NextChat vs Open WebUI
Short answer
NextChat: Lightweight ChatGPT-style web app you can run with one Docker command. Open WebUI: Feature-rich self-hosted chat UI for Ollama and OpenAI-compatible APIs. Both are in our Private ChatGPT-style chat category.
Choose NextChat if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Custom / conditional).
Choose Open WebUI if you want: larger community (156k vs 88.9k GitHub stars).
NextChat and Open WebUI publish 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
NextChat vs Open WebUI side by side
| NextChat | Open WebUI | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Private ChatGPT-style chat | Private ChatGPT-style chat |
| What it is | Lightweight ChatGPT-style web app you can run with one Docker command. | 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 license notice. Branding, admin panel and permissions are sold separately as an Enterprise Edition. | 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 | 88.9k | 156k |
| Last commit | Oct 20, 2026 | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Latest release | v2.16.1 | v0.12.3 |
| Minimum hardware | Not published | Not published |
| Recommended hardware | Not published | Not published |
| RAM measured by us | 42 MiB idle, 57 MiB working (our test, v2.16.1, Oct 22, 2026) | 896 MiB idle, 909 MiB working (our test, v0.12.3, Oct 22, 2026) |
| GPU | Not required / not stated | Not required / not stated |
| Est. server cost | from €6.49/mo (based on our test, not official) | from €11.99/mo (based on our test, not official) |
| Deploy method | Docker | Docker |
| Known gotchas | 3 listed | 2 listed |
| Telemetry | Not documented | Off by default (opt-in) |
| Calls home by default | Not documented | Yes, by default |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Not documented | Free (OIDC free · LDAP free) |
| Audit log | Not documented | Yes, free |
| RBAC | Not documented | Yes, free |
| Details | Full NextChat guide → | Full Open WebUI guide → |
Key differences
- License: NextChat: MIT (Permissive). Open WebUI: Open WebUI License (BSD-3-Clause style with branding clause) (Custom / conditional).
- GitHub stars: NextChat: 88.9k. Open WebUI: 156k.
- Last commit: NextChat: Oct 20, 2026. Open WebUI: Oct 16, 2026.
- Latest release: NextChat: v2.16.1 (Jul 29, 2025). Open WebUI: v0.12.3 (Oct 16, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Private ChatGPT-style chat; Official hardware: not published; GPU: not required or not stated; Est. server cost: not estimated (no official RAM figure); Deploy: Docker · single container; Status: Active.
NextChat vs Open WebUI: FAQ
NextChat or Open WebUI: which should a small business choose?
Choose NextChat if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Custom / conditional). Choose Open WebUI if you want: larger community (156k vs 88.9k GitHub stars). NextChat and Open WebUI publish no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Which is cheaper to self-host, NextChat or Open WebUI?
NextChat: not estimated (no official RAM figure). 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 NextChat and Open WebUI need?
NextChat: not published. Open WebUI: not published.
What is the license difference between NextChat and Open WebUI?
NextChat: MIT (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the license notice. Branding, admin panel and permissions are sold separately as an Enterprise Edition. 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 NextChat or Open WebUI more actively maintained?
NextChat: Active, last commit Oct 20, 2026. Open WebUI: Active, last commit Oct 16, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 22, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, NextChat or Open WebUI?
NextChat installs via Docker (single container); Open WebUI via Docker (single container). NextChat lists 3 known gotchas and Open WebUI lists 2; see each app page.
Related
- NextChat self-hosting guide · Open WebUI self-hosting guide
- All NextChat alternatives, ranked
- All Open WebUI alternatives, ranked
- AnythingLLM vs Open WebUI
- Jan vs NextChat
- Jan vs Open WebUI
- LibreChat vs NextChat
- LibreChat vs Open WebUI
- LobeHub (LobeChat) vs NextChat
- LobeHub (LobeChat) vs Open WebUI
- Add a third app in the interactive comparison
Sources
- NextChat GitHub repository: github.com/ChatGPTNextWeb/NextChat
- NextChat documentation: github.com/ChatGPTNextWeb/NextChat#deployment
- NextChat license: github.com/ChatGPTNextWeb/NextChat/blob/main/LICENSE
- NextChat hardware requirements: github.com/ChatGPTNextWeb/NextChat#requirements
- NextChat deploy instructions: github.com/ChatGPTNextWeb/NextChat#docker-recommended
- 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.