COMPARE
AISpendGuard vs Helicone
Cost tracking without a proxy gateway — no latency, no prompt storage, no lock-in.
| Feature | AISpendGuard | Helicone |
|---|---|---|
| Setup method | SDK (2-line code change) | Proxy (change base URL) |
| Adds latency | ✗ | Yes (8ms P50) |
| Stores prompts | ✗ | ✓ |
| Waste detection with $/mo savings | ✓ | ✗ |
| Cost attribution by feature | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-provider support | ✓ | 200+ LLMs |
| Budget alerts | ✓ | ✓ |
| Response caching | ✗ | Redis, up to 95% savings |
| Prompt management | ✗ | Limited |
| Self-hosting option | ✗ | ✓ |
| GDPR-compliant by design | Tags only | SOC 2 + GDPR |
| EUR pricing | €19/mo flat | $20/seat/mo |
| Free tier | 50K events/mo | 10K requests/mo |
| LangChain integration | Python + JS | ✓ |
| LiteLLM integration | ✓ | ✓ |
| CrewAI integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| OpenTelemetry support | ✓ | ✗ |
No Proxy Required
Helicone works by routing all your AI API traffic through their proxy gateway. You change your base URL from api.openai.com to oai.helicone.ai, and they intercept every request and response.
AISpendGuard uses a passive SDK approach. Your API calls go directly to the provider — we only receive tag metadata (model, tokens, cost, feature name). This means zero latency impact, no single point of failure, and no lock-in. Removing AISpendGuard is deleting 2 lines of code, not re-routing your entire API layer.
Privacy-First: No Prompt Storage
Helicone stores your full request and response data by default — prompts, completions, everything. This is useful for debugging but creates a privacy and compliance challenge.
AISpendGuard never sees your prompts. We receive only tags: model name, token counts, cost, and your custom tags (feature, customer, environment). This is GDPR-compliant by architecture, not by policy. There’s nothing to breach because there’s nothing to store.
Waste Detection vs Dashboards
Helicone shows you what you spent. AISpendGuard shows you what you wasted — and tells you exactly how to fix it with estimated $/mo savings. Our waste rules detect wrong model tier (GPT-4o for tasks that GPT-4o-mini handles at 1/17th the cost), missing prompt caching (50-90% savings on repeated prompts), RAG input bloat (oversized context windows), and batchable workloads (50% discount via Batch API).
Helicone Was Acquired by Mintlify (March 2026)
Helicone was acquired by Mintlify in March 2026. The team has joined Mintlify in San Francisco, and Helicone is now in maintenance mode (security updates and bug fixes only). Mintlify is working with existing customers on migration to other platforms. This means no new features planned, long-term product direction uncertain, and existing customers are actively being migrated.
When to Choose Helicone
- You need response caching to reduce costs (Helicone’s Redis cache can save up to 95%)
- You need to inspect prompts and completions for debugging
- You want a self-hosted option for your infrastructure
- You’re already using Helicone and have no reason to migrate yet (note: now in maintenance mode after Mintlify acquisition)
When to Choose AISpendGuard
- You want zero latency impact — no proxy in your request path
- You need GDPR compliance without prompt storage concerns
- You want actionable waste detection — not just charts, but specific recommendations with $/mo savings
- You want EUR pricing and EU-hosted infrastructure
- You’re cost-conscious — €19/mo flat vs $20/seat/mo
- You need multi-framework support (LangChain, LiteLLM, CrewAI, OpenTelemetry)
- You’re looking for a tool with active development and a clear roadmap
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