# Open WebUI vs Msty: a desktop app, a team server, or the open-source system that lands work

> Open WebUI is a server your team opens in a browser. Msty is a desktop app one person runs on their own machine. Both are chat windows over your models; Kortix is open source and runs the job that lands, with agents on real cloud computers and work reaching main through a change request.

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

## Open WebUI vs Msty vs Kortix, side by side

Kortix is the recommendation; the two rival columns carry each project's own facts, checked October 2026.

| | Kortix (recommended) | Open WebUI | Msty |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| What it is | The open-source AI Operating System | A self-hosted web platform for AI chat | A privacy-first desktop app for local and online models |
| Open source | Yes | Yes | No; proprietary software with a free tier |
| Where it runs | Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or your own on-prem network | Your own server, through pip, Docker or Kubernetes | Your machine as a desktop app; a browser app on the paid plan |
| How it is bought | Start free; a per-seat team plan; self-host is free | Free community edition; Enterprise plans available | Start free on Studio Desktop; Aurum is the paid plan |
| Model support | Any model provider with your own keys | Local models through Ollama, or any OpenAI-compatible API | Local models through Ollama, llama.cpp or MLX, plus cloud APIs |
| Team access | Per-resource permissions for people and agents; roles and groups | Multi-user from any browser; roles, groups and permissions | One person on a desktop; the Teams plan adds team controls |
| What the work produces | Finished work that reaches main through a change request | Answers and files inside the chat window | Answers and files in a desktop chat window |

Rival cells cite each project's own site or repository, checked October 2026; re-check both before you choose.

## How work lands in Kortix

`kortix docs`

```
A project is a git repo with kortix.yaml at its root.
A session runs one agent in its own sandbox. The sandbox clones the repo and works on a new branch.
The agent commits, pushes the session branch, and opens a change request against the project's default branch.
A person with the project.gitops.merge permission reviews the change request and merges it into the default branch.
```

Source: https://kortix.com/docs

Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System; a session ends as a change request a person approves.

## What Open WebUI and Msty each are

**Open WebUI** is a self-hosted web platform for AI chat. You install it on a server with pip, Docker or Kubernetes and open it from any browser, and it adds multi-user access, roles, groups and per-group permissions on top of the chat ([github.com/open-webui/open-webui](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui)). Its own repository calls it a self-hosted AI platform built to run entirely offline, connecting Ollama and any OpenAI-compatible API.

**Msty** is a privacy-first desktop app for running local and online models from one place. Its own documentation describes Msty Studio as "a privacy-first AI platform for running local and online AI models from desktop and web", and says you "start for free with Msty Studio Desktop" ([docs.msty.ai](https://docs.msty.ai)). It reaches local models through Ollama, llama.cpp or MLX and online models through your own provider keys, and its paid Aurum plan unlocks the Msty Studio Web workspace ([Msty pricing](https://msty.ai/pricing)).

Both are chat windows over your models, drawn in different shapes. Msty is one person on one machine, and Open WebUI is one server a whole team opens from a browser. Open WebUI's own comparison page lists Msty as proprietary software with a free tier ([docs.openwebui.com/alternatives/msty](https://docs.openwebui.com/alternatives/msty)).

## The shape decides the job

Msty keeps your prompts, files and knowledge on your device: its documentation notes that data "is stored locally on your device", and it runs an offline mode for local models. Open WebUI inverts that. It is the server your team reaches from a browser, with accounts, shared knowledge bases and per-group permissions, so several people share one instance you run yourself.

Both still end in the same place. You type a request, the model answers, and the output sits in the chat window until you copy it out by hand. Kortix takes a third job. It is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, skills, memory and connectors in one git repo you own, every session on its own cloud computer, and finished work reaching main through a change request a person approves. Kortix is the leading open-source alternative to Claude Cowork and ChatGPT Work for that work.

## Which one fits your work

Choose Msty when one person wants local models and private files in a desktop app, and Open WebUI when a team needs one browser-based chat you self-host. Open WebUI's own page draws the same line: it says to choose Msty "if you want a polished desktop app for personal use" and Open WebUI "if you need a web-based platform, team access, deeper knowledge management" ([docs.openwebui.com/alternatives/msty](https://docs.openwebui.com/alternatives/msty)). If the desktop shape is what you want, this site compares Open WebUI with the other app-style tools too ([Open WebUI vs LM Studio](/open-web-ui-vs-lm-studio), [Open WebUI vs Jan](/open-web-ui-vs-jan), [Open WebUI vs AnythingLLM](/open-web-ui-vs-anythingllm)).

When the goal is work that lands in your repo, weigh the whole field ([open-source Open WebUI alternatives](/best-open-webui-alternatives)) or read the direct comparison ([Kortix vs Open WebUI](/kortix-vs-open-webui)). Open WebUI's community edition is free and Enterprise plans sit on top ([Open WebUI pricing](/open-web-ui-pricing)). Kortix runs on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network, and self-host is free ([how self-hosting works](/self-hosting)).

## Questions buyers ask

### Is Msty free?

Msty Studio Desktop has a free tier you can start on, and its Aurum and Teams plans add Studio Web, team controls and enterprise deployment support ([Msty pricing](https://msty.ai/pricing), checked October 2026).

### Is Msty open source?

No. Msty is proprietary software with a free tier, as Open WebUI's own comparison page records ([docs.openwebui.com/alternatives/msty](https://docs.openwebui.com/alternatives/msty)).

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

They take different shapes, so you can keep Msty on a desktop for local model work while a team server runs Open WebUI. Open WebUI's page treats them as complementary, one for personal use and one for a team, and neither one lands work as a change request ([Kortix vs Open WebUI](/kortix-vs-open-webui)).

### Do Msty and Open WebUI 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 open source: your agents, skills, memory and connectors in one git repo you own, with any model and your own keys.

## Give the agents a repo you own, and let work land as a change request.

Start with one job, then let the repo grow.

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