Three ways to put a ChatGPT-style interface on your local models, compared on what their docs say, including the licence clause that matters once you're past 50 users.
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Once you've got models running in Ollama, the next question is what to chat with them through. These three are the names that keep coming up, and people search "Open WebUI vs" each of the others. I compared them on what each project documents, including the one detail most comparisons skip: the licence. That matters the moment you're choosing for a team or a company rather than your own laptop.
Three front-ends for the same local models. The licence is where they differ most. · Illustration generated with Higgsfield
Side by side, from their own docs
Open WebUI vs LibreChat vs AnythingLLM (25 Sep 2026)
Licence (LICENSE file)
Open WebUI
Open WebUI License (BSD-style + branding clause)
LibreChat
MIT
AnythingLLM
MIT
Version
Open WebUI
v0.11.4
LibreChat
v0.8.8-rc4 (tag)
AnythingLLM
v1.16.2
Ollama
Open WebUI
Yes, plus OpenAI-compatible APIs
LibreChat
Yes, among many providers
AnythingLLM
Yes (chat models)
Install
Open WebUI
pip, uv, Docker, Kubernetes
LibreChat
Docker Compose
AnythingLLM
Desktop app (Mac/Win/Linux) or Docker
Multi-user & auth
Open WebUI
RBAC, groups, LDAP/AD, SSO, SCIM 2.0
LibreChat
OAuth2, LDAP, email login
AnythingLLM
Multi-user + permissions (Docker only)
RAG
Open WebUI
9 vector DBs, hybrid search, reranking
LibreChat
Via separate RAG API
AnythingLLM
Built-in vector DB & document pipelines
Agents & tools
Open WebUI
Tools, Pipes, MCP, OpenAPI servers
LibreChat
Agents, MCP, Skills, subagents, code interpreter
AnythingLLM
Agents, no-code agent builder, MCP
Open WebUI
LibreChat
AnythingLLM
Licence (LICENSE file)
Open WebUI License (BSD-style + branding clause)
MIT
MIT
Version
v0.11.4
v0.8.8-rc4 (tag)
v1.16.2
Ollama
Yes, plus OpenAI-compatible APIs
Yes, among many providers
Yes (chat models)
Install
pip, uv, Docker, Kubernetes
Docker Compose
Desktop app (Mac/Win/Linux) or Docker
Multi-user & auth
RBAC, groups, LDAP/AD, SSO, SCIM 2.0
OAuth2, LDAP, email login
Multi-user + permissions (Docker only)
RAG
9 vector DBs, hybrid search, reranking
Via separate RAG API
Built-in vector DB & document pipelines
Agents & tools
Tools, Pipes, MCP, OpenAPI servers
Agents, MCP, Skills, subagents, code interpreter
Agents, no-code agent builder, MCP
From the READMEs: Open WebUI lists "Granular RBAC & User Groups", "Full LDAP/Active Directory integration, SSO… and SCIM 2.0", and RAG "backed by 9 vector databases". LibreChat lists "Multi-User, Secure Authentication with OAuth2, LDAP, & Email Login Support", its Agents platform, and a separate RAG API. AnythingLLM offers a desktop download and lists "Multi-user instance support and permissioning", marked Docker version only.
The licence is the real difference
LibreChat and AnythingLLM are MIT-licensed: use, modify and rebrand them freely, keeping the copyright notice. Open WebUI's LICENSE (last changed in commit 26a645f9e649, 14 Apr 2026) is a BSD-style licence with a fourth clause. It prohibits altering or removing "Open WebUI" branding in any deployment, except where "the total number of end users… does not exceed fifty (50) within any rolling thirty (30) day period," with written permission, or with an enterprise licence. The clause was added in commit 60d84a3aae98 on 18 Apr 2025. The full text and what it means in practice are in the Open WebUI licence, explained.
Which to pick
Just you, on one machine, simplest start: AnythingLLM's desktop app. Download it, point it at Ollama, and chat with your documents.
A team, and you want the most built-in features: Open WebUI. It has RBAC, LDAP/SSO and SCIM for identity, and RAG out of the box. On our plain reading, the branding clause only comes into play if you want to rebrand it for more than 50 users. The rest of the licence and your counsel still apply.
A team, and you want a permissive licence or to white-label it: LibreChat (MIT), or AnythingLLM's Docker edition (MIT).
You're mainly after agents and many providers in one place: LibreChat's agents, MCP and Skills are its centre of gravity.
Hosting it for a team rather than on your laptop? Any of these can sit in front of Ollama on a shared GPU box. If nobody on the team has a card big enough, you can rent one and run the whole stack there. Our Docker guide for local AI covers the Ollama + Open WebUI setup.
Its code is public, but it isn't under a standard open-source licence. Its LICENSE (read 25 Sep 2026) is a BSD-style "Open WebUI License" with a clause prohibiting removal of Open WebUI branding in deployments above 50 end users in a rolling 30 days, unless you have written permission or an enterprise licence. Code from before commit 60d84a3 (April 2025) remains under the earlier BSD-3 terms, per its LICENSE_HISTORY file.
Open WebUI or LibreChat?
Open WebUI documents more built-in team features (RBAC, LDAP/SSO, SCIM, RAG with 9 vector databases). LibreChat is MIT-licensed and centred on multi-provider chat and agents. If you need to rebrand for a large user base, LibreChat's MIT licence avoids Open WebUI's branding clause.
Open WebUI or AnythingLLM?
AnythingLLM is the simpler start, with a desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux and an MIT licence. Its multi-user mode is Docker-only. Open WebUI is server-first, with deeper team and identity features.
Do they all work with Ollama?
Yes. All three list Ollama support in their READMEs, alongside OpenAI-compatible and other cloud providers.
