Open WebUI
thecontinuitylayer.com/tools/local-ai-apps/open-webuiHouseholds, teams and tinkerers who want their own ChatGPT in a browser
Self-hosted chat interface · Open WebUI
Open WebUI is a self-hosted web interface that looks and works like ChatGPT, on top of Ollama or any OpenAI-compatible server. You install it once and everyone on your network can use it from a browser.
It adds what a bare model lacks: chat with your documents (retrieval across a choice of vector databases), a memory that carries facts across conversations, web search through many providers, and user accounts with roles. It can run fully offline. Its license, the Open WebUI License, requires keeping the Open WebUI branding.
Specs
| Price | Free to self-host (Open WebUI License) |
|---|---|
| Runs | Any Ollama or OpenAI-compatible backend, local or hosted |
| Install | pip install open-webui (Python 3.12 recommended), Docker, Kubernetes |
| Difficulty | Medium: Docker or Python |
| Backends | Ollama and any OpenAI-compatible API |
| Features | Document chat, memory, web search, accounts and roles |
| License | Open WebUI License (keep the branding) |
Good for
- A shared AI for a family or small team
- Chatting with your own documents
- One window over local and hosted models
Not for
- Someone who wants a one-click desktop app (use LM Studio or Jan)
- Rebranding it as your own product
See also
- AnythingLLM · People who mainly want to chat with their documents and run simple agents
- llama.cpp · Tinkerers who want the most control and the newest features first
- KoboldCpp · Fiction writers and role-players
We last reviewed Open WebUI on 6 November 2026. Prices and specs change; check openwebui.com before you buy or sign up. Figures we could not confirm on the vendor's own page read “not published” or “varies”.
Vendor source: https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui