head to head · open source
Open WebUI vs AstrBot
Open WebUI has 152,394 GitHub stars, 22,296 forks, 294 open issues and last shipped yesterday. AstrBot has 40,628 stars, 2,925 forks, 1,516 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Open WebUI leads on adoption by 275% (152,394 vs 40,628 stars). Open WebUI is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; AstrBot is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. Open WebUI has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, AstrBot 7%. AstrBot was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (ai, llm, mcp), 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 | AstrBot | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 152K | ★ 41K |
| License | Custom / other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 22K | ⑂ 2.9K |
| 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 AstrBot if
- You want the AstrBot feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and AstrBot 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 AstrBot
AstrBot is an open source all in one Agent chatbot platform written in Python and licensed under AGPL 3.0. It integrates with mainstream instant messaging applications and provides conversational AI infrastructure for individuals, developers, and teams. The project lives in the AI and machine learning ecosystem, specifically the AI interaction and interfaces category, and it has been developed over roughly four years. Its repository carries 40,504 stars and 2,915 forks, and its documented homepage is astrbot.app. Topics attached to the project include agent, ai, chatbot, chatgpt, discord, docker, gemini, gpt, lla…
read the full AstrBot overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Open WebUI or AstrBot more popular?
Open WebUI has 152,394 GitHub stars and AstrBot has 40,628. Open WebUI has the larger community by that measure.
Are Open WebUI and AstrBot free?
Both are open source. Open WebUI has no licence declared in this registry, and AstrBot is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Open WebUI and AstrBot?
Open WebUI is written in Python and AstrBot in Python. 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 AstrBot?
Choose Open WebUI if you want the larger community (152,394 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose AstrBot if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.