Pricing and capability claims verified through .
Helicone vs Arize
Helicone was acquired by Mintlify on 3 March 2026 and is in maintenance mode. New buyers should start on Arize (Phoenix or AX) or Langfuse. Helicone is for teams already on it, or who still want that self-hosted proxy.
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Winner for most teams
Arize
New buyers should start on Arize — Phoenix if they want the open-source self-hosted product, AX if they want the managed span plan. Helicone is only for teams already running it, or who specifically want its self-hosted proxy, and that product is in maintenance mode.
Try ArizeBest alternative
Helicone
Teams already running Helicone, or teams that specifically want its self-hosted proxy
Try HeliconeHow we evaluated this
Evaluation note: We assessed Whether the product is still shipping features, Self-host versus managed SaaS, Seat price versus span or request price against vendor docs, product pages, and workflow fit — not synthetic benchmark scores. 6 primary sources checked. Arize led for most teams in our editorial call.
Which of these are you?
Your pick
Arize
Arize AX Free is $0 for 25k spans a month and AX Pro is $50 a month for 50k spans, with unlimited users. Phoenix is the open-source product you run yourself.
Tradeoff
Helicone can be better when the task is mostly teams already on helicone, or who want its self-hosted proxy.
Highlighted = better for New buyers who need a supported observability product
Spec at a glance
Hobby: 10,000 requests/month, 1 GB storage, 1 seat, 1 organization, 7-day retention. The page calls the requests free and does not print a Hobby dollar price - Checked 2026-10-10: https://www.helicone.ai/pricing · Pro: $79/month, unlimited seats, 1-month retention, usage-based past the included requests and storage - Checked 2026-10-10: https://www.helicone.ai/pricing · Team: $799/month, 5 organizations, 3-month retention, SOC-2 and HIPAA listed - Checked 2026-10-10: https://www.helicone.ai/pricing · Enterprise: on-prem deployment, retention listed as forever - Checked 2026-10-10: https://www.helicone.ai/pricing
AX Free: $0, 25k spans/month, 1 GB, 15-day retention, unlimited users - Checked 2026-10-10: https://arize.com/pricing/ · AX Pro: $50/month, 50k spans/month, 10 GB, 30-day retention, unlimited users - Checked 2026-10-10: https://arize.com/pricing/ · AX Enterprise: custom, SaaS or self-hosted - Checked 2026-10-10: https://arize.com/pricing/ · Phoenix: open source, free to use, self-hosted - Checked 2026-10-10: https://arize.com/docs/phoenix/resources/frequently-asked-questions/what-is-the-difference-between-phoenix-and-arize
✅ Included · ❌ Missing · ⚠️ Partial or add-on. Shaded cell = stronger option for your segment.
Don't pick Helicone if
Your work is mostly new buyers who need a supported observability product — Arize wins that workflow.
Don't pick Arize if
Your work is mostly teams already on helicone, or who want its self-hosted proxy — Helicone wins that workflow.
What we evaluated
Evaluation criteria: Whether the product is still shipping features, Self-host versus managed SaaS, Seat price versus span or request price. Conclusions are based on primary documentation, product evidence, and workflow fit — not hands-on benchmark runs unless noted. 6 primary sources checked.
Arize is the default for a new buyer. Helicone is the exception for a team already on it, or one that still wants Helicone’s self-hosted proxy. Helicone is not the lightweight default it was on the previous version of this page.
On 3 March 2026 Mintlify announced it was acquiring Helicone, and Helicone’s founders posted the same day that the team was joining Mintlify. Helicone’s letter says the service stays live for the foreseeable future in maintenance mode: security updates, new models, and bug and performance fixes keep shipping. The letter does not describe new product features. Sources: Mintlify, Helicone. Checked 10 October 2026.
Quick comparison
Prices checked 10 October 2026.
| Helicone | Arize | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for now | Teams already on it, or a self-hosted Helicone proxy | New buyers: Phoenix (open source, self-hosted) or AX (managed) |
| Status | Maintenance mode since the 3 March 2026 acquisition | AX and Phoenix are both current Arize products |
| Entry price | Hobby includes 10,000 requests a month, 1 GB, and 1 seat. The page calls those requests free and does not print a Hobby dollar price | AX Free is $0: 25k spans, 1 GB, 15-day retention, unlimited users |
| Paid cloud | Pro $79/month. Team $799/month. Usage-based pricing applies past the included requests; the plan table does not print a per-request rate | AX Pro $50/month: 50k spans, 10 GB, 30-day retention, unlimited users. Enterprise is custom |
| Self-host | Still documented (Docker, Kubernetes, cloud). Enterprise also lists on-prem. Jawn’s old /v1/gateway/* proxy routes are gone; the docs say to run the AI Gateway beside it |
Phoenix is free to run yourself. AX Enterprise adds commercial self-host |
Pick Arize AX when you want a managed plan and the bill does not grow with seats. Pick Phoenix when you want Arize’s open-source product on your own machines. Pick Helicone only if you already depend on it, or you have a reason to run that specific proxy knowing it is in maintenance mode. For a framework-agnostic cloud that bills units rather than seats, see Langfuse vs LangSmith.
A Helicone request is not an Arize span. AX Pro’s $50 covers 50,000 spans and unlimited users. Helicone Pro is $79 with unlimited seats and 10,000 included requests, then a usage charge the pricing page does not state as a flat per-request rate. Five people do not change the Arize Pro seat line. They do not change Helicone Pro’s seat line either. The meters that move are spans and requests.
What we evaluated: whether each product is still shipping features, how you self-host it, and whether the bill is per seat or per span/request. Arize won for a new deployment. Helicone won only as a stay-put or explicit proxy choice.
This call changes if Helicone publishes work beyond the maintenance list, or if Arize pulls Phoenix or the public AX prices. Until then, new buyers start on Arize or on Langfuse. The Helicone button is for the exception, not the default.
An earlier version of this page recommended WhyLabs. Our records indicate that WhyLabs, Inc. discontinued operations; this was verified on 2026-08-30. WhyLabs is not a current option.