ChatGPT alternative for research that doesn't sell your data.
Open WebUI with Opsily hosting: RAG search, multi-model reasoning, web integration, and full data control in EU data centers. Starting at 80% less than Perplexity Pro.
The research tool crisis
Perplexity AI Pro runs $17/user/month. The Max tier hits $167/user/month. Claude Max sits at $100+/month. ChatGPT Plus costs $20/month — Deep Research only works on the Pro tier.
For research teams, this stacks: three researchers on Perplexity Max alone is $500+/month.
The deeper problem: you cannot own your data. These tools run on US servers. Researchers in regulated sectors (pharma, academia, legal) cannot use them. Even privacy-conscious researchers watch their queries train OpenAI's models.
Open WebUI fixes three problems
Open WebUI is built on 152.3K GitHub stars of development. It runs locally or self-hosted. It supports RAG (retrieval-augmented generation) backed by 9 vector databases. It integrates 20+ web search engines. It lets multiple LLMs work in parallel — query Claude for reasoning, Perplexity for web search, Mistral for speed, all in one interface.
And it's free.
But free doesn't mean easy. Running Open WebUI yourself means Docker, SSL certificates, backups, monitoring, security patches. Opsily removes that tax: managed hosting in EU data centers, GDPR-compliant, automatic updates, no lock-in.
How Open WebUI stacks up for research
ChatGPT alternative for research: see how Open WebUI compares to Perplexity, Claude, and paid research tools on cost, features, data privacy, and ownership.
Pricing as of September 2026. Opsily pricing shown for Small plan; scales with team size. Competitor pricing may vary by region.
Why Opsily's managed Open WebUI is the ChatGPT alternative for research
Managed hosting means you get a research AI platform without the infrastructure headache.
Deploy in minutes, not days
Click Install. Open WebUI is live in 3 minutes with automatic SSL, DNS, and backups. No Docker, no server configuration, no security patches to chase. Researchers start researching, not troubleshooting.
Automatic updates, zero downtime
Opsily patches security issues and ships feature updates every week. You never worry about drift or legacy versions. Your Open WebUI always runs the latest stable release.
EU data residency, GDPR-compliant
Your research data stays in German data centers. No US servers, no data residency clauses, no compliance gymnastics. This matters for universities, regulated R&D teams, and any researcher who demands privacy by default.
Built for teams who need reliability
Your first 30 minutes with Opsily
From signup to research in half an hour.
Email + password. No credit card required to start your free trial.
Search the app catalog, click Install, choose your plan size. Opsily handles provisioning, SSL, and DNS.
Connect OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama, or self-hosted models. Add your API keys or point to local inference.
Email + password. No credit card required to start your free trial.
Search the app catalog, click Install, choose your plan size. Opsily handles provisioning, SSL, and DNS.
Connect OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama, or self-hosted models. Add your API keys or point to local inference.
Create your account
Email + password. No credit card required to start your free trial.
Deploy Open WebUI
Search the app catalog, click Install, choose your plan size. Opsily handles provisioning, SSL, and DNS.
Add your LLM sources
Connect OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama, or self-hosted models. Add your API keys or point to local inference.
Upload your research
Drag PDFs, research notes, or datasets into Open WebUI. Enable RAG to search across your entire knowledge base.
Everything included in Opsily-hosted Open WebUI
No feature tiers. Every plan includes the full platform, from RAG to web search to enterprise SSO.
Trust & compliance researchers depend on
Open WebUI is built in the open. Your data stays yours.
GDPR Compliant
All research data stored in German data centers. EU data residency guaranteed. Full compliance with GDPR, eIDAS, and GDPR Schrems II requirements.
Open Source
152.3K developers have audited the code. No proprietary backend. Transparent security model means no hidden data collection.
Zero Vendor Lock-in
Open WebUI runs on your servers (we host them). Export your data anytime. No contracts, no exit fees, no proprietary integrations trapping you.
Daily Encrypted Backups
Every deployment backed up to encrypted offsite storage. Recover instantly if anything goes wrong. Researchers never lose work.
Simple, transparent pricing
Pick the server size that fits your team. All plans include full Open WebUI, GDPR-compliant EU hosting, and daily backups.
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Frequently asked questions
Answers for researchers evaluating Open WebUI and managed hosting.
Open WebUI lets you query multiple LLMs in parallel: use Claude for reasoning, Perplexity for web search, Mistral for speed, all in one interface. It supports RAG (retrieval-augmented generation) so you can search your own PDFs and research notes alongside web results. ChatGPT does not offer local RAG without paying for the API. Most importantly, your research data stays on your servers in EU data centers with GDPR guarantees. ChatGPT runs on US servers and cannot guarantee data residency for regulated research sectors.
Deploy your research AI today.
Stop paying per-query. Stop worrying about data privacy. Start with a free trial on Opsily.