HuggingChat
What HuggingChat is
HuggingChat is a web chat app for working with open source AI models, with an open source Chat UI that can also be self-hosted. Its Omni system analyzes each request, routes it to a task-suitable model, and can fall back when the first model is unavailable. Users may choose an available model directly, and the maker’s announcement described more than 115 models from over 15 providers. The interface shows which model handles a request while it streams and can run several conversations at once. Features include web search, file uploads, image uploads on vision-capable models, and MCP server function calling. HuggingChat Tools can expose Gradio Spaces inside the chat. Chat UI connects with Hugging Face Inference Providers, Ollama, llama.cpp, OpenRouter, and other OpenAI-compatible endpoints. A Hugging Face account is required. Free users use inference credits; PRO costs $9 a month and includes $2 of monthly inference credits plus 20x more HuggingChat credits. Generated content may be inaccurate or false.
Who it suits
It suits people seeking open source model access through a web chat, including users who want model choice, uploads, integrations, or self-hosting. It also fits users who can work within credit limits and account requirements.
What it does well
- Free plan with inference credits
- Routes requests among 115+ models
- Supports file and image uploads
- Open source Chat UI can be self-hosted
- Connects to multiple AI endpoints
What to know first
- Hugging Face account required
- Inference use depends on available credits
- Generated content may be inaccurate or false
- ML Intern jobs stop when credits run out
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free users can use their inference credits · usage is subject to available credits | Free |
| Hugging Face PRO | /month · $2 of included inference credits monthly · PRO members get 20x more credits to use in HuggingChat | $9 a month |
As huggingface.co lists them, read 12 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Verdict
HuggingChat combines model routing, direct model selection, uploads, tools, and self-hosting options in one chat interface. Its free access is credit-based, while PRO adds credits for $9 a month, and users should account for the stated accuracy warning.
Facts from HuggingChat's own pages
- Account requirement
- The HuggingChat login page says users need a Hugging Face account to use HuggingChat. · huggingface.co, 12 Oct 2026
- Accuracy limit
- The live HuggingChat page warns that generated content may be inaccurate or false. · huggingface.co, 12 Oct 2026
- Automatic routing
- Omni automatically selects an AI model based on the request, and users can also choose an available open source model directly. · huggingface.co, 11 Oct 2026
- Background generation
- The announcement says multiple conversations can generate at the same time, with updates appearing when responses finish. · huggingface.co, 12 Oct 2026
- Billing limit
- ML Intern's jobs and sandboxes are billed to Hugging Face credits, and jobs stop when the account credit balance runs out. · huggingface.co, 12 Oct 2026
- Conversation export
- The closure announcement said users could export past conversations as a ZIP file for use in another interface. · huggingface.co, 11 Oct 2026
- Credits
- The announcement says free users can use their inference credits and PRO users get 20x more credits to use. · huggingface.co, 11 Oct 2026
- File uploads
- Yes · huggingface.co, 20 Sept 2026
- Free plan
- Yes · huggingface.co, 20 Sept 2026
- Integration
- The announcement describes HuggingChat Tools as exposing Gradio Spaces from within the chat interface. · huggingface.co, 11 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The open source Chat UI connects to Hugging Face Inference Providers, Ollama, llama.cpp, OpenRouter, and other OpenAI-compatible API endpoints. · huggingface.co, 12 Oct 2026
- ML Intern
- ML Intern can read papers, write scripts, run machine-learning work on Hugging Face compute, and report results. · huggingface.co, 12 Oct 2026
- Model catalog
- The maker's Omni announcement described 115+ available models and 15+ providers powered by Hugging Face Inference Providers. · huggingface.co, 12 Oct 2026
- Model routing
- Omni automatically picks an AI model based on the user's request, and users can also choose an available open source model directly. · huggingface.co, 12 Oct 2026
- Model selection
- The Omni announcement listed 115+ available models and 15+ providers through Hugging Face Inference Providers. · huggingface.co, 11 Oct 2026
- Privacy contact
- Hugging Face's privacy policy lists [email protected] for questions about the policy. · huggingface.co, 11 Oct 2026
- Product
- HuggingChat is a chat app powered by open source AI models. · huggingface.co, 12 Oct 2026
- Product status
- A July 2025 announcement said HuggingChat was closing, and an October 2025 announcement said it had returned as HuggingChat Omni. · huggingface.co, 11 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- HuggingChat is a chat app powered by open source AI models. · huggingface.co, 11 Oct 2026
- Routing details
- Omni analyzes a message and routes it to a model suited to the task, with fallback models if the primary model is unavailable. · huggingface.co, 11 Oct 2026
- Self-hosting
- The maker says HuggingChat is open source and provides setup instructions for running an instance yourself. · huggingface.co, 12 Oct 2026
- Support
- The HuggingChat Space invites users to share feedback in its public discussion thread. · huggingface.co, 11 Oct 2026
- Task routing
- Omni routes requests to task-specific models and shows which model handled each request while it streams. · huggingface.co, 12 Oct 2026
- Tools and multimodal input
- The Chat UI documentation describes MCP server function calling and image uploads on models that support vision. · huggingface.co, 12 Oct 2026
Where HuggingChat stands on Freedom251
- Ai Assistant#15 of 25
- AI chatbots and assistants#53 of 65