head to head · open source
Open WebUI vs BotFramework-WebChat
Open WebUI has 152,426 GitHub stars, 22,301 forks, 294 open issues and last shipped yesterday. BotFramework-WebChat has 1,785 stars, 1,601 forks, 523 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Open WebUI leads on adoption by 8,439% (152,426 vs 1,785 stars). Open WebUI is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; BotFramework-WebChat is written in HTML under MIT. Open WebUI has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, BotFramework-WebChat 90%. Open WebUI was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | BotFramework-WebChat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 152K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | Python | HTML |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 22K | ⑂ 1.6K |
| 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 BotFramework-WebChat if
- You want the BotFramework-WebChat feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches HTML
- You evaluated both and BotFramework-WebChat 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 BotFramework-WebChat
Bot Framework Web Chat is an MIT licensed, highly customizable web based chat client, published on npm as botframework webchat , that lets web developers embed a conversational interface into their own sites and connect it to bots built with the Microsoft Bot Framework v4 SDK.
read the full BotFramework-WebChat overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Open WebUI or BotFramework-WebChat more popular?
Open WebUI has 152,426 GitHub stars and BotFramework-WebChat has 1,785. Open WebUI has the larger community by that measure.
Are Open WebUI and BotFramework-WebChat free?
Both are open source. Open WebUI has no licence declared in this registry, and BotFramework-WebChat is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Open WebUI and BotFramework-WebChat?
Open WebUI is written in Python and BotFramework-WebChat in HTML. 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 BotFramework-WebChat?
Choose Open WebUI if you want the larger community (152,426 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose BotFramework-WebChat if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.