AI interface
Open sourceOpen WebUI for businesses
Open WebUI is a self-hosted chat interface for language models that can be operated like ChatGPT, but runs on its own servers and uses freely selectable models. We use Open WebUI to give teams a secure AI chat with access to internal documents – without company data ending up with US providers.
- Licence
- Open WebUI License (BSD-3 based)
- Operation
- Self-hosted in Germany or at your premises
- Official website
- openwebui.com
What we use Open WebUI for
AI chat for the whole team
Employees use language models in a familiar interface, with their own accounts and roles.
Questions for your own documents
Through knowledge collections, the chat answers questions based on your manuals, policies, and contracts.
Choose models freely
Open WebUI addresses locally operated models as well as OpenAI-compatible interfaces, such as the IONOS AI Model Hub or Mistral.
Templates for recurring tasks
Saved prompts and wizards make typical tasks such as summarizing or draft responses one click.
Why Open WebUI?
No data leakage
Inputs and documents remain on your infrastructure if the model is also running there or in Germany.
No costs per capita
Instead of licenses per user, you pay for operation and model use.
User management
Roles, groups and shares determine who is allowed to use which models and knowledge collections.
Manufacturer-independent
The language model can be exchanged without changing anything for the team in terms of operation.
What we take care of with Open WebUI
- Setting up Open WebUI on a server in Germany or at your premises
- Selection and connection of suitable language models
- Build knowledge collections from your documents
- Users, roles, and login (e.g., through your existing account system)
- Training for safe and effective use in a team
Implementation and consulting can often be subsidised through German BAFA or INQA funding.
What it is not meant for
Open WebUI is the interface, not the model: How good the answers are depends on the connected language model and the quality of the documents. Since version 0.6.6, a license with a branding clause applies: The Open WebUI branding may only be removed with an enterprise license if there are more than 50 users.
Frequently asked questions about Open WebUI
Is Open WebUI an alternative to ChatGPT?
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For use in the company, yes: The operation is very similar, but the interface and data are stored on your servers, and you choose the language model yourself.
What models can Open WebUI use?
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Locally operated open-weight models, for example via Ollama, as well as models behind OpenAI-compatible interfaces such as the IONOS AI Model Hub or the Mistral API.
Is Open WebUI free?
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The software is free to use. Costs are incurred for servers, setup and the use of the language models. If you want to change the branding for more than 50 users, you need an Enterprise license.
Can Open WebUI answer questions about our documents?
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Yes. Documents can be uploaded to knowledge collections; the chat searches for suitable text passages and responds on the basis of them (retrieval-augmented generation).
Go deeper
- AI consultancy
- AI training for businesses
- Open WebUI with Company Knowledge: How to Set Up a Knowledge Base
- Open WebUI in the team: users, groups, rights and single sign-on
- How much does it cost to have your own ChatGPT for your company?
- Open WebUI: The ChatGPT alternative for your team – on your own servers
- Local AI vs. ChatGPT & Co.: A comparison of data protection, costs and performance
- In-house knowledge as a chatbot: How to build a smart knowledge base for your team
- RAG explained simply: How AI answers with your own documents
Works together with
Product names and logos mentioned are trademarks of their respective owners. bettersorted uses this software and operates it for clients; there is no official partnership.
A 30-minute conversation, free of charge.
A 30-minute consultation, free of charge. We’ll take a look at your processes and give you our honest opinion on whether automation is worthwhile.