LLM cost monitoring without the enterprise contract
Datadog LLM Observability is built for enterprise APM customers. LLMeter is built for indie devs and SMB teams that just want to know what their LLM bill is — open-source, $0–$19/mo, 30-second setup.
No credit card required. Free plan never expires.
Why teams move off Datadog LLM
Datadog is great APM. As an LLM cost tool for indie or SMB teams, the economics break.
Per-host pricing punishes scale
$31+/host/month for LLM Observability adds up fast when you horizontally scale your inference workers. LLMeter is flat-tier — your bill doesn't track your traffic.
Agent + SDK overhead
Datadog needs an agent install plus LLM trace SDK in your code. LLMeter uses a read-only API key. Zero runtime overhead, zero re-deploys to change scope.
Bolted onto APM
LLM Observability is a module inside Datadog's APM-first product. LLMeter is built ground-up for LLM cost — every screen is about token spend, not request latency.
Migrate in 3 steps
No agent install. No SDK in your code. Just paste a key.
Sign up for LLMeter
Create a free account. No credit card. No sales call.
Paste a read-only API key
Generate a read-only key in OpenAI/Anthropic/DeepSeek and paste it. LLMeter pulls usage, you keep your stack untouched.
Disable LLM Observability in Datadog
Stop the LLM trace SDK and remove the Datadog agent's LLM module. Your APM/infra metrics keep working — only the LLM cost piece moves.
Datadog LLM vs LLMeter
Side-by-side on what matters for indie and SMB teams.
| Feature | Datadog LLM | LLMeter |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per-host + per-event + custom contract | Free / $19 / $49 — flat tier |
| Entry price | $31+/host/mo (LLM Observability) | Free for 1 provider |
| Setup method | Agent install + APM trace SDK | Read-only API key (no code) |
| Time to first dashboard | Hours (agent + sampling tuning) | 30 seconds |
| Open source | No | Yes (AGPL-3.0) |
| Self-hosting | No | Yes |
| Vendor lock-in | High (proprietary tags + queries) | None — read-only key, leave anytime |
| Multi-provider support | OpenAI, Anthropic + custom | OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, OpenRouter |
| Per-customer cost attribution | Custom dimensions (extra cost) | Built-in, free tier |
| Indie / solo-dev fit | Built for enterprise | Built for indie & SMB |
Migration FAQ
Why move off Datadog LLM Observability?
Three reasons we keep hearing: (1) the per-host + per-event pricing punishes high-throughput agents, (2) the LLM module is bolted onto an APM-first product so the cost views feel secondary, and (3) it requires SDK instrumentation in your application code — which means another deploy every time you change scope.
Will I lose my Datadog APM/infra dashboards?
No. LLMeter only replaces the LLM cost monitoring piece. Your application performance, infrastructure, log, and synthetic monitors in Datadog are untouched. You only disable the LLM Observability module.
Does LLMeter need an SDK or code changes?
No. LLMeter uses provider-issued read-only API keys to fetch your usage and billing data directly. There's no agent, no tracer, no SDK in your runtime. Setup is closer to "paste a key" than "deploy a sidecar."
Can LLMeter see my prompts or completions?
No. LLMeter only reads usage and billing data exposed by each provider's read-only API. Prompt content, completions, and intermediate tool calls never leave your stack.
How does pricing compare on a real workload?
A team running 5M LLM calls/month across 3 services on Datadog LLM Observability typically lands in the $300–$900/mo range when you add per-event ingestion and per-host fees. The same workload runs on LLMeter Pro for $19/mo flat.
Is LLMeter open source?
Yes. LLMeter is AGPL-3.0. You can audit the code, self-host, and verify exactly what runs against your provider keys. Datadog's LLM Observability is proprietary and SaaS-only.
Stop paying enterprise prices for indie LLM bills.
Free for 1 provider, forever. $19/mo for unlimited. No agent, no SDK, no sales call. Just paste a key and start.
No credit card required. Free plan never expires.