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Compare 8 prompt engineering tools

To get the most out of large language models, developers and other users rely on prompt engineering techniques to achieve their desired output. Review 8 tools that can help.

Emily Foster, Associate Site Editor

Published: 27 Nov 2023

For generative AI platforms to be effective, users must create the right prompt. While this might seem simple, prompt creation can quickly grow complex.

Drafting the optimal question or input requires a thorough understanding of how to create and manipulate prompts and a firm grasp of the underlying ML model, such as its algorithmic architecture and data set constraints. Producing a specific response from a model often requires a high level of detail and precision.

Prompt engineering is a technique used to guide large language models (LLMs) and other generative AI tools with specific prompts to get the desired output. The practice is meant to help developers employ LLMs for specific use cases and results. It can require elements of logic, coding and art. Simply rephrasing a question can lead an LLM to produce a completely different response.

As a specialized AI skill or job role, prompt engineering focuses on improving model behavior and enhancing output. Best practices for prompt engineering often include experimentation and testing different methods of phrasing instructions or questions.

Prompt engineering tools

To overcome this hurdle, organizations and developers can turn to prompt engineering tools to help manipulate AI models to get what they need.

To eliminate the trial and error of experimentation, developers can use prompt engineering tools to refine and expedite the prompt creation process. As the discipline of prompt engineering is very much still in its infancy, tools like the ones listed below can help developers refine their prompt creation skills and build better AI services.

This list is not ranked.

Agenta

Agenta is an open source platform that provides resources for experimenting with, evaluating and deploying LLMs. Agenta enables developers to work through various versions of prompts, parameters and strategies to produce their desired outcome and model.

With Agenta, users define the parameters and prompts they want to experiment with and can iteratively test new variants. Users host the platform on their infrastructure and can collaborate with domain experts for guidance and feedback. In addition, developers can test, compare and save variations; work in the framework, library or model of their choice; and deploy LLMs as APIs when ready.

Agenta is available on GitHub for free.

PromptPerfect

PromptPerfect works to improve prompt quality to achieve consistent results from LLMs. Developers can deploy prompts to PromptPerfect's server and get API access to use the prompt in their own applications.

With PromptPerfect, users input the prompt they are working on and adjust the settings -- such as prompt length, output quality and number of iterations -- to their preference. With these constraints in place, the tool then produces a prompt in 10 seconds, according to PromptPerfect. Developers can edit each prompt until they are satisfied with the results.

The tool is a third-party plugin that works with text generation models, such as ChatGPT, Claude, Command and StableLM 7B, as well as image models, such as DALL-E 2, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion. But PromptPerfect can only be used with paid versions of ChatGPT.

PromptPerfect works on a credit system, which covers prompt tasks such as optimization and simulation. The first 50 credits are free. The Light tier is $9.99 per month and includes 200 credits; the Standard tier is $39.99 per month and includes 1,000 credits; and the Max tier is $99.99 per month and includes 5,000 credits.

PromptAppGPT

PromptAppGPT is a low-code prompt application development framework for language model application development. The framework is based on GPT and includes features such as GPT text generation, DALL-E image generation, plugin extensions, and automatic UI generation in either English or Chinese.

The framework enables natural language application development based on ChatGPT so users can create applications like Auto-GPT with minimal prompts. PromptAppGPT provides execution components, such as web and image search, web crawling, and JavaScript code execution.

PromptAppGPT is available on GitHub for free.

LangChain

Although LangChain is known for simplifying and streamlining the application development process, it can also help with prompt management. The open source framework provides premade prompt templates that take the form of structured text with Python code. These templates include instructions, few-shot examples and context questions for a specific task.

Prompts can vary in specificity depending on the user's needs. Custom prompt templates are also available if the default prompt templates do not meet a user's needs, such as specific dynamic instructions.

LangChain is available on GitHub for free. Enterprises looking to build with LangChain in production can contact their sales team.

PromptSource

PromptSource is a toolkit to create, share and use natural-language prompts. It is an integrated development environment (IDE) for prompt engineering, which enables an iterative development process to create natural-language prompts.

PromptSource contains around 2,000 English prompts, available through PromptSource's API. For users looking to create prompts, PromptSource supplies a web-based GUI so developers can write prompts in a templating language and check the prompts. Templates in PromptSource are written in Jinja, a templating programming language.

PromptSource is available on GitHub.

Prompter

Prompter is a debugging tool for GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 that enables users to identify and address any issues with their prompts. It also provides a space for users to test and iterate on prompts for LLMs.

Users can save and reuse past prompts as references and adjust parameters, such as temperature and top-p, to shape model responses. In addition, users can test multiple variations of prompts at once in batch mode and send prompts to the API to view results.

While the tool currently only works with OpenAI's GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 models, the app's FAQ page refers to plans to include Anthropic's Claude and other models in the future. Prompter runs in the browser on Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge but is not supported on Internet Explorer.

Prompter is available for free but is subject to limited use based on the user's API key.

Promptmetheus

Promptmetheus is an IDE that focuses on complex LLM prompt creation. Prompts are broken down into data and text blocks that users can rearrange, combine and test to get their desired outcome.

Promptmetheus stores prompt design process history and estimates how much a prompt will cost to run. The tool provides an AI programming interface that executes prompts on a remote server and acts as the middleman between AI platforms and LLMs.

The platform supports LLMs such as Claude 2, Llama 2 70B and Aleph Alpha Luminous Supreme. Promptmetheus will support models from xAI, Hugging Face, Replicate, Azure and AWS Bedrock in the future.

Promptmetheus provides a free playground that includes Prompt IDE, local data storage, stats and insights, and the ability to export and import data. However, it currently works only with OpenAI models.

There is a Standard tier for $29 a month and a Pro tier that is still undergoing internal testing. Promptmetheus also has a Team tier for enterprises that starts at $490 per month.

FusionAI

FusionAI is a prompt engineering software that helps improve and expand prompts for users and is often used for creative writing, idea generation and brainstorming.

With FusionAI, users describe what they want the prompt to focus on, and the tool generates an expanded prompt that they can then edit, regenerate or delete. The tool can also generate and copy an MLA citation for the prompt and save prompts to the clipboard. In addition, users can highlight sections of the generated prompt for which they want the tool to perform rewrites.

FusionAI generates prompts only. It does not provide an API integration, has no collaboration features and does not provide multi-platform support.

FusionAI is free.

Based on extensive research into the prompt engineering tools market, TechTarget editors identified eight leading prompt engineering services that can help streamline the prompt creation process. Our research into this emerging topic included information from independent technical resources, along with analysis of user reviews.

Emily Foster covered AI and machine learning as the associate site editor for TechTarget Enterprise AI.