Langfuse vs Portkey
Agent-native side-by-side. Scores are curated estimates on a 0–10 scale. Lock-in: higher = worse. Prefer JTBD picks via /api/decide when choosing for a job.
| Dimension | Langfuse | Portkey |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | 8.7 | 8.3 |
| Capability fit | 8.8 | 8.8 |
| Price / performance | 9.2 | 8.2 |
| Latency / reliability | 8.4 | 8.6 |
| Developer & agent DX | 8.8 | 9.0 |
| Privacy / data retention | 8.8 | 8.2 |
| Lock-in risk (higher = worse) | 2.5 | 5.0 |
| Maturity / track record | 8.2 | 8.2 |
| Pricing | Open-source + cloud; generous self-host; cloud from ~$29–59/mo tiers; EU-friendly. | As of 2026-10-28 (portkey.ai/pricing): Developer free forever (10k logs/mo, 3-day log / 30-day metrics retention). Production $49/mo (100k logs, +$9/100k overage, 30/90-day retention, guardrails, RBAC). Enterprise custom… |
| Tagline | Depot default observability for most agent teams: open, affordable, good enough to serious. | Depot pick for production AI gateway (fallbacks, virtual keys, budgets). OpenRouter when you want a model… |
Langfuse
Depot default observability for most agent teams: open, affordable, good enough to serious. Strengths: OSS + cloud flexibility; Excellent agent/trace UI for the price; EU posture.
Strengths
- OSS + cloud flexibility
- Excellent agent/trace UI for the price
- EU posture
Weaknesses
- Enterprise features chase LangSmith
- You operate it if self-hosting
- Ecosystem still growing
Portkey
Depot pick for production AI gateway (fallbacks, virtual keys, budgets). OpenRouter when you want a model catalog/router; Helicone for request-path cost traces; Prisma AIRS when already in Palo Alto estate. Strengths: Universal API + fallbacks/load-balance/retries; Obs + prompt mgmt + guardrails in one; OSS self-host o
Strengths
- Universal API + fallbacks/load-balance/retries
- Obs + prompt mgmt + guardrails in one
- OSS self-host option
Weaknesses
- Acqui/packaging drift into Prisma AIRS
- Not a model marketplace like OpenRouter
- Log caps on cheap tiers
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