LibreChat vs Open WebUI
Short answer
LibreChat: Multi-provider ChatGPT-style interface with agents, file search and user management. Open WebUI: Feature-rich self-hosted chat UI for Ollama and OpenAI-compatible APIs. Both are in our Private ChatGPT-style chat category.
Choose LibreChat if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Custom / conditional).
Choose Open WebUI if you want: larger community (156k vs 46.1k GitHub stars) and simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack).
Open WebUI publishes no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Last updated · computed from each project's official docs and live GitHub data · sources
LibreChat vs Open WebUI side by side
| LibreChat | Open WebUI | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Private ChatGPT-style chat | Private ChatGPT-style chat |
| What it is | Multi-provider ChatGPT-style interface with agents, file search and user management. | Feature-rich self-hosted chat UI for Ollama and OpenAI-compatible APIs. |
| License | MIT | Open WebUI License (BSD-3-Clause style with branding clause) |
| License type | Permissive | Custom / conditional |
| License conditions | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the copyright notice. | BSD-style terms plus a branding condition. You may not alter or remove the "Open WebUI" branding unless your deployment has no more than 50 end users in any rolling 30 days, you have written permission, or you hold an enterprise license. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 46.1k | 156k |
| Last commit | Oct 22, 2026 | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Latest release | — | v0.12.3 |
| Minimum hardware | 1 vCPU · 1 GB RAM | Not published |
| Recommended hardware | 2 GB RAM | Not published |
| GPU | Not required / not stated | Not required / not stated |
| Est. server cost | from €6.49/mo (recommended spec: €11.99/mo) | Not estimated |
| Deploy method | Docker Compose | Docker |
| Known gotchas | 2 listed | 2 listed |
| Details | Full LibreChat guide → | Full Open WebUI guide → |
Key differences
- License: LibreChat: MIT (Permissive). Open WebUI: Open WebUI License (BSD-3-Clause style with branding clause) (Custom / conditional).
- Official hardware: LibreChat: minimum 1 vCPU · 1 GB RAM (recommended 2 GB RAM). Open WebUI: not published.
- Est. server cost: LibreChat: from €6.49/mo. Open WebUI: not estimated (no official RAM figure).
- Deploy: LibreChat: Docker Compose · multi-container stack. Open WebUI: Docker · single container.
- GitHub stars: LibreChat: 46.1k. Open WebUI: 156k.
- Last commit: LibreChat: Oct 22, 2026. Open WebUI: Oct 16, 2026.
- Latest release: LibreChat: none published. Open WebUI: v0.12.3 (Oct 16, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Private ChatGPT-style chat; GPU: not required or not stated; Status: Active.
LibreChat vs Open WebUI: FAQ
LibreChat or Open WebUI: which should a small business choose?
Choose LibreChat if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Custom / conditional). Choose Open WebUI if you want: larger community (156k vs 46.1k GitHub stars) and simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack). Open WebUI publishes no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Which is cheaper to self-host, LibreChat or Open WebUI?
LibreChat: from €6.49/mo. Open WebUI: not estimated (no official RAM figure). Our estimate is the cheapest Hetzner Cloud plan that meets each project's official RAM and vCPU figure; it covers the server only.
How much hardware do LibreChat and Open WebUI need?
LibreChat: minimum 1 vCPU · 1 GB RAM (recommended 2 GB RAM). Open WebUI: not published.
What is the license difference between LibreChat and Open WebUI?
LibreChat: MIT (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the copyright notice. Open WebUI: Open WebUI License (BSD-3-Clause style with branding clause) (Custom / conditional). BSD-style terms plus a branding condition. You may not alter or remove the "Open WebUI" branding unless your deployment has no more than 50 end users in any rolling 30 days, you have written permission, or you hold an enterprise license. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is LibreChat or Open WebUI more actively maintained?
LibreChat: Active, last commit Oct 22, 2026. Open WebUI: Active, last commit Oct 16, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 22, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, LibreChat or Open WebUI?
LibreChat installs via Docker Compose (multi-container stack); Open WebUI via Docker (single container). LibreChat lists 2 known gotchas and Open WebUI lists 2; see each app page.
Related
- LibreChat self-hosting guide · Open WebUI self-hosting guide
- All LibreChat alternatives, ranked
- All Open WebUI alternatives, ranked
- AnythingLLM vs LibreChat
- AnythingLLM vs Open WebUI
- Jan vs LibreChat
- Jan vs Open WebUI
- LibreChat vs LobeHub (LobeChat)
- LibreChat vs NextChat
- LobeHub (LobeChat) vs Open WebUI
- NextChat vs Open WebUI
- Add a third app in the interactive comparison
Sources
- LibreChat GitHub repository: github.com/LibreChat-AI/LibreChat
- LibreChat documentation, LibreChat hardware requirements, LibreChat deploy instructions: www.librechat.ai/docs/local/docker
- LibreChat license: github.com/LibreChat-AI/LibreChat/blob/main/LICENSE
- Open WebUI GitHub repository: github.com/open-webui/open-webui
- Open WebUI documentation, Open WebUI hardware requirements: docs.openwebui.com/getting-started/quick-start/
- Open WebUI license: github.com/open-webui/open-webui/blob/main/LICENSE
- Open WebUI deploy instructions: github.com/open-webui/open-webui#installation-with-default-configuration
- Hetzner Cloud pricing used for cost estimates (read 2026-10-22): www.hetzner.com/cloud/regular-performance
- GitHub REST API (stars, commits, releases): docs.github.com/en/rest
Every value is generated from the same verified data as the app pages. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.