VPS vs Dedicated Machine: Where to Run OpenClaw
VPS vs Dedicated Machine: Where to Run OpenClaw
One of the first questions newcomers ask: where should I run OpenClaw? Here's a comparison to help you decide.
Hosting Options
| Option | Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| VPS | ~$20/month | Testing, getting started |
| Mini PC | ~$200 one-time | Long-term, serious use |
| Raspberry Pi | ~$100 | DIY, limited budget |
| Old Laptop | $0 | Using what you have |
VPS: Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Quick start
- No hardware hassle
- Access from anywhere
- Low entry barrier
Cons:
- Monthly payments
- Data not with you
- Provider dependency
- Cancel = everything gone
Recommended providers:
- Hetzner (~$5-20/month)
- DigitalOcean (~$10-20/month)
- Vultr (~$10-20/month)
Dedicated Machine: Pros and Cons
Pros:
- One-time payment
- Full control
- Data stays local
- Pays for itself in 10 months
Cons:
- Initial investment
- Setup required
- Need home internet
- Electricity costs
Recommended hardware:
- Mini PC (N97, 16GB RAM) — ~$200
- Mac Mini (M1) — ~$500+
- Intel NUC — ~$300+
ROI Calculation
VPS $20/month × 12 = $240/year
Mini PC $200 + electricity ~$30/year = $230 first year
Result: Dedicated pays for itself in about a year.
Security
VPS: Data on other people's servers, need VPN
Local: Data at home, use Tailscale for remote access
Recommendations
Beginners: VPS for 1-3 months testing
Serious use: Dedicated Mini PC
DIY enthusiasts: Raspberry Pi 5
Business: Mini PC + backup VPS
Start with VPS, graduate to dedicated.
👀 See Also
Anthropic publishes Champion Kit for Claude Code adoption
A playbook for engineers pushing Claude Code at their company: share reusable prompts, answer in public channels, and host a weekly show-and-tell thread — ~40 minutes total per week.
Fix Remote Browser Automation with OpenClaw Node Setup
Use a local OpenClaw node to avoid CDP/RDP headaches — run browser visible, keep your IP and cookies.
Optimizing Qwen3.5-9B on RTX 3070 Mobile with ik_llama.cpp: Config Tweaks and Benchmarks
A developer shares optimization findings for running Qwen3.5-9B Q4_K_M on an RTX 3070 Mobile 8GB GPU using ik_llama.cpp, achieving ~50 tokens/second generation speed and significant prompt evaluation improvements through configuration adjustments.
Method for Transferring User Context from ChatGPT to Claude
A Reddit user shares a two-prompt method for extracting a detailed cognitive profile from ChatGPT and creating a portable AI constitution to transfer to Claude, addressing the difficulty of porting between AI systems.