OpenClaw Pricing Guide 2026
What does OpenClaw actually cost in 2026? Self-hosting, managed hosting, and LLM API fees broken down with real numbers. Every option compared side by side.
OpenClaw is open source. The software is free. But running it costs money — either in server fees, managed hosting subscriptions, or your own time. Here's what every option actually costs in 2026, with real numbers and no hidden fees.
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OpenClaw Is Free — But Running It Isn't
Let me clear up the biggest misconception first. OpenClaw's source code is free and open. You can clone the repo right now and run it on your laptop. That part costs nothing.
What costs money:
- A server to run it on (unless your laptop never sleeps)
- LLM API access for the AI models that power your agent
- Your time for setup and maintenance (if self-hosting)
- Managed hosting fees (if you use a provider like MrDelegate)
Let's break down each option.
Option 1: Self-Hosting on a VPS
This is the DIY route. You rent a server, install OpenClaw, configure everything yourself.
Server Costs
OpenClaw needs a minimum of 2GB RAM to run, but I recommend 4GB for any serious use. Here's what the major VPS providers charge:
| Provider | 2GB RAM | 4GB RAM | 8GB RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vultr | $12/mo | $24/mo | $48/mo |
| DigitalOcean | $12/mo | $24/mo | $48/mo |
| Hetzner (EU) | $4/mo | $7/mo | $14/mo |
| Linode | $12/mo | $24/mo | $48/mo |
| AWS Lightsail | $10/mo | $20/mo | $40/mo |
My recommendation: 4GB on Vultr or Hetzner. Vultr gives you US-based servers with low latency. Hetzner is cheaper but EU-only, which adds 80-120ms latency if you're in the US.
Budget pick: $7/month on Hetzner for a 4GB instance. Standard pick: $24/month on Vultr.
LLM API Costs
OpenClaw doesn't include an AI model. It connects to model providers via API. You need at least one:
Anthropic (Claude):
- Claude Sonnet 4: $3 per million input tokens, $15 per million output tokens
- Claude Haiku: $0.25 per million input tokens, $1.25 per million output tokens
- Typical monthly cost for active daily use: $10-30/month
- Heavy agent use (parallel agents, long sessions): $30-80/month
OpenAI (GPT-4o):
- GPT-4o: $2.50 per million input tokens, $10 per million output tokens
- GPT-4o mini: $0.15 per million input tokens, $0.60 per million output tokens
- Typical monthly cost: $8-25/month
Local models (free but limited):
- Ollama with Llama 3, Mistral, or similar
- No API cost, but requires 16GB+ RAM and a capable GPU
- Quality significantly lower than Claude or GPT-4o for complex agent tasks
- Works for: simple automation, basic Q&A, privacy-sensitive environments
My recommendation: Start with Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4 for your main agent and Claude Haiku for background tasks. Budget $15-30/month for API costs with moderate daily use.
Time Costs
The part nobody puts in their spreadsheet:
Initial setup: 8-12 hours
- Server provisioning and security hardening: 1-2 hours
- OpenClaw installation and configuration: 2-3 hours
- Memory system (Hipocampus) setup: 2-3 hours
- Skills installation and testing: 1-2 hours
- Channel connection (Telegram/Discord): 1 hour
- End-to-end testing: 1 hour
Monthly maintenance: 3-5 hours
- OpenClaw updates: 1-2 hours
- Memory system tuning: 30-60 minutes
- Server maintenance (security updates, disk space, logs): 30 minutes
- Debugging issues: 0-2 hours (something breaks every month)
At $50/hour (conservative for a professional): Initial setup = $400-600, monthly maintenance = $150-250.
Total Self-Hosting Cost
| Component | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| VPS (4GB, Vultr) | $24 |
| LLM API (Claude, moderate use) | $20 |
| Time (maintenance, at $50/hr) | $175 |
| Domain (amortized) | $1 |
| Total | $220/month |
| Component | Monthly Cost (Budget) |
|---|---|
| VPS (4GB, Hetzner) | $7 |
| LLM API (GPT-4o mini + Claude Haiku) | $8 |
| Time (if you value it at $0) | $0 |
| Total | $15/month |
The spread is huge: $15/month if you ignore your time and optimize hard, up to $220/month if you value your time honestly. Most people land somewhere around $45-80/month.
Option 2: Managed Hosting
Someone else handles the infrastructure. You get OpenClaw working without touching a terminal.
MrDelegate
| Plan | Price | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $29/mo | 1 dedicated instance, 4GB RAM, Hipocampus memory pre-configured, all skills, 24/7 monitoring, Telegram support |
| Pro | $79/mo | 2 instances, 8GB RAM, priority support, custom domain |
| Business | $199/mo | 5 instances, dedicated infrastructure, SLA, onboarding call |
What's included that you'd pay for separately:
- Server: $24/month value
- Memory configuration: saves 3-4 hours of setup ($150-200 value)
- 24/7 monitoring: saves 1-2 hours/month of checking and debugging
- Skill library: saves 1-2 hours of installation and testing
- Updates: saves 1-2 hours/month of update management
What's NOT included: LLM API costs. You bring your own Anthropic or OpenAI API key. Budget $15-30/month on top of your plan.
Total cost: $44-59/month (Starter + API).
Simen AI
| Plan | Price | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $19/mo | 1 instance, shared infra, basic monitoring |
| Pro | $39/mo | 1 instance, more resources, email support |
Total cost: $34-69/month (plan + API).
Lower base price, but shared infrastructure and no memory pre-configuration.
StartClaw
| Plan | Price | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| Solo | $25/mo | 1 instance, git-based config, container hosting |
| Team | $49/mo | 3 instances, team management |
| Scale | $99/mo | 10 instances, API management |
Total cost: $40-55/month (Solo + API).
Developer-focused. Great if you want git-based configuration management.
ClawCloud
| Plan | Price | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $35/mo | 1 container instance, web dashboard |
| Performance | $65/mo | More resources, priority |
| Enterprise | Custom | SOC 2, dedicated infra |
Total cost: $50-95/month (Standard + API).
Best for teams. More expensive per instance for individual users.
Option 3: Running on Your Own Hardware
If you have a spare machine — an old laptop, a Raspberry Pi 5, a home server — you can run OpenClaw with no monthly server cost.
Requirements:
- 4GB+ RAM (8GB preferred)
- Reliable internet connection
- Machine that stays on 24/7
- Your own domain + dynamic DNS (if you want remote access)
Costs:
- Electricity: $3-8/month (depending on machine)
- Domain: $12/year ($1/month)
- LLM API: $15-30/month
- Total: $19-39/month
The catch: Uptime depends on your hardware and internet. Power outage = agent goes down. ISP hiccup = agent goes offline. No one monitors it but you.
This works great for local-only use (home automation, personal assistant on your network). It's less reliable for anything you depend on being available 24/7.
The Complete Comparison
| Option | Monthly Cost | Setup Time | Maintenance | Memory Included | Uptime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-host (budget) | $15-25 | 8-12 hrs | 3-5 hrs/mo | No | You manage |
| Self-host (realistic) | $45-80 | 8-12 hrs | 3-5 hrs/mo | No | You manage |
| Self-host (true cost) | $170-220 | 8-12 hrs | 3-5 hrs/mo | No | You manage |
| Home hardware | $19-39 | 4-8 hrs | 2-3 hrs/mo | No | Unreliable |
| Simen AI | $34-69 | 1-3 hrs | 1-2 hrs/mo | No | ~99.2% |
| StartClaw | $40-55 | 15-30 min | 1 hr/mo | No | ~99.4% |
| MrDelegate | $44-59 | 5 min | 0 hrs/mo | Yes | 99.7% |
| ClawCloud | $50-95 | 20-30 min | 30 min/mo | No | ~99.5% |
What I Recommend
If you value your time and want it working today: MrDelegate Starter ($29/month + API). Five-minute setup, zero maintenance, memory works from day one. Total cost around $50/month.
If budget is the top priority: Self-host on Hetzner ($7/month) with Claude Haiku ($5/month). Total: $12/month. But plan on spending a weekend getting it set up and a few hours each month keeping it running.
If you're a developer: StartClaw Solo ($25/month + API). Git-based config, good infrastructure, developer-friendly workflow.
If you're running a team: ClawCloud Standard or MrDelegate Business, depending on whether you need web dashboard management (ClawCloud) or dedicated infrastructure with SLA (MrDelegate).
How to Reduce LLM API Costs
Regardless of hosting, API costs are the variable that can surprise you. Here's how to keep them under control:
-
Use the right model for each task. Claude Haiku for background/cron tasks ($0.25/M tokens). Claude Sonnet for focused work ($3/M tokens). Never use the most expensive model for routine operations.
-
Set token budgets. OpenClaw lets you configure max tokens per request. Setting a 2000-token output limit on routine tasks prevents runaway costs from verbose responses.
-
Optimize memory prompts. If your agent loads 10,000 tokens of memory context every request, that adds up. Tune your Hipocampus compaction to keep working memory concise.
-
Monitor usage weekly. Check your Anthropic or OpenAI dashboard every week. If costs spike, identify which tasks are burning tokens and optimize them.
Realistic API budget: $15-30/month for a personal agent used daily. $50-100/month for a business agent running parallel tasks.
The Bottom Line
OpenClaw is free software that costs money to run. The cheapest option is $12/month on a budget VPS with cheap models. The most convenient option is $44-59/month on MrDelegate with no maintenance.
Pick based on what you value: money, time, or control. There's no wrong answer — only tradeoffs.
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