Helicone Alternative · EU · Self-hosted · Open Core

Looking for a Helicone alternative?
Beyond proxy logging. Full observability + compliance.

Helicone is a great proxy-style logger — drop-in for OpenAI/Anthropic. AgentLens goes further: agent waterfalls for multi-step traces, automatic quality scoring, hallucination flags, and EU-native compliance built in.

Book a Migration Call See Live Demo →
Quick Comparison

Feature-by-feature

Capability AgentLens Helicone
Proxy-style logging (drop-in for SDKs)✓ via patch_openai / patch_anthropic✓
Multi-step agent waterfall traces✓ trace_agent + spans✗
Automatic quality scoring + hallucination flags✓ heuristic, zero config✗
Self-hosted deployment✓ open-core, BSL 1.1MIT
Air-gap mode (zero outbound)✓ single env var, tcpdump-verifiedManual
EU-hosted managed cloud (default)✓ FrankfurtUS default
DPA + audit log + retention policy✓ Scale planCustom contract
Framework-agnostic SDK✓Proxy works for many
Cost + budget alerts✓✓

Based on public Helicone pricing as of May 2026. Verify at https://www.helicone.ai/pricing.

When to choose what

Honest recommendation

Choose Helicone if…

  • You only need proxy-style request logs
  • Your stack is purely OpenAI/Anthropic API calls (no multi-step agents)
  • You want US managed cloud at the lowest price point
  • You're not in regulated industry

Choose AgentLens if…

  • You run multi-step agents and need waterfall debugging
  • You want quality + hallucination scoring without manual eval setup
  • Your buyer requires DPA, audit log, retention policy
  • EU residency / air-gap matter to you
  • You want compliance workflows out of the box
Migration

Switching from Helicone takes ~30 minutes

Both tools share a similar mental model. The SDK surface is different but migration is mechanical.

# Before (Helicone)
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(
base_url="https://oai.helicone.ai/v1",
default_headers={"Helicone-Auth": f"Bearer {KEY}"},
)
 
# After (AgentLens)
import agentlens
agentlens.init("http://localhost:8000/ingest")
agentlens.patch_openai() # or patch_anthropic()
FAQ

Common questions

Is AgentLens a drop-in Helicone replacement?

For proxy-style logging — yes, with patch_openai/patch_anthropic. For multi-step agents and quality scoring, AgentLens does more out of the box.

Can I run AgentLens alongside Helicone during migration?

Yes. AgentLens is independent of your LLM SDK proxy. Run both, compare, pick a winner.

Does AgentLens require changing my code?

Two-line install: agentlens.init() + agentlens.patch_openai(). Optional: wrap multi-step agents with trace_agent for the waterfall view.

Why pick AgentLens over Helicone?

If you need multi-step agent traces, automatic quality scoring, GDPR-native compliance, or air-gap mode — AgentLens is the answer. For pure proxy logging, Helicone is simpler.

Ready to own your LLM data?

15-minute migration call. We'll map your Helicone setup to AgentLens and get you running.

Book a Migration Call View Core Repo on GitHub