The Bottom Line
The Short Answer
A full AI automation stack with OpenClaw costs $10 to $25 per month in production. That is VPS hosting ($5) plus API calls ($5 to $20 depending on usage).
Compare that to Zapier at $29 to $599/month with task limits, Make at $10 to $34/month with operation caps, or n8n Cloud at $24 to $60/month.
Line by Line
Cost Breakdown: Every Line Item
No surprises, no hidden fees. Here is exactly what you pay for when running AI automation with OpenClaw.
Need a VPS? We recommend Hostinger for reliable, affordable hosting starting at $5/month. Our cloud VPS setup guide walks you through the process.
12-Month Comparison
OpenClaw vs SaaS Automation Costs
Here is what each platform actually costs when you look at real-world pricing tiers for a business doing 5,000+ operations per month.
5,000 ops/month requires Professional tier at minimum. You will hit limits quickly.
Good value, but ops-based pricing still limits scale. Each extra 10K ops costs more.
Self-hosted n8n is a solid option but requires more technical setup than OpenClaw.
At Zapier Professional pricing ($882/year for 2,000 tasks/month), you could run OpenClaw for 3 to 7 years.
The killer stat: At Zapier Professional pricing, you pay $882/year for 2,000 tasks per month. With OpenClaw, you pay roughly $180/year for unlimited tasks. That is a savings of over $700 per year, every year.
Reality Check
The True Cost of “Free” Tools
Free tiers exist to get you started. They do not exist to let you stay. Here is what actually happens when you rely on free automation tools.
Zapier's free tier gives you 100 tasks per month. Make gives you 1,000 operations. For context, a single lead enrichment workflow processing 10 leads per day burns through Zapier's free tier in 10 days. Then your automations stop. Dead.
When you outgrow the free tier, the jump is steep. Zapier goes from $0 to $29.99/month. Make goes from $0 to $10.59/month. And those entry-level paid tiers still have limits you will hit within months if your business is growing.
Free tools hook you with convenience, then trap you with switching costs. Your workflows, your data flows, your entire automation architecture lives on their servers. Migrating away means rebuilding everything from scratch.
OpenClaw has no free tier because it does not need one. The entire platform is free. No artificial limits. No usage caps. No lock-in. Your workflows run on your server, and you own everything.
Optimize Your Spend
What Affects Your API Costs
API costs are your main variable expense. Understanding these four factors helps you keep them predictable and low.
The biggest factor in API cost. Claude Haiku costs roughly 60x less than Claude Opus per token. For simple tasks like data extraction, routing, and classification, smaller models work just as well.
Longer prompts cost more because you pay per token for both input and output. A 500-word prompt costs 5x more than a 100-word prompt. Most workflows do not need verbose instructions.
A workflow that runs every minute costs 60x more than one that runs every hour. Most workflows do not need real-time execution. Batch processing is almost always cheaper.
If you send the same query repeatedly, you pay for it repeatedly. Caching common responses eliminates redundant API calls and can cut costs by 30 to 50% for repetitive workflows.
Realistic Budgets
Cost by Business Type
Based on what we see across our community, here are realistic monthly budgets for different business sizes.
Enterprise needs vary too much for a standard budget. If you are running multiple agents, dedicated infrastructure, or compliance-heavy workflows, our Done-For-You team can scope and quote a custom solution.
Two Paths
DIY vs Done-For-You
Both paths lead to the same running cost. The difference is how much time and expertise you invest upfront.
- Full control over everything
- Learn OpenClaw inside and out
- Build at your own pace
- Community support via Skool
- We build everything for you
- Faster time to production
- Custom workflows for your business
- Ongoing support available
Not sure which path is right? Most operators start with the workshop, build their first workflow, and then decide whether they want to continue building themselves or bring in our team. Both paths lead to the same $10 to $25/month running cost.
The Real Cost of AI Automation
$19 one-time. Then ~$10/month.
That is the real cost of AI automation with OpenClaw. The $19 workshop covers setup, security, your first workflow, channels, and skills. After that, your VPS and API calls run roughly $10 to $25 per month with no limits on tasks or operations.
Common Questions
AI Automation Cost: FAQ
Written by
Kevin Jeppesen
Founder, The Operator Vault
Kevin is an early OpenClaw adopter who has saved an estimated 400 to 500 hours through AI automation. He stress-tests new workflows daily, sharing what actually works through step-by-step guides and a security-conscious approach to operating AI with real tools.
Start automating
for $19.
The workshop covers setup, security, your first workflow, and more. Then ~$10/month to run your entire automation stack. No task limits. No per-operation pricing.