Open WebUI
Self-hosted ChatGPT-style interfaceFeature-rich self-hosted web interface for local and API LLMs, with RAG, web search, multi-user access and pipelines — pairs with Ollama or any OpenAI API.
- Maker
- Open WebUI Inc.
- Founded
- 2023
- Pricing
- Free tier
- Last checked
- October 2026
Verdict
Feature-rich self-hosted web interface for local and API LLMs, with RAG, web search, multi-user access and pipelines — pairs with Ollama or any OpenAI API.
Score breakdown
vs LM Studio, the category leaderDevelopers and teams who want a powerful, self-hosted ChatGPT-style UI in front of local or API models, with full control over data.
Key features
- Native integration with Ollama and any OpenAI-compatible API
- Retrieval-Augmented Generation with multiple vector-database backends
- Built-in web search via many providers, injected into chat
- Multi-user role-based access control with granular permissions
- Pipelines framework for custom Python logic, function calling and rate limiting
- Voice/video chat with multiple speech-to-text and text-to-speech providers
- Image generation via DALL·E, Gemini, ComfyUI and AUTOMATIC1111
- Enterprise auth options: LDAP/AD, SCIM, OAuth SSO; Docker, pip and Kubernetes deployment
Strengths
- +Exceptionally feature-rich: RAG, web search, voice, image generation, pipelines and multi-user RBAC out of the box
- +Works with Ollama and any OpenAI-compatible API — not locked to one backend
- +Fully self-hosted and offline-capable; data stays on your own infrastructure
- +Very active development with a large community (~143k GitHub stars)
Weaknesses
- −Requires a separate LLM backend (Ollama, LM Studio or an API key) — it is not standalone
- −Self-hosting means you own updates, maintenance, backups and infrastructure
- −The April 2025 license is no longer OSI-approved and adds a branding-retention clause above 50 users
- −Enterprise features (custom branding, SLA, LTS) require a paid plan with undisclosed pricing
Overview
Overview
Open WebUI is a self-hosted, extensible AI platform — effectively a ChatGPT-style web interface you run yourself — first released in 2023. It connects natively to Ollama and to any OpenAI-compatible API, and is designed to work fully offline with your data on your own infrastructure. What sets it apart is breadth: RAG with multiple vector databases, web search across many providers, voice and image generation, a pipelines framework for custom logic, and multi-user role-based access control all ship in the box. With around 143,000 GitHub stars it is one of the most popular local-AI front-ends.
Two caveats matter. First, Open WebUI is an interface, not an engine — you still need a backend like Ollama, LM Studio or an API key. Second, in April 2025 the project moved from standard BSD-3 to a custom license that adds a branding-retention clause for deployments above 50 users and is no longer OSI-approved; an enterprise plan covers custom branding and support. For individuals and small teams it remains free and remarkably capable.
Key Benefits
- All-in-one front-end: RAG, web search, voice, image gen and admin controls without bolting together separate tools.
- Backend-agnostic: Use it with local models via Ollama or with hosted APIs — your choice.
- Self-hosted control: Runs on your servers, keeping data and access governance in-house.
- Actively maintained: Frequent releases and a very large community.
Use Cases
- Team ChatGPT replacement — Give a team a shared, governed interface to local or API models.
- Private RAG over internal docs — Combine self-hosted models with document retrieval behind your firewall.
- A polished UI for Ollama — Add a full-featured chat experience on top of a local runtime.
- Custom AI workflows — Use pipelines and function calling to extend behavior with your own code.
Pricing
Checked October 2026 · USD- Full platform for personal and team use
- RAG, web search, multi-user RBAC, pipelines and more
- Deploy via Docker, pip or Kubernetes
- Custom theming/branding, SLA support and LTS versions
- Priority support for organizations