Open WebUI, LibreChat, AnythingLLM & Co. Compared 2026

Have an AI chat platform operated in Germany? WZ-IT takes over hosting and operations for Open WebUI, LibreChat, AnythingLLM, LobeChat, Onyx and PrivateGPT: updates, backups, monitoring and the connection to models. Open WebUI is also available as an AI platform with a Section 203 supplementary agreement. Book an initial consultation

Six open-source platforms are widely used for AI chat in the enterprise: Open WebUI, LibreChat, AnythingLLM, LobeHub, Onyx and PrivateGPT. They solve different tasks but look similar at first glance: an interface with language models and documents behind it. The difference lies in license, sign-in, permissions, knowledge base and operation.

This article compares the six platforms by these criteria and answers when switching away from Open WebUI is worthwhile. All figures come from the GitHub API, license files and vendor documentation as of 21 October 2026. Detailed comparisons of individual pairings are linked at the end.

Table of contents

1. Short answer
2. The six platforms in one sentence
3. Basic data at a glance
4. License and open-source status
5. Open WebUI alternatives: when switching makes sense
6. Operation and architecture
7. Sign-in, SSO and permissions
8. Knowledge base and connectors
9. Models, agents and MCP
10. Telemetry and data flow
11. Security advisories of the last twelve months
12. Vendor, support and cost
13. Which platform for which use
14. Out of scope: workflow builders
15. Common misconceptions
16. Data and methodology
17. How WZ-IT works
18. Further guides
19. Sources

Short answer

Rule of thumb: Open WebUI as the central platform for many users, LibreChat for free branding and native connection of large providers, AnythingLLM for getting started via desktop app, Onyx for search across business systems with document permissions, LobeHub and PrivateGPT for teams that reuse the agent platform or the API respectively.

The six platforms in one sentence

• Open WebUI: Chat interface with groups, access rights, hybrid RAG and broad sign-in options, originally created for Ollama.
• LibreChat: Multi-provider chat with Agent Builder, MCP and native clients for Anthropic, Bedrock and Vertex AI; acquisition by ClickHouse announced in November 2025.
• AnythingLLM: Chat with documents and agents as a desktop app for individuals and as a Docker server for small teams.
• LobeHub (formerly LobeChat): Chat and agent platform with skill store, under its new name since version 2.0.
• Onyx (formerly Danswer): Enterprise search with connectors to business systems, chat, agents and permission sync.
• PrivateGPT: RAG service as an API layer following the Claude Messages schema; the interface is a demonstrator.

Basic data at a glance

On versions: GitHub marks all LibreChat releases as pre-release; the latest non-RC tag is treated as current. Alongside 4.9.2, Onyx publishes the pre-release 5.0.0-beta.2 (20 October 2026). PrivateGPT has only 11 commits on the main branch between September 2024 and May 2026; version 1.0.0 of 3 June 2026 is a rewrite.

License and open-source status

GitHub shows no standard license for Open WebUI, LobeHub and Onyx (NOASSERTION, "Other"). For LobeHub, the README badge shows Apache 2.0; the license text contains the additional terms. The history: LobeHub changed from MIT (2023) to Apache 2.0 with additional terms (17 June 2024) and renamed the license on 21 September 2025; Open WebUI changed from MIT via BSD-3-Clause to the Open WebUI License. The series of license changes in the industry is covered in the chronicle of open-source license changes, the branding clause of Open WebUI in the article Open WebUI License and Branding.

Open WebUI alternatives: when switching makes sense

For the detailed comparisons: Open WebUI vs LibreChat, Open WebUI vs AnythingLLM and Open WebUI vs Onyx.

Operation and architecture

None of the platforms runs language models itself by default; exceptions are the bundled Ollama image of Open WebUI and the built-in engine of AnythingLLM (desktop; optional in Docker from the release after 1.18.0). Embedding, reranking and Whisper models run locally in Open WebUI (CPU by default, GPU with the :cuda image); Onyx runs model servers for embeddings. GPU sizing for language models depends on the model server, not on the interface.

Sign-in, SSO and permissions

For Onyx, the vendor statements contradicted each other (documentation: one SSO provider on every plan; enterprise page and pricing page: OIDC and SAML as an Enterprise feature); according to the source code, one provider is usable without a license, while several simultaneous providers require Business and SCIM requires Enterprise. "Not described" means that the documentation does not mention the feature.

Knowledge base and connectors

The connector count of Onyx varies by source (40+ on the pricing page, 50+ in the README, 56 tiles in the docs overview). For sources with file permissions, the permission check belongs before the vector search; how this works with Nextcloud is shown in Connecting Open WebUI to Nextcloud.

Models, agents and MCP

The code execution of LobeHub runs by default in a sandbox of the vendor (market.lobehub.com); a self-operated service (Onlyboxes) is the alternative. In Open WebUI, Pyodide is now considered legacy; Open Terminal is recommended.

Telemetry and data flow

Security advisories of the last twelve months

Published GitHub security advisories from 21 October 2025 to 21 October 2026:

The number says nothing about the quality of a project. It shows how much was reported and published, and depends on size, attack surface and reporting culture; the public PrivateGPT repository shows hardly any changes between September 2024 and May 2026 (11 commits on the main branch). For all of them: apply updates promptly, release MCP servers and tools to administrators only, and do not expose the instance to the internet without sign-in.

Vendor, support and cost

Vendor prices: as of 21 October 2026, in US dollars according to the pricing pages. The operating costs of self-hosted platforms arise from hosting, updates, backups, monitoring and the connection of the models.

Which platform for which use

Out of scope: workflow builders

Dify, Flowise, Langflow and n8n do not belong in this comparison. They build workflows and agents instead of providing employees with a chat interface. License and hosting for third parties differ greatly there: Flowise has been archived since August 2026, n8n is under the Sustainable Use License. The comparison is provided by Dify, Flowise, Langflow, n8n compared.

Common misconceptions

• "Open WebUI, LibreChat and AnythingLLM are all MIT." No. Only LibreChat and AnythingLLM (for AnythingLLM, the repository, source code and Docker version; the desktop app has its own terms of use). Open WebUI is under the Open WebUI License with a branding clause.
• "LobeChat no longer exists." The project has been called LobeHub since version 2.0; the old repository redirects.
• "PrivateGPT is the simple chat app with your own documents." That corresponds to version 0.6.2. Version 1.0 is an API layer.
• "Onyx is entirely MIT." Only outside the ee directories. Permission sync, SCIM and custom groups are in the Enterprise edition (license part ee).
• "Self-hosted means no connection to the outside." Open WebUI checks for updates; AnythingLLM and Onyx send telemetry until this is switched off.
• "More GitHub stars means better for enterprises." The stars differ by a factor of five (Open WebUI 156,400, Onyx 32,700) and say nothing about sign-in, permissions or license.

Data and methodology

As of: 21 October 2026. The data basis is the GitHub API (license, version, stars, published security advisories), the LICENSE files and individual source files of the repositories, and the vendors' documentation. Stars are rounded and change daily. "Not described" and "not found" mean that documentation and repository structure do not mention the feature; the function may exist in the code. The LobeHub documentation website was not complete when retrieved; the information comes from the documentation source files in the repository. The advisories cover the period from 21 October 2025 to 21 October 2026. Contradictions in the vendor statements (Onyx: SSO plan, resolved by the source code, and connector count; Open WebUI: number of vector databases) are noted.

Tables and figures may be reused with attribution and a link to this article.

How WZ-IT works

WZ-IT runs Open WebUI, LibreChat, AnythingLLM, LobeChat, Onyx and PrivateGPT as a hosting and operations offering in Germany: application, databases, proxy, updates, monitoring and backup, with technically secured credentials and model endpoints. The customer decides which models, user groups and data sources are permitted. Open WebUI runs with visible original branding and is available as an AI platform with models operated in Germany by German providers, SSO and a Section 203 supplementary agreement from EUR 149.90 net per month; we clarify license questions on number of users and branding before rollout. For Onyx, WZ-IT operates the freely licensed edition (MIT outside the ee directories); features under the ee directories are not part of the offering, and we support the procurement of a vendor license on request. For operation in your own network, the platform is available on the App Node and, with its own GPU, on the AI Cube. Models from Germany are provided by LLM hosting.

Further guides

• Open WebUI vs LibreChat
• Open WebUI vs AnythingLLM
• LibreChat vs AnythingLLM
• Open WebUI vs Onyx
• Dify, Flowise, Langflow, n8n compared, the workflow and agent builders.
• Open WebUI License and Branding
• AI platforms for businesses compared, hosted offerings by GDPR and Section 203.
• AI agent frameworks compared

Choose an AI chat platform or have it operated? We assess the number of users, sign-in, sources and models and run the platforms in Germany. Book an appointment

Sources

• Open WebUI, repository and LICENSE
• Open WebUI Docs, License
• Open WebUI Docs, Single Sign-On
• Open WebUI Docs, Scaling
• Open WebUI Docs, Docker Compose
• LibreChat, repository and LICENSE
• LibreChat Docs, Docker
• LibreChat Docs, Access control
• LibreChat Docs, Environment variables
• LibreChat, Changelog 0.8.7
• LibreChat, admin audit log (source code)
• ClickHouse, acquisition of LibreChat
• ClickHouse, AI and Agentic Data Stack
• AnythingLLM, repository and LICENSE
• AnythingLLM Docs, Security and access
• AnythingLLM Docs, Terms of use of the desktop app
• AnythingLLM Docs, Simple SSO Passthrough
• AnythingLLM Docs, Built-in LLM in Docker
• AnythingLLM, Cloud and pricing
• LobeHub, repository and LICENSE
• LobeHub, Self-hosting
• LobeHub Docs, Agent connectors
• LobeHub, Release 2.0.0
• LobeHub, Pricing
• Onyx, repository and LICENSE
• Onyx Docs, Resourcing
• Onyx Docs, SSO providers
• Onyx Docs, Enterprise Edition
• Onyx Docs, Connectors overview
• Onyx, Fleet Telemetry
• Onyx, SSO configuration (source code)
• Onyx, env.template for Docker Compose
• Onyx, Pricing
• PrivateGPT, repository and LICENSE
• PrivateGPT Docs, Installation with Docker
• PrivateGPT Docs, API reference
• PrivateGPT, primitives service (source code)
• PrivateGPT, OpenAPI schema
• Open WebUI, Security Advisories
• LibreChat, Security Advisories
• AnythingLLM, Security Advisories
• LobeHub, Security Advisories
• Onyx, Security Advisories
• PrivateGPT, Security Advisories