Install OpenClaw on AWS, GCP, or DigitalOcean (Cloud Deploy Guide)

Running OpenClaw on a cloud server gives you full control and potentially lower per-message costs than managed platforms. This guide covers step-by-step deployment on the three most popular cloud providers, plus a cost comparison to help you decide whether self-hosting makes sense for your use case.

Minimum Requirements

Before choosing a provider, know the hard requirements:

• RAM: 2 GB minimum (4 GB recommended for stability)
• CPU: 1 vCPU minimum (2 vCPU for faster WASM compilation)
• Storage: 10 GB minimum
• OS: Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 LTS (recommended), Debian 12, or any Docker-compatible Linux distro
• Open port: 8080 (for web UI) or 443 (with Nginx + SSL)

Option A: AWS EC2

Recommended Instance

t3.small (2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM) at ~$15/month in us-east-1. For better stability: t3.medium (2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM) at ~$30/month.

Step 1: Launch an EC2 Instance

1. Open the AWS EC2 Console
2. Click Launch Instance
3. Choose Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS (HVM), SSD Volume Type
4. Select t3.small (or t3.medium for more headroom)
5. Create or select a key pair for SSH access
6. Under Network settings, create a security group with:
   • SSH (port 22) from your IP
   • Custom TCP (port 8080) from 0.0.0.0/0
7. Set storage to 20 GB gp3
8. Click Launch Instance

Step 2: Allocate an Elastic IP

EC2 Console → Network & Security → Elastic IPs → Allocate Elastic IP Address
→ Associate with your instance

This gives your instance a permanent IP that doesn't change on restart.

Step 3: Connect and Install Docker

ssh -i your-key.pem ubuntu@YOUR_ELASTIC_IP

# Update system
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Install Docker
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sudo sh
sudo usermod -aG docker ubuntu
newgrp docker

Step 4: Deploy OpenClaw

mkdir -p ~/openclaw/config

cat > ~/openclaw/config/openclaw.json << 'EOF'
{
  "gateway": {
    "mode": "local",
    "controlUi": { "dangerouslyDisableDeviceAuth": true }
  },
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "enabled": true,
      "botToken": "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN",
      "dmPolicy": "open"
    }
  }
}
EOF

docker run -d   --name openclaw   --restart unless-stopped   -p 8080:8080   -v ~/openclaw/config:/home/node/.openclaw   -e ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_key   -e NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=1536   -m 2048m   alpine/openclaw:latest   node /app/openclaw.mjs gateway

AWS Cost Estimate

| Instance | vCPU | RAM | $/month (on-demand) | |---|---|---|---| | t3.micro | 2 | 1 GB | ~$8 (too small) | | t3.small | 2 | 2 GB | ~$15 | | t3.medium | 2 | 4 GB | ~$30 |

Add ~$4/month for 20 GB EBS storage + ~$5/month for Elastic IP when not attached. Total: ~$15–35/month depending on instance size.

Option B: Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

Recommended Instance

e2-small (2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM) at ~$13/month in us-central1. For better stability: e2-medium (2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM) at ~$26/month.

Step 1: Create a VM Instance

# Using gcloud CLI
gcloud compute instances create openclaw-server   --machine-type=e2-small   --image-family=ubuntu-2204-lts   --image-project=ubuntu-os-cloud   --boot-disk-size=20GB   --zone=us-central1-a   --tags=openclaw-server

Or use the GCP Console:

1. Compute Engine → VM Instances → Create Instance
2. Machine type: e2-small
3. Boot disk: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, 20 GB
4. Allow HTTP/HTTPS traffic

Step 2: Create Firewall Rule

gcloud compute firewall-rules create allow-openclaw   --allow tcp:8080   --target-tags=openclaw-server   --description="Allow OpenClaw web UI"

Step 3: Reserve a Static IP

gcloud compute addresses create openclaw-ip --region=us-central1
gcloud compute instances add-access-config openclaw-server   --access-config-name="External NAT"   --address=$(gcloud compute addresses describe openclaw-ip --region=us-central1 --format='value(address)')

Step 4: Connect and Deploy

gcloud compute ssh openclaw-server --zone=us-central1-a

# Install Docker
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sudo sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

# Deploy (same commands as AWS Step 4)

GCP Cost Estimate

| Instance | vCPU | RAM | $/month | |---|---|---|---| | e2-micro | 2 | 1 GB | ~$7 (too small) | | e2-small | 2 | 2 GB | ~$13 | | e2-medium | 2 | 4 GB | ~$26 |

Static IP: ~$3/month. Storage: ~$2/month for 20 GB. Total: ~$13–30/month.

Option C: DigitalOcean Droplets

Recommended Droplet

Basic Droplet — 2 GB RAM / 1 vCPU at $12/month (best value for OpenClaw).

Step 1: Create a Droplet

1. Go to cloud.digitalocean.com → Create → Droplets
2. Choose Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
3. Select Basic → Regular → $12/mo (2 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 50 GB SSD)
4. Choose a datacenter region close to your users
5. Add your SSH key
6. Click Create Droplet

Step 2: Configure Firewall

In the DigitalOcean console:

1. Networking → Firewalls → Create Firewall
2. Add inbound rule: TCP port 8080, All IPv4/IPv6
3. Apply the firewall to your Droplet

Or via CLI:

doctl compute firewall create   --name openclaw-fw   --inbound-rules "protocol:tcp,ports:8080,address:0.0.0.0/0,address:::/0"   --droplet-ids YOUR_DROPLET_ID

Step 3: Deploy OpenClaw

ssh root@YOUR_DROPLET_IP

# Install Docker
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
usermod -aG docker $USER

# Deploy
mkdir -p /opt/openclaw/config
# (create config file as shown in AWS section)

docker run -d   --name openclaw   --restart unless-stopped   -p 8080:8080   -v /opt/openclaw/config:/home/node/.openclaw   -e ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_key   -e NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=1536   -m 2048m   alpine/openclaw:latest   node /app/openclaw.mjs gateway

DigitalOcean Cost Estimate

| Droplet | vCPU | RAM | $/month | |---|---|---|---| | Basic $6 | 1 | 1 GB | $6 (too small) | | Basic $12 | 1 | 2 GB | $12 | | Basic $18 | 2 | 2 GB | $18 | | General $24 | 2 | 4 GB | $24 |

Storage is included. No extra charge for floating IPs. Total: ~$12–24/month.

Common Setup Steps (All Providers)

Once your cloud instance has Docker and OpenClaw running, these steps apply everywhere.

Set Up a Domain Name

Point an A record at your server IP:

my-bot.example.com → 1.2.3.4 (your server IP)

Install Nginx + Let's Encrypt SSL

sudo apt install -y nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx

# Configure Nginx
sudo tee /etc/nginx/sites-available/openclaw << 'EOF'
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name my-bot.example.com;
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
    }
}
EOF

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/openclaw /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx

# Get SSL certificate
sudo certbot --nginx -d my-bot.example.com

Now your OpenClaw instance is accessible at https://my-bot.example.com.

Cost Comparison

| Option | Monthly Cost | Setup Time | Maintenance | Control | |---|---|---|---|---| | AWS EC2 t3.small | ~$15–20 | 45 min | High | Full | | GCP e2-small | ~$13–18 | 45 min | High | Full | | DigitalOcean $12 | ~$12–15 | 30 min | High | Full | | ClawMates | $29.99 | 2 min | None | Standard |

Note: Cloud costs above do NOT include:

• Your Anthropic API costs (varies by usage, typically $5–50/month)
• Your time for maintenance, updates, and troubleshooting
• SSL certificate management
• Monitoring and alerting setup

Self-Hosting vs. ClawMates: When to Choose What

Choose self-hosting if:

• You process 10M+ tokens/month and BYOK pricing is critical
• You need custom integrations or have specific compliance requirements
• You have DevOps experience and don't mind server maintenance
• You want to modify OpenClaw's source code

Choose ClawMates ($29.99/mo) if:

• You want to be running within 2 minutes, not 45
• You don't want to manage servers, Docker, or SSL certs
• You need reliable uptime without setting up monitoring yourself
• You want automatic updates when OpenClaw releases new versions
• Your team isn't technical and can't debug OOM kills or config errors

The self-hosting path is genuinely viable — but factor in the 5–10 hours of initial setup time and 1–2 hours/month of ongoing maintenance. At typical developer hourly rates, ClawMates often costs less than the time spent maintaining a self-hosted setup.

Next Steps

Whichever path you choose:

1. Connect your Telegram bot (required) and WhatsApp (optional) via the Control UI
2. Configure your AI model and system prompt
3. Test with a few messages
4. Set up monitoring (Uptime Robot or Better Uptime — free tiers available)

If you run into issues during cloud setup, see our OpenClaw troubleshooting guide for solutions to common errors.