head to head · open source
Open WebUI vs gptme
Open WebUI has 152,394 GitHub stars, 22,296 forks, 294 open issues and last shipped yesterday. gptme has 4,416 stars, 432 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Open WebUI leads on adoption by 3,351% (152,394 vs 4,416 stars). Open WebUI is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; gptme is written in Python under MIT. Open WebUI has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, gptme 10%. gptme was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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 | gptme | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 152K | ★ 4.4K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 22K | ⑂ 432 |
| 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 gptme if
- You want the gptme feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and gptme 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 gptme
gptme is a free and open source, provider agnostic AI agent that runs in any terminal — on a laptop, over SSH, in tmux, on headless servers, or in CI pipelines — and is aimed at developers and knowledge workers who want a local first coding and automation assistant they can extend into persistent autonomous agents.
read the full gptme overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Open WebUI or gptme more popular?
Open WebUI has 152,394 GitHub stars and gptme has 4,416. Open WebUI has the larger community by that measure.
Are Open WebUI and gptme free?
Both are open source. Open WebUI has no licence declared in this registry, and gptme is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Open WebUI and gptme?
Open WebUI is written in Python and gptme 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 gptme?
Choose Open WebUI if you want the larger community (152,394 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose gptme if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.