head to head · open source
Open WebUI vs Scira
Open WebUI has 152,394 GitHub stars, 22,296 forks, 294 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Scira has 11,893 stars, 1,500 forks, 25 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. Open WebUI leads on adoption by 1,181% (152,394 vs 11,893 stars). Open WebUI is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; Scira is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Open WebUI has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, Scira 13%. 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.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Open WebUI | Scira | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 152K | ★ 12K |
| License | Custom / other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-12 |
| Forks | ⑂ 22K | ⑂ 1.5K |
| 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 Scira if
- You want the Scira feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Scira 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 Scira
Scira is a minimalistic AI powered search engine and agentic research platform, formerly called MiniPerplx. It lives in the TypeScript and AI interaction ecosystem, and it is licensed under AGPL 3.0. The project helps users find information on the internet and cites the sources used to form the answer.
read the full Scira overview →
More in AI & Machine Learning
Related comparisons
More AI Interaction & Interfaces projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the AI Interaction & Interfaces field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Open WebUI or Scira more popular?
Open WebUI has 152,394 GitHub stars and Scira has 11,893. Open WebUI has the larger community by that measure.
Are Open WebUI and Scira free?
Both are open source. Open WebUI has no licence declared in this registry, and Scira is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Open WebUI and Scira?
Open WebUI is written in Python and Scira 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 Scira?
Choose Open WebUI if you want the larger community (152,394 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Scira if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.