LLM Observability Tools Compared: Tracking Spend Across Providers

I've been using Datadog with some custom scripts to pull in usage metrics from various APIs. It's decent but does require some setup effort. It's been helpful for getting an overview, but I still find myself digging into individual provider dashboards for detailed insights.

Have you looked into ThirdEye? It's a tool specifically designed for monitoring AI model usage and costs across providers. I started using it a few months back, and it aggregates data pretty effectively. It might save you from going down the DIY route, which can get quite complex.

I'm curious, how do you handle multi-cloud billing integration? Do these observability tools support billing alerting too, or do you rely on native provider notifications? I'm thinking about implementing a similar setup and would love to hear more about the challenges.

I've faced the same challenge! I ended up using Grafana with a custom dashboard for tracking API usage and costs across OpenAI and Cohere. It wasn't too difficult to set up using their plugins, and it gives a decent overview. However, you do have to play around with the API endpoints to parse the cost data into something meaningful.

I've had success with using AWS Cost Explorer, especially when paired with CloudWatch custom metrics for our larger pipeline on Hugging Face. DIY solutions can get cumbersome though, especially as your provider list grows. Out of curiosity, has anyone tried using OptioAI? I've heard they're focusing on cost optimization for AI services, but I haven't personally given them a shot yet.

I've been in the same boat, managing costs for different LLMs can really become a nightmare without a proper system. I started using Grafana with custom scripts to pull data from each provider's API and it works well for visualization, but it still requires a good deal of manual effort to set up. In my experience, it's worth taking the time to configure it to suit your needs since it's pretty flexible once you get the hang of it.

I've been in the same boat trying to manage cross-provider costs. I've been using Grafana with custom data sources tailored for OpenAI and Hugging Face, and it's been pretty effective—though it did take a bit to set up. It's nice to have a single dashboard, but you might have to invest some time customizing it per provider. I'd say it's worth it if you're already comfortable with Grafana.

Have you considered using a centralized logging and metrics approach with tools like ELK (Elasticsearch, Logstash, and Kibana)? You can push your usage and billing data into Elasticsearch and visualize it in Kibana. It takes a bit of setup, but the custom dashboards are powerful. It might be a good DIY solution if you're already using cloud platforms with good logging infrastructure.

Have you tried using a combination of cloud-native tools and some automation scripts? AWS Cost Explorer might be a good start for anything on their infrastructure, but combining it with some scripts to pull usage reports from OpenAI and Cohere can help you build an overall picture. You can then visualize it in something like Grafana. It might take a bit of initial setup, but it gives you flexibility. Would love to hear if others have made this work in a similar setup!

Have you considered Cloudflare's Workers for analyzing API request patterns? They offer some interesting logging insights if combined with their analytics, and it's a less conventional route but quite powerful if you're okay with the extra setup. As for specific numbers, since setting up a Grafana dashboard, I've managed to identify and cut around 15% off my monthly API spend by optimizing request patterns based on real-time data. Curious if others have managed similar or better efficiencies.

I use Datadog with custom metrics to track our spend across different LLM providers. It's pretty flexible because you can set up dashboards and alerts based on usage patterns. However, it does require some manual setup initially, connecting it to each provider's API. It's not perfect, but once configured, it gives a decent consolidated view.

Have you looked into using Pulumi for this purpose? It's not exactly an observability tool per se, but you can write scripts to integrate and fetch cost data, then use the output with any dashboard tool. I've found it really extensible and it helps avoid vendor lock-in if that's a concern for your team.

I've actually used Datadog for a while now to track API usage and costs. While it has some capability to track spend across different services by integrating various APIs, it can get a bit complex to set up the dashboards you really want. I also tried using Grafana connected with Prometheus, but that was still quite manual and required some custom scripts to pull data. I’d love to know if there's something more LLM-specific as well!

I've used Grafana with some custom plugins to monitor our API spends, and while it's decent for visualizing data, it can be a bit of a hassle to set up multiple integrations for different providers. We tried the DIY route with AWS Cost Explorer too, but ultimately, we ended up using an AI-focused tool called XpenseTrack. It natively supports multiple LLM providers and gives a much clearer breakdown of usage and costs. You might want to check it out if you're looking for something more specialized.

I'm in a similar boat and decided to use AWS Cost Explorer, mainly because we have most of our infrastructure on AWS already. It's not perfect, especially for non-AWS services, but the granularity in the reporting helps. That said, I haven't found a tool that's specifically tailored for LLM spend yet, seems like an opportunity for a niche tool!

I've actually been using Grafana with its plugins, and it does a decent job for giving a visual representation of my spend across multiple LLM providers. I combined it with Prometheus to pull in the right metrics, and while it's not a one-click setup, the flexibility is worth it. I don't think there's a dedicated tool yet specifically for LLMs, but building a custom solution on top of existing monitoring tools can work effectively.

I've been using Grafana with a custom-built plugin for tracking LLM costs, and it's worked fairly well for us. We ingest data from the providers via their APIs and use Grafana to tie it all together. It does require some initial setup, but once it's running, it gives a good high-level overview. I'd also recommend looking into custom alerting to get notified when spending hits certain thresholds.

Why not give the DIY route a try with AWS Cost Explorer? That's what I've been doing combined with some scripting to pull data from each API provider's billing system. It takes a bit of time to set up, but once you automate it, it gives you a really clear picture. Plus, AWS Cost Explorer provides pretty in-depth analysis itself. Are you manually aggregating your API usage data or using something else?

I've been in a similar boat with managing my costs across various LLM providers. One tool that I've found incredibly helpful is Harness. It’s not specifically for LLMs but offers good flexibility with custom dashboards that can consolidate API usage and costs from multiple providers. Plus, it integrates well with AWS Billing. It's worth checking out if you want a comprehensive financial dashboard.

I've been using Grafana with some custom data sources to pull in API usage metrics from different LLM providers, and it's been pretty effective. I set up alerts to notify me when usage spikes, which helps with cost management. However, getting everything configured was quite a bit of work initially. I haven't found a perfect out-of-the-box solution for LLMs either, but the flexibility of Grafana makes it worth the effort, at least for me. Anyone else tried something different?

Have you tried using CloudHealth? I find it quite comprehensive for managing cloud spending across services, but I'm not sure how well it integrates with LLM-specific metrics. It might be worth looking into if you're already using it for other cloud costs. Also curious if anyone has experience with using any open-source solutions for this kind of tracking?

I'm curious, when you mention using Datadog, how well does it integrate across these LLM providers? I've used Datadog for monitoring other types of services, but never specifically for tracking financial spend across multiple API providers. If anyone has specific setup advice, I'm all ears!

I've been using Datadog with its plugins, and I can say it's quite effective for tracking costs, although setting it up initially took some effort. One thing that worked for me was integrating billing data from different providers into one of Datadog's custom dashboards, allowing me to compare costs in real-time. It's not perfect, but it definitely gives a clearer picture than checking provider dashboards separately.

We've been using Datadog with some custom scripts to ingest API usage data from the providers' respective endpoints. It's not perfect, but at least Datadog provides a central place to view and analyze everything. I do think a more tailored tool for LLMs would be awesome, though. How are others handling alerts for sudden spikes in usage? Do you rely solely on these observability tools or have something custom on the side?

I'm curious, has anyone tried using a combination of existing cloud monitoring services, like AWS CloudWatch with Cost Explorer, to achieve this? Seems like it could be clunky, but might drill down costs more precisely if you're already on AWS.

I've been in the same boat, trying to manage costs across different LLM providers. I've tried using Grafana with plugins and it's been a bit of a mixed bag. It works alright if you set it up properly, but integrating different APIs can be a hassle. One alternative I've experimented with is using a custom dashboard in Power BI. It's more work initially but gives you a ton of flexibility in how you combine data from each service. Also, if you have an existing Azure stack, it’s quite seamless. Anyone else tried Power BI for this purpose?

I've used Datadog for a similar issue, and while it's solid for aggregating data from various sources, it required quite a bit of customization to get it to accurately track LLM spend specifically. The plugins helped, but it was a bit of a hassle setting it up initially. If you're comfortable with some initial legwork, it might be an option worth exploring.

How does Datadog perform in terms of setting up alerts or notifications for when spending hits a certain threshold? I'm considering using it, but I'm worried it might not be adaptable enough for handling multiple LLM providers. Anyone here have insights on that?

I've been using Grafana for a while with a custom dashboard to track usage across providers. It took some time to set up, but once configured, it provides a pretty comprehensive view. Datadog also offers good integrations, but I find Grafana more flexible for custom visualizations. I agree though, the initial integration can be a bit of a hassle without pre-built solutions specific to LLMs.

I'm curious, what kind of discrepancies are you seeing in costs across providers? I've been tracking manually and noticed that Hugging Face often gives more bang for the buck with certain models, but maybe I'm missing some hidden fees.

Have you tried using FinOps tools like CloudHealth? They have integrations with multiple cloud service providers and can give detailed cost breakdowns. While they’re not specifically tailored for LLMs, they do allow for tagging and filtering by services, which might be beneficial in your case. Plus, they provide some neat forecasting features which I’ve found helpful!

Has anyone tried using Prometheus with Grafana for this? I know some teams who hook into the APIs of each LLM provider and push data into Prometheus for Grafana to visualize. It might be a bit manual at first, but from what I've seen, it can be quite powerful and cost-effective once up and running. Curious if others have had success with this setup!

I've faced the same problem! I'm currently using Grafana with some custom plugins, and it works decently well. I can pull in data using APIs from each provider and display it in one place. It's not plug-and-play though; took me a few evenings to set it up right. If you're comfortable with some scripting, you could give it a try.