Running OpenClaw 24/7 means picking a hosting provider that fits your budget, technical skill level, and uptime requirements. The ecosystem has matured fast — there are now 20+ hosting options ranging from one-click managed platforms to bare-metal VPS deployments.
We tested the most popular providers and compared them on price, setup time, features, and reliability. Here's what we found.
Quick Comparison Table
Provider | Setup Time | Starting Price | Free Tier | Self-Hosted | Best For
SimpleClaw | < 1 min | $9/mo | No | No | Beginners who want zero friction
1MinuteClaw | < 1 min | $5/mo | Yes | No | Budget-conscious users
ClawOn Cloud | 2 min | Free | Yes | No | Trying OpenClaw for the first time
AlfredClaw | 2 min | Pay-as-you-go | No | No | On-demand / burst usage
OpenClaw Deploy | 5 min | $5/mo VPS | No | Yes | Developers who want full control
LobsterFarm | 30 sec | $4/mo (Hetzner) | No | Yes | European users, cost optimization
RunClaw | 5 min | BYO server | No | Yes | CLI power users
SetupClaw | Done for you | Custom quote | No | Yes (Mac) | Mac Mini home server setups
Managed Hosting (Zero DevOps)
If you want OpenClaw running without touching a terminal, managed hosting is the way to go. These providers handle infrastructure, updates, and monitoring.
SimpleClaw — The Market Leader
SimpleClaw is the largest OpenClaw hosting provider by revenue and user count. One-click deployment gets you a fully configured instance with 24/7 uptime monitoring, automatic updates, and a web dashboard for managing your agent.
Strengths: Rock-solid uptime, active support community, automatic SOUL.md configuration backup.
Trade-offs: Higher price point than self-hosted. Less customization than VPS-based options.
Best for: Users who value reliability over cost optimization. Teams running OpenClaw for business automation.
1MinuteClaw — Fast and Affordable
1MinuteClaw lives up to its name — deployment takes under 60 seconds. The free tier includes 100 agent-hours per month, which is enough for casual personal use.
Strengths: Fastest deployment in the ecosystem. Generous free tier. Clean dashboard.
Trade-offs: Free tier has rate limits on API calls. No custom domain support on the starter plan.
Best for: Side projects, personal assistants, developers testing OpenClaw before committing to a paid plan.
AlfredClaw — Pay Only When You Use It
AlfredClaw uses an on-demand pricing model — spin up instances when needed, pay by the minute. No charges when your agent is idle.
Strengths: True pay-as-you-go billing. Instant scaling for burst workloads. Multiple region support.
Trade-offs: Can get expensive with 24/7 usage. No monthly pricing discount.
Best for: Event-driven agents, batch processing, users who only need OpenClaw a few hours per day.
ClawOn Cloud — Best Free Option
ClawOn Cloud offers the most generous free tier we tested. Get started with zero configuration and no credit card required.
Strengths: Truly free to start. No infrastructure knowledge needed. Good for prototyping.
Trade-offs: Free tier has limited compute. Shared resources can affect performance during peak hours.
Best for: Absolute beginners. Students and hobbyists exploring what OpenClaw can do.
Cloud Hosting (More Control)
These providers give you dedicated cloud instances with more configuration options.
WorkAny Bot — Always-On Cloud Agent
WorkAny Bot specializes in 24/7 persistent agent execution. Your OpenClaw instance never sleeps, making it ideal for monitoring, scheduling, and always-available assistants.
Strengths: Guaranteed uptime SLA. Persistent state across sessions. Built-in task scheduling.
Trade-offs: Limited to their supported AI model configurations. Premium pricing for high-uptime guarantees.
Best for: Business automation that needs around-the-clock availability.
ClawdHost — Multi-Agent Management
ClawdHost stands out for multi-agent support. Run multiple OpenClaw instances from a single management console — useful for teams or power users running specialized agents.
Strengths: Centralized multi-agent dashboard. Per-agent resource allocation. Good API for automation.
Trade-offs: Steeper learning curve than single-instance hosts.
Best for: Teams running multiple specialized agents. Agencies managing OpenClaw for clients.
EveryClaw — Security-First Hosting
EveryClaw runs each agent in an isolated, sandboxed container. If security is your primary concern — especially for agents handling sensitive data — this is worth evaluating.
Strengths: Full container isolation. Audit logging. SOC 2-aligned security practices.
Trade-offs: Higher resource overhead from sandboxing. Slightly slower cold-start times.
Best for: Enterprise use cases. Agents handling PII or financial data.
Self-Hosted (Full Control)
For developers who want full ownership of their OpenClaw deployment, self-hosted options give maximum flexibility.
OpenClaw Deploy — Docker on Any VPS
OpenClaw Deploy automates Docker-based deployment on any VPS provider (DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Linode, etc.). Run a CLI command, answer a few prompts, and you have a production-ready OpenClaw instance.
Strengths: Works with any VPS. Docker isolation. Full control over resources and configuration.
Trade-offs: Requires basic Linux/Docker knowledge. You handle updates and monitoring.
Best for: Developers comfortable with the terminal who want predictable VPS pricing ($5-20/mo).
LobsterFarm — Hetzner Optimized
LobsterFarm specializes in deploying OpenClaw on Hetzner — one of the most cost-effective VPS providers in Europe. The optimized deployment scripts get you running in 30 seconds.
Strengths: Lowest cost per agent-hour we tested. European data centers for GDPR compliance. Clean deployment scripts.
Trade-offs: Hetzner-specific. Less hand-holding than managed providers.
Best for: European users. Anyone optimizing for cost. Running OpenClaw under $5/month.
RunClaw — Single Shell Command
RunClaw takes the minimalist approach — a single shell command deploys OpenClaw on any server you already have. No Docker required, no complex configuration.
Strengths: Lightest-weight deployment option. Works on minimal hardware. Easy to script and automate.
Trade-offs: BYO server. Manual configuration for advanced features.
Best for: CLI enthusiasts. Raspberry Pi deployments. Minimal overhead environments.
SetupClaw — Professional Mac Setup
SetupClaw is unique — they handle physical Mac Mini installation and configuration as a service. Ideal if you want a dedicated home server running OpenClaw but don't want to do the setup yourself.
Strengths: Professional installation. Ongoing support included. Mac-native performance.
Trade-offs: Highest upfront cost. Requires physical hardware.
Best for: Users who want a home-based OpenClaw server with zero technical setup.
How to Choose
Here's a simple decision tree:
- Never touched a terminal? → Start with ClawOn Cloud (free) or 1MinuteClaw.
- Want zero maintenance? → SimpleClaw is the safe bet.
- Need 24/7 uptime for business? → SimpleClaw or WorkAny Bot.
- Running multiple agents? → ClawdHost for multi-agent management.
- Optimizing for cost? → Self-host on Hetzner with LobsterFarm (~$4/mo).
- Developer who wants full control? → OpenClaw Deploy on your preferred VPS.
- Security-sensitive workloads? → EveryClaw with sandboxed containers.
What We Recommend
For most users just getting started, 1MinuteClaw or ClawOn Cloud provides the fastest path to a running OpenClaw agent. Once you've validated your use case and need reliable uptime, SimpleClaw is the most battle-tested managed option.
For developers and cost-conscious users, self-hosting on a $5/mo VPS using OpenClaw Deploy or LobsterFarm gives you 10x the value — you just need to handle basic server management.
Browse our full Hosting & Deployment category for all available providers, or check out Security & Privacy tools to lock down your deployment.