Burntop vs Temporal AI

Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and ratings

Analysis reviewed Live tool data as of 2026-09-01
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At a glance

DimensionBurntopTemporal AI
PricingFreeFreemium (usage-based billing for cloud)
Best ForIndividual developers tracking personal AI usageTeams building reliable AI agents and workflows
Key FeatureReal-time token and cost dashboardDurable execution with automatic state capture
IntegrationsClaude, Cursor, ChatGPTOpenAI Agents SDK, Google ADK, Slack, Salesforce, etc.
LicenseMITOpen-source (MIT-like) + Cloud proprietary
Latest NewsNo recent newsUsage-based billing, Custom Roles pre-release (June 2026)

If you are an individual developer wanting a free, open-source tool to track AI usage costs across ChatGPT, Claude, and Cursor, Burntop is the clear choice. If you need a production-grade durable execution platform to orchestrate reliable AI agents with retries, human-in-the-loop, and multi-service orchestration, Temporal is essential—though it comes with a learning curve and usage-based pricing for the cloud tier.

Burntop
Burntop

Free open-source AI usage tracking & analytics for developers

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Temporal AI
Temporal AI

Durable execution platform keeping AI agents and workflows running through failures with automatic state capture and retries.

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Pricing
Free
Freemium
Plans
$0/mo
$0/mo (with $1,000 in credits)
$100/mo
$500/mo
Custom
Popularity
10 views
7.5k views
Skill Level
Intermediate
Intermediate
API Available
Platforms
CLIWeb
WebAPICLI
Categories
📡 LLM Observability & Evals
🕸️ Agent Frameworks & Orchestration⚙️ Developer Infrastructure
Features
Real-time token tracking
Cost tracking
Usage patterns visualization
Community leaderboard
Filter leaderboard by tool, model, time period
Shareable OG images
Embeddable badges for GitHub README
Yearly Wrapped
Streak tracking
CLI sync (bunx burntop sync)
Support for 10+ AI tools
Open-source under MIT
No credit card required
Detailed model-level analytics
Durable execution with automatic state capture
Workflow orchestration with automatic retry and recovery
Activities with automatic retries and timeouts
Native SDKs for Python, Go, TypeScript, Ruby, C#, Java, PHP, Rust (preview)
Human-in-the-loop with signals and pause/resume
Saga pattern via compensating transactions
Full visibility UI for workflow state
Serverless Workers for Google Cloud Run (pre-release)
Serverless Workers for AWS Lambda (public preview)
Standalone Activities for independent execution
Workflow Streams for real-time interactivity
Task Queue Priority & Fairness (GA)
Temporal Worker Controller (GA) for K8s lifecycle
External Storage for large payloads (public preview)
Custom Roles for granular permissions (pre-release)
Integrations
Claude
Cursor
ChatGPT
LangGraph
OpenAI Agents SDK
Google ADK
Google Cloud Run
AWS Lambda
Azure
Slack
NVIDIA
Salesforce
Twilio
Docker
Kubernetes
Braintrust

Who should pick which

  • Solo developer tracking personal AI spending
    Pick: Burntop

    Burntop is free, easy to set up, and provides detailed insights into token usage and costs across ChatGPT, Claude, and Cursor.

  • Engineering team building AI agents with reliability requirements
    Pick: Temporal AI

    Temporal's durable execution, retries, and human-in-the-loop workflows are essential for production-grade AI orchestration.

  • Dev who wants to share AI usage stats via badges
    Pick: Burntop

    Burntop's embeddable badges and yearly wrapped are designed for social sharing and community engagement.

  • Enterprise architect needing multi-step workflow with rollbacks
    Pick: Temporal AI

    Temporal's Saga pattern, automatic retries, and comprehensive UI provide exactly the control and visibility needed.

  • Non-technical user wanting simple cost tracking
    Pick: Burntop

    Burntop's CLI is simple, but for total non-technical users, alternatives might be better; however, among these two, Burntop is simpler.

Frequently Asked Questions

Burntop vs Temporal AI: which should you choose?

If you are an individual developer wanting a free, open-source tool to track AI usage costs across ChatGPT, Claude, and Cursor, Burntop is the clear choice. If you need a production-grade durable execution platform to orchestrate reliable AI agents with retries, human-in-the-loop, and multi-service orchestration, Temporal is essential—though it comes with a learning curve and usage-based pricing for the cloud tier.

Are Burntop and Temporal competitors?

No. Burntop tracks AI usage costs across tools like ChatGPT; Temporal orchestrates multi-step workflows. They solve completely different problems.

Can I use Temporal for free?

Yes, the open-source server is free to self-host. Temporal Cloud uses usage-based billing; costs depend on workflow actions.

Is Burntop open-source?

Yes, under MIT license. The code is publicly available and community-driven.

Does Temporal support human-in-the-loop?

Yes, via signals and pause/resume features. This was highlighted as a key capability.

What recent changes did Temporal announce?

In June 2026, Temporal introduced usage-based billing for better cost transparency, Custom Roles (pre-release), Serverless Workers, Standalone Activities, and Workflow Streams.

How do I set up Burntop?

Run a single CLI command: `bunx burntop sync`. It automatically syncs usage data from supported AI tools.

Can Burntop track multiple users?

Burntop is designed for personal use. Team features like role-based access are not available; it's not for enterprise.

Does Temporal integrate with AI frameworks?

Yes. Temporal has integrations with OpenAI Agents SDK and Google ADK, among others like Slack and Salesforce.

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Last reviewed: July 3, 2026