Best Portkey alternatives in 2026

Looking for an alternative to Portkey? Whether you've outgrown it, find the pricing steep, or just want to weigh your options, these are the strongest development & it alternatives in 2026 — ranked on pricing, features, and who each one fits best. Portkey itself has a free tier, so we've flagged where each option is cheaper, simpler, or more specialized.

1
E2B
Best for: developers
Secure code sandboxes for AI agents. A popular development it alternative to Portkey with a genuinely usable free tier — free – $150/mo. Particularly strong for developers.
4.5Free – $150/moVisit
2
Browserbase
Best for: developers
If Portkey feels like overkill or over-budget, Browserbase is a leaner option with a genuinely usable free tier. Headless browser infrastructure for AI. Pricing: free – $99/mo.
4.5Free – $99/moVisit
3
Helicone
Best for: developers
Helicone goes head-to-head with Portkey on features with a genuinely usable free tier. Open-source observability for LLM apps. Best suited to developers. Free – $20/seat/mo.
4.5Free – $20/seat/moVisit
4
LangGraph
Best for: developers
A well-rated ai agents pick. Build stateful, controllable agent workflows. LangGraph offers a free plan and starts at free, making it a credible Portkey replacement.
4.5FreeVisit
5
Braintrust
Best for: developers
Evaluation platform for AI applications. A popular ai machine learning alternative to Portkey with a genuinely usable free tier — free – $249/mo. Particularly strong for developers.
4.5Free – $249/moVisit
6
AutoGen
Best for: developers
If Portkey feels like overkill or over-budget, AutoGen is a leaner option with a genuinely usable free tier. Multi-agent conversation framework. Pricing: free.
4.4FreeVisit
7
Haystack
Best for: developers
Haystack goes head-to-head with Portkey on features with a genuinely usable free tier. Open-source framework for LLM applications. Best suited to developers. Free.
4.4FreeVisit
8
Humanloop
Best for: developers
A well-rated ai machine learning pick. LLM evals and prompt management platform. Humanloop offers a free plan and starts at free, making it a credible Portkey replacement.
4.4FreeVisit

Still considering Portkey itself? Read our Portkey review →

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Portkey alternative?

E2B is our top-rated Portkey alternative for 2026. Secure code sandboxes for AI agents. Free – $150/mo.

Is there a free Portkey alternative?

Yes — E2B, Browserbase, Helicone all offer a free tier you can start on without a credit card.

Why switch from Portkey?

Common reasons are price, a simpler feature set, better fit for a specific use case, or platform support. Each tool above notes where it has an edge over Portkey.