OpenClaw is free and open source. But running it costs money. Here is exactly what you will spend.
The Two Costs
- Hosting — The server ($0-12/month)
- AI Model — The LLM powering your agent ($0-50/month)
Tier 1: Free ($0/month)
- Server: Oracle Cloud Always Free (4 ARM CPUs, 24GB RAM)
- AI Model: Google Gemini free tier or local Ollama
- Catch: Oracle signup is limited availability
Tier 2: Budget ($5-10/month)
The sweet spot:
- Server: Hostinger VPS $4.99/mo (4GB RAM)
- AI Model: DeepSeek API ~$1-3/mo
- Total: $5-10/month
Tier 3: Standard ($15-30/month)
- Server: DigitalOcean $12/mo
- AI Model: Claude Sonnet ~$5-15/mo
- Total: $15-30/month
AI Model Cost Comparison
| Model | Cost per 1M tokens | Monthly estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini Flash | $0.075 | $1-3 |
| DeepSeek V3 | $0.27 | $2-5 |
| Claude Haiku | $0.25 | $2-5 |
| Claude Sonnet | $3.00 | $5-15 |
| Claude Opus | $15.00 | $20-40 |
5 Tips to Save Money
- Use Claude Sonnet not Opus — 90% quality at 20% cost
- Set token limits in config.yaml
- Use OpenRouter for automatic model fallback
- Bridge your $20/mo Claude Pro subscription
- Run local models for simple tasks
Bottom Line
Most people spend $5-15/month. Less than Netflix for a 24/7 AI assistant.
Full hosting comparison: Best VPS for OpenClaw
Free resources:
Recommended Tools
- Vultr — cloud VPS hosting
- ElevenLabs — AI voice generation
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