head to head · open source
Open WebUI vs Gemini-API
Open WebUI has 157,498 GitHub stars, 22,901 forks, 294 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Gemini-API has 3,778 stars, 592 forks, 37 open issues and last shipped 26 days ago. Open WebUI leads on adoption by 4,069% (157,498 vs 3,778 stars). Open WebUI is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; Gemini-API is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. Open WebUI has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, Gemini-API 16%. Open WebUI was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (ai, 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 | Gemini-API | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 157K | ★ 3.8K |
| License | Custom / other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 23K | ⑂ 592 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Open WebUI if
- You weight community size — 157K 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 Gemini-API if
- You want the Gemini-API 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 Gemini-API fits your workflow better
About Open WebUI
Open WebUI 👋 Open WebUI is a home for AI , a self hosted AI platform that's extensible , feature rich , user friendly, and built to run entirely offline . With support for Ollama and OpenAI compatible APIs , it gives you a powerful, provider agnostic interface for both local and cloud based models. Passionate about open source AI? Join our team → [!TIP] Looking for an Enterprise Plan? – Speak with Our Sales Team Today! For more information, be sure to check out our Open WebUI Documentation. Key Features of Open WebUI ⭐ 🚀 Effortless Setup : Install seamlessly via pip, uv, Docker, or Kubernetes (kubectl…
read the full Open WebUI overview →
About Gemini-API
Gemini API A reverse engineered asynchronous Python wrapper for the Google Gemini web app (formerly Bard). Features Persistent Cookies Automatically refreshes cookies in background. Optimized for always on services. Image Generation Natively supports generating and editing images with natural language. Video & Audio Generation Supports generating videos and audio/music content natively. Deep Research Full deep research workflow with plan creation, status polling, and result retrieval. System Prompt Supports customizing the model's system prompt with Gemini Gems. Extension Support Supports generating content with…
read the full Gemini-API overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Open WebUI or Gemini-API more popular?
Open WebUI has 157,498 GitHub stars and Gemini-API has 3,778. Open WebUI has the larger community by that measure.
Are Open WebUI and Gemini-API free?
Both are open source. Open WebUI has no licence declared in this registry, and Gemini-API is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Open WebUI and Gemini-API?
Open WebUI is written in Python and Gemini-API 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 Gemini-API?
Choose Open WebUI if you want the larger community (157,498 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Gemini-API if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.