LobeChat
Beautifully designed chat UI with plugins and image generation.
Open SourceCPU-capable
Actually FreeNo SignupOpen SourceWatermark-Free
Open WebUI
Self-hosted ChatGPT-style frontend for Ollama / OpenAI.
Open Sourcevia ollamaSelf-hosted server
Actually FreeNo SignupOpen SourceWatermark-FreeHobbyist-FriendlyAPIPlugin
Requires: Ollama
Visit Open WebUIUpdated 2026-05-19 · Direct link
Hardware requirements
Self-hosted server · Entry GPU (6–8 GB)
Min VRAM
None
Rec. VRAM
8 GB
Min RAM
8 GB
Rec. RAM
16 GB
Disk
10 GB
GPU class
Entry GPU
Apple Silicon ✓CPU-Capable
The UI itself is CPU-only; GPU requirement comes from your Ollama backend.
Screenshot placeholder · Open WebUI
What is Open WebUI?
Open WebUI (formerly Ollama WebUI) is the canonical self-hosted ChatGPT clone. Drops in front of Ollama or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint and adds multi-user auth, RAG over uploaded docs, tools/functions, model management, and a clean responsive UI. The standard answer to 'how do I share my Ollama box with my team?'
Pros & cons
Pros
- One Docker command and you have a multi-user ChatGPT clone
- Built-in RAG with re-rankers and document chunking
- Plug-in 'tools' system for function calling
- OpenAI-compatible — works with any provider
Cons
- Self-hosting only; no managed cloud offering
- Docker is the supported path — bare-metal install is rougher
What's actually free?
BSD-3 — fully free for self-hosting.
✓ Actually FreeNo SignupOpen SourceWatermark-Free
Alternatives
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Jan
Open-source ChatGPT desktop — runs models locally or via API.
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