head to head · open source
Open WebUI vs MaxKB
Open WebUI has 152,394 GitHub stars, 22,296 forks, 294 open issues and last shipped yesterday. MaxKB has 22,824 stars, 3,156 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Open WebUI leads on adoption by 568% (152,394 vs 22,824 stars). Open WebUI is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; MaxKB is written in Python under GPL-3.0. Open WebUI has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, MaxKB 14%. MaxKB was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (llm, ollama), 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 | MaxKB | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 152K | ★ 23K |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 22K | ⑂ 3.2K |
| 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 MaxKB if
- You want the MaxKB feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and MaxKB 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 MaxKB
MaxKB is an open source Python platform for building enterprise grade agents in the AI and machine learning ecosystem. It combines a web interface, LangChain based retrieval augmented generation, workflow orchestration, and MCP tool use so organizations can connect large language models to their own documents, systems, and business processes. The project is positioned as a knowledge brain deployed under the GNU General Public License version 3.
read the full MaxKB overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Open WebUI or MaxKB more popular?
Open WebUI has 152,394 GitHub stars and MaxKB has 22,824. Open WebUI has the larger community by that measure.
Are Open WebUI and MaxKB free?
Both are open source. Open WebUI has no licence declared in this registry, and MaxKB is licensed under GPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Open WebUI and MaxKB?
Open WebUI is written in Python and MaxKB 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 MaxKB?
Choose Open WebUI if you want the larger community (152,394 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose MaxKB if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.