Open WebUI vs SillyTavern (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Open WebUI grades higher than SillyTavern: 3.2 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Open WebUI grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Open WebUI
Self-hosted chat interface for local and cloud AI models
Free plan
SillyTavern
Free, self-hosted chat interface for LLMs with deep prompt control
Free
Which one is for you
Pick Open WebUI if
- Fits if your team wants its AI chat on its own servers, even with no internet connection
- Works for people running local models through Ollama who want a browser interface for them
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't want to run a server, because there's no hosted version to sign up for
- Not for you if you want a phone app, as none is listed, and the desktop app is labeled early alpha
- Not for you if you want your own branding for more than 50 users, unless you buy an enterprise license
- Watch out: enterprise prices aren't published, and licenses are sold only to registered organizations
- Watch out: since v0.6.6 the license isn't OSI-approved open source, and you supply every model or API key
Pick SillyTavern if
- Fits if you like tuning prompts, characters and lorebooks for roleplay
- Works for people who run local models and want one front end for all of them
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you do not want to install NodeJS or use Git, as there is no hosted account
- Too light on its own, as you must supply a model, hosted or local
- Not for you if you want a quick start, as the docs warn of a steep learning curve
- Watch out: Windows 7 is not supported, and Android runs through the Termux guide
- Watch out: the staging branch is not recommended for casual use
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAOpen WebUIVery good | 2.6GPASillyTavernGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | ANothing to pay, for one person or a whole company, as long as the Open WebUI branding stays exactly put. Paid assistants in this category start around $8 a month. What you do pay for is the models, through your own hardware or a provider's API, and the enterprise licence has no published price. | AFree and open source under AGPL-3.0, and anyone can download and run it. Whatever model API you connect is billed by that provider. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree to self-host with no account and no agreement to sign, and deployments of 50 users or fewer in 30 days may even rebrand it. The licence is for bigger rebrands, SLA support and extras like Terminals, so most people never meet it. | AFree outright with no plan and no cap from SillyTavern. A hosted model or a local one costs you separately. |
| Features | AIt covers the job and adds things rivals here don't list: any OpenAI-compatible model with two side by side, knowledge bases over your files, cited web search, Python and a terminal the model can drive, MCP servers, channels, and roles with SSO and SCIM. | DIt is an interface and needs a model from somewhere else to be useful. Its docs suggest a 6GB NVIDIA 3000-series GPU for local inference. |
| Ease of use | DYou host it yourself, full stop: Docker, pip or Kubernetes, plus your own models or provider API keys, before anyone types a word. The desktop app is labelled early alpha and the docs send real deployments back to Docker or Python. | DIt needs NodeJS 20 or higher, usually installed through Git, and the docs warn of a steep learning curve. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA browser once it's running, with early-alpha desktop apps for Mac, Windows and Linux, hooks for Ollama, OpenAI, Anthropic, vLLM and ComfyUI, and API keys for your own scripts. No phone app is listed. | BWindows, Mac, Linux, a browser and Android through Termux, linking to KoboldAI, NovelAI, OpenAI, OpenRouter, Claude, Mistral and ComfyUI. No iPhone. |
| Best for | running AI chat on your own server | roleplay and character chat with your own model |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Open WebUI and SillyTavern. How we grade
Where they differ
- SillyTavern is open source, according to its own site.
- Open WebUI also covers AI search and AI agents.
- SillyTavern also covers image generation and text to speech.
In commonFree planWebmacOSWindowsLinuxSelf-hostableChat assistant
At a glance
| Open WebUI | SillyTavern | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | Not published | Free |
| Free plan | Free to self-host with the original Open WebUI branding intact, with no account or enterprise agreement. Deployments of 50 or fewer users in a 30-day period may also rebrand. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Open WebUI, Inc. | SillyTavern community |
| Price read from | docs.openwebui.com | docs.sillytavern.app |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
SillyTavern
- It must be installed with NodeJS 20 or higher, usually through Git or a launcher, and Windows 7 is not supported.
- It is only an interface: you supply the model, either a hosted API or a local one. The docs suggest an NVIDIA 3000-series GPU with 6GB of VRAM for local inference.
- The docs warn of a steep learning curve, and the staging branch is not recommended for casual use.
- Android runs through the Termux installation guide, and there is no hosted account.
Key features
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.
SillyTavern
- One interface for many backends
- Connects to KoboldAI/CPP, Horde, NovelAI, Ooba, Tabby, OpenAI, OpenRouter, Claude, Mistral and other LLM APIs from a single interface.
- Prompt and lorebook control
- Offers extensive prompt options and WorldInfo (lorebooks), in line with the project's stated goal of giving users as much control over prompts as possible.
- Image generation and TTS
- Integrates with Automatic1111 and ComfyUI APIs for images and supports text-to-speech voice models, alongside auto-translate.
- Customizable UI
- A customizable interface with a mobile-friendly layout and a Visual Novel Mode for character conversations.
- Third-party extensions
- The project describes growth through third-party extensions, and the code is maintained by more than 300 contributors on GitHub.
Plans
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.
SillyTavern
Free$0
Open-source (AGPL-3.0) software you install and run yourself. Model API usage is billed by whichever provider you connect.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Open WebUI or SillyTavern?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Open WebUI publishes no starting price, and SillyTavern is free.
Which has a free plan, Open WebUI or SillyTavern?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Open WebUI and SillyTavern have a free plan.
Which platforms do Open WebUI and SillyTavern run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only SillyTavern lists an Android app. Both list a web app and macOS, Windows and Linux apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.