head to head · open source
Open WebUI vs ChatUI
Open WebUI has 152,426 GitHub stars, 22,301 forks, 294 open issues and last shipped today. ChatUI has 4,448 stars, 426 forks, 53 open issues and last shipped 6 months ago. Open WebUI leads on adoption by 3,327% (152,426 vs 4,448 stars). Open WebUI is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; ChatUI is written in TypeScript under MIT. Open WebUI has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, ChatUI 10%. 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 | ChatUI | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 152K | ★ 4.4K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-03-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 22K | ⑂ 426 |
| 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 ChatUI if
- You want the ChatUI feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and ChatUI 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 ChatUI
ChatUI is an MIT licensed UI design language and React component library for conversational interfaces, published on npm as @chatui/core and aimed at front end teams that need a ready chat surface instead of hand built message components.
read the full ChatUI overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Open WebUI or ChatUI more popular?
Open WebUI has 152,426 GitHub stars and ChatUI has 4,448. Open WebUI has the larger community by that measure.
Are Open WebUI and ChatUI free?
Both are open source. Open WebUI has no licence declared in this registry, and ChatUI is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Open WebUI and ChatUI?
Open WebUI is written in Python and ChatUI in TypeScript. 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 ChatUI?
Choose Open WebUI if you want the larger community (152,426 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose ChatUI if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.