Open WebUI

Self-hosted web chat interface for local models and OpenAI-compatible APIs

AI Chat AssistantsFree planOverseas★★★★☆ 4.0

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What is Open WebUI?

Open WebUI is a self-hosted web interface for talking to language models, originally built around Ollama and now broad enough to drive any OpenAI-compatible API. You run it yourself, open it in a browser, and get a chat product with user accounts, model switching, document retrieval, prompt presets, voice input and an admin panel for managing access. It supports multiple users with roles, so a small team can share one deployment. The differentiator is that it behaves like a finished chat application while staying under your control and working with the local model stack you already run.

Last updated: 2026-09-20. This site only provides an index; for exact features, pricing, and licensing, see the official website.

Key features

Web chat front end for Ollama and OpenAI-compatible endpoints
Multi-user accounts with roles and admin-managed model access
Document upload and retrieval-augmented chat over your own files
Custom model presets, system prompts and a shared prompt library
Voice input and text-to-speech handled in the browser
Plugin and pipeline hooks for custom tools and workflows

Pros & cons

Strengths

Gives local models a polished chat interface at no licence cost
Fine-grained user and model permissions for shared deployments
Active project with frequent releases and a plugin ecosystem

Watch out for

You supply the models and hardware, so quality is your problem
Upgrades occasionally need care with stored data and settings
Some enterprise features require reading the licence terms closely

Best for & use cases

local model chat, self-hosted ai portals, team deployments, rag experiments

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FAQ

Does Open WebUI include any models?

No, it is the interface. You point it at a local runtime such as Ollama or at any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Running costs come from the hardware you host or the API provider you connect.

Can several people use one instance?

Yes. It supports multiple accounts, admin roles and per-model access rules, which is why it is often deployed as an internal chat portal for a team rather than as a personal app.

Is it the same project as Ollama?

No. Ollama runs models locally and exposes an API. Open WebUI is a separate, independently maintained chat interface that talks to Ollama, and it also works with other compatible backends.