Open WebUI & Onyx
Last updated: May 2026
Onyx (formerly Danswer) focuses on a specific and important problem: connecting AI to your organization's internal knowledge across Slack, Google Drive, Confluence, Jira, GitHub, and dozens of other tools, with permission-aware retrieval. If your team's knowledge is scattered across 40+ tools and you need AI to search across all of them while respecting access controls, that's Onyx's sweet spot.
GitHub ยท Source Available (MIT core + Onyx Enterprise License for ee/ directories) ยท Self-Host Terms
What Onyx Does Wellโ
- 40+ enterprise connectors with native integrations for Slack, Google Drive, Confluence, Jira, GitHub, Notion, and more
- Automatic syncing that keeps connected sources up to date without manual re-ingestion
- Permission-aware retrieval that respects source system access controls when returning search results
- Enterprise search purpose-built for searching across your organization's internal knowledge
- Multi-surface access via web app, Slack bot, Discord bot, Chrome extension, and CLI
- Managed cloud option for teams that don't want to self-host
- Custom agents with actions for building AI assistants that can take actions across connected tools
- Active development with frequent releases and community responsiveness
What Open WebUI Does Wellโ
- Full AI platform with Chat, Notes, Channels, Automations, Open Terminal, voice/video calls, and image generation
- Deploy anywhere on your own infrastructure, fully air-gapped if needed
- Free community edition with unlimited users, SSO/OIDC/LDAP, RBAC, and SCIM 2.0 included
- Any model, any provider including Ollama, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Azure, Bedrock, and any OpenAI-compatible API
- Knowledge & RAG with 9 vector databases, 5 extraction engines, and hybrid BM25 + vector search with cross-encoder reranking
- Python extensibility with custom tools, MCP servers, OpenAPI integration, pipelines, and a community marketplace
At a Glanceโ
| Open WebUI | Onyx | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary focus | General-purpose AI platform | Enterprise search and knowledge discovery |
| Knowledge approach | Document upload, knowledge bases, 9 vector DBs, 5 extraction engines | 40+ enterprise connectors with automatic syncing |
| Permission handling | RBAC, groups, per-resource access controls | Permission-aware retrieval from source systems |
| Multi-provider | Any OpenAI-compatible API + Ollama | Multiple LLM provider support |
| Extensibility | Python tools, MCP, OpenAPI, pipelines | Focused on connector and search ecosystem |
| Collaboration | Channels, Notes, shared conversations | AI-powered search and Q&A |
| License | Open WebUI License | Source Available (MIT core + Onyx Enterprise License for ee/); see self-host terms |
| Pricing | Free community edition; Enterprise plans available | Free (self-hosted community), Cloud, and Enterprise plans |
When to Use Eachโ
Choose Onyx if you want to connect AI to your organization's existing tools. If your team's knowledge lives in Slack, Confluence, Jira, Google Drive, and GitHub, Onyx's 40+ connectors with automatic syncing and permission-aware retrieval were built for that.
Choose Open WebUI if you need a general-purpose AI platform with chat, knowledge bases, team collaboration, Python extensibility, and support for any model provider. Open WebUI includes SSO, RBAC, and SCIM in the free community edition.
They solve different problems. Onyx excels at enterprise search and connecting AI to your existing tools. Open WebUI excels as a general AI platform. Many organizations could use both.
Onyx connects AI to your enterprise knowledge. Open WebUI comes at it from a more general angle. They solve different problems, and many organizations could benefit from both.
Ready to try Open WebUI? Get started โ
Frequently Asked Questionsโ
How do Onyx and Open WebUI compare? Onyx leans into enterprise search with 40+ connectors and permission-aware retrieval. Open WebUI comes at it from a more general angle with chat, knowledge bases, team collaboration, and extensibility. Different tools for different needs.
Is Onyx open source? Onyx's core is MIT licensed. Enterprise features are under a separate Onyx Enterprise License. Additional self-host terms may also apply.
Is Onyx free? The community edition is free to self-host. Additional self-host terms may apply. Onyx Cloud and Enterprise plans are available for teams that want managed hosting or additional features.
Can I use both Onyx and Open WebUI? Yes. They solve different problems. Onyx connects AI to your existing enterprise tools. Open WebUI also has knowledge management, team features, and extensibility built in.
Which is better for enterprise AI deployment? It depends on your needs. If your priority is searching across internal tools with permission-aware retrieval, Onyx was built for that. If you need more of a general-purpose AI platform that you can deploy on your own infrastructure, with SSO, RBAC, and SCIM included in the free edition, that is more where Open WebUI fits.
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