Open WebUI
Run a self-hosted chat interface for local or API-based LLMs like Ollama behind your own login and controls, free at any scale if you keep default branding.
The verdict on Open WebUI: Anyone running local models through Ollama or LM Studio who wants a polished chat interface on their own infrastructure Open WebUI is for teams or individuals who are already running local models through Ollama or LM Studio and want a polished chat interface that doesn't require building one from scratch. Pricing: Free to self-host at any user count while retaining required branding. Removing branding requires a qualifying license exception or enterprise permission; user count alone does not require payment..
Best For
Anyone running local models through Ollama or LM Studio who wants a polished chat interface on their own infrastructure
Standout Feature
A self-hosted chat interface for local or compatible hosted backends, with deployment and data-flow choices under your control
TL;DR
Useful when you can operate a chat frontend and understand the selected backend’s data flow and the applicable branding-license conditions.
Alternatives
Fit Score: use-case reference
How this is scoredOpen WebUI scored 1 to 5 on five dimensions for the named use cases below. Part of our catalog-wide use-case reference, not a product-quality review rating.
Chat with local models on your own server
4.0/5- Capability
- 5/5
- Reliability
- 4/5
- Value
- 4/5
- Ease
- 2/5
- Compatibility
- 5/5
Add conversation history, model switching, and prompt controls to a local-model setup without building a chat frontend. Active development supports the interface, but performance depends on the host and selected backend, and you must operate the server. Self-hosting is free while required branding stays; hardware and maintenance costs remain, and external backends or connectors can send data outside your network.
Document-grounded chat on self-hosted models
3.4/5- Capability
- 4/5
- Reliability
- 3/5
- Value
- 4/5
- Ease
- 2/5
- Compatibility
- 4/5
Upload documents for model-assisted questions on self-hosted infrastructure. The RAG interface supplies document context, but answer quality still needs checking and performance depends on the chosen host and model. Keeping required branding avoids a license fee at any user count; allow for server maintenance, inference costs, and the data flow of any external connectors.
Editorial judgment grounded in this tool's own published pricing, features, and our existing pros and cons, not a certification or a measured benchmark. Product quality is assessed separately under our review methodology.
Overview
Not yet reviewedProduct quality is assessed from original evidence. How reviews work.
Open WebUI is a self-hosted, feature-rich web interface for running large language models locally through Ollama, LM Studio, or any OpenAI-compatible API backend, providing a polished, ChatGPT-like conversation experience on your own infrastructure. Whether any data leaves your network depends on which model backend and connectors you choose: a fully local Ollama or LM Studio setup keeps inference on your own hardware, while pointing it at a hosted OpenAI-compatible API, or using its web search integration, will send the relevant data externally. The interface design prioritizes completeness: conversation history, model switching, multi-model comparison, system prompt configuration, document upload for RAG, web search integration, image generation, and voice input are all included out of the box rather than requiring separate configuration or extension installation. The RAG capabilities allow uploading documents, websites, and knowledge bases that the model references during conversation.
User management and access controls enable team deployments where multiple users share the same infrastructure with individual conversation histories and configurable model access. The Model Builder creates custom model configurations with specific system prompts and parameters that appear as named models in the interface, enabling pre-configured personas for different use cases. Licensing is version-specific: releases through v0.6.5 used the BSD-3-Clause license, while v0.6.6 and later add a branding-protection clause. The project itself states this current license is not OSI-approved open source, but it remains free to self-host and modify, including at any scale, as long as required branding is kept; branding can be removed under specific exceptions (50 or fewer users within a 30-day window, explicit contributor permission, or an enterprise license).
Most commonly deployed by privacy-focused individuals, enterprise teams with data residency requirements, home lab enthusiasts, and development teams building on local models who need a quality conversation interface without building their own.
The source of the legacy catalog rating and review count has not been substantiated. Neither is presented here as a verified review rating or included in review structured data.
Workflow Fit Scores are separate, use-case-specific editorial judgments, not user-review averages. Read the Fit Score methodology.
- • Feature parity with commercial chatbots, free and private
- • Works with any OpenAI-compatible backend
- • Active development with frequent updates
- • Requires server setup and maintenance
- • Performance depends entirely on host hardware
Key Features
- Multi-model conversations
- Document upload and RAG
- Web search integration
- User management for teams
- Conversation history
- Plugin support
Trust & Data
Verified 2026-09
- Training on your data
- Opt-out availableThe hosted openwebui.com service privacy policy lists 'Train and improve machine learning models (with your consent where applicable)' as a data use; the vendor explicitly states the self-hosted software does not collect conversation data from installs by default.
- Compliance
- Not published
- Retention
- Not published
- Export
- Partial export
Sources: openwebui.com/privacy, openwebui.com/data, docs.openwebui.com
As published by the vendor. Verify independently before purchase decisions.
Our Take
Feature parity with commercial chatbots, including conversation history, system prompts, and model switching, is the standout, all running on infrastructure you control; whether your data stays fully local depends on which backend and connectors you actually use. It's free to self-host at any scale, including above 50 users, as long as you keep the required branding; removing that branding needs either a qualifying exception (50 or fewer users in a 30-day window, or explicit contributor permission) or a paid enterprise license. Setup and ongoing server maintenance are the real costs here, not licensing, unless white-labeling matters to you. If you're comfortable running your own server and want a ChatGPT-level interface for private inference, this is the obvious choice.