LibreChat vs Open WebUI: which one to choose in 2026?
Both are open source alternatives to ChatGPT Plus. We compare license, tech stack and features to help you decide which fits your team best.
| LibreChat | Open WebUI | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Artificial Intelligence | Artificial Intelligence |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | ~22k | ~62k |
| Tech stack | Node.js, React, MongoDB | Python, Svelte, SQLite |
| Replaces | ChatGPT Plus | ChatGPT Plus |
Open WebUI has more GitHub stars, which usually indicates a larger community (not necessarily that it's the best option for your use case).
LibreChat
Multi-provider chat with history and plugins, an alternative to ChatGPT Plus.
Pros
- Switch AI providers without switching interface
Things to consider
- You need your own API keys for the providers you use
Open WebUI
Self-hosted chat interface for LLMs, an alternative to ChatGPT Plus.
ℹ️ It's just the chat interface: it doesn't run models itself, so it doesn't need its own GPU — the actual inference happens in Ollama (or another OpenAI-API-compatible backend) that it connects to.
Pros
- Runs 100% local models, no data sent to third parties
Things to consider
- Quality depends on the model you choose to run (GPU recommended)
Key features
LibreChat
- Connects OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and local models
- Multi-user with conversation history
- Plugins and built-in web search
Open WebUI
- Compatible with Ollama and any OpenAI-style API
- RAG with your own documents
- User and role management
- Marketplace of community prompts and functions
Already know which one you prefer?
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