LibreChat & Open WebUI: Self-Hosted ChatGPT Alternatives

You don't need a ChatGPT subscription to get a premium AI chat experience. LibreChat and Open WebUI are two excellent open-source alternatives that run entirely on your infrastructure, connect to multiple LLM providers (local and cloud), and offer features that ChatGPT doesn't — like custom system prompts, API key management, and multi-user support.

Open WebUI

Open WebUI (formerly Ollama WebUI) provides a polished, ChatGPT-like interface designed specifically for Ollama integration. It supports chat history, model switching, document upload for RAG, image generation, and even voice input. The UI is responsive and works great on mobile. better-openclaw includes Open WebUI in the AI Playground preset, pre-connected to Ollama.

LibreChat

LibreChat is a more feature-rich alternative that supports multiple AI providers simultaneously — OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Azure, and local Ollama models. It includes conversation branching (fork a conversation to try different approaches), plugins, and an admin panel for managing users and API keys. It requires MongoDB as a backing database.

Which Should You Choose?

Use Open WebUI if you primarily use local models with Ollama and want the simplest setup. Use LibreChat if you need multi-provider support, user management, or advanced features like conversation branching. Both are available as one-click services in better-openclaw, with all dependencies automatically resolved.

Connecting to LLMs

Both tools support the OpenAI API format, meaning they can connect to any compatible backend. Point them at your local Ollama instance for free, private inference, or configure cloud API keys for premium models. Use LiteLLM (included in better-openclaw) as a unified proxy that routes requests to the optimal provider based on model availability and cost.