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LangSmith vs Helicone
Trust Score comparison · March 2026
Signal Comparison
2.5M / wkPyPI downloads18k / wk
220 commitsCommits (90d)180 commits
3.5k ★GitHub stars3k ★
200 q'sStack Overflow20 q's
HighCommunityMedium
LangSmithHelicone
Key Differences
| Factor | LangSmith | Helicone |
|---|---|---|
| License | Proprietary | Apache 2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript / Python | TypeScript |
| Hosted | Self-hosted | Self-hosted |
| Free tier | — | — |
| Open Source | — | ✓ Yes |
| TypeScript | ✓ | ✓ |
Pick LangSmith if…
- Your app is built on LangChain or LangGraph — integration is seamless
- You need prompt management and dataset-driven evaluations
- Team wants a managed cloud with minimal setup
Pick Helicone if…
- You want minimal-friction observability — just change your base URL
- Caching identical LLM requests to cut costs
- Quick cost and latency dashboards without SDK changes
Side-by-side Quick Start
LangSmith
import { Client } from 'langsmith';
const client = new Client({ apiKey: process.env.LANGSMITH_API_KEY });
// Auto-traces when LANGCHAIN_TRACING_V2=true is set
// Or manually:
const run = await client.createRun({
name: 'my-llm-call',
run_type: 'llm',
inputs: { prompt: 'Hello' },
});Helicone
import OpenAI from 'openai';
const client = new OpenAI({
apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY,
baseURL: 'https://oai.helicone.ai/v1',
defaultHeaders: { 'Helicone-Auth': `Bearer ${process.env.HELICONE_API_KEY}` },
});
// All calls are now logged automaticallyCommunity Verdict
Based on upvoted notes🏆
LangSmith wins this comparison
Trust Score 80 vs 73 · 7-point difference
LangSmith leads on Trust Score with stronger signal data across downloads and community health. That said, the other tool is worth considering if your use case matches its specific strengths above.