Open WebUI License Guide: What Changed in 2025

Open WebUI switched from MIT to a custom license in April 2025 that restricts branding changes when you have more than 50 users. If you are under that threshold or willing to keep the Open WebUI branding visible, you can use it free forever. If you want to remove or replace the branding at scale, you need an Enterprise License.

This guide walks through exactly what changed, why it matters for your business, and what your actual options are.

What Changed: The Timeline of Open WebUI Licenses

Open WebUI did not always have these restrictions. The project has changed licenses twice in the last year, and understanding that history clarifies why the current rules exist.

The original MIT license (very permissive, minimal restrictions) governed the project until January 10, 2025. MIT lets anyone use, modify, and distribute the software freely, even commercially, with almost no strings attached. You could white-label it, hide the original author, do anything.

On January 10, 2025, the maintainers switched to the BSD-3-Clause license. This is still open-source and still permissive, but it requires you to preserve copyright notices in any derivative work. It does not restrict commercial use or branding, but it does require attribution.

Then on April 19, 2025 (version 0.6.6), the project moved to its own custom Open WebUI License. This is where the 50-user branding restriction arrived. The maintainers justified the change publicly by stating they needed a way to fund the project sustainably while keeping it free for individuals and small teams.

Why the rapid changes? The maintainers cite two reasons. First, they saw open-source projects getting absorbed into commercial products without any benefit flowing back to the original authors. Second, they needed a business model to pay for hosting, security updates, and ongoing development. The Open WebUI License attempts to split the difference: free for small deployments, commercial license required for larger ones that want white-labeling.

The practical effect: if you deployed Open WebUI before April 2025 on versions 0.6.5 and earlier, you are still governed by the BSD-3-Clause license. You can keep using it under those terms. But if you upgrade to 0.6.6 or later, you accept the new Open WebUI License terms.

The Branding Clause Explained: Who It Affects

The key restriction is simple: you cannot remove, hide, or replace the "Open WebUI" branding and attribution when you have more than 50 end users accessing your instance.

What counts as an end user? The license defines this carefully. It means "individual natural persons with direct access to the application." You count active users in a rolling 30-day window. If you have 52 people using your Open WebUI instance in the last month, you have crossed the threshold.

There are three ways to operate above 50 users without violating the license:

1. Keep the branding. You can use Open WebUI commercially, at unlimited scale, with no restrictions. You just have to leave the Open WebUI attribution and branding visible to end users.

2. Get written permission. The Open WebUI team can grant exceptions for specific use cases. This is not automatic, but it exists as a path.

3. Buy an Enterprise License. This allows you to remove the branding entirely, customize the UI, add your own branding, and often includes support and compliance assistance.

The branding restriction does not block commercial use. You can run a paid service on top of Open WebUI with the branding visible. SaaS companies, internal tools teams, and consultants can all do this. The restriction only applies if you want to hide that Open WebUI is running underneath.

What about custom theming and styling? You can absolutely customize the look, change colors, modify the UI, and add your own features. What you cannot do is remove the "Open WebUI" attribution or create a version where the typical user would not know Open WebUI is powering it. The license text is strict on this point.

If you have 50 users exactly, you are in a gray zone. The license uses "more than 50," so technically you are compliant. But the 30-day rolling window means one more signup tips you over. Most businesses in this position upgrade to Enterprise or keep a clear eye on user growth.

What You Can Still Do for Free

The license change sounds restrictive, but it actually allows a lot under the free tier.

Commercial use is fully allowed. You can run a paid SaaS, offer it to clients, monetize it--as long as you keep the branding or stay under 50 users. You can charge for hosting, for support, for setup, for integrations, anything. There is no licensing fee.

Internal deployments have no restrictions at all. If you deploy Open WebUI inside your organization for your own employees and contractors, the 50-user threshold does not kick in the same way. Internal tools are treated differently; the license cares about "serving" external end users.

Custom features and plugins are fine. You can build on top of Open WebUI, extend it, integrate it with your own systems, all without a license. The restriction is purely on distribution and branding if you cross 50 users.

Modifying the code is allowed. You can fork it, change it, improve it, deploy your version internally or to a small audience. The open-source code is still public on GitHub.

Here is what free deployments actually look like in practice:

The last row is important: if you have one enterprise customer using Open WebUI internally, you are not "serving" 1,000 end users. The license measures unique instances and user-bases, not penetration into single organizations.

The Enterprise License: What It Covers

Open WebUI does not publish Enterprise License pricing anywhere. You have to contact their sales team to get a number. But what does the license actually include?

First, white-labeling. You can remove the Open WebUI branding entirely, replace it with your own, and use your own colors, logo, and messaging. End users will not know they are running Open WebUI unless you tell them.

Second, custom theming and UX. You can rebrand the entire interface, build custom dashboards, and make it look like your own product.

Third, priority support. You typically get a dedicated support channel, faster response times, and help with deployment issues.

Fourth, compliance assistance. Many Enterprise customers need SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, or other certifications. The Enterprise License often bundles help navigating those requirements.

Fifth, audit and legal review. The Enterprise team can review your deployment, answer questions about compliance, and confirm you are running within the terms.

Sixth, updates and security patches. Enterprise customers get priority notifications of security issues and early access to fixes.

What it likely does not include: the Enterprise License does not give you the source code under a different license. You are not getting BSD-3 or MIT rights. You are getting permission to use the software at your scale with your branding, but the underlying code is still governed by the Open WebUI License. You cannot sell derivatives or claim it as your own creation.

Pricing is not published because it scales with your needs. A startup white-labeling for 100 users might negotiate one price. An enterprise deploying globally at 10,000+ users would negotiate another. You need to contact the Open WebUI sales team directly.

Your Three Options as a Business

If you are running Open WebUI today and you have 50+ users, or you are planning to scale to that point, you have three real paths forward.

Option 1: Comply and Keep the Branding

Use Open WebUI exactly as the license allows. Keep the attribution visible. This is free forever, scales infinitely, has no license fees, and requires no sales negotiation. Your users will see "Powered by Open WebUI" or similar. You can customize everything else: the colors, the layout, the features. You can charge for it, build a business on it, and never pay a dime to the Open WebUI team.

This works if: you are comfortable with the branding, your users understand it is Open WebUI, or the attribution actually helps your sales pitch ("we use the 149K-star open-source AI platform").

This does not work if: your business model depends on hiding the underlying technology, your enterprise customers demand white-label, or your product positioning requires a completely custom brand.

Option 2: Buy an Enterprise License

Contact Open WebUI sales, negotiate pricing, and buy the right to white-label. This gets you the branding freedom, compliance help, and faster support. You pay an annual fee (amount unknown without direct negotiation).

This works if: your business requires white-labeling, you have enterprise customers who demand it, you are generating revenue that makes the license cost acceptable, or you need the compliance assistance for regulated industries.

This does not work if: your budget is tight, you are still proving the concept, or you are competing on cost and cannot absorb the license fee.

Option 3: Move to an MIT-Licensed Alternative

Drop Open WebUI and switch to a project with no branding restrictions. The most common alternatives are AnythingLLM and LibreChat, both MIT-licensed, both allow white-labeling for free, both offer similar functionality.

The tradeoff: you lose the Open WebUI ecosystem (149K stars, the largest community), and you have to migrate your data and configurations. The alternative projects are younger and smaller, but they are active and well-maintained.

This works if: you need white-labeling urgently, the license cost is prohibitive, you are still in the evaluation phase, or you hit the 50-user threshold without Enterprise pricing leverage.

This does not work if: you are already deeply invested in Open WebUI's plugins and extensions, your team is expert in Open WebUI's architecture, or you want to stick with the largest open-source project in this category.

Most businesses choose Option 1 for their first 500 users. As they scale and customer demands increase, they either stay compliant (Option 1) or move to Enterprise (Option 2). Option 3 (switching) is most common for teams that value white-labeling from day one and are willing to bet on a smaller community.

Why Businesses Choose Managed White-Label Hosting

Instead of self-hosting and paying for an Enterprise License separately, some teams use a managed white-label Open WebUI hosting service like Opsily.

Here is the comparison:

Self-hosting + Enterprise License:

• You pay for the license (negotiated annually)
• You pay for infrastructure (servers, storage, bandwidth)
• You manage all the operations (backups, updates, monitoring, security patches)
• You handle scaling when you hit limits
• You integrate it into your product

Managed White-Label Hosting (Opsily):

• The hosting provider handles infrastructure
• The hosting provider manages updates and security patches
• You get white-labeling built into the service
• You pay one bundled fee instead of separating license + infrastructure costs
• You get uptime SLAs and support
• You skip the sales negotiation with Open WebUI

Most businesses report that the bundled cost of managed hosting is actually competitive with or cheaper than self-hosting + Enterprise License, once you factor in ops labor. Self-hosting looks cheaper on paper (just server costs), but the operations overhead--monitoring, updates, security patches, scaling, backup recovery--adds up quickly.

Managed hosting also removes the license negotiation. You do not have to contact Open WebUI sales, negotiate terms, or renew annually. It is built into your hosting bill.

For more details on white-label options, see Opsily's dedicated hosting page for Open WebUI. If you are under 50 users or comfortable with branding, the main /hosting/open-webui page covers standard managed hosting as well. And if you are comparing Open WebUI to alternatives, the comparison guide covers AnythingLLM and other MIT-licensed options side by side.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Open WebUI free to use?

Yes, under the Open WebUI License, free tier: if you have 50 or fewer users in a rolling 30-day window. There are no restrictions on commercial use, features, or functionality. You just have to keep the Open WebUI branding visible. If you exceed 50 users and remove the branding without permission or an Enterprise License, you are out of compliance.

How much does an Open WebUI Enterprise license cost?

Pricing is not published. You contact the Open WebUI sales team directly for a quote based on your scale, deployment model, and support needs. Expect it to be in the thousands per year for startups and potentially higher for enterprise-scale deployments. Some teams report it is competitive with managed hosting costs once you factor in ops labor.

Is Open WebUI still open source?

It is source-available and open (code on GitHub for anyone to read and fork), but it is no longer OSI-approved open source. The Open WebUI License adds restrictions that the OSI does not consider "free." You can see the code, modify it for yourself, and run it privately. But the distribution rights are restricted above 50 users unless you buy a license or follow the branding rule.

Can I fork Open WebUI and remove the branding restriction?

You can fork it, modify it, and run your own version. If you deploy it to 50 or fewer users, you have no licensing obligations. If you deploy it to more than 50 users without keeping the branding or having written permission, you are likely in violation. The Open WebUI License applies to derivative works, so a fork you distribute is covered by the same rules.

What is the difference between Open WebUI and AnythingLLM?

Both are AI chat platforms that let you run local LLMs and talk to them via a web UI. Open WebUI has a larger community (149K stars vs. AnythingLLM's smaller base), more third-party integrations, and more active development. AnythingLLM is MIT-licensed, so white-labeling is free and unrestricted. For a detailed comparison, see the Open WebUI vs. AnythingLLM breakdown. If licensing is a blocker for you, AnythingLLM is the faster switch.

What if we are at exactly 50 users, about to cross?

The license uses "more than 50 users," so 50 exactly is compliant. But the 30-day rolling window is the measurement, so you need to monitor growth carefully. If you are approaching the threshold, plan ahead: decide if you will comply and keep branding, negotiate Enterprise terms, or migrate to an alternative. Do not let it surprise you after you cross.

Does the branding restriction apply to internal tools only, or SaaS too?

It applies to both. If you are running a paid SaaS where your customers are the end users (>50 of them), and you want to white-label, you need a license. If you are using it internally for your employees, the rule is less strict (internal deployments are sometimes exempted), but if you have >50 internal users and you want to hide the branding, you should confirm with the Open WebUI team or get explicit written permission.

The Bottom Line

The Open WebUI License change in April 2025 was designed to let the maintainers fund the project while keeping it free for small teams. If you have 50 or fewer users, or you do not mind the branding, you can run it forever for free. If you want to white-label at scale, you need either written permission or an Enterprise License, which requires a sales negotiation and an annual fee.

Your three real options are: stay compliant and keep the branding (free), buy an Enterprise License (cost negotiated per deal), or switch to an MIT-licensed alternative like AnythingLLM (free but smaller community). Most growing businesses end up either staying compliant or considering managed white-label hosting, which bundles the licensing and infrastructure into one simplified cost.

If you are evaluating white-label options, start by checking Opsily's managed Open WebUI hosting to see if a bundled solution fits your needs better than self-hosting plus a separate Enterprise License.