# Free alternatives to ChatGPT Plus

> ChatGPT Plus (Plus) costs $240 a year. Free alternatives: Open WebUI, Ollama and Jan. Data checked 2026-10-17.

- Page: https://stoprenting.dev/apps/chatgpt-plus/
- Category: AI (https://stoprenting.dev/categories/ai/)
- Vendor: OpenAI
- Plan: Plus
- Price: $20/month, $240/year
- Billing: monthly
- Price quote from the vendor's page: "Plus Do more with advanced intelligence $20 / month"
- Price source: https://openai.com/chatgpt/pricing/ (checked 2026-10-17)

## Alternatives

### Open WebUI

- Website: https://openwebui.com
- Repository: https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui (154,664 stars, last push 2026-10-12)
- License: Open WebUI License (BSD-3 + branding clause; not OSI)
- Open source: no, source-available license
- Type: server app
- Linux: self-hosted server; web UI
- Self-hostable: yes
- More: https://stoprenting.dev/alternatives/open-webui/
- Checked: 2026-10-17

### Ollama

- Website: https://ollama.com
- Repository: https://github.com/ollama/ollama (183,094 stars, last push 2026-10-14)
- License: MIT
- Open source: yes, OSI-approved license
- Type: command-line tool
- Linux: Arch extra: ollama
- Self-hostable: no
- Install: `sudo pacman -S ollama`
- More: https://stoprenting.dev/alternatives/ollama/
- Checked: 2026-10-17

### Jan

- Website: https://jan.ai
- Repository: https://github.com/janhq/jan (44,879 stars, last push 2026-10-10)
- License: Apache-2.0
- Open source: yes, OSI-approved license
- Type: desktop app
- Linux: AUR: jan-bin; Flathub: ai.jan.Jan
- Self-hostable: no
- Install: `yay -S jan-bin`, `flatpak install flathub ai.jan.Jan`
- More: https://stoprenting.dev/alternatives/jan/
- Checked: 2026-10-17

## FAQ

### Is there a free alternative to ChatGPT Plus?

Yes. The 3 free alternatives are Open WebUI (source-available, Open WebUI License), Ollama (open source, MIT) and Jan (open source, Apache-2.0).

### How much does ChatGPT Plus cost?

ChatGPT Plus's Plus plan costs $20 a month, which is $240 a year (monthly). Source: the official pricing page at openai.com, checked Oct 17, 2026.

### Which ChatGPT Plus alternatives run on Linux?

Open WebUI (self-hosted server; web UI), Ollama (Arch extra: ollama) and Jan (AUR: jan-bin; Flathub: ai.jan.Jan).

### Can you self-host a ChatGPT Plus alternative?

Yes. Open WebUI runs on your own server. Ollama is a command-line tool and Jan is a desktop app.

### Are these ChatGPT Plus alternatives open source?

Not all of them. Open WebUI (Open WebUI License) is source-available: the code is public, but the license isn't OSI-approved open source. Ollama (MIT) and Jan (Apache-2.0) are open source.

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Source: Stop Renting (https://stoprenting.dev). Methodology: https://stoprenting.dev/methodology/