# Run an OpenClaw agent

> I want OpenClaw answering me on WhatsApp or Slack, with its own browser and memory, without keeping my laptop on.

OpenClaw is a self-hosted assistant built around one always-on gateway. It has more official hosting guides than Hermes: two of the sixteen providers deploy it in one click, and four more publish a guide or template.

Guide page: https://botperch.com/use-cases/openclaw/

**Short answer:** The cheapest machine that runs it as described is Agent 37 at $10.60 a month, then Lizard ($19.00) and Boat ($20.00). 11 of 16 providers run it without a catch. The AI model adds about $14.70 a month on top (GLM 5.3, 30 requests a day at 40k tokens each, median zero-retention price; from $6.84 at the cheapest host). List prices checked 29 October 2026.

[OpenClaw](https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq/what-is-openclaw) is an open-source assistant you run on your own infrastructure, for yourself or a team. It replies on the apps you already use, including WhatsApp, Slack, Telegram, Discord, Signal and iMessage, and can read files, run commands, browse and keep memory.
Its centre is the **Gateway**, which the docs call "the always-on control plane": one long-running program that holds every chat connection and hands messages to the agent. Hosting OpenClaw means hosting the Gateway.
Models run through their own APIs, so no GPU is needed. A team can share one Gateway, but the docs are clear that one Gateway is one trust domain: people who do not trust each other need separate ones.

## What it needs

- **Machine size:** At least 1 core, 1 GB of memory and 500 MB of disk; 2 GB or more recommended. OpenClaw's Fly.io guide uses 2 shared CPUs and 2 GB. 2 vCPU / 4 GiB / 20 GiB gives the browser room. [source](https://docs.openclaw.ai/install/raspberry-pi)
- **Does it stay on?:** Yes. The Gateway owns the chat connections, and Telegram uses outbound polling by default. Webhook mode needs a public HTTPS address that is always reachable. [source](https://docs.openclaw.ai/concepts/architecture)
- **What must survive a restart:** ~/.openclaw (config, a SQLite database and chat logins) and the agent's workspace (memory and personality files). Lose the WhatsApp credentials and you scan the QR code again. [source](https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq/where-things-live-on-disk)
- **Browser, Docker, GPU:** A browser is optional; OpenClaw can drive its own Chrome profile. Docker is optional and tool sandboxing is off by default. No GPU for API models. [source](https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools/browser)
- **How busy it is:** Mostly waiting: about 6% CPU on average in Battleships' always-on assistant workload, which names OpenClaw, with peaks near 100%. [source](https://battleships.dev/data/presets.json)

## Picks

- **Agent 37**, If you do not want a terminal: One-click OpenClaw on the same Personal plans as Hermes, from $3.99 a month, with a built-in browser from the $29.99 plan. Watch: The free plan sleeps after 15 idle minutes, and these plans are separate from the Cloud machines the calculator prices. https://www.agent37.com/personal
- **Lizard**, If you want one click and a public address: The Deploy OpenClaw template gives the Gateway an HTTPS address and a token from the browser, inside a $19 monthly plan that comes back as usage. Watch: The template runs on Lizard's app platform, billed at $0.025 per vCPU-hour and $0.0125 per GB-hour, not at the sandbox sizes the calculator uses. https://lizard.build/deploy/openclaw--openclaw
- **Daytona**, If you want OpenClaw's own guide: OpenClaw documents Daytona itself, and the default image already has it installed. $200 of free compute covers the first month or so. Watch: Each sandbox's disk is capped at 10 GiB, and a 2 vCPU / 4 GiB machine on all month is about $122. https://docs.openclaw.ai/install/daytona

## How to run it on each provider

- **Agent 37** (one-click; no terminal: yes): OpenClaw is one of the six agents on the Personal plans, set up in one click and driven from the browser. Price: Personal plans from $3.99 a month; $29.99 with a built-in browser. [Agent 37 Personal](https://www.agent37.com/personal)
- **Lizard** (one-click; no terminal: yes): A Deploy OpenClaw template on Lizard's app platform builds the Gateway, creates its access token and gives it a public HTTPS address. [Lizard: Deploy OpenClaw](https://lizard.build/deploy/openclaw--openclaw)
- **Daytona** (guide; no terminal: partly): OpenClaw publishes a Daytona guide, and OpenClaw is preinstalled in Daytona's default image. Create the sandbox with auto-stop off, connect over SSH and run onboarding. [OpenClaw on Daytona](https://docs.openclaw.ai/install/daytona)
- **Cloudflare Sandbox** (guide; no terminal: no): An official, experimental template: one always-on container with its database copied to R2 storage. OpenClaw estimates roughly $40 to $50 a month. Setup is by command line with Wrangler. [OpenClaw on Cloudflare Containers](https://docs.openclaw.ai/install/cloudflare)
- **E2B** (guide; no terminal: no): A ready-made openclaw template and a gateway guide. Sessions end after 24 hours on Pro, so staying on needs your own restart logic. [E2B: OpenClaw gateway](https://docs.e2b.dev/agents/openclaw/openclaw-gateway)
- **Vercel Sandbox** (guide; no terminal: no): A Vercel walkthrough installs OpenClaw in a sandbox and links WhatsApp by QR code. Sessions end after 24 hours on Pro. [Vercel: OpenClaw in a sandbox](https://vercel.com/kb/guide/running-openclaw-in-vercel-sandbox)
- **Blaxel** (guide; no terminal: no): An official tutorial, which says the install is manual: a sandbox, a volume for its files, and onboarding in the terminal. [Blaxel: OpenClaw](https://docs.blaxel.ai/Tutorials/OpenClaw.md)
- **Boat** (preinstalled; no terminal: no): The OpenClaw command is preinstalled but the Gateway does not start by itself. Turn auto-stop off and run the Gateway as a service. [Boat: always-on services](https://docs.boat.dev/long-running-tasks/always-on-services)
- **boxd** (manual; no terminal: no): boxd's personal-assistant page is written around OpenClaw: install it, turn off bot protection so chat apps can reach it, and turn off auto-hibernate. [boxd: personal assistants](https://docs.boxd.sh/use-cases/personal-assistants)
- **Sandboxer** (manual; no terminal: no): Install OpenClaw in a sandbox with auto-stop off and run the Gateway as a service. No guide. [Sandboxer: long-running tasks](https://sandboxer.com/docs/long-running)
- **Runtime** (manual; no terminal: partly): A browser shell from the dashboard, then a manual install in a persistent sandbox. No guide. [Runtime: getting started](https://withruntime.com/docs/start)
- **InstaBox** (manual; no terminal: partly): The dashboard creates a machine with a browser terminal and desktop; the install is typed by hand. [InstaBox: getting started](https://instabox.sh/docs/start)
- **Sprites** (manual; no terminal: no): Install it in a Sprite and register the Gateway as a service so it comes back after the Sprite pauses. No guide. [Sprites: quickstart](https://docs.fly.io/sprites/quickstart.md)
- **Morph** (manual; no terminal: no): Install it in a Devbox over SSH and expose its port. No guide. [Morph: Devboxes](https://cloud.morph.so/docs/devboxes/getting-started)
- **Modal** (none; no terminal: no): Not documented by either side, and Modal sandboxes end after 24 hours.
- **Tensorlake** (manual; no terminal: no): SSH into a named sandbox on Pro, install OpenClaw and run the Gateway there, with the sandbox kept awake by the Gateway's own traffic. Tensorlake publishes no OpenClaw guide. Crabbox, the CLI from OpenClaw, does have a Tensorlake provider, but it syncs a repo and runs a test suite — it does not host the Gateway, so it is not a route to an OpenClaw agent. [Tensorlake: a sandbox as your dev environment](https://docs.tensorlake.ai/sandboxes/remote-dev)

## Monthly machine cost (preset `personal`)

One always-on 2 vCPU / 4 GiB / 20 GiB machine that keeps its files. It waits for messages most of the time: about 6% CPU on average, with peaks near 100% when it browses or runs a command.

- Agent 37: $10.60
- Lizard: $19.00
- Boat: $20.00
- InstaBox: $20.00
- Runtime: $24.95
- Sandboxer: $40.00
- Morph: $63.00
- Sprites: $77.61
- boxd: $110.90
- Blaxel: $123.29
- Tensorlake: $250.00
- Vercel Sandbox: $73.12 (catch: Sessions end after 24 hours, so an always-on machine has to be restarted by your own code.)
- Cloudflare Sandbox: $99.41 (catch: A stopped instance loses its disk; files have to be backed up to R2 or a snapshot and restored.)
- Daytona: $122.07 (catch: 20 GiB of disk is over the 10 GiB limit.)
- Modal: $143.71 (catch: Sessions end after 24 hours, so an always-on machine has to be restarted by your own code. Modal sandboxes have no stopped state; keeping files needs a Volume or a snapshot.)
- E2B: $270.89 (catch: Sessions end after 24 hours, so an always-on machine has to be restarted by your own code.)

## Outside a sandbox

OpenClaw also documents ordinary hosts. Hostinger sells a one-click managed OpenClaw from $4.99 a month on a two-year term, renewing at $11.99. OpenClaw's Fly.io guide estimates $10 to $15 a month. Railway and Northflank have one-click templates with no price on the guide. Render's free tier sleeps after 15 minutes, which breaks an always-on Gateway.

## Sources

- [What is OpenClaw](https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq/what-is-openclaw)
- [OpenClaw: Gateway architecture](https://docs.openclaw.ai/concepts/architecture)
- [OpenClaw: where things live on disk](https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq/where-things-live-on-disk)
- [OpenClaw: hosting guides](https://docs.openclaw.ai/vps)
- [Hostinger OpenClaw](https://www.hostinger.com/openclaw)
- [Battleships: always-on assistant workload (built by the Boat team)](https://battleships.dev/data/presets.json)