# Open WebUI Alternatives 2027: 9 Paid, Free & Open-Source

Source: https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/open-webui/
Prices checked: 2026-11-11 (Zekai Price Ledger)

The best Open WebUI alternatives in 2027 are ChatGPT (best overall), LobeHub (best free plan: 500,000 credits a month) and LibreChat (best open source, MIT). Open WebUI itself starts at $0. Zekai checked these prices on vendor pages on 11 Nov 2026; 6 more are compared below, including 1 with a free plan and 4 open source.

| Tool | Type | Starting price | Free plan limit | Licence | Best for | Price checked | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open WebUI (the tool being replaced) | — | $0 | Self-hosted; no plan limits stated | — | — | 2026-11-11 | [pricing](https://openwebui.com) |
| ChatGPT | Free | Free plan; paid price not published | Unlimited text chats, subject to abuse guardrails | — | Hosted assistant, no setup | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://chatgpt.com) [pricing](https://chatgpt.com/pricing) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/chatgpt/) |
| Chatbox | Free plan + paid | $3.99/mo | 10,000 compute points a day, 5 AI images | GPL-3.0 | Desktop and mobile client for your own keys | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://chatboxai.app) [pricing](https://chatboxai.app/en/pricing) [code](https://github.com/chatboxai/chatbox) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/chatbox/) |
| LobeHub | Free plan + paid | $18/mo billed yearly | 500,000 credits a month, 15 MB storage | Apache-2.0 | Hosted agent workspace with free credits | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://lobehub.com) [pricing](https://lobehub.com/pricing) [code](https://github.com/lobehub/lobe-chat) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/lobehub/) |
| LibreChat | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | MIT | MIT-licensed multi-provider chat platform | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://www.librechat.ai) [pricing](https://www.librechat.ai/) [code](https://github.com/LibreChat-AI/LibreChat) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/librechat/) |
| big-AGI | Open source | $9/mo (hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | MIT | Multi-model comparison workspace for experts | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://big-agi.com) [pricing](https://big-agi.com/) [code](https://github.com/enricoros/big-AGI) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/big-agi/) |
| AnythingLLM | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | MIT | Document chat with local models and agents | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://anythingllm.com) [pricing](https://anythingllm.com/) [code](https://github.com/Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/anythingllm/) |
| Jan | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | Apache-2.0 | Offline desktop chat with local models | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://github.com/janhq/jan) [pricing](https://github.com/janhq/jan) [code](https://github.com/janhq/jan) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/jan/) |
| Ollama | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | MIT | Model runner Open WebUI connects to | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://ollama.com) [pricing](https://github.com/ollama/ollama) [code](https://github.com/ollama/ollama) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/ollama/) |
| Poe | Paid | Not checked | No free plan | — | Hosted app giving many models and community bots | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://poe.com) [pricing](https://poe.com/about) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/poe/) |

## How each alternative compares with Open WebUI

- **ChatGPT** (Free, Free plan; paid price not published): ChatGPT is a hosted service with plans billed by OpenAI and no server to run; Open WebUI runs on your own machine and talks to models you choose. Switch if you want a hosted assistant with nothing to install, maintain or secure yourself. Stay with Open WebUI if you need your chats and documents to stay on infrastructure you control.
- **Chatbox** (Free plan + paid, $3.99/mo, checked 2026-11-11): Chatbox ships native Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android apps plus a web version, and sells optional Chatbox AI credits from $3.99 a month; Open WebUI is browser-only. Switch if you want a native desktop or phone app instead of hosting a web server. Stay with Open WebUI if you want one shared browser interface for several users with groups and roles.
- **LobeHub** (Free plan + paid, $18/mo billed yearly, checked 2026-11-11): LobeHub Cloud measures usage in credits and gives Free accounts 500,000 a month, with Plus at $18 a month billed yearly; its Apache-2.0 repo can also be self-hosted. Switch if you want a managed cloud workspace with a free monthly credit allowance and optional paid tiers. Stay with Open WebUI if you want no credit metering and a single install you fully administer.
- **LibreChat** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): LibreChat is MIT-licensed, while Open WebUI's current code sits under a licence that requires keeping its branding; LibreChat adds SSO through OAuth, SAML and LDAP. Switch if you need a plain MIT licence and OAuth, SAML or LDAP sign-in for your own deployment. Stay with Open WebUI if you want built-in Ollama integration, RAG with many vector databases and an arena for model evaluation.
- **big-AGI** (Open source, $9/mo (hosted), checked 2026-11-11): big-AGI sends one prompt to several models and fuses the answers, and charges $9 a month only for cloud sync and backup; the app itself is free with your own keys. Switch if you want to compare several models side by side and merge their answers in one view. Stay with Open WebUI if you want multi-user accounts, document retrieval and tool servers on your own server.
- **AnythingLLM** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): AnythingLLM runs as a single desktop download with its own local model engine, and its repo says multi-user mode, themes and the embed widget are Docker-only. Switch if you want a one-click desktop install that chats with your documents without running a server. Stay with Open WebUI if you want a web interface served to a team from one hosted deployment.
- **Jan** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): Jan is an Apache-2.0 desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux that runs models offline and exposes a local API on port 1337, with no browser server to host. Switch if you want an offline desktop chat app under Apache-2.0 and have no need for accounts. Stay with Open WebUI if you want several people to sign in to one shared web deployment.
- **Ollama** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): Ollama is the model runner Open WebUI usually connects to; it starts chats from the command line with ollama run and serves a REST API on port 11434. Switch if you only need to run models and chat from a terminal or script, with no web interface. Stay with Open WebUI if you want a browser chat interface with users, prompts and knowledge on top of your models.
- **Poe** (Paid, Not checked): Poe is a hosted app on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows and web that offers models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta and Mistral plus community bots; nothing is installed on a server. Switch if you want many providers' models and user-made bots in one hosted app with no setup. Stay with Open WebUI if you want to run the interface and its data on hardware you manage.

## Open-source options in detail

- **Chatbox** (https://github.com/chatboxai/chatbox): Licence: GPL-3.0
- **LobeHub** (https://github.com/lobehub/lobe-chat): Licence: Apache-2.0
- **LibreChat** (https://github.com/LibreChat-AI/LibreChat): Licence: MIT
- **big-AGI** (https://github.com/enricoros/big-AGI): Licence: MIT
- **AnythingLLM** (https://github.com/Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm): Licence: MIT
- **Jan** (https://github.com/janhq/jan): Licence: Apache-2.0
- **Ollama** (https://github.com/ollama/ollama): Licence: MIT

## Questions

### What is the best alternative to Open WebUI in 2027?
ChatGPT is the best overall Open WebUI alternative on this page (Free plan; paid price not published). For no cost, LobeHub has a free plan (500,000 credits a month, 15 MB storage). To self-host, LibreChat is open source (MIT).

### Is there a free version of Open WebUI?
Yes. Open WebUI has a free plan: Self-hosted; no plan limits stated. Paid plans start at $0, checked on 11 Nov 2026.

### Is there a 100% free alternative to Open WebUI?
Yes. LibreChat, big-AGI, AnythingLLM, Jan, Ollama are open source and free to self-host. ChatGPT, Chatbox, LobeHub have a free plan with limits, shown in the table.

### What is cheaper than Open WebUI?
Chatbox starts at $3.99/mo, against $0 for Open WebUI, as listed on each vendor's pricing page on 11 Nov 2026.

### How much do Open WebUI alternatives cost for a team of 5?
If each of 5 people buys the entry paid plan, at the prices Zekai checked on 11 Nov 2026, the monthly cost is Chatbox $19.95/mo, big-AGI $45/mo, LobeHub $90/mo. Team and business plans can cost more per seat. The Zekai Cost Finder on this page recalculates for any team size.

### Which is better, ChatGPT or Open WebUI?
ChatGPT is a hosted service with plans billed by OpenAI and no server to run; Open WebUI runs on your own machine and talks to models you choose. Choose ChatGPT if you want a hosted assistant with nothing to install, maintain or secure yourself. Stay with Open WebUI if you need your chats and documents to stay on infrastructure you control.

### Why are people leaving Open WebUI?
The documented reasons are: The repository README says current code is under the Open WebUI License, which requires preserving the Open WebUI branding, with earlier contributions under their original licences (11 Nov 2026); Enterprise capabilities such as SSO, RBAC, audit logs, data residency and air-gapped deployment are sold through the vendor's sales team rather than listed with a price (11 Nov 2026). Each is sourced in the section above.

### What is better than Open WebUI?
It depends on the job. LibreChat is the nearest self-hosted peer, AnythingLLM is simpler for documents on one desktop, and ChatGPT or LobeHub suit people who prefer a hosted service.

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Live table, team cost finder and price alerts: https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/open-webui/