head to head · open source
Open WebUI vs Orkas
Open WebUI has 152,394 GitHub stars, 22,296 forks, 294 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Orkas has 2,029 stars, 83 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Open WebUI leads on adoption by 7,411% (152,394 vs 2,029 stars). Open WebUI is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; Orkas is written in TypeScript under MIT. Open WebUI has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, Orkas 4%. 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 | Orkas | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 152K | ★ 2.0K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 22K | ⑂ 83 |
| 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 Orkas if
- You want the Orkas feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Orkas 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 Orkas
Orkas is an open source, local first AI desktop application for macOS, Windows, and Linux in which a Commander LLM plans a goal and coordinates specialist sub agents from one chat, built for people who want to command a team of agents rather than talk to a single chatbot.
read the full Orkas overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Open WebUI or Orkas more popular?
Open WebUI has 152,394 GitHub stars and Orkas has 2,029. Open WebUI has the larger community by that measure.
Are Open WebUI and Orkas free?
Both are open source. Open WebUI has no licence declared in this registry, and Orkas is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Open WebUI and Orkas?
Open WebUI is written in Python and Orkas 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 Orkas?
Choose Open WebUI if you want the larger community (152,394 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Orkas if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.