How Much Does OpenClaw Actually Cost? Full Breakdown (2026)
Getting Started · 11 min read
How Much Does OpenClaw Actually Cost? A Real Breakdown (2026)
Last updated: February 2026 · Reading time: 8 minutes
OpenClaw is free and open source. You can download it right now without paying anyone a cent. But "free software" doesn't mean "free to run" — and the gap between those two things catches a lot of people off guard.
Running your own AI assistant has real costs. They're small — most people spend between $5 and $30 per month total — but they exist, and nobody should be surprised by a bill they didn't expect.
Here's exactly where the money goes.
The Three Costs of Running OpenClaw
There are only three things you pay for. Everything else is free.
AI model access — This is the brain of your assistant. You pay Anthropic or OpenAI per message based on how many tokens (roughly words) go in and out. This is your biggest variable cost.
Server hosting — Your assistant needs a computer that stays on. Either your own machine (free) or a cloud server ($4–12/month).
Optional extras — Voice features, custom domains, additional services. Most people don't need these.
That's it. There's no OpenClaw subscription, no license fee, no premium tier. The software itself is MIT licensed — completely free forever.
Cost #1: AI Model Access (The Big One)
This is where most of your money goes, and it varies wildly depending on two things: which model you choose and how much you chat.
Anthropic Claude (Recommended)
OpenClaw works best with Claude, and there are two ways to pay for it.
Option A: API key (pay per use)
You sign up at console.anthropic.com, load credits, and pay per token. This is the most common approach.
| Model | Input (per 1M tokens) | Output (per 1M tokens) | Typical daily cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 4.6 | $15.00 | $75.00 | $0.50–2.00 |
| Claude Sonnet 4.5 | $3.00 | $15.00 | $0.10–0.50 |
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | $0.80 | $4.00 | $0.03–0.15 |
What do those numbers actually mean in practice?
A typical back-and-forth message — you send a paragraph, your assistant replies with a few paragraphs — uses roughly 1,000–3,000 tokens. With Claude Sonnet, that single exchange costs about $0.005 to $0.02. Fractions of a cent.
If you send 30 messages a day (which is quite active), you're looking at roughly:
- Opus 4.6: $0.50–2.00/day → $15–60/month
- Sonnet 4.5: $0.10–0.50/day → $3–15/month
- Haiku 4.5: $0.03–0.15/day → $1–5/month
Most people land somewhere in the Sonnet range. It's the sweet spot between capability and cost — smart enough for almost everything, cheap enough to use without thinking about it.
Option B: Claude Pro/Max subscription (OAuth)
OpenClaw supports connecting through a Claude Pro ($20/month) or Claude Max ($100/month or $200/month) subscription using OAuth. This means instead of paying per token, you use your existing Claude subscription.
The upside is predictable billing — you already know what you're paying. The downside is that subscription limits apply, and heavy OpenClaw usage can eat into your allocation faster than manual chatting does.
This works well if you're already paying for Claude Pro and your usage is moderate.
OpenAI GPT
If you prefer OpenAI, the pricing structure is similar.
| Model | Input (per 1M tokens) | Output (per 1M tokens) | Typical daily cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-4o | $2.50 | $10.00 | $0.08–0.40 |
| GPT-4o mini | $0.15 | $0.60 | $0.01–0.05 |
GPT-4o mini is absurdly cheap. If you're cost-sensitive and don't need the strongest reasoning, it's worth trying. The trade-off is that complex tasks and long conversations won't be handled as well as with Claude Opus or Sonnet.
Our suggestion
Start with Claude Sonnet 4.5. It handles 95% of what most people ask their assistant to do — emails, reminders, web searches, scheduling — and costs $3–15/month for normal use. If you find it struggling with complex tasks, switch to Opus for those specific sessions.
You can set this up in your config and change it anytime:
{
"agent": {
"model": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5"
}
}
Cost #2: Server Hosting
Your assistant needs to run somewhere. You have three options.
Option A: Your own computer — Free
If you have a desktop, Mac Mini, or old laptop that stays on and connected to the internet, you can run OpenClaw on it at no extra cost. Many people start this way.
The downside is obvious: close the lid, lose your assistant. Power outage, internet hiccup, system update that requires a restart — any of these take your assistant offline. Fine for testing, unreliable for daily use.
Cost: $0/month
Option B: Cheap cloud server — $4–12/month
This is what most serious OpenClaw users end up doing. A small virtual private server running 24/7 in a data center somewhere, accessible from anywhere.
The best options right now:
| Provider | Cheapest plan | Recommended plan | Free credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hetzner | €3.29/mo (2 vCPU, 2 GB) | €3.79/mo (2 vCPU, 4 GB) | None |
| DigitalOcean | $6/mo (1 vCPU, 1 GB) | $12/mo (1 vCPU, 2 GB) | $200 for new accounts |
| Vultr | $6/mo (1 vCPU, 1 GB) | $12/mo (1 vCPU, 2 GB) | $100 for new accounts |
Hetzner's ARM server at €3.79/month is the best deal in cloud hosting right now. For less than four euros, you get more power than OpenClaw will ever use.
DigitalOcean is more expensive but has a 1-click OpenClaw deployment in their marketplace, which saves you 15–20 minutes of manual setup. Plus the $200 free credit for new accounts covers over six months of hosting.
→ See our full hosting comparison
Cost: $4–12/month
Option C: DigitalOcean with free credits — Free for 6+ months
New DigitalOcean accounts get $200 in credit. A $6/month droplet means those credits last over 33 months. Even the $12/month recommended plan lasts 16+ months on free credits alone.
This is the best way to start if you've never used DigitalOcean before. You get months of free hosting to decide if OpenClaw is worth keeping long-term, with zero financial risk.
→ Get $200 free credit on DigitalOcean
Cost: $0/month for the first 6–33 months, then $6–12/month
Cost #3: Optional Extras
Most people don't need any of these, but they exist if you want them.
ElevenLabs (voice features) — If you want your assistant to speak with a realistic voice through Voice Wake or Talk Mode, you'll need an ElevenLabs subscription. Their free tier includes limited characters per month. Paid plans start at $5/month. Most people skip this.
Custom domain — If you want to access your OpenClaw dashboard at something like assistant.yourdomain.com instead of an IP address. A domain costs $10–15/year. Completely optional.
Tailscale — Free for personal use. Lets you securely access your OpenClaw dashboard from anywhere without exposing it to the public internet. Highly recommended if you're running on a cloud server, and it doesn't cost anything.
Cost: $0–5/month (most people pay nothing here)
Real Monthly Budgets
Here's what actual OpenClaw usage looks like at different levels.
The Casual User — ~$5/month
You send 10–15 messages a day. Reminders, quick questions, occasional email summaries. You run OpenClaw on a Hetzner server.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Claude Sonnet API | ~$2/month |
| Hetzner CAX11 | €3.79/month (~$4) |
| Total | ~$6/month |
The Daily Driver — ~$15/month
You use your assistant throughout the day. 30–50 messages, email management, calendar scheduling, web searches. Running on DigitalOcean.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Claude Sonnet API | ~$8/month |
| DigitalOcean droplet | $6/month |
| Total | ~$14/month |
The Power User — ~$35/month
You lean on your assistant heavily. Complex research, long conversations, browser automation, multiple channels. You use Opus for the hard stuff and Sonnet for everything else.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Claude Opus + Sonnet API | ~$25/month |
| DigitalOcean droplet | $12/month |
| Total | ~$37/month |
The Frugal User — ~$1/month
You use Haiku for basic tasks, run OpenClaw on your own computer, and keep conversations short.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Claude Haiku API | ~$1/month |
| Self-hosted | $0 |
| Total | ~$1/month |
How to Keep Costs Down
A few practical tips if you want to minimize spending.
Use Sonnet as your default, Opus only when needed. You can switch models mid-conversation with a chat command. Use Sonnet for everyday tasks and only invoke Opus for complex reasoning or long research sessions.
Set up model failover. OpenClaw supports automatic failover — if your primary model hits a rate limit, it falls back to a cheaper one. Configure this in your settings so you never accidentally burn through expensive API calls.
Keep context windows short. The biggest cost driver is long conversations where the entire history gets sent with every message. Use /compact regularly to summarize and trim your session context, or use /new to start fresh sessions for unrelated tasks.
Use free credits. Between DigitalOcean's $200, Vultr's $100, and occasional Anthropic promotions, you could potentially run OpenClaw for a year without paying for hosting.
Skip voice features unless you really want them. ElevenLabs is cool but adds cost. The text-based experience is already excellent.
OpenClaw vs Paid AI Assistants
For context, here's how OpenClaw's total cost compares to commercial alternatives.
| Service | Monthly cost | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| OpenClaw (typical) | $10–20 | Full control, unlimited customization, your data stays private, works on any channel |
| ChatGPT Plus | $20 | Web-only, limited tool use, no messaging integration |
| Claude Pro | $20 | Web-only, no WhatsApp/Telegram, no automation |
| Notion AI | $10 | Limited to Notion, no messaging, no email |
| Virtual Assistant (human) | $300–2,000+ | Fully capable but expensive and limited hours |
OpenClaw at $10–20/month gives you something that doesn't exist as a commercial product — a private AI assistant embedded in your actual messaging apps that you fully control. The closest alternative would be hiring a human VA, which costs 10–100x more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is OpenClaw really free?
The software is free. Running it costs money because you need AI model access (the brain) and ideally a server (the body). Think of it like a free car that still needs fuel and a parking spot.
Can I use a free AI model?
OpenClaw supports local models through Ollama, but the experience is significantly worse than Claude or GPT. Local models are slower, less capable, and require a powerful computer with a good GPU. For most people, paying a few dollars per month for a cloud API is a better experience.
What if I go over budget?
Anthropic and OpenAI both let you set spending limits. Configure a monthly cap on your API account so you'll never get an unexpected bill. OpenClaw also has usage tracking built in — use the /status command to check your current session costs.
Are there any hidden costs?
No. The three categories above (AI model, hosting, optional extras) cover everything. There's no hidden bandwidth fees, no per-message charges from OpenClaw itself, no premium features locked behind a paywall.
Can I try it before spending anything?
Yes. Install OpenClaw on your own computer, use Claude Haiku (cheapest model), and test it over Telegram. Your total cost will be pennies for the first few days. If you like it, then invest in a proper server setup.
Ready to get started? Follow our complete setup guide to have your assistant running in 30 minutes, or check out our hosting comparison to pick the right server.