LobeHub (formerly LobeChat) vs Open WebUI

Side by side, as alternatives to ChatGPT Plus. Rows that differ are highlighted; the strongest value in a row is marked. Unknown means no source yet.

Also replaces ChatGPT Plus: + Ollama + Odysseus + AnythingLLM + LibreChat + Jan + WeKnora

LobeHub (formerly LobeChat)lobehub/lobehub

Open WebUIopen-webui/open-webui

ChatGPT Pluspaid product

Cost and coverage

Price

$0 software; you run it

Plus $20/month; Pro from $100/month source ↗

Chat assistant

Partly

Yes

Chat with your documents

Partly

Yes

Web search answers

Partly

Yes

Jobs covered

1 of 3 jobs

3 of 3 jobs

All 3

Popularity and activity (from GitHub)

Stars

83,366

156,304Top

—

Gain this week

Unknown

—

Signal

Building history

—

Commits / 4 wk

1,103Top

814

—

Latest release

v2.2.20 · 2026-10-18Top

v0.12.3 · 2026-10-16

—

Commits / 12 wk

3,046

1,869

—

People committing / 12 mo

129+

140+

—

Issues opened / closed, 30 days

103 / 52

626 / 644

—

Facts, with sources on each project page

Runs on my machine?Differs

Yes, self-hosted via Docker; desktop app also available

Yes, self-hosted web app via pip or Docker; can run fully offline

Hosted by the vendor

Code licenceDiffers

LobeHub Community License (Apache-2.0 + conditions); not OSI-approved

Open WebUI License (BSD-3 style + branding clause); not OSI-approved

—

Model weights licenceDiffers

No bundled weights; licence depends on the model or API you connect

No bundled weights; licence depends on the model you connect

—

Commercial useDiffers

Unmodified commercial use OK; distributing derivatives needs a paid licence

Yes, but branding must stay above 50 users/30 days unless enterprise licence

—

Paid services needed?Differs

Self-host guide requires an OpenAI key; local Ollama documented as alternative

None required with local Ollama; paid APIs and Enterprise plan optional

Subscription

HardwareDiffers

Docker Compose self-hosting: minimum 2 CPU cores, 4 GB RAM, 20 GB storage; production 4+ cores, 8+ GB RAM, 50+ GB storage

GPU optional (CUDA image falls back to CPU); RAM not documented; depends on model

—

Operating systemsDiffers

Docker self-host; desktop app on Windows, macOS, some Linux distributions

macOS, Linux (x86_64, ARM64) and Windows (Docker via WSL)

—

Setup effortDiffers

Medium; setup script + docker compose, or one-click cloud deploy

Easy; pip install open-webui (Python 3.11) or one Docker command

—

Stars over time

Switch to Growth % to compare projects of different sizes fairly.

LobeHub (formerly LobeChat)
Open WebUI

Focus a point, use arrow keys, or tap for its value.

Tracked daily since 15 Oct 2026. Dashed history: estimated from public records of when people starred the repo. Lines connect observations only; gaps contain no measured points.

Growth % starts at each project's first observed point in the shown range. Zero-star starts are unavailable.

Notes for a video or post

A plain summary with today's date and a link to the sources. Check each project page before you publish.

LobeHub (formerly LobeChat) vs Open WebUI (as alternatives to ChatGPT Plus)
Figures from RepoQuarry, 21 Oct 2026. Sources: https://repoquarry.dev/compare?ids=lobehub,open-webui&product=chatgpt-plus

ChatGPT Plus: Plus $20/month; Pro from $100/month
LobeHub (formerly LobeChat): free software; does 1 of 3 ChatGPT Plus jobs
Open WebUI: free software; does 3 of 3 ChatGPT Plus jobs

- LobeHub (formerly LobeChat): 83,366 GitHub stars, 3,046 commits in 12 weeks, licence LobeHub Community License (Apache-2.0 + conditions); not OSI-approved
- Open WebUI: 156,304 GitHub stars, 1,869 commits in 12 weeks, licence Open WebUI License (BSD-3 style + branding clause); not OSI-approved

Where they differ:
- Runs on my machine?: LobeHub (formerly LobeChat) Yes, self-hosted via Docker; desktop app also available; Open WebUI Yes, self-hosted web app via pip or Docker; can run fully offline
- Code licence: LobeHub (formerly LobeChat) LobeHub Community License (Apache-2.0 + conditions); not OSI-approved; Open WebUI Open WebUI License (BSD-3 style + branding clause); not OSI-approved
- Model weights licence: LobeHub (formerly LobeChat) No bundled weights; licence depends on the model or API you connect; Open WebUI No bundled weights; licence depends on the model you connect
- Commercial use: LobeHub (formerly LobeChat) Unmodified commercial use OK; distributing derivatives needs a paid licence; Open WebUI Yes, but branding must stay above 50 users/30 days unless enterprise licence
- Paid services needed?: LobeHub (formerly LobeChat) Self-host guide requires an OpenAI key; local Ollama documented as alternative; Open WebUI None required with local Ollama; paid APIs and Enterprise plan optional
- Hardware: LobeHub (formerly LobeChat) Docker Compose self-hosting: minimum 2 CPU cores, 4 GB RAM, 20 GB storage; production 4+ cores, 8+ GB RAM, 50+ GB storage; Open WebUI GPU optional (CUDA image falls back to CPU); RAM not documented; depends on model
- Operating systems: LobeHub (formerly LobeChat) Docker self-host; desktop app on Windows, macOS, some Linux distributions; Open WebUI macOS, Linux (x86_64, ARM64) and Windows (Docker via WSL)
- Setup effort: LobeHub (formerly LobeChat) Medium; setup script + docker compose, or one-click cloud deploy; Open WebUI Easy; pip install open-webui (Python 3.11) or one Docker command

Stars show popularity, not quality. Check each project page before publishing.

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Numbers: GitHub, fetched nightly. Facts: read from each project's own documentation, with the source on its page. How we check. lobehub/lobehub ↗open-webui/open-webui ↗

LobeHub (formerly LobeChat) vs Open WebUI

Stars over time

Notes for a video or post

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