head to head · open source
Open WebUI vs reins
Open WebUI has 155,717 GitHub stars, 22,672 forks, 294 open issues and last shipped yesterday. reins has 550 stars, 91 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Open WebUI leads on adoption by 28,212% (155,717 vs 550 stars). Open WebUI is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; reins is written in Dart under GPL-3.0. Open WebUI has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, reins 17%. 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 (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 | reins | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 156K | ★ 550 |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Dart |
| Last push | 2026-10-14 | 2026-10-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 23K | ⑂ 91 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Open WebUI if
- You weight community size — 156K 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 reins if
- You want the reins feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Dart
- You evaluated both and reins 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 reins
Reins is a private, local AI chat app for iPhone, iPad and Mac that connects to Ollama, LM Studio or any OpenAI compatible server, or runs MLX and Apple Foundation Models on device, and it is built for Apple users who want LLM conversations without an account, without cloud uploads and without data collection.
read the full reins overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Open WebUI or reins more popular?
Open WebUI has 155,717 GitHub stars and reins has 550. Open WebUI has the larger community by that measure.
Are Open WebUI and reins free?
Both are open source. Open WebUI has no licence declared in this registry, and reins is licensed under GPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Open WebUI and reins?
Open WebUI is written in Python and reins in Dart. 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 reins?
Choose Open WebUI if you want the larger community (155,717 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose reins if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.