What is the main difference between Helicone and Spanlens?

Helicone and Spanlens are both llm observability & evaluation but differ in their approach, features, and target audience. Compare their GitHub stats, technology stack, and community adoption to make the best choice.

Which is better: Helicone or Spanlens?

The choice between Helicone and Spanlens depends on your specific needs, technical requirements, and team preferences. Both are quality open source solutions with active communities.

Can I migrate from Helicone to Spanlens?

Migration between Helicone and Spanlens is possible but requires careful planning. Consider data export/import capabilities, feature parity, and potential workflow changes.

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Helicone vs Spanlens

Learn how Helicone and Spanlens differ in their key features, development activity, technology stack and community adoption, so you can decide which of these llm observability & evaluation is best for you.

Helicone

Open-source platform for logging, monitoring, and debugging LLM applications. Route, debug, and analyze AI apps with comprehensive observability tools.

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6,084stars+113(+1.9%)

Last 30 days

Last commit
3 days ago
Repository age
4 years
Version
v2025.08.21-1
License
Apache-2.0
Repository
helicone/helicone

Spanlens

Drop-in observability platform for OpenAI, Anthropic, and Gemini that logs every request, tracks costs, traces agent workflows, and flags anomalies and PII.

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12stars

Last 30 days

Last commit
18 hours ago
Repository age
4 months
License
MIT
Self-hosted
Yes
Repository
spanlens/spanlens

Detailed Comparison

Both Helicone and Spanlens have their unique strengths and serve similar purposes effectively. Consider your specific needs regarding popularity, activity, technology, maturity, licensing and features when making your decision.

Helicone wins

Community & Popularity

Helicone significantly outpaces Spanlens in community adoption with 6,084 stars compared to 12 stars on GitHub. This 507.0x difference suggests Helicone has a much larger and more active community. In terms of developer contributions, Helicone has 655 forks, indicating moderate developer engagement.

Comparable

Development Activity

Both projects show recent activity, with Helicone last updated 3 days ago and Spanlens 18 hours ago.

Comparable

Technology Stack

Both tools share common technology foundations, being built with JavaScript, CSS, Bash, Typescript, JSX, Python, Next.js.

Helicone wins

Project Maturity

Helicone has been in development longer, starting 4 years ago, compared to Spanlens which began 4 months ago. This 3.3-year head start suggests Helicone may have more mature features and established processes.

Spanlens wins

Licensing

Spanlens uses the MIT license, which is more permissive than Helicone's Apache-2.0 license, potentially offering greater flexibility for commercial use and integration.

Comparable

Use Cases & Features

Both tools serve similar use cases in LLM Observability & Evaluation.

Spanlens wins

Hosting & Deployment

Spanlens provides self-hosting options for complete data control and customization, while Helicone may be primarily cloud-based or require different deployment approaches.

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