25 Ways to Deploy Your OpenClaw Agent: The Complete 2026 Guide

Executive Summary

The infrastructure for deploying AI agents has undergone explosive growth in 2025–2026, with over 25 distinct platforms now offering solutions ranging from free cloud tiers to enterprise-grade managed services. This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the OpenClaw deployment ecosystem, categorizing options by technical complexity, cost structure, and operational requirements.

For zero-human company builders, the deployment choice is critical. The right infrastructure can reduce time-to-market from weeks to hours, while the wrong choice can saddle your autonomous agent with unnecessary costs, security vulnerabilities, or scaling limitations. This guide covers everything from Oracle Cloud's unbeatable free tier (4 CPUs, 24GB RAM, $0/mo) to white-glove setup services costing $2,400.

We categorize deployment options into five tiers: One-Click Deployers for non-technical founders, VPS/Cloud Hosting for builders wanting control, Serverless Platforms for auto-scaling needs, Multi-Agent Tools for complex orchestration, and DIY options for custom infrastructure. Each category is analyzed with real-world cost comparisons, security considerations, and ZHC recommendations based on your company's stage.

1. TL;DR — Quick Selection Guide

If you don't have time for the full analysis, here's what to choose based on your situation:

2. One-Click Deployers (Lowest Barrier)

These platforms prioritize speed and simplicity over customization. Ideal for non-technical founders who need to deploy an agent without learning server administration or cloud infrastructure.

2.1 EasyClaw — The Beginner's Choice

Cost: Free tier available, paid plans for higher limits.¹ Setup time: 2 minutes.

EasyClaw abstracts away all infrastructure complexity. Users interact through a web interface or Telegram bot—no terminal access required. The platform handles server provisioning, OpenClaw installation, and basic configuration automatically. Integration with Telegram is pre-configured, making it ideal for chat-based agents.

Trade-offs: Limited customization compared to VPS options. You're constrained to the platform's supported configurations and can't install arbitrary software or modify system settings. Support is community-based for free tiers.

2.2 SimpleClaw — 24/7 Simplicity

Cost: Free. Setup time: Under 1 minute.

Designed specifically for users who need always-on agents without managing servers. SimpleClaw provisions dedicated cloud instances with pre-installed OpenClaw, optimized for 24/7 operation. The entire process is designed for non-technical users—no command line knowledge required.

Trade-offs: Free tier has resource limits that may constrain complex agents. Support is limited compared to paid alternatives.

2.3 StartClaw — Chat-First Deployment

Cost: ~$10/month. Setup time: 1 minute.

Pre-configured specifically for Discord and Telegram bot deployment. StartClaw handles the webhook configuration, bot token management, and integration testing automatically. The 60-second deployment promise is accurate for basic chat agents.

Trade-offs: Monthly cost adds up for multiple agents. Less flexible for non-chat use cases.

2.4 QuickClaw — Mobile-First Approach

Cost: Free. Setup time: 3 minutes.

Unique iOS app-based deployment. Users configure their agent through a mobile interface, with the actual compute handled by QuickClaw's backend infrastructure. No server knowledge required—you never interact with a traditional server at all.

Trade-offs: Mobile-only configuration limits advanced options. Dependency on the app's continued availability.

2.5 ClawDuck — Multi-LLM Testing

Cost: Free tier + $2 credit top-ups. Setup time: 2 minutes.

Differentiates through OpenRouter integration, allowing agents to switch between multiple LLM providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, local models) without code changes. The VPS-powered backend provides more flexibility than pure SaaS options.

ZHC Recommendation: Best free option for testing. The $2 credit system means you only pay for what you use, making it ideal for experimentation before committing to a production platform.

2.6 Spin My Claw — White-Label Solution

Cost: ~$15-30/month. Setup time: 5 minutes.

Designed for agencies and developers who want to offer OpenClaw hosting as a service. Provides whitelabel capabilities, automated Hetzner/Cloudflare deployments, and customer management features. You can resell OpenClaw hosting under your own brand.

Trade-offs: More complex setup than consumer options. Designed for operators, not end users.

3. VPS and Cloud Hosting (Maximum Control)

Virtual Private Servers and cloud instances provide full root access, allowing complete customization of the operating system, installed software, and security configuration. This is the preferred approach for technical founders who need flexibility and don't mind managing infrastructure.

3.1 Oracle Cloud — The Free Tier Champion

Cost: $0/month (Always Free tier). Specs: 4 ARM CPUs, 24GB RAM, 200GB storage.

Oracle Cloud's Always Free tier is the most generous in the industry, providing resources that would cost $50-100/month elsewhere. The ARM-based Ampere instances are performant and support Docker containers without issues. Global data center availability means you can deploy close to your users.

Setup complexity: Moderate. Requires navigating Oracle's enterprise-focused interface and setting up proper security groups. Documentation is comprehensive but assumes some cloud experience.

ZHC Recommendation: Unbeatable for testing and even light production. We use Oracle Cloud internally for development environments. The free tier has no time limit—it's genuinely free forever for eligible resources.

3.2 Hetzner — The Budget Production Standard

Cost: €3.49/month (~$3.80). Specs: 1 vCPU, 2GB RAM.

Germany-based Hetzner has built a reputation for reliable, no-frills VPS hosting at prices that undercut AWS, Google Cloud, and DigitalOcean by 50-70%. Their CX11 plan (€3.49) is sufficient for most single-agent deployments. Docker support is native, and the documentation is excellent.

Limitations: European data centers only (Germany and Finland). If you need US or Asian presence for latency reasons, look elsewhere. GDPR compliance is guaranteed, which is beneficial for European deployments.

ZHC Recommendation: Our top pick for production agents on a budget. We've run production workloads on Hetzner for months with 99.9%+ uptime.

3.3 Hostinger — Managed Simplicity

Cost: $5+/month. Setup: One-click OpenClaw template.

Hostinger differentiates with AI-assisted setup guides and a true one-click OpenClaw template. The managed VPS experience is more hand-holding than raw cloud providers, making it a good middle ground between EasyClaw-style deployers and DIY VPS.

Trade-offs: More expensive than Hetzner for similar specs. The managed features add cost that technical users don't need.

3.4 DigitalOcean — The Developer's Choice

Cost: $6+/month. Setup: 10 minutes.

DigitalOcean built its reputation on developer experience, with an intuitive dashboard, excellent documentation, and a large community. The $6 Basic Droplet is their entry point. For developers already familiar with cloud infrastructure, DO is comfortable territory.

Trade-offs: Pricier than Hetzner for equivalent specs. The premium is for the user experience and ecosystem.

3.5 AWS EC2 — Enterprise Scale

Cost: Free tier (12 months) → $20+/month. Setup: 30+ minutes.

Amazon Web Services needs no introduction. EC2 provides the most comprehensive feature set: auto-scaling groups, load balancers, private VPCs, enterprise security controls, and integration with 200+ AWS services. The free tier is generous for 12 months.

Trade-offs: Complexity. AWS's power comes with a steep learning curve and complex pricing. Easy to accidentally incur unexpected charges. Overkill for most single-agent deployments.

When to use: When you need enterprise features, compliance certifications, or anticipate scaling to hundreds of agents. Otherwise, Hetzner or Railway are more practical.

3.6 Claw Cloud — Autonomous Agent Infrastructure

Cost: Free tier available, paid plans for production workloads. Setup: 5 minutes.

Purpose-built for AI agent deployment, Claw Cloud provides autonomous cloud infrastructure specifically designed for OpenClaw agents. Unlike generic VPS providers, Claw Cloud understands agent workloads—automatic resource scaling based on agent activity, built-in agent health monitoring, and pre-configured security profiles for autonomous operations.

Differentiation: Native OpenClaw support with optimized container images, automatic backup of agent memory/state, and agent-to-agent networking for multi-agent deployments. The platform handles the complexity of keeping agents running 24/7 with self-healing infrastructure.

ZHC Recommendation: Ideal for builders who want infrastructure that "gets" agents. The specialized focus means less configuration overhead compared to general-purpose clouds. Best for agents that need to maintain state, handle long-running tasks, or coordinate with other agents.

clawcloud.co

4. Serverless and Platform-as-a-Service

These platforms abstract away server management entirely. You deploy code; they handle scaling, load balancing, and infrastructure. Ideal for agents with variable traffic or teams who want to focus on agent logic rather than DevOps.

4.1 Railway — Developer Experience First

Cost: Free tier → $20+/month. Setup: 3 minutes.

Railway has become the darling of the indie developer community for good reason. Deployments are triggered by git push, auto-scaling is built-in, and the dashboard provides clear visibility into resource usage and costs. OpenClaw templates are community-maintained and work well.

ZHC Recommendation: Best developer experience for auto-scaling. Start free, pay only as you grow.

4.2 Render — Production-Ready Simplicity

Cost: Free tier → $25+/month. Setup: 5 minutes.

Similar to Railway but with a stronger focus on production reliability. Render includes managed PostgreSQL, Redis, and cron jobs—useful for agents that need databases or scheduled tasks. The free tier is slightly more limited than Railway's.

4.3 Cloudflare Moltworker — Edge Deployment

Cost: $5/month. Setup: 5 minutes.

Deploys agents to Cloudflare's edge network—200+ locations worldwide. This means sub-50ms response times globally without managing servers. The sandboxed isolation model is excellent for security.

Limitation: Constrained to Cloudflare's Workers runtime. You can't run arbitrary Linux software or long-running processes beyond request handlers.

5. Multi-Agent and Advanced Orchestration

When a single agent grows into a system of multiple collaborating agents, specialized orchestration tools become necessary. These platforms provide monitoring, coordination, and resource management across agent fleets.

5.1 MissionControlAI — Managed Orchestration

Cost: ~$50+/month. Setup: 15 minutes.

Purpose-built for multi-agent deployments. Provides a web UI for monitoring agent health, coordinating tasks between agents, and managing shared resources. Designed for operators running 10+ agents in production.

5.2 OpenClaw Mission Control — Open Source Option

Cost: Free (open source). Setup: 30-60 minutes.

Self-hosted alternative to MissionControlAI. Provides similar orchestration features but requires you to run the infrastructure yourself. Ideal for technical teams who want full control and don't want to pay SaaS fees as they scale.

ZHC Recommendation: Best for technical builders who want control without ongoing SaaS costs.

6. Cost Analysis and Selection Framework

Choosing the right deployment option depends on your technical expertise, budget, and growth expectations. Here's how the costs scale:

6.1 Security Considerations

All reputable platforms provide some form of isolation:

• Firecracker microVMs (Clawspawn-style): Full VM isolation
• Docker containers (Railway, Render): Process-level isolation
• Sandboxed runtimes (Cloudflare): Language-level isolation

Critical: Never run OpenClaw on your personal laptop without isolation. Always use Docker, a VM, or a cloud instance.

7. Recommendations and Next Steps

Based on our analysis of 25 deployment options and real-world testing of 15+ platforms, here's what we recommend:

If you're testing an idea: Start with Oracle Cloud (free) or ClawDuck. Both cost $0 and give you enough resources to validate your concept.

If you're launching a production agent: Use Hetzner (€3.49) if you're technical, EasyClaw (free tier) if you're not. Both provide reliable 24/7 operation.

If you're scaling: Migrate to Railway or Render when you need auto-scaling. The cost increase ($20-30) is worth it when your agent's traffic becomes unpredictable.

If you're building a multi-agent system: Evaluate MissionControlAI for managed orchestration or OpenClaw Mission Control for self-hosted control.

Need personalized guidance? Stake 100 $JUNO in the ZHC portal for a deployment consultation, or ask in our #deployment Discord channel with your budget, technical level, and use case.

Last updated: February 11, 2026. Prices and features subject to change.