AgentShield vs Helicone
Helicone works as a proxy — you route your API calls through their servers to get logging and cost tracking. AgentShield uses a lightweight SDK or REST API, with no proxy required.
Architecture note
Helicone's proxy model is simple to set up — change your base URL and you get logging. The trade-off: your production LLM traffic flows through a third-party server. Some teams have compliance requirements that make this difficult.
Helicone is great if you are
- ✓Want zero-code instrumentation via proxy URL change
- ✓Already using OpenAI and want instant logging
- ✓Need request caching to reduce costs
- ✓Want a simple observability layer with minimal setup
Helicone limitations
- ✗Proxy architecture means all your LLM traffic routes through Helicone's servers
- ✗No per-agent budget caps or kill switches
- ✗No session replay or step-by-step agent timeline
- ✗No no-code support (n8n, Make, Zapier)
- ✗No PII redaction or guardrails
- ✗No anomaly detection
- ✗Per-agent cost breakdown requires manual tagging
Who should choose what
Choose Helicone if
Developers who want instant LLM logging with zero code and are comfortable with the proxy architecture.
Choose AgentShield if
Teams who want per-agent attribution, session replay, budget enforcement, and guardrails — without routing production traffic through a proxy.
Try AgentShield free
Per-agent cost tracking, session replay, budget caps. Free plan. No credit card.
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