How is Preto.ai different from Helicone?

Helicone provides LLM observability, cost tracking, and model routing. Preto.ai goes further: it analyzes your traffic patterns and generates ranked recommendations — each with a projected monthly savings figure — then tracks the money you actually saved. Both tools have budget enforcement, but only Preto tells you the specific changes that will cut your spend by 40–60%.

Will Preto.ai slow down my application?

Preto uses async logging to minimize overhead. At p95, it adds less than 50ms of latency. Your users will not notice the difference.

Can Preto.ai enforce a hard budget limit on AI API spend?

Yes. You can set a monthly budget per workspace. When spend hits your threshold, Preto alerts you — or hard-blocks further requests from being forwarded to the LLM provider. This is configurable per workspace.

Teams save 40–60% on LLM costs · Free to Start · NVIDIA Inception Member

Stop losing money on AI.
Most teams cut costs 40–60%
in the first 30 days.

Name: Preto.ai
Brand: Preto.ai
Availability: InStock

Preto sits between your app and your LLM provider. It finds which calls use the wrong model, which users are unprofitable, and exactly what to change — each recommendation with a projected dollar savings. The OpenAI dashboard shows you spend. Preto shows you waste.

See Your Savings in 5 Minutes →

10K requests free. No credit card. No SDK required.

The Real Problem

Your OpenAI dashboard tells you what you spent.
Not why. Not how to fix it.

You've been meaning to audit your LLM usage for weeks. You know GPT-4 is expensive. You suspect some calls don't need it. But with 40+ places in the codebase touching the API and zero per-feature breakdown, you don't know where to start.

So you send the Slack message: "Hey team, be mindful of LLM usage." Nothing changes. The CFO asks again.

Preto ends that loop.

How It Works

Three steps to seeing
exactly where the money goes.

Step 1

Point to Preto

Swap your OpenAI base URL to proxy.preto.ai. One line. Your existing code keeps working exactly as before.

→

Step 2

We Watch Everything

Every request is logged with cost, model, latency, and which feature triggered it. Async. Under 50ms overhead.

→

Step 3

Get Ranked Recommendations

Within 24 hours, see exactly what to change — with projected monthly savings per recommendation. Implement the top one and track the money coming back.

What You Get

Not another dashboard.
The tool that pays for itself.

Think CloudHealth for LLMs. We don't just show you costs. We tell you exactly how to cut them, and track the money you get back.

📊

Real-Time Cost Tracking

Every request logged with model, tokens, cost, and latency. Broken down by feature, by user, by environment. See which users are profitable and which ones are eating your margin. Know exactly where every dollar goes, not just the monthly total.

💡

AI-Powered Recommendations

Five analysis rules run on every workspace automatically: (1) Model downgrade detection, (2) Duplicate prompt caching, (3) Cheaper embedding alternatives, (4) Prompt optimization, (5) Rate limit waste. Each finding includes a projected monthly savings figure, ranked by dollar impact. Works across OpenAI, Anthropic, NVIDIA, and TTS providers.

💰

Savings Dashboard

The metric your CFO actually wants: "Money saved this month: $4,234." Not another cost dashboard — a savings engine with measurable, attributable ROI you can show in a weekly standup.

🛡️

Budget Enforcement

Set hard spend limits per workspace. Get alerted before you hit them — or configure Preto to hard-block requests when the threshold is crossed. Never get a surprise $10K bill again. Infrastructure, not just alerts.

Example Recommendation

This is what a $1,240/month
finding looks like.

💡 Model Downgrade

Switch simple tasks from GPT-5 to GPT-5 Mini

You're sending 2,300 requests/day to GPT-5 ($1.25/1M input) for tasks under 500 tokens. GPT-5 Mini ($0.25/1M) handles these at equivalent quality — 80% cheaper. This is your highest-impact optimization.

$1,240 estimated savings / month

Find My First Saving →

Preto generates recommendations like this within 24 hours of seeing your traffic. Works across OpenAI, Anthropic, and NVIDIA. Most teams implement their first one within a week.

How We're Different

They show you what you spent.
We show you what to do about it.

	Helicone	Langfuse	Portkey	Datadog LLM	Preto.ai
Cost Attribution (by feature/user)	✓	Manual tags	✓	Basic	✓
AI Savings Recommendations	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Savings Dashboard	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Budget Enforcement	✓	Alerts only	✓	✗	✓
TTS/Voice AI Support	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Keep Your Own API Keys	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
1-Line Integration	✓	✗	✓	✗	✓
Pricing (entry paid tier)	$20/seat/mo	$59/mo	~$499/mo	$8/10K req	$99/mo

Pricing

Pay $99. Save thousands.

Pro pays for itself the first time you implement a recommendation.

Monthly Annual Save 20%

Free

$0 / forever

See your first AI cost breakdown in minutes. Free forever.

10,000 requests / month
1 user
7-day data retention
Cost tracking + basic recs

Start Free →

Pro

$99 / month

Pays for itself with one recommendation implemented. Multi-provider support for startups serious about AI costs.

250,000 requests / month
5 users
90-day retention
Full recommendations + alerts

Start Pro — 14 Day Trial →

Business

$399 / month

For teams with real AI spend. Budget enforcement + multi-provider analytics.

2M requests / month
Unlimited users
1-year retention
Budget enforcement + SSO

Start Business Trial →

Scale

$999 / month

For companies where AI is core infrastructure.

Unlimited requests
Unlimited users
1-year retention
Dedicated support + custom integrations

Contact Sales →

FAQ

Questions we get asked
before teams integrate.

How does Preto reduce OpenAI API costs?

Preto sits between your app and your LLM provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, or NVIDIA) as a transparent proxy. It logs every request with cost, model, and latency data, then runs 5 AI analysis rules to surface your highest-impact optimizations — model downgrade opportunities, cacheable duplicates, cheaper embedding options, and more. Each recommendation includes a projected monthly savings figure so you know exactly what you'll get back before you make any change.

How is Preto different from Helicone?

Helicone is a gateway that shows you what you spent. Preto is an intelligence layer that tells you how to spend 40% less. After you open your Helicone dashboard, the question is always "now what?" Preto answers that question with ranked, dollar-denominated recommendations: which requests to downgrade, what to cache, where you're overspending. Both enforce budgets, but only Preto prescribes the specific changes and tracks the money you actually save.

How long does integration take?

Integration requires changing one line of code — your OpenAI base_url. No SDK to install, no agents to deploy, no architecture changes. Most teams complete integration in under 10 minutes. You'll see your first cost breakdown within minutes of your first request flowing through.

Will Preto slow down my application?

Preto uses async logging so analysis never blocks the critical path. At p95, it adds less than 50ms of latency to your requests — and in practice most teams see under 20ms. Your users will not notice the difference, and we publish our latency metrics publicly so you can verify.

Can Preto enforce a hard budget limit on AI API spend?

Yes. You can set a monthly spend budget per workspace. When your spend hits the threshold, Preto can alert your team via email or Slack — or hard-block further requests from being forwarded to the LLM provider entirely. Both modes are configurable per workspace, so you can alert on one environment and block on another.

How is Preto different from OpenRouter?

OpenRouter is an API gateway — you send requests through them and they pick the model. You pay OpenRouter, not your provider directly. Preto is a cost intelligence layer — you keep your own API keys and provider relationships, and Preto shows you where every dollar goes plus how to cut 40–60%. OpenRouter routes. Preto optimizes. They can even work together: route through OpenRouter for model selection, observe through Preto for cost intelligence.

Stop losing money on AI.Most teams cut costs 40–60%in the first 30 days.

Your OpenAI dashboard tells you what you spent.Not why. Not how to fix it.

Integration that takes 10 minutes,not 10 days.

Three steps to seeingexactly where the money goes.