8 Best Chat UI Alternatives in 2026 (Open Source)
Chat UI — The open source codebase powering HuggingChat. Powers HuggingChat (huggingface.co/chat) — the most production-proven open-source chat UI with unique LLM Router for automatic model selection and native MCP tool support, unlike simpler UIs it handles multi-user, multi-model deployments
These 8 open-source tools do the same job. They are ordered by how closely they match Chat UI, with live GitHub data so you can see which projects are actively maintained.
| Tool | GitHub stars | Stars / 30d | Last commit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chat UI(original) | 11.0k | +56 | 2026-09-30 |
| Open WebUI | 153.6k | +3,958 | 2026-09-21 |
| LibreChat | 45.2k | +1,629 | 2026-09-30 |
| Chatbot UI | 33.4k | +34 | 2024-06-22 |
| LobeHub | 82.9k | +1,368 | 2026-09-30 |
| langchain-chat-nextjs | 1.0k | +-0 | 2023-01-27 |
| Cherry Studio | 52.3k | +1,580 | 2026-09-30 |
| TextGen | 47.7k | +217 | 2026-08-17 |
| Elia | 2.5k | +7 | 2024-10-10 |
1. Open WebUI
User-friendly AI Interface (Supports Ollama, OpenAI API, ...)
What sets it apart: Unlike LM Studio (desktop-only, personal use), Open WebUI is a full multi-user platform with RAG, RBAC, SCIM provisioning, 9 vector DBs, and Google Drive/OneDrive integration — the most feature-complete self-hosted ChatGPT alternative
Best for: Teams wanting a self-hosted ChatGPT alternative with full data control and Ollama integration; Organizations needing enterprise-grade AI platform with LDAP/SCIM/SSO and multiple vector DB backends
2. LibreChat
Enhanced ChatGPT Clone: Features Agents, MCP, DeepSeek, Anthropic, AWS, OpenAI, Responses API, Azure, Groq, o1, GPT-5, Mistral, OpenRouter, Vertex AI, Gemini, Artifacts, AI model switching, message se
What sets it apart: Most feature-complete self-hosted ChatGPT alternative — uniquely combines agents, MCP, code interpreter, image gen, and multi-user auth in one package, unlike single-provider UIs
Best for: Organizations wanting a private, self-hosted ChatGPT replacement; Teams needing multi-user AI platform with access control and audit
3. Chatbot UI
AI chat for any model.
What sets it apart: vs ChatGPT web app: open-source, self-hosted with Supabase backend for full data ownership — the most popular open-source ChatGPT UI clone with 28k+ stars
Best for: Developers wanting a self-hosted ChatGPT-like UI with data persistence; Teams needing an open-source chat interface they can customize; Organizations wanting full control over their AI chat data
4. LobeHub
The ultimate space for work and life — to find, build, and collaborate with agent teammates that grow with you. We are taking agent harness to the next level — enabling multi-agent collaboration, effo
What sets it apart: Unlike ChatGPT (closed) or Open WebUI (simple chat wrapper), Lobe Chat is an open-source agent collaboration platform with Agent Groups, white-box personal memory, a 10,000+ MCP plugin marketplace, and multi-modal support — positioning it as a full human-agent co-evolution workspace.
Best for: Teams wanting a modern ChatGPT alternative with agent collaboration, memory, and 10,000+ plugins; Developers seeking a self-hostable, extensible chat framework with MCP marketplace support
5. langchain-chat-nextjs
Next.js frontend for LangChain Chat.
What sets it apart: vs other LangChain UIs: minimal Next.js reference implementation by LangChain community — the simplest way to connect LangChain's chat backend to a web UI
Best for: JavaScript developers wanting a simple LangChain + Next.js chat reference; Quick prototyping of LangChain chat interfaces; Learning how to connect LangChain backend to a web frontend
6. Cherry Studio
AI productivity studio with smart chat, autonomous agents, and 300+ assistants. Unified access to frontier LLMs
What sets it apart: Unlike Lobe Chat (web-first) or AnythingLLM (RAG-focused), Cherry Studio is a polished Electron desktop client purpose-built for multi-provider LLM access with 300+ pre-built assistants and MCP support, requiring zero environment setup.
Best for: Power users who want a single desktop app to access multiple LLM providers without switching between web UIs; Users who need side-by-side multi-model comparison for prompt testing; Non-technical users wanting a ready-to-use ChatGPT-like desktop experience with no environment setup
7. TextGen
The original local LLM interface. Text, vision, tool-calling, training, and more. 100% offline.
What sets it apart: Most feature-complete local LLM web UI with 4 inference backends, training, tool-calling, vision, and image gen — vs Ollama (CLI-focused) or LM Studio (closed source)
Best for: Running any LLM locally with a full-featured web UI; Privacy-conscious users wanting 100% offline AI; Developers needing a local OpenAI-compatible API server
8. Elia
A snappy, keyboard-centric terminal user interface for interacting with large language models. Chat with ChatGPT, Claude, Llama 3, Phi 3, Mistral, Gemma and more.
What sets it apart: vs web-based chat UIs: keyboard-centric terminal interface with multi-provider support and local SQLite persistence — designed for developer efficiency without leaving the terminal
Best for: Terminal-native LLM conversations with keyboard efficiency; Managing conversations across multiple providers in one interface; Local model experimentation via Ollama integration