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  1. Home
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  3. Llm Usage MCP
  4. vs Spanlens
Side-by-Side Model Context Protocol Comparison

Llm Usage MCP vs Spanlens

In-depth architectural comparison of the Llm Usage MCP and Spanlens MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

At a Glance & Executive Verdict

Llm Usage MCP
Monitoring · Local stdio
Quality: 61/100 (Good) | Auth: No auth required
Spanlens
Monitoring · Local stdio
Quality: 56/100 (Good) | Auth: API Key required
Verdict Summary: Choose Llm Usage MCP if you need specialized Monitoring tools running via a local process. Choose Spanlens if your workspace requires Monitoring integration with local subprocess execution. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's mcpServers manifest.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Llm Usage MCP logo

Choose Llm Usage MCP when:

  • You need dedicated capabilities in the Monitoring domain.
  • You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
  • Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
  • Primary tools included: record_usage, query_spend, compare_providers.
Explore Llm Usage MCP Details
Spanlens logo

Choose Spanlens when:

  • You need dedicated capabilities in the Monitoring domain.
  • You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
  • Your security boundary fits: API Key required (Free / Open Source).
  • You have access to required keys: SPANLENS_API_KEY.
  • Primary tools included: Seven read-only observability tools, Request log queries, Agent trace inspection.

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification
Llm Usage MCP logo
Llm Usage MCP
zhaoyue722
Monitoring
Spanlens logo
Spanlens
spanlens
Monitoring
SummaryLocal-first LLM API cost tracker. Captures usage across Anthropic, OpenAI, Qwen, and DeepSeek into a local SQLite ledger and exposes spend queries, provider comparison, and recommendations as MCP tools — with first-class Chinese-provider support (CNY→USD). Install: uvx llm-usage-mcp.Query your Spanlens LLM observability from any MCP client. 7 read tools for request logs, agent traces, cost stats, anomalies, model-savings, and per-user analytics across OpenAI, Anthropic, and Gemini. Open source, self-hostable. npx -y @spanlens/mcp-server
Category & Scope

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Llm Usage MCP Tools (7)

record_usage
Record a single LLM API call with token counts. Cost is computed automatically from the pricing table at insert time. `request_id` enables idempotent recording — replaying a log file won't double-count.
query_spend
Return spending broken down by a chosen axis over a time window. `start` and `end` are ISO-8601 strings (trailing-`Z`, `+00:00`, or naive — naive is interpreted as UTC). Default window is the last 30 days. `group_by` is one of provider | model | project | tag | day. `filter` AND-combines optional provider/model/project equality predicates. `include_failed` defaults to `False` so failure rows (e.g. streams that died mid-flight with partial counts) are excluded from totals and groups. Pass `True` to fold them back in — useful for debugging capture-layer behavior, not for honest spend numbers. Tag semantics: events with NULL/empty tags are excluded from `group_by="tag"` results entirely; multi-tag events contribute once per tag (so per-group `calls` sums can exceed the window total). Project semantics are symmetric: NULL projects are dropped from `group_by="project"`. Groups are ordered cost-desc with alphabetical ties.
compare_providers
Project the cost of a hypothetical workload across providers/models. Returns models ranked by absolute cost ascending, with `relative_cost_pct` measured against the cheapest entry (cheapest = 100%). `models`, if given, restricts the comparison to those model names. Cost is computed from input/output tokens only; `RankedEntry.notes` is always `None` in v1 (the field is retained for future per-row caveats like "tiered pricing approximated"). `include_snapshots=False` (the default) family-dedups the ranked list: rows sharing both a model-family root (`gpt-5-mini` ↔ `gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07`) AND an identical projected cost collapse to one representative, with `RankedEntry.variant_count` recording how many catalog rows the entry stands for. Set `include_snapshots=True` to see every catalog row (each with `variant_count=1`) — useful when comparing snapshot-by-snapshot pricing for production pinning.

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

Llm Usage MCP Configuration
mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zhaoyue722-llm-usage-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "llm-usage-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}
Spanlens Configuration
mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "spanlens-spanlens-2": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@spanlens/cli"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SPANLENS_API_KEY": "YOUR_SPANLENS_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Frequently Asked Questions

Llm Usage MCP is categorized under Monitoring and uses a local stdio subprocess. In contrast, Spanlens belongs to Monitoring using local stdio subprocess. Select Llm Usage MCP when you need capabilities focused on monitoring and Spanlens when you require tools for monitoring.

More alternatives to Llm Usage MCPMore alternatives to SpanlensMonitoring category hubCanonical compare URL

Related MCP Server Comparisons

Popular comparisons with Llm Usage MCP

  • Langfuse MCP logoLlm Usage MCP vs Langfuse MCP
  • Opik MCP logoLlm Usage MCP vs Opik MCP
  • Llmkit logoLlm Usage MCP vs Llmkit
  • Mac Monitor MCP logoLlm Usage MCP vs Mac Monitor MCP

Popular comparisons with Spanlens

Explore Spanlens Details
Monitoring
Monitoring
Quality signal61/100 (Good)56/100 (Good)
Transport ProtocolLocal Subprocess (stdio)Local Subprocess (stdio)
Auth RequirementNo auth requiredAPI Key required
Pricing ModelFree / Open SourceFree / Open Source
Required Env VarsNone required
SPANLENS_API_KEY
Compatible Clients
Claude DesktopCursorWindsurfClineVS Code
Claude DesktopCursorWindsurfClineVS Code
Install path signaluvx · highnpx · high
Engagement & Health 4 views 0 copies 0 upvotes 4 stars 3 views 0 copies 0 upvotes 13 stars
Verified / OfficialCommunity ListingCommunity Listing
Open full listingView Llm Usage MCP ListingView Spanlens Listing
recommend_provider
Recommend the cheapest priced model that fits the workload + budget. v1 ranks by cost only. A future release will incorporate quality benchmarks (see `quality_snapshot` — the table is reserved for that purpose) and accept a `quality_priority` axis; for v1 those would rely on data we don't yet have, so the surface stays cost-only and honest. `expected_input_tokens` / `expected_output_tokens` default to a nominal 1k/1k workload when absent; the `reasoning` notes when defaults are in use. `budget_usd`, when set, filters out models that exceed it — if nothing fits, falls back to the cheapest model overall (the result fields are required, so there's no "no match" return shape) and the `reasoning` says so plainly. `providers` / `models` are optional whitelists (AND-combine when both passed). Both are applied before the budget cut, so an over- budget fallback returns the cheapest within the filter set rather than the cheapest priced model overall. A whitelist that matches nothing raises rather than fabricating a result — likely a spelling error in the caller's name list. `task_description` is **optional** and echoed into the reasoning but does not drive selection — the tool isn't an LLM and can't interpret free text. Omit it (or pass `None`) and the reasoning opens with `"Recommending …"` instead of `"For task 'X': …"`.
get_pricing
Return current pricing for one model, one provider, or all models. Both filters are optional and AND-combined. An unknown (provider, model) returns an empty list rather than an error — the caller can distinguish "model not in our table" from "no model matches your filter" by passing `provider` alone.
usage_summary
Return a one-shot summary of usage over a named calendar period. `period` is one of today | week | month | year (default: "week"). Boundaries are calendar UTC: `today` = since 00:00 UTC today, `week` = since Monday 00:00 UTC, `month` = since the 1st of the month, `year` = since January 1st. Returns totals, the top-3 providers and top-3 models by cost (with `pct` of total), and the single most expensive call in the window — or `largest_call=None` when the window is empty. `include_failed` defaults to `False`: totals, top-N rollups, and `largest_call` all exclude `success=False` rows (partial-stream captures and other failure rows). Pass `True` for symmetric debugging access to the failure population.
list_providers
List every provider we know about, with their models and OpenAI-compat flag. Sources the provider/model lists from `pricing_snapshot`, so a provider whose pricing hasn't been seeded simply doesn't appear. After `bootstrap()` runs on a fresh install this includes every v1 provider (anthropic, openai, qwen, deepseek). Order is alphabetical by provider, then by model within each provider.

Spanlens Tools (6)

Seven read-only observability tools
Request log queries
Agent trace inspection
Cost and model-savings analysis
Anomaly queries
Per-user analytics
MCPSpend logo
Spanlens vs MCPSpend
  • Opik MCP logoSpanlens vs Opik MCP
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  • Langfuse MCP Java logoSpanlens vs Langfuse MCP Java