head to head · open source
Open WebUI vs venom
Open WebUI has 152,426 GitHub stars, 22,301 forks, 294 open issues and last shipped today. venom has 6,580 stars, 1,331 forks, 62 open issues and last shipped 9 days ago. Open WebUI leads on adoption by 2,217% (152,426 vs 6,580 stars). Open WebUI is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; venom is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Open WebUI has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, venom 20%. Open WebUI was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ai), 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 | venom | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 152K | ★ 6.6K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-09 |
| Forks | ⑂ 22K | ⑂ 1.3K |
| 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 venom if
- You want the venom feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and venom 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 venom
Venom is an Apache 2.0 TypeScript framework that drives WhatsApp Web through Puppeteer, giving JavaScript and TypeScript developers a programmatic API for chatbots, customer service flows and message automation.
read the full venom overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Open WebUI or venom more popular?
Open WebUI has 152,426 GitHub stars and venom has 6,580. Open WebUI has the larger community by that measure.
Are Open WebUI and venom free?
Both are open source. Open WebUI has no licence declared in this registry, and venom is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Open WebUI and venom?
Open WebUI is written in Python and venom 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 venom?
Choose Open WebUI if you want the larger community (152,426 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose venom if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.