Open WebUI
Feature-rich self-hosted chat UI for Ollama and OpenAI-compatible APIs.
Quick answer
Open WebUI is a feature-rich self-hosted chat UI for Ollama and OpenAI-compatible APIs, listed under Private ChatGPT-style chat. A typical small-business use: company-wide chat portal with central API keys instead of personal ChatGPT accounts. The project publishes no official RAM figure, so we do not estimate a monthly server cost. License: Open WebUI License (BSD-3-Clause style with branding clause), which allows internal business use.
Last updated · facts verified against official docs on · sources
Activity data comes from GitHub and was last refreshed Oct 22, 2026.
What is Open WebUI?
Open WebUI gives your team a ChatGPT-style interface with user accounts, document upload, web search, voice, memory and tools. It talks to Ollama or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, so you can mix local models with hosted APIs.
Where it fits in a 10–200 person business
- Company-wide chat portal with central API keys instead of personal ChatGPT accounts
- Front-end for models running on your own GPU box via Ollama
- Shared prompts and document Q&A for a department
These use cases are our editorial suggestions, not claims made by the project.
Can a business use Open WebUI? (license)
| License | Open WebUI License (BSD-3-Clause style with branding clause) |
|---|---|
| Type | Custom / conditional: Apache- or BSD-based with extra conditions (branding, multi-tenant SaaS, derivatives). |
| Internal business use | Allowed under the license text |
| What to watch | 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 plain-English summary of the license text, not legal advice. Third-party models you run with it have their own licenses.
What hardware does Open WebUI need?
The project does not publish a minimum CPU/RAM figure, so we leave it blank rather than guess.
No official minimum. In the project's own October 2026 test, the :slim image used about 300 MiB of RAM at idle (container only, no inference).
How much does it cost to host Open WebUI per month?
The project publishes no RAM figure we could verify, so we do not estimate a cost.
How to deploy Open WebUI
Method: Docker
docker run -d -p 3000:8080 --add-host=host.docker.internal:host-gateway \
-v open-webui:/app/backend/data --name open-webui --restart always \
ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:mainFrom the official instructions: github.com/open-webui/open-webui#installation-with-default-configuration. Always check the source for the current version before you run it.
Known gotchas when self-hosting Open WebUI
- Branding may only be changed for deployments of 50 or fewer end users in a rolling 30-day window, unless you have permission or an enterprise license. source
- If you only use hosted APIs, the :slim image is about 197 MB instead of 1.62 GB. It cannot be combined with the CUDA or bundled-Ollama variants. source
Alternatives in Private ChatGPT-style chat
- LobeHub (LobeChat) Polished multi-model chat and agent workspace with plugins and knowledge bases. Compare LobeHub (LobeChat) vs Open WebUI
- LibreChat Multi-provider ChatGPT-style interface with agents, file search and user management. Compare LibreChat vs Open WebUI
- Jan Offline desktop ChatGPT alternative that runs models on each employee's computer. Compare Jan vs Open WebUI
Open WebUI FAQ
How much RAM does Open WebUI need?
Open WebUI does not publish an official RAM figure, so we do not state one. In the project's own October 2026 test, the :slim image used about 300 MiB of RAM at idle (container only, no inference).
How much does it cost to self-host Open WebUI?
The software is free to download. The project publishes no official RAM figure, so we do not estimate a monthly server cost.
Is Open WebUI free for commercial use?
Open WebUI is licensed under Open WebUI License (BSD-3-Clause style with branding clause) (Custom / conditional). Internal business use is allowed under the license text. 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.
What are common problems when self-hosting Open WebUI?
Branding may only be changed for deployments of 50 or fewer end users in a rolling 30-day window, unless you have permission or an enterprise license. If you only use hosted APIs, the :slim image is about 197 MB instead of 1.62 GB. It cannot be combined with the CUDA or bundled-Ollama variants.
Is Open WebUI still maintained?
Yes, it is actively developed. Last commit: Oct 16, 2026. Latest release: v0.12.3 (Oct 16, 2026). Checked Oct 22, 2026.
How do I install Open WebUI?
The official method is Docker. The exact commands are in the "How to deploy" section above and in the official instructions: https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui#installation-with-default-configuration
What are self-hosted alternatives to Open WebUI?
Other apps in Private ChatGPT-style chat: LobeHub (LobeChat), LibreChat, Jan.
Sources
- GitHub repository: github.com/open-webui/open-webui
- Official documentation, Hardware requirements, Gotcha 2: docs.openwebui.com/getting-started/quick-start/
- License text, Gotcha 1: github.com/open-webui/open-webui/blob/main/LICENSE
- Deploy instructions: github.com/open-webui/open-webui#installation-with-default-configuration
- Hetzner Cloud pricing (cost estimate): www.hetzner.com/cloud/regular-performance
- GitHub stars, commits and releases: GitHub REST API, fetched
Facts on this page were checked against the project's own repository and docs on 2026-10-22. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.