OpenClaw Pricing: How Much Does It Actually Cost? (2026)

OpenClaw itself is free forever. The real cost is AI model API usage -- typically $5-30/month. Here's a complete breakdown of every expense, plus how to run it for $0.

OpenClaw is 100% free and open-source software under the MIT license. There is no subscription, no premium tier, and no paywall. The only cost is the AI model API you connect to it -- typically $5-30/month for most users. You can also run it completely free using local models through Ollama.

Below is a full breakdown of every cost involved: the software, the AI models, the hosting, and how it compares to alternatives. Plus real user stories about what they actually spend.

The Software: Free Forever

OpenClaw is MIT-licensed. That means:

• No license fee -- download, install, and run for free
• No feature gates -- every feature is available to everyone
• No user limits -- connect as many channels and users as you want
• No lock-in -- your data stays on your machine, export anytime
• Commercial use allowed -- use it for your business without restrictions

This is not a "free tier" or a trial. The entire codebase is open source on GitHub. The team behind OpenClaw makes money from managed hosting (OpenClaw Cloud, launching later this year) and enterprise support -- not from the software itself.

AI Model API Costs (The Real Expense)

OpenClaw is a shell. It needs an AI model to generate responses. That model costs money (unless you use a local one). Here's what most users actually spend:

These numbers assume Claude Sonnet 4.5 as the model. Using a cheaper model (like Haiku) cuts costs by 60-70%. Using a more expensive model (like Opus) roughly doubles them.

Model Pricing Comparison

Here are the major models you can use with OpenClaw, with their per-million-token pricing as of February 2026:

The Subscription Alternative

Instead of paying per-token via APIs, you can use a subscription plan and route it through OpenClaw. This makes sense for high-volume users:

The math: if your API bill would exceed $20/month, a Claude Pro subscription saves money. If it would exceed $100/month, Max 5x is cheaper. At the extreme end, Max 20x at $200/month is 5-10x cheaper than the equivalent API spend for heavy users.

Hosting Options

OpenClaw needs to run somewhere. Here are your options, from free to fully managed:

For personal use, running OpenClaw on your own machine costs nothing but only works while your computer is on. For always-on bots, a $4-6/month VPS handles it. OpenClaw uses minimal resources -- a 1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU server is plenty for most workloads.

How to Run OpenClaw for $0

Here's the truly free stack, no credit card required:

1. Software: OpenClaw (free, MIT license)
2. Hosting: Oracle Cloud Free Tier (free forever, 1 GB RAM VM)
3. AI Model: Ollama + Llama 3.3 8B (free, runs locally or on the VM)
4. Channel: Telegram bot via BotFather (free)

Total monthly cost: $0.

The trade-offs are real. Local models on a 1 GB VM will be slow (3-8 seconds per response vs. under 1 second with cloud APIs). Response quality is a step below Claude or GPT-4o. But for personal assistants, hobby projects, and testing -- it works.

Another free option: several API providers offer free tiers. Google's Gemini API has a generous free tier. OpenRouter sometimes offers free credits for new accounts. These won't last forever, but they're a good way to start.

OpenClaw vs. Alternatives: Cost Comparison

How does OpenClaw's total cost compare to other tools that do similar things?

OpenClaw's advantage is clear: you pay only for what you use (AI tokens), with no platform tax on top. Zapier charges per-task fees that add up fast. Botpress locks you into their cloud. Custom development has massive upfront costs.

The trade-off is setup effort. Zapier is drag-and-drop. OpenClaw requires a terminal and 20 minutes of configuration. For people comfortable with that (or willing to follow a guide), the savings are significant.

Real User Cost Stories

The $8/month personal assistant

A freelance writer runs OpenClaw on their MacBook with Claude Haiku 4.5. The bot handles scheduling reminders, draft outlines, and quick research via Telegram. They process about 30-40 messages per day. Monthly API bill: $6-10.

The $27/month small business bot

A small e-commerce store uses OpenClaw with Claude Sonnet 4.5 to handle customer questions on WhatsApp. About 150 messages per day, mostly product inquiries and order status. They host on a $6/month DigitalOcean droplet. Total cost: $21 API + $6 hosting = $27/month. Before OpenClaw, they paid a virtual assistant $600/month for the same work.

The $3,600/month power user

An agency runs OpenClaw across 12 Discord servers and 8 Telegram groups for client communities. They use Claude Opus 4.6 for high-quality responses and process 2,000+ messages per day. Monthly API bill: roughly $3,200. Hosting on a dedicated server: $40/month. They've considered switching to Sonnet to cut costs by 60%, but clients notice the quality difference.

10 Tips to Control Costs

1. Set a daily spend limit. openclaw config set limits.maxDailySpend 10 -- OpenClaw pauses when you hit it.
2. Use the right model for the job. Haiku 4.5 handles 80% of simple Q&A. Save Opus for complex reasoning.
3. Enable model routing. OpenClaw's model.routing config can automatically pick cheap models for simple messages and expensive ones for complex queries.
4. Set message length limits. Cap input and output tokens to prevent rambling responses: openclaw config set model.maxOutputTokens 500.
5. Rate-limit per user. Prevent one user from burning through your budget: limits.maxMessagesPerUserPerHour 20.
6. Use system prompt caching. Anthropic's prompt caching gives up to 90% off input tokens for repeated system prompts -- which is exactly how OpenClaw works.
7. Monitor with the dashboard. openclaw dashboard shows real-time token usage and cost per channel.
8. Batch non-urgent tasks. Use the Batch API (50% off) for scheduled reports and summaries that don't need instant responses.
9. Compress conversation history. openclaw config set memory.maxHistory 10 limits how many past messages are sent as context. Less context = fewer input tokens.
10. Start with Haiku, upgrade later. Begin with the cheapest model. Only upgrade when you hit quality limits for your specific use case.

Total Cost Summary

Here's what OpenClaw actually costs for the three most common setups:

Getting Started with OpenClaw

Ready to try OpenClaw?

1. Install OpenClaw -- takes under 20 minutes with the one-line installer
2. Start with Claude Haiku 4.5 or GPT-4o mini to keep costs minimal while testing
3. Set a daily spend limit before connecting to a live channel
4. Upgrade your model once you know what quality level your use case needs

For a coding-focused AI agent with predictable subscription pricing, see our guide to Claude Code. For a detailed comparison, read OpenClaw vs Claude Code.