head to head · open source
Open WebUI vs AnythingLLM
Open WebUI has 152,394 GitHub stars, 22,296 forks, 294 open issues and last shipped yesterday. AnythingLLM has 66,141 stars, 7,347 forks, 311 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Open WebUI leads on adoption by 130% (152,394 vs 66,141 stars). Open WebUI is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; AnythingLLM is written in JavaScript under MIT. Open WebUI has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, AnythingLLM 11%. Open WebUI was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (llm), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Open WebUI | AnythingLLM | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 152K | ★ 66K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | Python | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 22K | ⑂ 7.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Open WebUI if
- You weight community size — 152K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick AnythingLLM if
- You want the AnythingLLM feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and AnythingLLM fits your workflow better
About Open WebUI
Open WebUI is a self hosted, open source AI interface that unifies access to local and cloud based large language models. It runs entirely in a web browser and supports Ollama for local model hosting alongside any OpenAI compatible API, including services like LMStudio, GroqCloud, Mistral, and OpenRouter. Built in Python, it functions as a drop in replacement for proprietary AI platforms, giving users full control over their model infrastructure and data.
read the full Open WebUI overview →
About AnythingLLM
AnythingLLM is a local first AI application that enables users to chat with their documents using any large language model (LLM), local or cloud hosted. It runs as a self hosted service—by default in Docker—and provides a complete interface for document ingestion, agent orchestration, multi user access, and workflow automation without requiring external cloud dependencies. The project lives in the local AI and AI interaction ecosystem, targeting users who want full control over their data and model selection.
read the full AnythingLLM overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Open WebUI or AnythingLLM more popular?
Open WebUI has 152,394 GitHub stars and AnythingLLM has 66,141. Open WebUI has the larger community by that measure.
Are Open WebUI and AnythingLLM free?
Both are open source. Open WebUI has no licence declared in this registry, and AnythingLLM is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Open WebUI and AnythingLLM?
Open WebUI is written in Python and AnythingLLM in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Open WebUI or AnythingLLM?
Choose Open WebUI if you want the larger community (152,394 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose AnythingLLM if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.