Helicone vs OpenRouter
Both are alternatives to Portkey. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as OpenRouter vs Helicone — same comparison, one verdict.
Helicone is open source (Apache-2.0) and OpenRouter is not (Proprietary (hosted service)) — so the real question is whether you want to own the llm gateways & routing stack or rent it.
Routing between providers? Their list prices side by side, with the source and the date.
Helicone
Gateway and observability in one proxy — Apache-2.0, now in maintenance under Mintlify.
Helicone is an open-source AI gateway and observability platform with logging, caching and cost tracking built into the proxy rather than added alongside it — the practical difference from LiteLLM, where observability is thin and usually paired with something else. The platform (Helicone/helicone) is Apache-2.0 and self-hostable as a set of containers; a separate Rust gateway (Helicone/ai-gateway) is GPL-3.0. Helicone joined Mintlify in March 2026 and is now maintained rather than developed: fixes continue, new features do not. Fine for a stable setup today; weigh it against actively developed options before building on it for years.
OpenRouter
One key, hundreds of models, nothing to run — the honest hosted pick.
OpenRouter is a hosted router: a single API key and one OpenAI-compatible endpoint in front of hundreds of models across providers, with automatic fallback and a unified bill. There is nothing to deploy and no subscription — you pay per token with a small margin on top of provider rates. If what you actually wanted was to stop juggling five provider accounts, this solves it in an afternoon and is frequently the right answer even for teams who could self-host.
Side by side
10 points of comparison, every one read from a verified field. Green marks the side that wins a row outright. A dash means we do not hold that fact — never that it is zero.
| Helicone | OpenRouter | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty ScoreOur transparent 0–100 composite for data ownership and exit cost. | 88 | 32 |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Self-hostable | Yes | No |
| Local-first data | Yes | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Proprietary (hosted service) |
| Pricing | Free and self-hostable under Apache-2.0. The hosted service has a free tier of roughly 10,000 requests per month, with paid plans starting around $79/month. | No subscription — pay-as-you-go per token at provider rates plus a small margin. Some free models are available. |
| RAM to run it wellThe figure that actually matters, not the vendor's minimum. | 8 GB. The all-in-one container runs the web dashboard, the Jawn API and proxy, PostgreSQL, ClickHouse and MinIO together, and ClickHouse's own sizing guide says total memory should not go below 8 GB. | — |
| Realistic running costWhat the box costs each month if you run it yourself. | $24–48/mo for a 4–8 GB VPS at DigitalOcean list prices (read 2026-09-30), less on budget hosts; your LLM provider bills are separate | — |
| Setup timeHonest first-install estimate, not the marketing quickstart. | 20 minutes on localhost with the all-in-one image; an afternoon on a server, where every URL variable must point at the public origin and HTTPS comes from a reverse proxy | — |
| Ongoing maintenanceThe part nobody budgets for. | Helicone has been in maintenance mode since Mintlify acquired it on 2026-03-03 — in Helicone's words, security updates, new models, and bug and performance fixes keep shipping. Budget for ClickHouse housekeeping and, eventually, a migration. | — |
Helicone edges it on the Sovereignty Score, but the right pick depends on the trade-offs below.
Weighing both against staying on Portkey? Is Portkey free? What it actually costs →
Helicone
Strengths
- +The platform is Apache-2.0 and fully self-hostable
- +Routing and observability in one component — less to assemble
- +Proxy-based: nothing to instrument in your code to start
- +Hosted option if you would rather not run it
Trade-offs
- −Maintenance mode since the Mintlify acquisition (March 2026) — no new development
- −The separate Rust gateway is GPL-3.0, not Apache-2.0
- −Fewer providers supported than LiteLLM's 100+
- −The hosted tier means prompts transit a third party — the thing self-hosting avoided
OpenRouter
Strengths
- +Zero operations: one key, one endpoint, hundreds of models
- +No monthly fee — you pay only for tokens used
- +Unified billing across providers, with automatic fallback
- +The fastest way to test many models without opening accounts everywhere
Trade-offs
- −Hosted and proprietary: every prompt transits OpenRouter
- −A margin on token spend rather than provider cost
- −No self-hosting path at all
- −Score of 32 reflects a closed hosted service — a transparency lens, not a judgement on quality
Which one fits you
The trade-offs above, turned into a decision. Find the line that describes your team.
Choose Helicone
if you want the source and the option to fork it, and you would rather run it on your own hardware, and your data should stay on machines you control.
Choose OpenRouter
if zero operations: one key, one endpoint, hundreds of models.
Neither, yet
if both carry a real cost you should weigh first — maintenance mode since the Mintlify acquisition (March 2026) — no new development, and hosted and proprietary: every prompt transits OpenRouter. If either of those is a dealbreaker for your team, the shortlist is wrong rather than the choice.
What it takes to run these yourself
Real requirements and honest running costs, not the vendor quickstart.
Helicone vs OpenRouter — common questions
Is Helicone a better fit than OpenRouter for llm gateways & routing?
It depends on what you are optimising for, and the honest split is this: Helicone scores 88 to OpenRouter's 32 on data ownership and exit cost, so it is the safer choice if you care about being able to leave. OpenRouter earns its place on a different axis — zero operations: one key, one endpoint, hundreds of models. Neither is a wrong answer for every team; the table above is the actual comparison.
What happens if we want to switch later?
Helicone keeps its data local or in open formats, so leaving is an export rather than a negotiation. OpenRouter keeps your data on its own infrastructure, which is the part to plan for: confirm the export path before you commit, not when you are already trying to leave.
Can I self-host Helicone?
Helicone can be self-hosted; OpenRouter cannot, so it stays on the vendor's infrastructure whatever you do.
Are Helicone and OpenRouter both alternatives to Portkey?
Yes — both appear in our Portkey comparison, which is why they are worth putting side by side. People usually arrive here already having decided to move off Portkey and now choosing between the two replacements, which is a narrower and much easier question.
Related alternative guides
Facts verified 2026-07-30. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.