What does your own AI agent cost? OpenClaw plans explained
Updated 23 October 2026 · 3 min read
OpenClaw is an open-source AI agent that completes tasks on its own. Costs arise in two places: for the server it runs on, and for the AI models it uses for every task. At uptopIQ both are included in one fixed price.
The two cost blocks
Server and operation: OpenClaw needs its own secured server with updates and backups. At uptopIQ this alone costs €29.00 per month – that is the IQ Solo plan, where you add your own API key.
AI usage: every task uses computing power at the model provider. How much depends on the model, the length of the task and the conversation history – which is exactly what makes costs hard to plan when you run it yourself. In our plans, AI usage is included as monthly credit.
The plans at a glance
| Plan | per month | AI credit (net) | Tasks (guide value) |
|---|---|---|---|
| IQ Solo | €29.00 | own API key | – |
| IQ Europe Mini | €59.00 | €25.00 | 220 |
| IQ Europe Plus | €109.00 | €66.66 | 600 |
| IQ Europe Max | €159.00 | €108.33 | 1,000 |
| IQ Smart Mini | €39.00 | €8.33 | 300 |
| IQ Smart Plus | €59.00 | €25.00 | 1,000 |
| IQ Smart Max | €89.00 | €50.00 | 2,000 |
| IQ Power Mini | €49.00 | €16.66 | 150 |
| IQ Power Plus | €99.00 | €58.33 | 600 |
| IQ Power Max | €149.00 | €100.00 | 1,000 |
All prices per month incl. 20 % VAT, cancel monthly. The number of tasks is a guide value with the standard model (Claude Sonnet or Mistral Large) – a typical task is summarising and answering an e-mail, researching something or writing a short document.
Which model family fits?
- IQ Europe – Claude via Amazon Bedrock in EU data centres. Our recommendation if you work with personal data.
- IQ Smart – Mistral AI from France with EU hosting. Much cheaper per task and therefore the most tasks for your money; for long tasks with many steps, Claude is more reliable.
- IQ Power – Claude directly from Anthropic in the USA. Full power; for personal data we recommend IQ Europe or IQ Smart.
- IQ Solo – the server only; you bring your own API key and pay for AI usage directly to the provider.
No surprise costs: IQ Guard and IQ Boost
Every plan includes AI credit each month. When it is used up, IQ Guard pauses model requests – AI usage never costs more than your plan.
If you need more, top up with IQ Boost (€10.00 / €25.00 / €50.00 / €100.00, each plus VAT) – available immediately. Unused credit carries over while your contract runs. You can check your balance in the IQ Cockpit at any time, and you get an e-mail when it runs low.
Running it yourself – what comes on top
In forums, users report surprise bills of several hundred euros a month when an agent runs without a limit. If you enjoy the technology, you can do all this yourself. If you simply want to use the agent, a fixed price saves you time and risk.
- Renting and securing a server (firewall, certificate, access)
- Installing Docker, OpenClaw and a reverse proxy and keeping them up to date
- Creating accounts with the model providers and setting cost limits yourself
- Backups and monitoring – a little time every week
Making your credit go further
- Start a new conversation for each topic – the model rereads long histories with every message.
- Use the smaller model for simple tasks (Claude Haiku, Mistral Small) – it uses only a fraction.
- Save Claude Opus for really difficult tasks – it uses about twice as much as Sonnet.
- Narrow down large files first instead of handing over everything at once.
Common questions
Can I cancel at any time?
Yes. All OpenClaw plans have a one-month term and can be cancelled monthly.
How quickly is my agent ready?
Within 24 hours of payment we set up your server and send you the access details by e-mail.
What happens when the credit is used up?
IQ Guard pauses model requests until the next monthly credit or until you top up with IQ Boost. No extra costs arise; your data and settings are kept.