--- title: "ai-gateway vs open-webui" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/ferro-labs-ai-gateway-vs-open-webui-open-webui" tools: ["ferro-labs-ai-gateway", "open-webui-open-webui"] --- # ai-gateway vs open-webui *GraphCanon updated Jul 15, 2026* ## Verdict Pick ai-gateway when ai-gateway is primarily Go; open-webui is Python; pick open-webui when open-webui is primarily Python; ai-gateway is Go. [ai-gateway](https://docs.ferrolabs.ai) reports 180 GitHub stars, 31 forks, and 47 open issues, last pushed Jul 14, 2026. [open-webui](https://openwebui.com) has 145k stars, 21k forks, and 391 open issues, last pushed Jul 10, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [ai-gateway's repository](https://github.com/ferro-labs/ai-gateway) and [open-webui's repository](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui). | | [ai-gateway](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway.md) | [open-webui](/tools/open-webui-open-webui.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Unified AI Gateway for 30+ LLMs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Bedrock, Azure etc) with Caching, Guardrails, A/B test & cost controls. Go-native Fastest & Scalable AI Gateway LiteLLM & Kong AI Gateway alternativ | User-friendly AI Interface (Supports Ollama, OpenAI API, ...) | | Stars | 180 | 145,029 | | Forks | 31 | 21,005 | | Open issues | 47 | 391 | | Language | Go | Python | | Adopt for | - | Suitable for developers working with large language models who require a user-friendly interface and support for multiple APIs including Ollama and OpenAI. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | Other | | Categories | Computer Vision, Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks | Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [ai-gateway](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway.md) | [open-webui](/tools/open-webui-open-webui.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Days since push | 1d | 0d | | Open issues (now) | 47 | 391 | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/open-webui-open-webui/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: open-webui - **Adopt for:** Suitable for developers working with large language models who require a user-friendly interface and support for multiple APIs including Ollama and OpenAI. ## Choose when ### Choose ai-gateway if… - ai-gateway is primarily Go; open-webui is Python. - License: ai-gateway is Apache-2.0, open-webui is Other. - Tags unique to ai-gateway: ai-gateway, ai-infrastructure, guardrails, litellm. - Also covers Computer Vision. - ai-gateway ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. ### Choose open-webui if… - open-webui is primarily Python; ai-gateway is Go. - License: open-webui is Other, ai-gateway is Apache-2.0. - Tags unique to open-webui: ai, openai, self-hosted. - When you need to integrate multiple AI services, such as Ollama and OpenAI, into a unified user interface. ## When NOT to use ai-gateway - Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. - LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. ## When NOT to use open-webui - When looking for tooling that exclusively supports APIs other than Ollama and OpenAI, as these are specific areas of focus for open-webui. - If the requirement is a highly specialized interface tailored to specific tasks rather than a general AI interaction platform. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between ai-gateway and open-webui? ai-gateway: Unified AI Gateway for 30+ LLMs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Bedrock, Azure etc) with Caching, Guardrails, A/B test & cost controls. Go-native Fastest & Scalable AI Gateway LiteLLM & Kong AI Gateway alternativ. open-webui: User-friendly AI Interface (Supports Ollama, OpenAI API, ...). See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose ai-gateway over open-webui? Choose ai-gateway over open-webui when ai-gateway is primarily Go; open-webui is Python; License: ai-gateway is Apache-2.0, open-webui is Other; Tags unique to ai-gateway: ai-gateway, ai-infrastructure, guardrails, litellm; Also covers Computer Vision; ai-gateway ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. ### When should I choose open-webui over ai-gateway? Choose open-webui over ai-gateway when open-webui is primarily Python; ai-gateway is Go; License: open-webui is Other, ai-gateway is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to open-webui: ai, openai, self-hosted; When you need to integrate multiple AI services, such as Ollama and OpenAI, into a unified user interface. ### When should I avoid ai-gateway? Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. ### When should I avoid open-webui? When looking for tooling that exclusively supports APIs other than Ollama and OpenAI, as these are specific areas of focus for open-webui. If the requirement is a highly specialized interface tailored to specific tasks rather than a general AI interaction platform. ### Is ai-gateway or open-webui more popular on GitHub? open-webui has more GitHub stars (145,029 vs 180). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are ai-gateway and open-webui open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (ai-gateway: Apache-2.0, open-webui: Other). ### Where can I find alternatives to ai-gateway or open-webui? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [ai-gateway alternatives](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/alternatives) and [open-webui alternatives](/tools/open-webui-open-webui/alternatives) ([ai-gateway markdown twin](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/alternatives.md), [open-webui markdown twin](/tools/open-webui-open-webui/alternatives.md)), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes. ### Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison? Yes. The markdown twin at [this comparison](/compare/ferro-labs-ai-gateway-vs-open-webui-open-webui.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, ai-gateway or open-webui? ai-gateway: Very active. open-webui: Very active. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance. ### Where are the full trust reports for ai-gateway and open-webui? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [ai-gateway trust report](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/trust); [open-webui trust report](/tools/open-webui-open-webui/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=ferro-labs-ai-gateway`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=ferro-labs-ai-gateway) - LLM index: [/llms.txt](/llms.txt) - Full corpus: [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt) _GraphCanon - The knowledge graph for AI development. https://www.graphcanon.com/_