Big-AGI vs Open WebUI

Big-AGI

• People with API keys for several providers who compare answers
• Checking an important answer across models before acting on it
• Self-hosters and IT teams that want an MIT-licensed chat interface

Open WebUI

• Teams that want a chat interface running on their own infrastructure
• Using local models from Ollama through a browser interface
• Organizations that need SSO, roles and on-premises or air-gapped deployment

Big-AGI

• No model access is included: every tier needs your own API keys, and each provider bills usage directly.
• Cloud backup and multi-device sync are Pro features. On Free and Open, chats stay in the browser on one device.
• It runs in the browser and installs as a web app; the site lists no native desktop or mobile apps.
• Team management and SLA guarantees are offered only through a custom Business plan with no public price.

Open WebUI

• There is no hosted service: you install and run it yourself with Docker, pip or Kubernetes, and supply your own models or provider API keys.
• Since v0.6.6 the license is not OSI-approved open source: deployments with more than 50 users must keep the Open WebUI branding unless they hold an enterprise license.
• The desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux is labeled early alpha, and the docs point production deployments to Docker or Python.
• Enterprise license prices are not published, and licenses are sold only to registered organizations, not individuals.

Big-AGI

Beam and Merge

Beam sends one prompt to between 2 and 24 models in parallel, each answering without seeing the others. Merge then fuses the replies into one answer with built-in or custom merge prompts.

Your own keys for 30+ services

Connects directly to OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Mistral, DeepSeek, OpenRouter, Azure and AWS Bedrock, and to local servers such as Ollama and LM Studio, with no markup on usage.

Precise model controls

Effort, temperature, verbosity, reasoning budget, search and tools can be set per request or per persona across more than 800 models.

Personas

A persona carries its own instructions, attached documents and images, memory, a fixed model with parameters, and a voice, so a role can be reused across chats.

AI Inspector

Shows the exact request leaving the browser, including the model, parameters, tokens and cost, both before and after it runs.

Local-first with optional sync

Chats and settings stay in the browser by default. Pro adds cloud backup and sync of chats and personas across devices.

Open WebUI

Any model in one interface

Chats with Ollama, OpenAI, Anthropic or any OpenAI-compatible provider. You can switch models mid-conversation or run two side by side to compare their answers.

Knowledge bases and RAG

Upload files and build knowledge bases searched with hybrid BM25 and vector search, or inject whole documents. The docs list 13 vector databases and 8 extraction engines.

Web search and code execution

Models can search the web and cite sources, and run Python in the browser or through Open Terminal, which gives the model a real terminal and filesystem to work in.

Tools, functions and MCP

Extend it with Python tools and pipelines, MCP servers and OpenAPI endpoints, or install prompts, models, tools and functions shared by the community.

Multi-user access control

Roles, groups and per-model permissions, with SSO through OIDC or LDAP, SCIM 2.0 provisioning and API keys for programmatic access.

Channels and notes

Channels are shared spaces where teammates and @-tagged models post in one timeline. Notes is an editor whose pages can be attached to a chat as context.

Big-AGI

• Big-AGI Open$0

  The open-source codebase under the MIT License, self-hosted with Docker or deployed to Vercel on your own infrastructure.

• Free$0

  The hosted app: everything in Open plus advanced multi-model, Personas and interface features. You bring your own API keys.

• Pro$9

  per month, billed yearly ($108); $10.99 billed monthly

  Everything in Free plus cloud backup of personas and chats, sync across devices with 1 GB of storage, email support and priority access to new features.

• BusinessCustom

  Custom deployments, team management and SLA guarantees, arranged by contacting Big-AGI.

Open WebUI

• Standard UseFree

  Self-hosted internal use with the original Open WebUI branding exactly intact. No enterprise agreement is needed.

• Enterprise UseCustom

  An enterprise license for white-labeling and rebranding, enterprise-only offerings such as Terminals, SLA support and Long-Term Support. Sold to registered organizations.

Big-AGI

• Annual discount

  Save 18% with yearly billing

  Pro is $9 a month when billed $108 a year, compared with $10.99 a month on monthly billing.

Open WebUI

No public discounts listed.