NamerynOpenClaw Hosting Compared
Five places to run OpenClaw around the clock: a managed plan, three one-click installs on your own server and a free tier you set up by hand. What each costs a month, where it runs, how it is set up and what to watch, every cell read on the host's own page or OpenClaw's docs and dated.
Snapshot of October 19, 2026
| Host | Price a month | Regions | Setup | What to watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Managed for you | ||||
| HostingerChecked on October 19, 2026. Source: hostinger.com | From $4.99 a month paid upfront (77% off $21.99); renews at $11.99 a month for 2 years | Hostinger says 10 data centers across 4 continents, from Boston to Jakarta; the OpenClaw page names none source | One click: installed and maintained for you, Telegram pairing built in, preconfigured AI credits or your own ChatGPT | The starting price needs the full term paid upfront; the renewal is more than double |
| One-click install on your own server | ||||
| ContaboChecked on October 19, 2026. Source: contabo.com | Cloud VPS 4 at €5.50 a month, the effective rate on a 24-month term, taxes included | 9 regions and 11 locations: the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, Japan, India and Australia | Free pre-installed OpenClaw: a one-click install on the VPS | Contabo sets up the first install; keeping OpenClaw running and fixing it is up to you |
| DigitalOceanChecked on October 19, 2026. Source: marketplace.digitalocean.com | $24 a month for the 4 GB Droplet the 1-Click listing uses as its example; $6 a month for the 1 GB Droplet in OpenClaw's own guide source | 16 data centers in the US, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, India, Singapore and Australia source | A 1-Click Marketplace app on Ubuntu 24.04 (OpenClaw 2026.9.3), or a plain Droplet set up by hand | OpenClaw's guide says to avoid Marketplace 1-click images unless you have reviewed their startup scripts and firewall defaults source |
| RailwayChecked on October 19, 2026. Source: railway.com | Hobby plan at $5 a month, which includes $5 of usage; a 30-day trial with $5 of credits and no card | Four: California and Virginia in the US, Amsterdam and Singapore source | One click from a community template with a browser setup page; not an official Railway or OpenClaw product source | Templates are made by other users: read the template's source before you deploy it source |
| Free, set up by hand | ||||
| Oracle Cloud Free TierChecked on October 19, 2026. Source: docs.oracle.com | Free: 1,500 OCPU hours and 9,000 GB hours a month on Arm, equal to 2 OCPUs and 12 GB of memory, plus 200 GB of block storage | Your home region only, the one you pick at sign-up | By hand: an Ubuntu 24.04 Arm instance reached over Tailscale, in OpenClaw's own guide source | Oracle may reclaim an idle instance (under 20% CPU, network and memory for 7 days); free capacity can run out; some tools need Arm builds |
Prices are as each host shows them, before tax unless the host says otherwise. The weekly check rereads every source and lists the pages that moved for a person to read before anything here changes.
Which One Fits
- You want it running without a terminal: Hostinger's 1-click OpenClaw, which it keeps up for you.
- You want your own server for the least money: Contabo, with OpenClaw pre-installed for free on a 24-month term.
- You already use DigitalOcean: the 1-Click app, or a plain Droplet as in OpenClaw's own guide.
- You want to try it for a few dollars: Railway's Hobby plan and a community template you have read first.
- You want it free and do not mind the setup: Oracle's free tier on Arm, kept busy enough that Oracle does not reclaim it.
Before You Deploy
Wherever it runs, OpenClaw keeps its memory in files on that server and sends each message to the model you connect. OpenClaw's own Oracle guide binds the gateway to the server itself and reaches it over Tailscale, so no port is open to the internet; do the same on any host, and paste your config into the OpenClaw config checker before you deploy. Private AI Agents shows what stays on your machine, and the persona card writes the IDENTITY.md that gives it a name.
FAQ
Where can I host OpenClaw?
On any server you control. Hostinger runs it for you, Contabo and DigitalOcean install it on your own server in one click, Railway deploys it from a community template, and Oracle's free tier runs it if you set it up by hand. You can also run it on your own computer.
Can I run OpenClaw for free?
On Oracle Cloud's free tier, yes: Oracle gives 1,500 OCPU hours and 9,000 GB hours a month on Arm, equal to 2 OCPUs and 12 GB of memory, in your home region. Oracle may reclaim an instance it sees as idle, and free capacity can run out. You still pay for the AI model you connect, unless it runs locally.
Which hosts install OpenClaw in one click?
Hostinger (managed, with AI credits), Contabo (free pre-installed OpenClaw on its VPS), DigitalOcean (a 1-Click Marketplace app) and Railway (community templates). OpenClaw's own DigitalOcean guide uses a plain Droplet and says to review a Marketplace image before using it.
How much does OpenClaw hosting cost?
From free on Oracle's tier, to $5 a month on Railway's Hobby plan, €5.50 a month at Contabo on a 24-month term, $4.99 a month at Hostinger paid upfront (renewing at $11.99), and $6 to $24 a month on DigitalOcean depending on the Droplet.
Is OpenClaw itself free?
Yes. OpenClaw is free, open-source software; you pay for the server and for the AI model provider you connect, unless the model runs on your own machine.