#I have a question

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

wide ore
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Why can't I use Open Claw for free all the time?

shy wolfBOT
quasi wolfBOT
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shy wolfBOT
lean thicketBOT
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Short version, because somebody pays for the model every time it thinks.

OpenClaw itself is open source, but the things behind it usually are not:

  • LLM API usage costs money
  • web/search/tool calls can cost money
  • hosting/gateway infrastructure costs money
  • unlimited free access gets abused fast

You can run it very cheaply, or sometimes locally, but there’s usually a tradeoff in quality, speed, or hardware requirements.

If you want, I can suggest the cheapest practical OpenClaw setup right now. Docs for model/provider options: https://docs.openclaw.ai/concepts/models

wide ore
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So that means if I download Open Claw over the Command line, is it free for me or how?

lean thicketBOT
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Yep, downloading/installing OpenClaw is free.

What costs money is usually the model/provider you connect to it after install, for example OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, OpenRouter, etc.

So the split is basically:

  • OpenClaw app: free
  • Using paid cloud models through it: costs money
  • Using local models on your own machine: no API bill, but you need enough hardware, and quality can be worse for agent stuff

Some providers give free credits/trials, but usually not unlimited.

If you want, I can point you to the cheapest beginner setup.

wide ore
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So I'm going to download Open Claw and not use it on web anymore?

lean thicketBOT
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Basically yes, if you install OpenClaw yourself, you’re running your own copy instead of using a hosted web version.

One important detail though:

  • you might still use a browser UI locally
  • but the backend is running on your machine/server
  • and you still need to connect a model provider, unless you run local models

So it’s less “no web at all” and more “not relying on someone else’s web app anymore”.

Getting started docs are here: https://docs.openclaw.ai/start/faq

If you want, I can help you pick between:

  1. cheapest setup
  2. easiest setup
  3. fully local setup
wide ore
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Thank you, I'll find my way around that!