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

Last Updated: February 2026

OpenClaw is free, but running it costs money. Here's a complete breakdown of what you'll actually pay.

The Short Answer

Cost Breakdown

OpenClaw Software: FREE

OpenClaw itself is open-source and free forever:

• No license fees
• No subscription
• No usage limits from OpenClaw

You pay only for the AI models you use.

AI Model Costs

This is your main expense. Costs depend on which provider and how much you use it.

Claude (Anthropic)

Typical monthly: $20-100

GPT-4 (OpenAI)

Typical monthly: $15-80

Local Models (Ollama)

Cost: $0 (runs on your hardware)

Trade-off: Requires decent hardware (16GB+ RAM, GPU helps). Quality varies by model.

Hosting Costs (If Not Running Locally)

Running OpenClaw on a server:

Optional Paid Services

Cost Scenarios

Scenario 1: Budget Setup ($5-15/month)

• Model: GPT-4o or Claude Sonnet
• Usage: Light (few conversations/day)
• Hosting: Local Mac/PC
• Channels: Telegram (free)

Scenario 2: Typical User ($30-60/month)

• Model: Claude Sonnet
• Usage: Moderate (daily use, some automation)
• Hosting: DigitalOcean droplet ($12)
• Channels: Multiple
• Skills: A few premium

Scenario 3: Power User ($100-200/month)

• Model: Claude Opus for complex tasks
• Usage: Heavy (always-on, automation)
• Hosting: Dedicated server ($20-40)
• Services: Firecrawl, premium skills
• Support: Community membership

Scenario 4: Zero Cost

• Model: Ollama (local)
• Hosting: Your computer
• Trade-off: Limited model quality, your hardware running 24/7

How to Reduce Costs

1. Use Cheaper Models for Simple Tasks

Route simple questions to GPT-4o-mini ($0.15/M tokens) and save Opus for complex reasoning.

# In your config
models:
  default: claude-3-5-sonnet
  simple: gpt-4o-mini

2. Enable Caching

Repeated queries can use cached responses:

caching:
  enabled: true
  ttl: 3600

3. Limit Context Window

Shorter context = fewer tokens = lower cost:

context:
  maxTokens: 8000  # Instead of 128K

4. Use Local Models for Development

Test and iterate with Ollama, then switch to cloud for production.

5. Monitor Usage

openclaw usage

Track spending and set alerts before you overspend.

OpenClaw Cloud Pricing

For managed hosting with zero setup:

Note: You still pay AI provider costs on top of cloud hosting.

Free Tier Possibilities

OpenRouter Free Tier

Some models have free tiers with rate limits. Good for testing.

Anthropic/OpenAI Free Credits

New accounts often get $5-20 in free credits. Use them to evaluate.

Local Models

Ollama, LM Studio, and others run entirely free on your hardware.

Price Comparison: OpenClaw vs Alternatives

OpenClaw costs more than ChatGPT Plus but does infinitely more. It's cheaper than hiring a developer to build custom automation.

FAQ

Is OpenClaw really free?

The software is free. You pay for AI model API calls and optional hosting/services.

What's the minimum to get started?

$0 with local models, or ~$5-10/month with cloud AI and light usage.

Can I set spending limits?

Yes. Most AI providers let you set monthly caps. OpenClaw also has usage monitoring.

Why not just use ChatGPT Plus?

ChatGPT Plus is a chat interface. OpenClaw is an autonomous agent that can DO things — browse, execute commands, manage files, send messages. Different use cases.

Do costs increase over time?

Depends on usage. More conversations = more tokens = more cost. But AI prices generally decrease over time.

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OpenClaw's cost scales with usage. Start cheap, pay more as you get more value. The ROI is usually obvious within a week.