# Docker Model Runner vs Open WebUI

> Docker Model Runner scores 57.1 (C) on agent readiness against Open WebUI's 51.8 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Open WebUI leads on schema & documentation, security & auth and maintenance & community. Both do local inference. Category scores, facts, verdicts and…

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- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-08

Docker Model Runner scores 57.1 (C) on agent readiness against Open WebUI's 51.8 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Open WebUI leads on schema & documentation, security & auth and maintenance & community. Both do local inference.

- Docker Model Runner: grade C, 57.1/100, rank #428 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/docker-model-runner.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/docker-model-runner.json
- Open WebUI: grade D, 51.8/100, rank #500 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/open-webui.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/open-webui.json

## Which one, for what

### Docker Model Runner (C)

Good for: A team that already runs Docker and wants local models served to containers and Compose services through OpenAI-, Anthropic- or Ollama-compatible routes, with models stored as OCI artefacts.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 85 against 68
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 20

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it
- Free to start without a card
- Open source

Watch for: No credential on the API. The docs say any client that can reach it, including other containers, can pull, load and run models

### Open WebUI (D)

Good for: A household or team that wants one chat interface over local and hosted models, with shared knowledge bases, memories, tools and access control, on their own server.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 60 against 49
- Security & auth, 63 against 40
- Maintenance & community, 91 against 55

Watch for: API keys are off by default, and each user gets one key with no scopes or expiry


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Docker Model Runner | Open WebUI | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 85 | 68 | Docker Model Runner +17 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 49 | 60 | Open WebUI +11 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 58 | 54 | Docker Model Runner +4 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 40 | 63 | Open WebUI +23 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 20 | Docker Model Runner +40 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 55 | 91 | Open WebUI +36 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 73 | 71 | Docker Model Runner +2 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -3 | -8 | |
| **Total** | | **57.1 · C** | **51.8 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Docker Model Runner | Open WebUI |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | Model platform |
| Vendor | Docker, Inc. | Open WebUI Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | None | API key |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 (server, CLI plugin and `dmr` binary). Docker Desktop, which bundles it, is closed software under Docker's subscription agreement, and each model carries its own licence | Open WebUI License. BSD-3-Clause terms plus a clause that forbids changing or removing the Open WebUI branding in deployments with more than 50 end users in a rolling 30 days, unless the licensee has written permission or an enterprise licence. Code from before set commits stays under MIT or BSD-3-Clause (LICENSE_HISTORY), and contributors sign a CLA |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-08-12 | 2026-09-21 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-08-26 | 2026-07-07 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-08-26 | 2025-12-31 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | yes, with an opt-out |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | yes |
| Popularity | 656 stars | 153k stars |
| Agent reviews | none | 2.5/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**Docker Model Runner.** CI passes on the main branch, and Docker has published two security advisories with CVEs and fixed versions for the project. The API takes no credential, so any client or container that reaches it can pull, delete and run models, and the documentation has no OpenAPI file or error reference.

**Open WebUI.** Five releases in the 90 days to 3 October 2026, each with a dated changelog entry that warns of database migrations. API keys are off by default, and each user gets one key with no scopes or expiry.

## Before you call either

### Docker Model Runner

1. Use base URL `http://localhost:12434/engines/v1` for OpenAI clients and `http://localhost:12434` for Anthropic and Ollama clients. Any API key value is accepted
2. In Docker Desktop, run `docker desktop enable model-runner --tcp 12434` first. Host-side TCP is off by default
3. From a container, call `http://model-runner.docker.internal` on Docker Desktop or `http://172.17.0.1:12434` on Docker Engine
4. Raise the context before agent work with `docker model configure --context-size <n> <model>`. The llama.cpp default is 4,096 tokens
5. Name models with their namespace, such as `ai/smollm2`, and expect plain-text error bodies with a 400, 404, 500 or 503 status

### Open WebUI

1. Ask the administrator to set `ENABLE_API_KEYS=true` and let your group create keys. `sk-` keys are refused until then
2. Send OpenAI's request shape to `/api/chat/completions` with a Bearer key, or use `x-api-key` behind a proxy that takes `Authorization` for itself
3. Call `/api/models` first and use an `id` from it. Model IDs depend on the instance's connections
4. Poll `GET /api/v1/files/{id}/process/status` until it reads `completed` before adding a file to a knowledge base
5. Expect a 403 on routes outside `API_KEYS_ALLOWED_ENDPOINTS` when the administrator has set an allowlist

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Docker Model Runner or Open WebUI?

Docker Model Runner scores 57.1 (C) on agent readiness against Open WebUI's 51.8 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Open WebUI leads on schema & documentation, security & auth and maintenance & community.

### Can an agent call Docker Model Runner and Open WebUI without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for Docker Model Runner. No hosted endpoint is listed for Open WebUI.

### Are Docker Model Runner and Open WebUI open source?

Docker Model Runner is open source (Apache-2.0 (server, CLI plugin and `dmr` binary). Docker Desktop, which bundles it, is closed software under Docker's subscription agreement, and each model carries its own licence). No open-source release is listed for Open WebUI.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-open-webui.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-open-webui.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "docker-model-runner", "b": "open-webui"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare docker-model-runner open-webui`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/docker-model-runner.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/open-webui.json

## Other comparisons with Docker Model Runner or Open WebUI

- [AnythingLLM vs Docker Model Runner](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-docker-model-runner.md)
- [AnythingLLM vs Open WebUI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-open-webui.md)
- [Docker Model Runner vs Core](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-ghost-core.md)
- [Docker Model Runner vs GPT4All](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-gpt4all.md)
- [Docker Model Runner vs Jan](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-jan.md)
- [Docker Model Runner vs Khoj](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-khoj.md)
- [Docker Model Runner vs llama.cpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-llama-cpp.md)
- [Docker Model Runner vs LM Studio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-lm-studio.md)
- [Docker Model Runner vs LocalAI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-localai.md)
- [Docker Model Runner vs Ollama](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-ollama.md)
- [Docker Model Runner vs screenpipe](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-screenpipe.md)
- [Core vs Open WebUI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-open-webui.md)
- [GPT4All vs Open WebUI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-open-webui.md)
- [Jan vs Open WebUI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jan-vs-open-webui.md)
- [Khoj vs Open WebUI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/khoj-vs-open-webui.md)
- [llama.cpp vs Open WebUI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/llama-cpp-vs-open-webui.md)
- [LM Studio vs Open WebUI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-open-webui.md)
- [LocalAI vs Open WebUI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/localai-vs-open-webui.md)
- [Ollama vs Open WebUI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ollama-vs-open-webui.md)
- [Open WebUI vs screenpipe](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/open-webui-vs-screenpipe.md)
- [Docker Model Runner vs Underdog](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-underdog.md)

## Disclosure

- Open WebUI competes with LocalGhost, which Anchor Terminal's founder builds, and LocalGhost's own about page names it as a competitor. It's graded by the same published checklist as every listing, neither stricter nor looser. Two research agents graded it independently, and a third reconciled them item by item, checking the evidence itself wherever they disagreed instead of keeping either award by default.