Compare ZenML vs
Langfuse

Langfuse for LLM observability. ZenML for shipping AI pipelines.

Langfuse helps you understand what your LLM app is doing in production - traces, prompt versions, evaluations, and cost analytics. ZenML helps you build and ship the system behind it: portable pipelines that train, test, deploy, and retrain across clouds and orchestrators. They cover different parts of the AI stack. Use Langfuse to improve runtime quality, and ZenML to operationalize the lifecycle.
ZenML
vs
Langfuse

End-to-End Orchestration for ML/AI Systems

  • ZenML is a workflow/pipeline framework that defines and executes DAGs; Langfuse is not designed to define or execute pipelines.
  • ZenML's cloud-agnostic infrastructure abstraction (stacks) keeps pipeline code portable even as orchestrators or clouds change.
  • ZenML’s managed tiers are designed to help teams ship and scale pipelines, with features like pipeline run limits, scheduling, triggers, and queueing built in.
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    Dashboard mockup

    Reproducibility and Artifact Lineage

  • ZenML's platform tracks artifact lineage across pipeline steps (model/data artifacts, run history) as a first-class primitive.
  • ZenML Pro offers snapshots for environment versioning and control-plane capabilities that support full lifecycle repeatability.
  • Langfuse focuses reproducibility on prompt versions linked to traces, which is powerful for LLM iteration but doesn't cover full lifecycle artifacts.
  • Automated Retraining and CI/CD Patterns

  • ZenML's core value metric is pipeline runs, reflecting its focus on repeatable production workflows including scheduled runs and triggers.
  • ZenML Pro emphasizes enterprise operational features (RBAC/SSO/workspaces) needed for controlled deployments and team governance.
  • Langfuse provides quality signals (scores, regressions, cost spikes), but you need an orchestration layer like ZenML to automate remediation.
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    ZenML has proven to be a critical asset in our machine learning toolbox, and we are excited to continue leveraging its capabilities to drive ADEO's machine learning initiatives to new heights

    François Serra
    ML Engineer / ML Ops / ML Solution architect at ADEO Services
    Feature-by-feature comparison

    Explore in Detail What Makes ZenML Unique

    Feature
    ZenML
    ZenML
    Langfuse
    Langfuse
    Workflow OrchestrationZenML is built around defining and executing portable ML/AI pipelines across orchestrators and backends, with lifecycle primitives (runs, artifacts, lineage).Langfuse instruments and analyzes LLM application behavior (traces/evals/prompts), but does not provide native DAG/pipeline execution.
    Integration FlexibilityZenML's stack architecture is designed to swap infrastructure components (orchestrators, artifact stores, registries, trackers) without rewriting pipeline code.Langfuse integrates deeply with LLM ecosystems (OpenTelemetry, OpenAI, LangChain) but is not a general-purpose integration hub for the broader ML toolchain.
    Vendor Lock-InZenML is cloud-agnostic; even the managed control plane keeps artifacts/data in your infrastructure, reducing lock-in.Langfuse is open source and supports self-hosting; teams can run the same product stack themselves instead of relying on SaaS.
    Setup ComplexityZenML can start local and scale to production stacks, but configuring orchestrators and artifact stores adds initial setup steps.Getting started is straightforward via Langfuse Cloud (sign up, add SDK, see traces); self-hosting also has a guided Docker Compose path.
    Learning CurveZenML offers a powerful abstraction set (stacks, orchestrators, artifact lineage) that pays off at scale but requires systems thinking.Langfuse's core mental model (trace, spans, generations, scores, prompt versions) matches how LLM teams already debug and iterate.
    ScalabilityZenML scales by delegating execution to production orchestrators and compute backends, enabling large-scale training/eval pipelines.Langfuse is engineered for high-ingestion observability using ClickHouse (OLAP), Redis buffering, and a worker architecture built for scale.
    Cost ModelZenML's OSS is free; managed tiers are priced around pipeline-run volume with clear plan boundaries and enterprise self-hosting options.Langfuse publishes transparent monthly SaaS tiers ($29–$2499/mo) plus usage-based units with a pricing calculator; self-host is also available.
    CollaborationZenML Pro adds multi-user collaboration, workspaces/projects, and RBAC/SSO for teams operating shared ML platforms.Langfuse is inherently team-oriented (shared traces, prompt releases, annotation queues) with enterprise SSO, RBAC, SCIM, and audit logs.
    ML FrameworksZenML supports general ML/AI workflows (classical ML, deep learning, and LLM pipelines) with arbitrary Python steps and many tool integrations.Langfuse is specialized for LLM applications; it integrates with LLM frameworks rather than covering the full training ecosystem.
    MonitoringZenML provides pipeline/run tracking and can support production monitoring through integrated components and dashboards.Monitoring is Langfuse's core: production-grade LLM tracing, token/cost tracking, evaluations, and analytics are first-class features.
    GovernanceZenML Pro emphasizes enterprise controls like RBAC, workspaces/projects, and structured access management for ML operations.Langfuse offers enterprise governance (SOC2/ISO reports, optional HIPAA BAA, audit logs, SCIM, SSO/RBAC) depending on plan and add-ons.
    Experiment TrackingZenML tracks runs, artifacts, and metadata/lineage, and integrates with experiment trackers as part of the broader ML lifecycle.Langfuse supports evaluation datasets and score tracking for LLM apps, but is not a general hyperparameter/ML experiment tracking system.
    ReproducibilityZenML is designed for reproducibility: pipelines produce versioned artifacts with lineage and (in Pro) snapshots for environment versioning.Langfuse improves reproducibility at the prompt/trace level (prompt versioning linked to traces), but doesn't manage full pipeline environments or artifact stores.
    Auto-RetrainingZenML's pipeline layer is well-suited to scheduled or event-triggered retraining workflows and CI/CD automation patterns.Langfuse provides evaluation signals and telemetry but does not orchestrate retraining or deployment automation on its own.

    Code comparison
    ZenML and
    Langfuse
    side by side
    ZenML
    ZenML
    
    from zenml import pipeline, step
    
    @step
    def load_data():
        # Load and preprocess your data
        ...
        return train_data, test_data
    
    @step
    def train_model(train_data):
        # Train using ANY ML framework
        ...
        return model
    
    @step
    def evaluate(model, test_data):
        # Evaluate and log metrics
        ...
        return metrics
    
    @pipeline
    def ml_pipeline():
        train, test = load_data()
        model = train_model(train)
        evaluate(model, test)
    
    Langfuse
    Langfuse
    
    from langfuse import observe, get_client
    from langfuse.openai import openai
    
    langfuse = get_client()
    
    @observe()
    def solve(question: str) -> str:
        prompt = langfuse.get_prompt("calculator")
    
        # Instrumented OpenAI call; links prompt version to output
        resp = openai.chat.completions.create(
            model="gpt-4o",
            messages=[
                {"role": "system", "content": prompt.compile(base=10)},
                {"role": "user", "content": question},
            ],
            langfuse_prompt=prompt,
        )
    
        answer = resp.choices[0].message.content
    
        # Attach an evaluation score to the current trace
        langfuse.score_current_trace(name="is_correct", value=1)
    
        return answer
    
    print(solve("1 + 1 = ?"))
    langfuse.flush()
    

    Open-Source and Vendor-Neutral

    ZenML is fully open-source and vendor-neutral, letting you avoid the significant licensing costs and platform lock-in of proprietary enterprise platforms. Your pipelines remain portable across any infrastructure, from local development to multi-cloud production.

    Lightweight, Code-First Development

    ZenML offers a pip-installable, Python-first approach that lets you start locally and scale later. No enterprise deployment, platform operators, or Kubernetes clusters required to begin — build production-grade ML pipelines in minutes, not weeks.

    Composable Stack Architecture

    ZenML's composable stack lets you choose your own orchestrator, experiment tracker, artifact store, and deployer. Swap components freely without re-platforming — your pipelines adapt to your toolchain, not the other way around.

    Outperform Orchestrators: Book Your Free ZenML Strategy Talk

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    Ready to turn Langfuse insights into automated, reproducible AI pipelines?

    • See how ZenML pipelines can operationalize your evaluation signals by turning regressions and score drops into scheduled rebuilds and CI/CD workflows.
    • Learn how to stay cloud-agnostic while deploying the same ML/LLM workflows across AWS, GCP, Azure, or on-prem.
    • Explore ZenML Pro features for teams (RBAC, workspaces, snapshots) when you need enterprise controls beyond instrumentation and dashboards.
    See ZenML's superior model orchestration in action
    Discover how ZenML offers more with your existing ML tools
    Find out why data security with ZenML outshines the rest
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