--- title: "Helicone vs OpenRouter: Which is searched more?" description: "Is Helicone or OpenRouter more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the AI gateway platforms set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/helicone-vs-openrouter" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Helicone vs OpenRouter: Which is searched more? Is Helicone or OpenRouter more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the AI gateway platforms set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Helicone and OpenRouter - **Competitive set**: AI gateway platforms - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Helicone Share of Search**: 0.31% - **OpenRouter Share of Search**: 87.3% ## Is Helicone or OpenRouter more popular in search? - In September 2026, OpenRouter had more branded searches than Helicone among AI gateway platforms worldwide. OpenRouter had about 1.2 million branded searches, while Helicone had 4,400. OpenRouter made up 87.3% of all AI gateway platform searches we track, and Helicone accounted for 0.31%. - OpenRouter was ahead of Helicone in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Helicone’s share of searches among AI gateway platforms worldwide moved from 1% to 0.31%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 5.4K to 4.4K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, OpenRouter’s share of searches among AI gateway platforms worldwide moved from 84.1% to 87.3%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 450K to 1.2M. ## Top AI gateway platforms in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, OpenRouter appeared in all five answers. Helicone was mentioned in one out of five: in one of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. OpenRouter was listed before Helicone in every answer. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | LiteLLM | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Portkey | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Kong | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | OpenRouter | 4th | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | TrueFoundry | 5th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Helicone | 6th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about AI gateway platforms - Asked ChatGPT "Which AI gateway platform should I use?": 1. LiteLLM, 2. Portkey, 3. Kong, 4. OpenRouter - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best AI gateway platforms?": 1. LiteLLM, 2. Portkey, 3. OpenRouter, 4. Kong, 5. Helicone, 6. TrueFoundry - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best AI gateway platform for model routing?": 1. LiteLLM, 2. Portkey, 3. OpenRouter - Searched Google, AI Overview "ai gateway platform": 1. Portkey, 2. LiteLLM, 3. Kong, 4. TrueFoundry, 5. OpenRouter - Searched Google, AI Overview "best ai gateway": 1. LiteLLM, 2. Portkey, 3. Kong, 4. OpenRouter Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 20, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for AI gateway platforms worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, OpenRouter lost share of searches among AI gateway platforms worldwide, from 89.4% to 87.3%. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Helicone worldwide fell 18.5% over 12 measured months, from 5.4K to 4.4K in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Helicone estimated searches | Helicone Share of Search | Helicone rank | OpenRouter estimated searches | OpenRouter Share of Search | OpenRouter rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 5.4K | 1% | 5 | 450K | 84.1% | 1 | | Nov 2025 | 5.4K | 1.2% | 5 | 368K | 80.1% | 1 | | Dec 2025 | 6.6K | 1.2% | 5 | 450K | 82.9% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | 8.1K | 1.2% | 4 | 550K | 83.1% | 1 | | Feb 2026 | 8.1K | 0.85% | 4 | 823K | 86.5% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | 9.9K | 0.73% | 4 | 1M | 74.2% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | 9.9K | 0.69% | 4 | 1.2M | 85% | 1 | | May 2026 | 8.1K | 0.68% | 4 | 1M | 84.1% | 1 | | Jun 2026 | 6.6K | 0.47% | 6 | 1.2M | 86.8% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | 5.4K | 0.39% | 6 | 1.2M | 87.2% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | 5.4K | 0.32% | 6 | 1.5M | 89.4% | 1 | | Sep 2026 | 4.4K | 0.31% | 6 | 1.2M | 87.3% | 1 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Helicone’s and OpenRouter’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Helicone**: Measured on the search term “helicone”. - **OpenRouter**: Measured on the search term “openrouter”. - [Helicone profile](/demand/global-en/brands/helicone) - [OpenRouter profile](/demand/global-en/brands/openrouter) - [All AI gateway platforms worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/ai-gateway-platforms): The set both shares are measured inside, 6 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Helicone or OpenRouter more popular in search? In September 2026, OpenRouter had more branded searches than Helicone among AI gateway platforms worldwide. OpenRouter had about 1.2 million branded searches, while Helicone had 4,400. OpenRouter made up 87.3% of all AI gateway platform searches we track, and Helicone accounted for 0.31%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Helicone vs OpenRouter: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/helicone-vs-openrouter This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/helicone-vs-openrouter. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.