Helicone
CategoryLLM observability & cost tracking
PricingFree tier; usage-based
Verdict
Long the default open-source LLM cost dashboard. Acquired by Mintlify in March 2026 and now maintenance-only — existing deployments keep working (security fixes and new-model pricing continue), but no new features. Fine to keep; think twice before adopting fresh.
Strengths
- Dead-simple one-line proxy integration for cost logging
- Solid per-request cost dashboards and caching stats
Limitations
- Maintenance-only since the Mintlify acquisition — no new feature work
- New adopters should compare gateway-native analytics (LiteLLM, Portkey) first