Open WebUI & ChatGPT
Last updated: May 2026
ChatGPT by OpenAI introduced hundreds of millions of people to AI and set the bar for what a conversational AI experience should feel like. We use it daily. GPT-5.5, the o-series reasoning models, and the constant pace of innovation have kept it at the forefront, and honestly, it keeps pushing us to make Open WebUI better too.
Commercial ยท Free tier available
What ChatGPT Does Wellโ
- Frontier models including GPT-5.5, o3, and the o-series reasoning models
- Canvas for collaborative document and code editing inside conversations
- Projects for organizing conversations with persistent context and custom instructions
- Deep research that synthesizes information across multiple sources into comprehensive reports
- Refined experience from years of iteration on the interface
- GPT Store with an ecosystem of custom GPTs built by the community
- Multimodal with vision, voice, image generation (DALL-E), and code execution
- Memory that remembers context across conversations
- Operator for agentic web browsing and task automation
- Enterprise tier with SSO, admin controls, and data privacy commitments
- Zero setup where you sign up and start, no installation needed
What Open WebUI Does Wellโ
- Self-hosted so the platform itself runs on your hardware
- Any model, any provider so you can use GPT-5.5 and Claude and Gemini and local models all in one interface
- Knowledge & RAG for building knowledge bases from your documents with advanced retrieval
- Python extensibility with custom tools, MCP servers, pipelines, and community extensions
- Team platform with Channels, Notes, Automations, RBAC, SSO/OIDC/LDAP, and SCIM 2.0
- Open Terminal providing a full sandboxed computing environment
- Free community edition for unlimited users on your own infrastructure
At a Glanceโ
| Open WebUI | ChatGPT | |
|---|---|---|
| Models | Any model from any provider | OpenAI models (GPT-5.5, o-series) |
| Data | Self-hosted, your infrastructure | Cloud-hosted by OpenAI |
| Knowledge & RAG | 9 vector DBs, 5 extraction engines, hybrid search | File upload with in-chat context |
| Custom agents | Model agents with tools, knowledge, and parameters | Custom GPTs via GPT Store |
| Code execution | Python in-browser + Open Terminal | Built-in code interpreter |
| Extensibility | Python tools, MCP, OpenAPI, pipelines | GPT Actions and plugins |
| Pricing | Free community edition; Enterprise plans available | Free tier, Plus, Team, and Enterprise plans |
When to Use Eachโ
Choose ChatGPT if you want the simplest possible path to frontier AI. No installation, no configuration, just sign up and start. The native experience with Canvas, Projects, and deep research features is polished and constantly improving.
Choose Open WebUI if you want to run on your own infrastructure, connect to multiple providers in one interface, build knowledge bases from your documents, or need team features like RBAC and SSO included in the free community edition.
Use both. Many people do. Connect Open WebUI to the OpenAI API and use GPT-5.5 alongside Claude, Gemini, and local models, all in one place. Use ChatGPT directly when you want Canvas or deep research, and Open WebUI when you need your own knowledge bases or team workspace.
Use OpenAI Models Through Open WebUIโ
Open WebUI connects to the OpenAI API, so all of OpenAI's models are available alongside Open WebUI's knowledge management, tools, and team features.
How to connect:
- Get an API key from platform.openai.com
- In Open WebUI, go to Admin โ Settings โ Connections
- Add a new OpenAI connection with your API key
- OpenAI models will appear in your model selector
Many users run OpenAI models for complex reasoning alongside local models via Ollama for privacy-sensitive tasks, all in the same interface.
ChatGPT brought AI to the world. Open WebUI is one way to use those same models on your own infrastructure.
Ready to try Open WebUI? Get started โ
Frequently Asked Questionsโ
Can I self-host ChatGPT? Not ChatGPT itself, but Open WebUI connects to the OpenAI API so you can use the same models. Open WebUI runs on your infrastructure, though API calls still go to OpenAI.
Can I use OpenAI models in Open WebUI? Yes. Add your OpenAI API key in Settings and all OpenAI models appear in the model selector.
Is Open WebUI a ChatGPT alternative? Open WebUI can connect to the OpenAI API, so you can use the same models. Open WebUI runs on your own infrastructure, though API calls still go to the provider. It also supports connecting to other providers.
Can I use ChatGPT and local models together? Yes. Many users run OpenAI for complex reasoning alongside local models via Ollama for privacy-sensitive tasks, all in the same Open WebUI interface.
Related: Open WebUI & Claude ยท Open WebUI & Gemini ยท Open WebUI & Ollama