OpenClaw Monitoring Tools Compared
Choosing the right monitoring tool for your OpenClaw agents? Here's an honest comparison of the available options in 2026.
| Feature | Krabb | ClawMetry | LangSmith | Helicone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Cloud SaaS | Open Source / Local | Cloud SaaS | Cloud SaaS |
| OpenClaw Native | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Setup | OTLP config (1 line) | Local install + config | SDK integration (code changes) | Proxy or SDK integration |
| Cost Tracking | Per-agent, per-session, per-model | Basic token counting | General LLM cost tracking | Request-level cost tracking |
| Alerting | Email, Slack, webhook | None | Basic alerting | Webhook alerts |
| Team Features | Shared dashboards, RBAC | None | Team workspaces | Team features |
| Data Retention | 14-90 days (by plan) | Local storage only | 14-400 days | 1-12 months |
| Pricing | From $14/mo | Free (self-hosted) | From $39/mo | Free tier + paid |
Krabb vs ClawMetry
ClawMetry is the only other OpenClaw-native monitoring tool. It's open-source, free, and maintained by a single developer. It works well for basic local monitoring — you run it alongside your agents and get a simple dashboard.
The limitations become clear in production: no cloud hosting (you manage the infrastructure), no team access, no alerting, no historical analytics beyond what fits in local storage. There's no SLA, no support, and updates depend on one maintainer.
Krabb is the production-grade alternative. Cloud-hosted, team collaboration, alerting via Slack/email/webhook, longer data retention, and dedicated support. If you're running agents for a business, Krabb is built for you.
Krabb vs LangSmith
LangSmith (by LangChain) is a powerful LLM observability platform, but it's designed for the LangChain ecosystem. Using it with OpenClaw requires SDK integration and code changes — it doesn't understand OpenClaw's agent architecture, skills, or sub-agent patterns natively.
Krabb connects to OpenClaw via built-in OTLP support — no SDK, no code changes. It understands OpenClaw concepts (agents, sessions, tools, memory) out of the box. And at $14/mo vs LangSmith's $39/mo starting price, it's more accessible for individual developers.
Krabb vs Helicone
Helicone is a general-purpose LLM proxy and observability tool. It works by sitting between your application and the LLM API, logging requests. This is useful for generic LLM monitoring but doesn't capture OpenClaw-specific telemetry like agent sessions, tool calls, sub-agent chains, or skill executions.
Krabb receives native OpenClaw telemetry via OTLP, giving you richer, more contextual data. You see agent-level metrics instead of raw API call logs.
When to Choose What
Choose Krabb if:
- You run OpenClaw agents in production
- You need cost tracking and budget alerts
- You want zero-code setup via OTLP
- You work on a team
- You want cloud-hosted with no infra to manage
Choose ClawMetry if:
- You're a solo developer experimenting locally
- You need basic metrics only
- You want a free, self-hosted solution
- You don't need alerting or team features
Try Krabb Free for 7 Days
Every plan includes a 7-day free trial. Set up in 2 minutes, no code changes required.