head to head · open source
Open WebUI vs whirl
Open WebUI has 154,237 GitHub stars, 22,564 forks, 294 open issues and last shipped yesterday. whirl has 505 stars, 48 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. Open WebUI leads on adoption by 30,442% (154,237 vs 505 stars). Open WebUI is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; whirl is written in TypeScript under MIT. Open WebUI has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, whirl 10%. 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 (ai, llm), 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 | whirl | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 154K | ★ 505 |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-05 |
| Forks | ⑂ 23K | ⑂ 48 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Open WebUI if
- You weight community size — 154K 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 whirl if
- You want the whirl feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and whirl 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 whirl
Whirl is an MIT licensed, full stack AI chat application built on Next.js and Convex, for anyone who wants to run their own multi model chat interface — whether for personal use, self hosting, or contributing to an open source project.
read the full whirl overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Open WebUI or whirl more popular?
Open WebUI has 154,237 GitHub stars and whirl has 505. Open WebUI has the larger community by that measure.
Are Open WebUI and whirl free?
Both are open source. Open WebUI has no licence declared in this registry, and whirl is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Open WebUI and whirl?
Open WebUI is written in Python and whirl 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 whirl?
Choose Open WebUI if you want the larger community (154,237 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose whirl if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.