There are now several ways to run OpenClaw. Here's an honest comparison of your options in 2026.
| Self-Hosted | Komodo Agents | Shared Hosting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 + hardware | $29/mo | $6-20/mo |
| CPUs | Varies | 4 dedicated | 2 shared |
| RAM | Varies | 4GB dedicated | 4-8GB shared |
| Storage | Unlimited | 5GB SSD | 40-100GB |
| Setup time | 30-60 min | 60 seconds | 5-10 min |
| Uptime | When your Mac is on | 99.9% | ~99% |
| AI included | BYOK | Gemini included | Varies |
| Maintenance | You | Us | Shared |
| Isolation | Full | Full (dedicated VM) | Shared |
Running OpenClaw on your own Mac Mini or server gives you complete control. You own the hardware, you control the data, and there's no monthly fee beyond electricity and internet.
Best for: Tinkerers, privacy maximalists, people with existing infrastructure.
Worst for: Anyone who needs reliability, remote access, or doesn't want to be their own sysadmin.
We give each agent a dedicated VM on Fly.io with isolated compute, storage, and networking. No sharing resources with other users. Gemini AI is pre-configured so you can start chatting immediately.
Best for: Developers and professionals who need a reliable, always-on agent with zero maintenance.
Trade-off: Higher price point than shared hosting. You're paying for dedicated resources and instant provisioning.
Providers like Hostinger and others offer OpenClaw on shared VPS infrastructure. Lower price, but you share CPU and RAM with other tenants. Performance varies.
Best for: Budget-conscious users who don't need consistent performance.
Trade-off: Shared resources mean noisy neighbor problems. Promo pricing that doubles on renewal. Less isolation.
If you're experimenting, self-host. If you need a cheap agent and don't mind shared resources, budget hosting works. If you need a reliable agent that performs consistently and you value your time over a few dollars — that's what we built Komodo Agents for.