get contractual clarity on the roadmap. | 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 Traceloop
Split this decision in two, because the SDK and the platform now carry very different risk. OpenLLMetry - the Apache-2.0 OpenTelemetry extension - is one of the safest things you can adopt in this category. It is permissively licensed, the team publicly committed it stays that way, it exports to 25+ backends including Datadog, and it remained actively maintained through the acquisition. You can instrument with it and never create a Traceloop account. The managed platform is a different question. ServiceNow acquired Traceloop in March 2026, reportedly for $60 to $80 million, and shipped the integration into AI Control Tower at Knowledge 2026 in May. The stated strategic purpose is enterprise AI governance inside ServiceNow, not an independent observability product. The site still promotes signups and nothing suggests a Helicone-style wind-down, but a standalone product whose parent bought it for a different purpose is a roadmap you do not control. Use the SDK freely. Get contractual clarity before you build on the platform.
Full Traceloop 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 Traceloop and Helicone?
Traceloop: Teams that want vendor-neutral OpenTelemetry LLM instrumentation via OpenLLMetry, which is genuinely safe to adopt. The managed platform suits existing ServiceNow customers, or teams needing air-gapped deployment who can get contractual clarity on the roadmap. 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, Traceloop or Helicone?
It depends entirely on your workload shape, because they meter differently - Traceloop bills on span and Helicone bills on request. Published starting prices are Custom 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 Traceloop or Helicone?
Traceloop: Yes, free. 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.