head to head · open source
Open WebUI vs deepchat
Open WebUI has 152,394 GitHub stars, 22,296 forks, 294 open issues and last shipped yesterday. deepchat has 6,328 stars, 734 forks, 8 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Open WebUI leads on adoption by 2,308% (152,394 vs 6,328 stars). Open WebUI is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; deepchat is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Open WebUI has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, deepchat 12%. deepchat was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ai), 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 | deepchat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 152K | ★ 6.3K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 22K | ⑂ 734 |
| 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 deepchat if
- You want the deepchat feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and deepchat 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 deepchat
DeepChat is an open source, local first AI agent desktop client built with TypeScript under the Apache 2.0 license. It lives in the AI interaction and interfaces ecosystem, distributed as a cross platform Electron application, and it gathers models, tools, Skills, agent runtimes, Tape, and long running sessions into a single desktop app. Cloud APIs such as OpenAI, Gemini, and Anthropic work alongside locally deployed Ollama models, and any provider exposing an OpenAI, Gemini, or Anthropic API format can be connected.
read the full deepchat overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Open WebUI or deepchat more popular?
Open WebUI has 152,394 GitHub stars and deepchat has 6,328. Open WebUI has the larger community by that measure.
Are Open WebUI and deepchat free?
Both are open source. Open WebUI has no licence declared in this registry, and deepchat is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Open WebUI and deepchat?
Open WebUI is written in Python and deepchat 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 deepchat?
Choose Open WebUI if you want the larger community (152,394 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose deepchat if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.