Langfuse vs Portkey
Two of the most-asked-about agents in the developer-tools space. Here's how they actually stack up.
Langfuse
Open-source LLM observability with full self-hosting and production-ready tracing
Free tier
Read full review →Portkey
AI gateway and observability platform: route, monitor, and control LLM API calls
Free tier
Read full review →Side-by-side comparison
| Langfuse | Portkey | |
|---|---|---|
| Tagline | Open-source LLM observability with full self-hosting and production-ready tracing | AI gateway and observability platform: route, monitor, and control LLM API calls |
| Pricing | Free tier | Free tier |
| Categories | developer-tools, open-source, api | developer-tools, api |
| Made by | Langfuse | Portkey |
| Launched | 2023-07 | 2023-08 |
| Platforms | Web, API, Self-hosted | Web, API, Self-hosted |
| Status | active | active |
Langfuse highlights
- + Full trace and span logging for any LLM framework or direct API calls
- + Self-hosting via Docker Compose or Kubernetes: own your data completely
- + Prompt management with versioning, tags, and production/staging environments
- + Dataset and evaluation system: run evals on curated test sets
- + Score collection for human feedback and LLM-as-judge evaluation
Portkey highlights
- + AI gateway: single API endpoint for 200+ LLMs via unified interface
- + Automatic fallback routing when primary provider fails or rate limits
- + Load balancing across multiple providers or model versions
- + Request caching to reduce costs and latency for repeated prompts
- + Full observability with request logging, cost tracking, and latency monitoring
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better, Langfuse or Portkey?
Neither is universally better. Langfuse (Free tier) leans into developer-tools, while Portkey (Free tier) is closer to developer-tools. Pick based on which workflow you actually do every day.
What is the price difference between Langfuse and Portkey?
Langfuse is free tier. Portkey is free tier. See the pricing row in the comparison table.
Can I use Langfuse and Portkey together?
In most cases, yes. They serve overlapping but distinct needs, so running them side by side is common until you decide which fits your workflow.