Running AI agents in production? Compare managed deployment with Clawctl vs self-hosted on Mac Mini or cloud VPS.
Enterprise security, zero config. Your OpenClaw with guardrails.
From $49/month
Full control, dedicated hardware. Popular in the OpenClaw community.
$599+ upfront
Budget-friendly cloud deployment. AWS free tier, DigitalOcean, etc.
$5-20/month
| Feature | Clawctl | Mac Mini | VPS/Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup time | 60 seconds | 2-4 hours | 30-60 min |
| Monthly cost | $49+ | $0 (after $599 hardware) | $5-20 |
| Gateway authentication | |||
| Audit logging | |||
| Sandboxed execution | |||
| Kill switch | |||
| Human-in-the-loop | |||
| Egress controls | |||
| SSL/TLS included | |||
| Managed updates | |||
| Full system access | sandboxed | ||
| 24/7 uptime | |||
| Compliance reports | |||
| Multi-agent support |
If you're self-hosting, here's how popular hosting options compare. Or skip the infrastructure entirely with Clawctl.
| Provider | Starting Price | Setup Difficulty | Best For | Security Included | Maintenance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ClawctlRecommended | $49/mo | 60 seconds | Production, Business | Zero | |
AWS (EC2/Free Tier) | Free - $20/mo | 30-60 min | Learning, Dev | Medium | |
DigitalOcean | $6/mo | 20-30 min | Simple VPS | Medium | |
Hetzner | €4/mo (~$5) | 20-30 min | Budget VPS, EU | Medium | |
Railway | $5/mo + usage | 5-10 min | Quick Deploy | Low | |
Fly.io | Free - $10/mo | 15-20 min | Edge Deploy | Low | |
Render | Free - $7/mo | 5-10 min | Simple Apps | Low | |
Mac Mini (M4) | $599 upfront | 2-4 hours | Local LLMs, Full Control | High | |
Home Server/NAS | $0 (existing) | 1-3 hours | Privacy, Hobbyist | High | |
Raspberry Pi | $75 upfront | 1-2 hours | Learning, IoT | High |
Security Included: = Full security stack, = Basic/Partial, = DIY required
The most popular choice for self-hosting. AWS Free Tier gives you 12 months of t2.micro. Good for learning.
Heads up: You'll need to configure security groups, set up SSL with Let's Encrypt, and handle your own monitoring.
Simple, predictable pricing. Good documentation. Popular with indie developers.
Heads up: No built-in security. You'll configure firewalls, SSL, and authentication yourself.
Best value in Europe. Excellent performance per dollar. Popular for cost-conscious deployments.
Heads up: EU-based servers. GDPR compliant but you handle all security configuration.
Deploy from GitHub in minutes. Great DX. Usage-based pricing can be unpredictable.
Heads up: Easy to deploy but no audit logging, kill switches, or approval workflows.
Edge deployment close to users. Good for globally distributed workloads. CLI-first experience.
Heads up: Great for apps, but AI agents with system access need more configuration.
The OpenClaw community favorite. Full system access, local LLMs, "AI employee's desk" vibes.
Heads up: Requires networking setup, port forwarding, dynamic DNS, security hardening. Power outages = downtime.
Budget-friendly hardware option. Great for learning and lightweight agents. Limited compute.
Heads up: Can't run local LLMs effectively. Good for API-based agents only. Needs Cloudflare tunnel for external access.
Use existing hardware. Maximum privacy. Common with Synology/QNAP users.
Heads up: Docker/container experience required. Network security critical—you're exposing your home network.
All the security and compliance you'd have to build yourself—already done. Focus on your AI agent, not infrastructure.
Includes: Gateway auth, audit logging, sandboxing, egress controls, kill switch, human-in-the-loop, managed updates.
Dive deep into how Clawctl compares with each hosting alternative
vs AWS
EC2 / Free Tier
vs DigitalOcean
Droplets
vs Hetzner
EU Cloud
vs Railway
PaaS
vs Fly.io
Edge Deploy
vs Render
Simple PaaS
vs Vercel
Frontend Cloud
vs Google Cloud
GCE
vs Azure
Microsoft Cloud
vs Linode
Akamai Cloud
vs Vultr
High Perf Cloud
vs Oracle Cloud
Free Tier
vs Mac Mini
Self-Hosted
vs Raspberry Pi
Budget Hardware
vs Home Server
NAS / Existing HW
The OpenClaw community has shown what's possible with personal AI agents. Clawctl adds the security layer many production deployments need.
Yes! Clawctl wraps your existing OpenClaw—no forks or rewrites needed. Your workflows stay the same, we add the security layer.
No. While Mac Minis are popular for self-hosting, Clawctl runs in the cloud. You get the same capabilities without dedicated hardware.
It's more than hosting. Clawctl adds gateway authentication, sandboxed execution, audit logging, egress controls, and human-in-the-loop approvals that don't exist in raw OpenClaw.
Self-hosted setups require manual hardening (like ACIP). Clawctl includes security controls by default, plus egress allowlists to limit what your agent can access.
Yes. Bring your own Anthropic, OpenAI, or other API keys. They're encrypted and injected at runtime—never stored in plaintext.
Get started in 60 seconds. Enterprise security, zero config.