Helicone is a zero-code proxy that logs every LLM call with a base-URL swap. The proxy logs each LLM call; tool calls show up only when you log them through its SDK, and there's no re-execution or compliance artifact. As of March 2026 it's also in confirmed maintenance mode following its acquisition by Mintlify: security patches and new-model support only, no new feature development.
| Capability | Helicone | Runback | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zero-code setup — base URL swap | ✓ | partial | Runback's recording gateway (v0.1, not yet published) takes a base-URL swap but writes a local cassette; it doesn't feed the hosted app's runs, evals or audit record. The hosted paths are the SDKs and OpenTelemetry |
| Cost and token tracking | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Rate limiting and caching | ✓ | ✗ | Helicone speciality — not Runback's scope |
| Tool call capture (multi-step agents) | partial | ✓ | Helicone Sessions group tool calls you log through its logger SDK; the proxy alone sees only the LLM call |
| Re-execute any step from captured inputs | ✗ | ✓ | Helicone's docs describe request logging, not re-execution from captured tool state |
| Policy simulation and enforcement | ✗ | ✓ | Runback decides each tool call server-side, from its TypeScript and Python SDKs (not yet Go or an MCP proxy), against the policy version assigned to the agent; each assignment fails closed or open during an outage (closed by default for agents declared critical, once the SDK has fetched its policy bundle), and decisions are recorded and sealed — those the SDK makes on its own once Runback answers again |
| Signed, tamper-evident audit export | ✗ | ✓ | The public documentation describes request logging and export, and no cryptographic sealing over the logs — so we see no documented way to verify one independently of Helicone |
| Self-host, data in your perimeter | ✓ | ✓ | Both self-hostable. Helicone is open source (Apache-2.0); Runback is source-available |
| Active feature development | ✗ | ✓ | Confirmed maintenance mode since the Mintlify acquisition, Mar 2026 — security patches and model support only |
Helicone still works fine for logging and caching today — the concern isn't the existing feature set, it's what happens to the roadmap from here. If you're picking a platform to grow into over the next few years, that's worth weighing alongside the feature comparison above.
Source: Helicone's public documentation, https://docs.helicone.ai/, read 8 October 2026. Products change: report an error to legal@runback.dev and we will correct it. Names and trade marks belong to their owners; Runback is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by any of them.
No signup. Walk the scripted failing demo run step by step and see what the model was given.