How much does OpenClaw cost to run?
The honest cost breakdown for OpenClaw: how you actually pay, live model prices, and realistic monthly scenarios.
OpenClaw is free, open-source software; your real cost is the model it routes every message and action through. Because OpenClaw typically runs always-on across your messaging channels, the cost question matters more than for an on-demand coding tool: idle-ish background use still consumes tokens.
The practical answer: on a budget model like DeepSeek V4 or GLM 4.7 Flash, an always-on OpenClaw costs cents to a few dollars a day; on a frontier flagship it can cost more than most SaaS subscriptions. Nearly everyone should run a cheap default and escalate hard tasks selectively.
The table below prices the recommended OpenClaw models against three usage tiers, computed from live prices in our database.
- Per token via OpenRouter: the standard setup. One key, prepaid credits, every model in our rankings, and the per-token prices the table below uses.
- Vendor APIs directly: Anthropic or OpenAI keys work too; you trade OpenRouter's one-key convenience for direct billing with each lab.
- Free tier: $0 models on OpenRouter work for trying OpenClaw, but an always-on agent hits rate limits quickly. Treat free as a trial lane, not a production plan.
- Self-hosted models: open-weight models on your own hardware remove per-token costs entirely, the natural endgame for a 24/7 personal agent if you own the GPU.
Estimated monthly model cost for three usage tiers, computed from live per-token prices. Agent work is input-heavy (the model re-reads context every step), so the tiers assume roughly 10 input tokens per output token: a few tasks a day: 5m input + 0.5m output tokens daily; steady all-day use: 25m input + 2.5m output tokens daily; agent runs continuously: 100m input + 10m output tokens daily.
- Input$3/MLight$675/moDaily driver$3,375/moHeavy / always-on$13,500/mo
- Input$0.68/MLight$153/moDaily driver$766/moHeavy / always-on$3,063/mo
- Input$0.5/MLight$120/moDaily driver$600/moHeavy / always-on$2,400/mo
- Input$0.435/MLight$78/moDaily driver$392/moHeavy / always-on$1,566/mo
- Input$0.3/MLight$63/moDaily driver$315/moHeavy / always-on$1,260/mo
Estimates cover model tokens only (no subscriptions, caching discounts, or batch pricing) and assume list prices, which the daily sync keeps current. Your real usage will differ; treat the tiers as brackets, not predictions.
How much does OpenClaw cost to run?
The software is free; the model is the cost. An always-on OpenClaw on a budget model (DeepSeek V4, GLM 4.7 Flash) runs cents to a few dollars per day depending on activity. The same agent pointed at a frontier flagship can cost tens of dollars a day, which is why a cheap default plus selective escalation is the standard setup.
Why is always-on usage more expensive than it sounds?
OpenClaw processes every channel message, scheduled task, and background action through the model, and each call re-reads context. Even a quiet day generates millions of input tokens. Input price therefore dominates: a model at $0.10 per million input tokens is roughly 25 times cheaper to idle on than one at $2.50.
What is the cheapest model setup for OpenClaw?
GLM 4.7 Flash ($0.06 per million input tokens) or DeepSeek V4 Flash ($0.098) keep even heavy always-on use at pocket change, with DeepSeek V4 as the step-up default. Pair one of them with a flagship for explicitly hard tasks. Our best models for OpenClaw ranking has the full list with live prices.
Is self-hosting a model cheaper for OpenClaw?
If you already own capable hardware, yes: a 24/7 agent is the best case for self-hosting, since per-token bills disappear and rate limits stop mattering. A used GPU running an open-weight model like Qwen3 Coder 30B pays for itself within months of heavy use. Otherwise, budget hosted models are cheaper than buying hardware.
Picking a model first? See the best models for OpenClaw with benchmarks and prices side by side.
Agent
OpenClawSoftware cost
Free (open source)Models priced
5Updated
June 2026