Helicone is in maintenance mode
Helicone was acquired by Mintlify in March 2026. Active development has stopped. LLMeter is the open-source alternative — set up in 30 seconds with a read-only API key. No proxy, no SDK, no code changes.
No credit card required. Free plan never expires.
Why migrate now?
16,000+ organizations relied on Helicone in production. Here's what the acquisition means for you.
No new features
Mintlify confirmed only security patches and bug fixes going forward. No new integrations, no new analytics, no roadmap.
Proxy risk
Helicone proxies all your LLM traffic. A maintenance-mode proxy is a single point of failure you can't afford.
Zero-downtime switch
LLMeter uses read-only API keys — no proxy dependency. Switch monitoring tools without touching your application code.
Migrate in 3 steps
No SDK installation. No code deployment. Just paste a key and go.
Sign up for LLMeter
Create a free account. No credit card required.
Paste your read-only API key
Go to your provider's dashboard, generate a read-only key, and paste it into LLMeter. That's it.
Remove the Helicone proxy
Revert your base URL and headers back to the provider defaults. No more proxy dependency.
Helicone vs LLMeter
A side-by-side comparison of what matters for LLM cost monitoring.
| Feature | Helicone | LLMeter |
|---|---|---|
| Setup method | Proxy (change base URL) | Read-only API key (no code changes) |
| Time to first dashboard | ~5 min (SDK/proxy config) | 30 seconds |
| Code changes required | Yes (base URL, headers) | None |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Active development | Maintenance mode only | Active |
| Multi-provider support | OpenAI, Anthropic, more | OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, OpenRouter |
| Budget alerts | Basic | Advanced (anomaly detection, daily thresholds) |
| Free tier | 10K requests/mo | Free forever (1 provider) |
| Prompt/data access | Proxies all traffic | Never sees prompts or completions |
| Team features | Yes | Yes (Team & Enterprise plans) |
No proxy. No risk.
Helicone routes all your LLM traffic through its proxy servers. LLMeter takes a fundamentally different approach.
Helicone (proxy-based)
- All LLM traffic routed through Helicone servers
- Proxy outage = your LLM calls fail
- Requires code changes (base URL, headers)
- Third party sees all prompts and completions
LLMeter (API key-based)
- Reads usage data directly from provider APIs
- Zero impact on your LLM call latency or reliability
- No code changes — paste a key and go
- Never sees your prompts or completions
Migration FAQ
Why is Helicone shutting down active development?
Helicone was acquired by Mintlify in March 2026. The Mintlify team announced that active feature development has ended — only security patches, bug fixes, and new model support will continue. The 16,000+ organizations using Helicone in production are encouraged to plan their migration.
Does LLMeter require me to change my API base URL?
No. Unlike Helicone's proxy approach, LLMeter uses read-only API keys to fetch your usage data directly from the provider. Your application code stays untouched — no base URL changes, no headers, no SDK.
Can LLMeter see my prompts or completions?
No. LLMeter only accesses usage and billing data through read-only API keys. We never see your prompts, completions, or any content flowing through your LLM calls. This is a fundamental architectural difference from proxy-based tools.
How long does migration take?
Setting up LLMeter takes about 30 seconds — just paste a read-only API key. Removing the Helicone proxy from your codebase depends on how many services use it, but for most teams it's a one-line revert per service.
What if I need features Helicone had that LLMeter doesn't?
LLMeter focuses on cost monitoring, budget alerts, and optimization — the core features most teams use Helicone for. If you relied on Helicone's prompt logging or evaluation features, those are outside LLMeter's scope. For pure cost visibility, LLMeter is a drop-in replacement.
Is LLMeter free?
Yes — the Free plan supports 1 provider with 30-day retention, forever. The Pro plan ($19/mo) adds unlimited providers, alerts, anomaly detection, and 1-year retention. Team plans start at $49/mo.
Don't wait for the proxy to go dark.
Join the teams migrating from Helicone to LLMeter. Set up in 30 seconds — no proxy, no SDK, no code changes. Free forever for 1 provider.
No credit card required. Free plan never expires.