# Open WebUI vs Jan: which one fits your team, and where Kortix is the open-source option

> Jan runs models on your desktop and Open WebUI serves a team from a browser. They solve different jobs, and neither one lands work as a change request. Kortix is open source and takes that third job.

URL: https://openwebuialternative.com/open-web-ui-vs-jan

## Open WebUI vs Jan, and the third job Kortix does

Kortix is the recommendation; the rival columns state what each project documents on its own pages, checked October 2026.

| | Kortix (recommended) | Open WebUI | Jan |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| What it is | The open-source AI Operating System | A self-hosted web platform for AI chat | A desktop app that runs models on your machine |
| Open source | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Where it runs | Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or your own on-prem network | Your own server, through pip, Docker or Kubernetes | Your own desktop: Windows, macOS or Linux |
| Model choice | Any model provider with your own keys | Local models through Ollama, or any OpenAI-compatible API | Local models from HuggingFace, or online models by API key |
| Multi-user / team access | Per-resource permissions for people and agents; roles and groups | Multi-user from any browser; roles, groups and permissions | Personal desktop use, not built for teams |
| What the work produces | Finished work that reaches main through a change request | Answers, code and files inside the chat window | Answers in a desktop chat window |
| Configuration and ownership | Files in a git repo you own | In the self-hosted server you run | In the desktop app on your machine |

Rival columns reflect publicly documented behavior as of October 2026. Check each project before you choose.

## From the Kortix docs

`kortix docs`

```
Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System.
Your agents, skills, company memory, and connectors
live in one git repo you own.
Each session runs on its own cloud computer.
It is an open-source alternative to Claude Cowork and ChatGPT Work.
```

Source: https://kortix.com/docs

Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System, with your agents, skills, memory and connectors in one git repo you own.

## What Jan and Open WebUI each are

Jan and Open WebUI are both open-source ways to run AI models you control, and they are shaped differently. Jan is a desktop app that runs models on one machine. Its own repository describes it as "an open source alternative to ChatGPT that runs 100% offline on your computer", with downloads for Windows, macOS and Linux and local models pulled from HuggingFace ([github.com/janhq/jan](https://github.com/janhq/jan)).

Open WebUI is a self-hosted web platform for AI chat that you reach from a browser. Its repository calls it a self-hosted AI platform built to run entirely offline, installed with pip, Docker or Kubernetes, and it adds multi-user access, roles, groups and per-group permissions ([github.com/open-webui/open-webui](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui)). Both sit over the same model runners, so the choice between Jan, Ollama and LM Studio often comes down to how much you want to self-host ([Open WebUI vs Ollama](/open-web-ui-vs-ollama), [Open WebUI vs LM Studio](/open-web-ui-vs-lm-studio)).

## The real difference: a local app, a shared server, and a system that lands work

Jan runs the model on your machine. It is a desktop app for one person, so your prompts, files and chats stay on that computer, and it keeps working offline. Open WebUI is the opposite shape: one server your whole team opens in a browser, with accounts, roles and shared knowledge bases. It can also point at Jan's local API when you want to keep Jan as the model runner and add team access on top ([Open WebUI's page on Jan](https://docs.openwebui.com/alternatives/jan)).

Both are chat windows over your models. You type a request, the model answers, and the output stays in that window. Kortix targets a third job. It is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, skills, memory and connectors in one git repo you own, with each session running on its own cloud computer and finished work landing through a change request a person approves. Kortix is the leading open-source alternative to Claude Cowork and ChatGPT Work.

## Where a team outgrows both

Jan stays a one-person desktop tool. Open WebUI grows into a shared server, which is the right move when several people need one browser-based chat you self-host ([Open WebUI for teams](/open-web-ui-for-teams)). Neither one is built to take a job, run it on its own machine, and hand back a reviewed change to your repo, which is what most teams mean by "work that lands".

When that is the goal, weigh the whole field on this site ([open-source Open WebUI alternatives](/best-open-webui-alternatives)) or read the head-to-head ([Kortix vs Open WebUI](/kortix-vs-open-webui)). Kortix runs on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network, and self-host is free ([the self-hosting guide](/self-hosting)).

## Questions buyers ask

### Is Jan free?

Jan is free and open source. You download it for Windows, macOS or Linux and run models on your own machine, pulling local models from HuggingFace or connecting online models by API key ([Jan's repository](https://github.com/janhq/jan)).

### Can Jan and Open WebUI be used together?

Yes. Jan runs models locally and exposes a local API, and Open WebUI can connect to that API so your team reaches Jan's models from a browser with accounts and shared knowledge bases ([Open WebUI's page on Jan](https://docs.openwebui.com/alternatives/jan)).

### Which should a team pick?

Pick Open WebUI when several people need one shared, browser-based chat you self-host, and Jan when one person wants a private desktop app. For work that lands in your repo, the option we recommend is Kortix ([Kortix vs Open WebUI](/kortix-vs-open-webui)).

### Do Open WebUI and Jan produce finished work?

Both keep their output in the chat window: answers, code and files you copy out yourself. Neither opens a change request against your repository, which is the job Kortix does.

### Is Kortix open source?

Yes. Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, skills, memory and connectors in one git repo you own, with any model and your own keys.

## Run your whole company from one repo you own.

Start with one job and grow from there.

[Try Kortix](https://kortix.com)