Try Open WebUI
Overview
Open WebUI is what most local-AI tools are not: built for more than one person. It is a self-hosted platform you deploy on your own server, with user accounts, role-based access control and administration — the pieces that turn a personal local model into something an organisation can actually run. For teams that want a private ChatGPT rather than an individual private chat, this is the reference implementation.
It is backend-agnostic, which is its second strength. Point it at local models through Ollama or vLLM, at hosted APIs, or at both simultaneously with different models available to different user groups. A team can run a confidential local model for sensitive work and a frontier hosted model for everything else, behind one interface with one access policy.
The RAG layer is included rather than sold separately: upload internal documents, and users query them through the same interface. It is not the most sophisticated retrieval stack available, but it is present, self-hosted and adequate for the common case of making a team's own documents queryable without a vendor holding them.
Key Features
Multi-User with RBAC
Accounts, groups and role-based access control — the difference between a personal tool and something an organisation can deploy.
Backend-Agnostic
Works with Ollama, vLLM, OpenAI-compatible endpoints and hosted APIs, including several at once with per-group access.
Built-In RAG
Upload internal documents and query them through the same interface, entirely on your own infrastructure.
Docker Deployment
A single container gets you running, which keeps the barrier low for a team without dedicated platform engineers.
Open Source
Auditable and self-hostable, with a large and active community behind it.
Data Stays on Your Infrastructure
Conversations, documents and user data live on your server. Nothing is shared with a vendor by default.
Pros & Cons
Advantages
- The best self-hosted multi-user AI platform available, free
- Works with any model backend, local or hosted, simultaneously
- Built-in RAG covers the common internal-documents use case
- Docker deployment is genuinely straightforward
- Active community and frequent releases
Disadvantages
- You own the deployment: updates, backups, scaling, security
- RAG is adequate rather than best-in-class
- No commercial support contract to fall back on
- Quality depends entirely on the backend model you configure
Pricing Plans
| Plan | Price | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Open Source | Free | Full platform, self-hosted, unlimited users |
Best Use Cases
Open WebUI Excels At:
- Teams that need private AI but cannot use hosted enterprise plans
- Regulated organisations keeping conversations on their own infrastructure
- Mixing local and hosted models under one access policy
- Making internal documentation queryable without a vendor
May Not Be Ideal For:
- Organisations without anyone to operate a server
- Teams that need a support contract and an SLA
- Use cases requiring sophisticated retrieval tuning
How It Compares
Open WebUI vs ChatGPT Enterprise
ChatGPT Enterprise gives you frontier models and a vendor to call; Open WebUI gives you complete data control and costs nothing. For organisations where data residency is the binding constraint rather than model quality, it is not a close comparison.
Open WebUI vs AnythingLLM
Both self-host and both do RAG. AnythingLLM is more focused on the document workspace experience; Open WebUI is stronger on multi-user administration and backend flexibility.
Final Verdict
Our Recommendation
Open WebUI is the answer for organisations that need private AI for a team rather than a person. Multi-user accounts, RBAC and backend flexibility are the features that matter at that scale, and it has all three without a licence fee. The catch is the usual self-hosting catch: you own updates, backups, security and the pager. If you have someone who can run a Docker service competently, this replaces a five-figure enterprise subscription with a server. If you do not, buy the subscription.