Helicone

platform active freemium

An open-source observability platform for LLM applications. Helicone acts as a proxy layer that logs all LLM API calls, providing analytics, caching, rate limiting, and cost tracking. It requires minimal code changes - just swap the base URL to route traffic through Helicone.

Implements

Concepts this tool claims to implement:

  • Proxy architecture sits between application and LLM providers. Routes requests, logs interactions, applies policies. Supports OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure, and other providers.

  • Caching secondary

    Response caching to reduce costs and latency for repeated queries. Configurable cache policies and TTL.

  • Rate Limiting secondary

    Rate limiting and request throttling at the proxy layer. Protect against runaway costs and abuse.

Integration Surfaces

  • Proxy URL (base URL swap)
  • Python SDK
  • JavaScript/TypeScript SDK
  • REST API
  • Web dashboard

Details

Vendor
Helicone Inc.
License
Apache-2.0
Runs On
cloud, local
Used By
human, system

Notes

Helicone's proxy approach means near-zero code changes to add observability. Open-source and can be self-hosted. The managed cloud has a generous free tier. Good for teams that want quick observability without deep integration.