OpenClaw Hosting — Two Ways to Run Your AI Bot
Every ClawCloud instance runs on a dedicated server with OpenClaw pre-installed and production-hardened. Choose between OpenClaw Cloud (managed billing with the AI credits addon) and OpenClaw VPS (bring your own API key).
OpenClaw Cloud
Managed mode
ClawCloud provisions a dedicated API key with a per-plan credit limit. You get access to 94 curated models from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and 14 other providers. Switch models in chat with /model. Usage is tracked, and when credits run low you can switch to a free model manually.
- No API key setup — included in your plan
- Credit tracking with manual free-model switching
- 94 models, switchable in chat
OpenClaw VPS
Bring your own key
Use your own API key from Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google. You get the same dedicated server, the same production setup, and the same dashboard — but you pay your AI provider directly. No credit limits, no usage tracking, full control over your spend.
- Your own API key — Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google
- No credit system — pay your provider directly
- Same server, same dashboard, same monitoring
What every OpenClaw server includes
Regardless of which mode you choose, every ClawCloud instance ships with the same production infrastructure.
Ubuntu 24.04, Node.js 22, 2 GB+ RAM with swap. Not a shared container.
UFW firewall, non-root openclaw user, systemd with auto-restart on crash.
Agent on port 8080 reports gateway status, config state, and version info to your dashboard.
Change models, channels, or routing without restarting. OpenClaw picks up config changes automatically.
Pick a plan, paste your bot token, choose a model. Cloud-init handles the rest.
Agent and configuration updates pushed to live instances without downtime or SSH.
Quick comparison
| Cloud (managed) | VPS (BYOK) | |
|---|---|---|
| API key | Provided by ClawCloud | Your own key |
| AI billing | Included in plan (credits) | Direct to provider |
| Models available | 94 curated models | All models from your provider |
| Credit tracking | Yes — dashboard tracking + manual model switch | No — unlimited usage |
| Server & infra | Identical | Identical |
| Dashboard | Identical | Identical |
| Best for | Most users — no setup | Heavy users with existing API accounts |
Deploy OpenClaw in under a minute
Pick a plan, choose managed or BYOK, paste your bot token. ClawCloud handles the server.
Need plan details first? See OpenClaw pricing.