LangSmith vs Langfuse
Both do tracing, evals, and prompt management for LLM apps. LangSmith is the commercial platform from the LangChain team; Langfuse is open-source-first with a hosted option. The decision is open-source/self-host versus an integrated commercial suite.
At a glance
LangSmith
- Model
- Commercial (hosted)
- Self-hosting
- Enterprise tiers
- Framework fit
- Tight with LangChain/LangGraph
Langfuse
- Model
- Open-source + hosted
- Self-hosting
- First-class, OSS
- Framework fit
- Framework-agnostic
Full comparison
| LangSmith | Langfuse | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Commercial (hosted) | Open-source + hosted |
| Self-hosting | Enterprise tiers | First-class, OSS |
| Framework fit | Tight with LangChain/LangGraph | Framework-agnostic |
| Evals | Built-in datasets + evals | Built-in evals, OSS-friendly |
| Data control | Hosted by default | Self-host for full control |
Which should you choose?
Pick Langfuse when self-hosting and open source matter; pick LangSmith when you’re deep in the LangChain ecosystem and want the integrated commercial experience.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between LangSmith and Langfuse?
Both do tracing, evals, and prompt management for LLM apps. LangSmith is the commercial platform from the LangChain team; Langfuse is open-source-first with a hosted option. The decision is open-source/self-host versus an integrated commercial suite.
Which should I choose, LangSmith or Langfuse?
Pick Langfuse when self-hosting and open source matter; pick LangSmith when you’re deep in the LangChain ecosystem and want the integrated commercial experience.