Govyn vs AgentBudget
Feature comparison
| Feature | Govyn | AgentBudget |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Network proxy | In-code SDK |
| Budget enforcement | Proxy-level (hard block) | In-code (soft/hard) |
| Agent can bypass controls | ||
| Per-agent budgets | ||
| Daily / monthly caps | ||
| Model restrictions | ||
| Rate limiting | ||
| Policy-as-code (YAML) | ||
| Approval workflows | ||
| Full replay logging | ||
| PII redaction | ||
| Language-agnostic | Python only | |
| Zero code changes | ||
| Open source |
Architecture comparison
Sits between agent and provider at the HTTP level. Agents never see real API keys. No code changes required.
Wraps API calls inside your application code.
When to use AgentBudget
AgentBudget is a good fit when you want a minimal, in-code budget tracker without the overhead of running a separate proxy service. If your agents are all written in Python and you just need basic spend tracking with alerts and soft limits, AgentBudget's decorator-based API is straightforward to integrate. It's especially practical for prototyping and small projects where deploying a proxy feels like overkill, and where you trust your agent code not to circumvent the budget checks.
When to use Govyn
Govyn enforces budgets at the network level, which means agents physically cannot bypass the controls — they never see the real API key, and the proxy rejects requests that exceed the policy. This is critical in production environments where agents run autonomously and you need hard guarantees, not just soft tracking. Beyond budgets, Govyn adds model restrictions, rate limiting, approval workflows, full replay, and PII redaction — a complete governance layer rather than just cost tracking. And because it's a proxy, it works with agents written in any language.
Migrating from AgentBudget
Identify your budget rules
Review your AgentBudget decorators and configuration to list per-agent spending limits (daily, monthly, per-task).
Create a Govyn policy file
Translate your AgentBudget limits into a govyn.yaml policy file. Add model restrictions and rate limits for additional governance.
Start the Govyn proxy
Run 'npx govyn start --config govyn.yaml' to launch the proxy. No database or external dependencies needed.
Point your agents at Govyn
Change the base URL and API key in your LLM client configuration. Remove the AgentBudget decorators from your code.
Try Govyn in 5 minutes
Open source, MIT licensed. One command to start governing your AI agents.
Other comparisons
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Explore more
How smart model routing through a proxy cut our OpenAI and Anthropic bill from $2,140/mo to $578/mo. Zero code changes. Just YAML.
INTEGRATIONAdd governance to OpenAI Agents SDK. Enforce budgets, model policies, and audit trails for every agent run. Five-minute setup.
POLICY TEMPLATESet daily and monthly spending limits for AI agents. Prevent runaway costs with hard budget caps enforced at the proxy level.
POLICY TEMPLATEDetect and stop AI agent infinite loops automatically. Prevent runaway tool calls and recursive chains with proxy-level loop detection.