Helicone vs Portkey: Which is Better in 2026?
Choosing between Helicone and Portkey? Both are popular ai gateways & llm proxies tools. Below we compare them on pricing, free tiers, features, and pros & cons so you can pick the right fit for your stack.
Quick verdict
Both are solid ai gateways & llm proxies options. Portkey is cheaper to start, but the right choice depends on the specific features and integrations you need.
Helicone vs Portkey — Side by Side
| Helicone | Portkey | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | AI Gateways & LLM Proxies | AI Gateways & LLM Proxies |
| Pricing | Free · paid from $79/mo | Free · paid from $49/mo |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Free tier | ||
| Rating | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Best for | AI Gateways & LLM Proxies — llm-observability, open-source | AI Gateways & LLM Proxies — llm-routing, observability |
Pros & Cons
- Open source and self-hostable
- Cost and latency logging on every request
- Generous free tier
- Pro jumps to $799 for compliance features
- Usage charges on top of the plan fee
- Short retention on the free plan
- Gateway and observability in one product
- Open-source gateway you can self-host
- Guardrails and semantic caching
- Free plan keeps logs for only 3 days
- Log-based pricing grows with traffic
- Private deployment is Enterprise-only
Key Features Compared
Helicone
- Unlimited seats
- Alerts and reports
- HQL queries
- 1-month retention
Portkey
- 100K recorded logs / month
- Semantic caching
- RBAC and alerts
- 30-day log retention
Choose Helicone if…
- You want a free tier to validate before paying.
- Open source and self-hostable
- Cost and latency logging on every request
- Generous free tier
Choose Portkey if…
- You want a free tier to validate before paying.
- Budget is tight — paid plans start lower ($49/mo vs $79/mo).
- Gateway and observability in one product
- Open-source gateway you can self-host
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Helicone better than Portkey?⌄
Both are solid ai gateways & llm proxies options. Portkey is cheaper to start, but the right choice depends on the specific features and integrations you need.
What is the difference between Helicone and Portkey?⌄
Helicone — Open-source AI gateway and LLM observability: route requests across providers with caching and fallbacks, and log every call. Portkey — AI gateway with built-in observability: route to any model with fallbacks, caching and guardrails, then trace every request. Both are ai gateways & llm proxies tools; the comparison table above breaks down pricing, free tiers, and what each is best for.
Helicone vs Portkey: which is cheaper?⌄
Helicone pricing: Free · paid from $79/mo. Portkey pricing: Free · paid from $49/mo. Confirm current pricing on each tool's official site, as plans change.
Which is rated higher, Helicone or Portkey?⌄
In our catalog, Helicone rates 4.5 out of 5 and Portkey rates 4.5 out of 5 — they are evenly matched.
See more options in our guide to the best ai gateways & llm proxies tools for startups.
In-depth guideOpenRouter vs LiteLLM (2026): Hosted AI Gateway vs Open-Source LLM ProxyOpenRouter is a hosted service: one key, 500+ models, a 5.5% fee on credits. LiteLLM is MIT-licensed software you run yourself, with virtual keys and budgets per team. How each works, what the gateway costs at three spend levels, and why this site runs on OpenRouter.Still not sure which to pick?
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