RelayPlane vs CostGoat: Active LLM Proxy vs Passive Cost Monitor
CostGoat shows you what you spent. RelayPlane prevents you from overspending. If you use Claude Code or Cursor and want to reduce LLM costs in real time, RelayPlane is the active alternative.
TL;DR
Choose RelayPlane when you want:
- To reduce LLM costs before they happen, not after
- Direct integration with Claude Code and Cursor
- Per-request cost tracking in local SQLite
- Free and open source, no monthly fee
Choose CostGoat when you need:
- A desktop dashboard for all cloud costs (AWS, GitHub, SaaS)
- Visibility into billing across multiple cloud providers
- A native app that monitors without touching your request path
Feature Comparison
| Feature | RelayPlane | CostGoat |
|---|---|---|
| Product type RelayPlane sits in the request path and controls costs in real time. CostGoat reads billing APIs after spending has already occurred. | Active LLM proxy (npm package) | Passive cost monitor (desktop app) |
| Install method RelayPlane runs in one command with no account. CostGoat requires downloading a native app and setting up connections to each cloud provider. | npm install -g @relayplane/proxy | Download desktop app, connect billing APIs |
| Works with Claude Code and Cursor RelayPlane routes traffic from Claude Code and Cursor via a local baseURL swap. CostGoat monitors billing dashboards and has no integration with coding tools. | ||
| Prevents overspend before it happens RelayPlane enforces budget caps and routes tasks to cheaper models before the request fires. CostGoat alerts you after your bill arrives. | ||
| Complexity routing RelayPlane automatically routes simple tasks to cheaper models like Haiku and complex tasks to Opus. CostGoat has no request routing capability. | ||
| Per-request cost tracking RelayPlane logs the exact token cost of every single request in local SQLite. CostGoat aggregates costs from cloud billing APIs, not individual requests. | SQLite per-request log (on-device) | Billing period aggregates |
| Open source RelayPlane is fully MIT licensed and auditable. CostGoat is closed source. | MIT | |
| Pricing RelayPlane is free and open source. CostGoat charges $9/month or a $199 one-time lifetime fee. | Free (MIT) | $9/mo or $199 lifetime |
| No signup required RelayPlane starts with a single npm install and zero accounts. CostGoat requires an account and API key connections to each provider you want to monitor. | ||
| Ollama and local model support RelayPlane routes to Ollama and local models as first-class targets. CostGoat monitors cloud billing only and has no local model support. | ||
| Works offline RelayPlane works in offline and airgapped environments with local Ollama models. CostGoat requires cloud API connectivity to pull billing data. | Partial (cached data only) | |
| Monitors AWS, GitHub, cloud subscriptions CostGoat monitors a broader set of cloud and SaaS costs beyond just LLMs. RelayPlane focuses specifically on LLM API request routing and cost control. |
Why Developers Choose RelayPlane Over CostGoat
Control costs before they happen, not after
CostGoat tells you what you spent last billing period. RelayPlane prevents you from spending too much in the first place. When a Claude Code session fires 50 Opus requests for simple tasks, RelayPlane reroutes them to Haiku automatically. By the time CostGoat would show you the bill, you have already saved the money.
One npm install, no signup, no download
npm install -g @relayplane/proxy and you are running in under 30 seconds. No email, no credit card, no desktop app to download, no cloud provider API keys to wire up. CostGoat requires downloading a native app and connecting your billing accounts for every service you want to monitor. For Claude Code and Cursor developers, RelayPlane is one baseURL swap away from working.
Per-request visibility, not billing period summaries
RelayPlane logs the exact token count and cost of every single LLM request in local SQLite. You know which specific prompt cost $0.03 and which cost $2.40. CostGoat aggregates billing data at the provider level, so you see that you spent $120 on OpenAI this month but not which agent runs caused it.
Free and open source
RelayPlane is MIT licensed and completely free. Read the source code, audit what it does with your requests, fork it for your own use. CostGoat charges $9 per month or $199 for a lifetime license. When a proxy sits between your application and your LLM provider, being able to read the code matters.
CostGoat Is a Monitoring Tool. RelayPlane Is a Cost Controller.
CostGoat is a well-built desktop app for developers who want visibility into their cloud spending across AWS, GitHub, Cloudflare, and other providers. If you need a unified dashboard for all your cloud costs and are comfortable with retrospective monitoring, it is worth evaluating.
But if your primary concern is controlling LLM costs inside Claude Code, Cursor, or any OpenAI-compatible client, CostGoat cannot help. It has no integration with your request path. RelayPlane sits between your tool and the LLM provider, routes simple tasks to cheaper models automatically, and enforces budget caps before you spend. One npm install, MIT licensed, zero monthly fee.
Get Running in 30 Seconds
No account. No desktop app. No billing API setup. Just npm: