SHSelfHostIndex

ChatBot UI vs NextChat

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted ai chat uis options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
CH ChatBot UI ChatGPT but better VS NE NextChat Lightweight, fast cross-platform AI chat application
FeatureChatBot UINextChat
Deploy effort≈5-minute setup≈5-minute setup
Health score36 · At risk89 · Excellent
CategoryAI Chat UIsAI Chat UIs
LicensefreeMIT
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, one-clickdocker, binary, one-click
GitHub stars★ 33,348★ 88,806
First released20222023
ReplacesChatGPTChatGPT

What are ChatBot UI and NextChat?

ChatBot UI

⚠️ Removal Notice: ChatBot UI has been removed from the Umbrel App Store because the packaged version is no longer maintained and is not compatible with the current upstream app architecture. Existing installs will continue to work as normal. ChatBot UI is an advanced chatbot kit for OpenAI's chat models aiming to mimic ChatGPT's interface and functionality. Simply add your OpenAI API key and start chatting! This version of ChatBot UI supports both GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 models. Conversations are stored locally within your browser. You can export and import conversations to safeguard against data l.

  • ChatGPT-style interface
  • Multiple model providers
  • Prompt library
  • Conversation import and export

Read the full ChatBot UI guide →

NextChat

NextChat, formerly ChatGPT-Next-Web, is a lightweight and fast AI assistant supporting web, desktop, and mobile. It works with multiple model providers and can be deployed in seconds to platforms like Vercel or Docker.

  • One-click deploy
  • Cross-platform apps
  • Prompt templates
  • Multi-provider support

Read the full NextChat guide →

ChatBot UI vs NextChat: key differences

Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — free for ChatBot UI versus MIT for NextChat. NextChat has the considerably larger community, at 88,806 GitHub stars versus 33,348.

Why pick each one

Choose ChatBot UI if…

  • Familiar ChatGPT-style interface
  • Easy Docker deployment
  • Conversation import and export

Watch out for

  • No longer actively maintained
  • OpenAI API key required
ChatBot UI details

Choose NextChat if…

  • Very lightweight
  • One-click Vercel deploy
  • Desktop and mobile builds

Watch out for

  • Provider API keys required
  • Single-user focused
NextChat details

Frequently asked questions

Is ChatBot UI or NextChat better?

Neither is universally better. NextChat has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are ChatBot UI and NextChat free and open-source?

Yes. ChatBot UI is licensed under free and NextChat under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run ChatBot UI and NextChat with Docker?

ChatBot UI: yes. NextChat: yes.

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