Where should your AI agent live?
27 real ways to keep Hermes Agent, OpenClaw and similar agents online 24/7: VPS plans, managed agent hosting and home hardware. You get intro and renewal prices, the specs that matter for agents, and a link to every source. Last checked 2026-10-17.
Cheapest VPS
$4.54/mo
OVHcloud VPS-1
4 GB RAM · renewal not published
Cheapest with 8 GB+
$5.28/mo
Contabo Cloud VPS 4
4 vCPU · 24-mo term, renews $6.60
Cheapest managed
$5.99/mo
Hostinger AI automation apps (managed Hermes / OpenClaw)
24-mo prepay, renews $11.99
Free tier
$0
Oracle Cloud Always Free Ampere A1 (Arm)
≈2 Arm cores / 12 GB within Always Free limits. Harder setup.
| Provider / plan | Type | Price | Renews at | vCPU | RAM | Storage | Egress | Browser tools | Setup | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Cloud Always Free Ampere A1 (Arm) |
Free tier | Free | $0.00 | 2 | 12 GB | 200 GB | 10 TB | good | hard | Visit Oracle Cloud checked 2026-10-17 |
| OVHcloud VPS-1 |
VPS | $4.54/mo | ? | 2 | 4 GB | 40 GB | Unlimited* | ok | medium | Visit OVHcloud checked 2026-10-17 |
| Contabo Cloud VPS 4 |
VPS | $5.28/mo 24-mo term | $6.60 | 4 | 8 GB | 100 GB | Unlimited* | good | medium | Visit Contabo checked 2026-10-17 |
| Hostinger AI automation apps (managed Hermes / OpenClaw) |
Managed agent hosting | $5.99/mo 24-mo term | $11.99 | — | — | — | — | unknown | easy | Visit Hostinger checked 2026-10-17 |
| Hostinger KVM 1 |
VPS | $6.49/mo 24-mo term | $11.99 | 1 | 4 GB | 50 GB | 4 TB | ok | easy | Visit Hostinger checked 2026-10-17 |
| Hetzner CX23 (Cost-Optimized) Shown as 'not available' (out of stock) on 2026-10-17 |
VPS | $7.09/mo | $7.09 | 2 | 4 GB | 40 GB | 20 TB | ok | medium | Visit Hetzner checked 2026-10-17 |
| Hetzner CAX11 (Cost-Optimized, Arm) Shown as 'not available' on 2026-10-17 |
VPS | $7.59/mo | $7.59 | 2 | 4 GB | 40 GB | 20 TB | ok | medium | Visit Hetzner checked 2026-10-17 |
| OVHcloud VPS-2 |
VPS | $8.50/mo | ? | 4 | 8 GB | 75 GB | Unlimited* | good | medium | Visit OVHcloud checked 2026-10-17 |
| Hostinger KVM 2 |
VPS | $8.99/mo 24-mo term | $14.99 | 2 | 8 GB | 100 GB | 8 TB | good | easy | Visit Hostinger checked 2026-10-17 |
| Cloudways Managed AI Agents – Scout |
Managed agent hosting | $9.99/mo | $9.99 | 1 | 2 GB | 50 GB | 2 TB | tight | easy | Visit Cloudways checked 2026-10-17 |
| Vultr Cloud Compute Regular 1 vCPU / 2 GB |
VPS | $10.00/mo | $10.00 | 1 | 2 GB | 55 GB | 2 TB | tight | medium | Visit Vultr checked 2026-10-17 |
| Hetzner CX33 (Cost-Optimized) Shown as 'not available' on 2026-10-17 |
VPS | $10.59/mo | $10.59 | 4 | 8 GB | 80 GB | 20 TB | good | medium | Visit Hetzner checked 2026-10-17 |
| DigitalOcean Basic Droplet 2 GiB / 1 vCPU |
VPS | $12.00/mo | $12.00 | 1 | 2 GB | 50 GB | 2 TB | tight | medium | Visit DigitalOcean checked 2026-10-17 |
| Akamai (Linode) Shared Linode 2GB |
VPS | $12.00/mo | $12.00 | 1 | 2 GB | 50 GB | 2 TB | tight | medium | Visit Akamai (Linode) checked 2026-10-17 |
| Cloudways Managed AI Agents – Operator |
Managed agent hosting | $19.99/mo | $19.99 | 2 | 4 GB | 80 GB | 4 TB | ok | easy | Visit Cloudways checked 2026-10-17 |
| Vultr Cloud Compute Regular 2 vCPU / 4 GB |
VPS | $20.00/mo | $20.00 | 2 | 4 GB | 80 GB | 3 TB | ok | medium | Visit Vultr checked 2026-10-17 |
| Hetzner CPX11 (Regular Performance, US) |
VPS | $21.09/mo | $21.09 | 2 | 2 GB | 40 GB | 1 TB | tight | medium | Visit Hetzner checked 2026-10-17 |
| Hetzner CPX22 (Regular Performance) |
VPS | $23.59/mo | $23.59 | 2 | 4 GB | 80 GB | 20 TB | ok | medium | Visit Hetzner checked 2026-10-17 |
| DigitalOcean Basic Droplet 4 GiB / 2 vCPU |
VPS | $24.00/mo | $24.00 | 2 | 4 GB | 80 GB | 4 TB | ok | easy | Visit DigitalOcean checked 2026-10-17 |
| Akamai (Linode) Shared Linode 4GB |
VPS | $24.00/mo | $24.00 | 2 | 4 GB | 80 GB | 4 TB | ok | medium | Visit Akamai (Linode) checked 2026-10-17 |
| AWS Lightsail Linux 4 GB / 2 vCPU |
VPS | $24.00/mo | $24.00 | 2 | 4 GB | 80 GB | 4 TB | ok | medium | Visit AWS Lightsail checked 2026-10-17 |
| Raspberry Pi Raspberry Pi 5 8GB (board only) |
Home hardware | $175.00 once (derived) | — | 4 | 8 GB | — | Home ISP | good | hard | Visit Raspberry Pi checked 2026-10-17 |
| Raspberry Pi Raspberry Pi 5 16GB (board only) |
Home hardware | $305.00 once | — | 4 | 16 GB | — | Home ISP | good | hard | Visit Raspberry Pi checked 2026-10-17 |
| Beelink EQ14 (Intel N150) |
Home hardware | $385.00 once | — | — | — | — | Home ISP | — | medium | Visit Beelink checked 2026-10-17 |
| GMKtec NucBox G3 Plus (Intel N150) |
Home hardware | $399.99 once | — | — | — | — | Home ISP | — | medium | Visit GMKtec checked 2026-10-17 |
| Apple Mac mini M6 (16GB / 256GB) |
Home hardware | $899.00 once | — | 12 | 16 GB | 256 GB | Home ISP | good | medium | Visit Apple checked 2026-10-17 |
| Nous Research Nous Portal: Hermes Cloud (official managed Hermes Agent) |
Managed agent hosting | Shown after sign-in | — | — | — | — | — | unknown | easy | Visit Nous Research affiliate pricing source checked 2026-10-17 |
How to read this: "Browser tools" is our rule of thumb based on RAM: under 2 GB = no, 2 GB = tight (install Hermes with --skip-browser), 4 GB = OK, 8 GB+ = good. Hermes' installer adds a browser with Chromium by default (install docs). Rows marked derived or unverified weren't printed as a single price on an official page; see the row notes. VPS prices are monthly and exclude tax unless noted. Hetzner prices are shown in USD as displayed on hetzner.com (excl. VAT).
3-year cost, cheapest first
Intro price for the promo term, then the renewal price. Plans that are in stock, VPS only.
| Plan | RAM | 3-year total | Effective /mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| OVHcloud VPS-1 | 4 GB | $163.44 (renewal assumed flat) | $4.54 |
| Contabo Cloud VPS 4 | 8 GB | $205.92 | $5.72 |
| Hostinger KVM 1 | 4 GB | $299.64 | $8.32 |
| OVHcloud VPS-2 | 8 GB | $306.00 (renewal assumed flat) | $8.50 |
| Vultr Cloud Compute Regular 1 vCPU / 2 GB | 2 GB | $360.00 | $10.00 |
| Hostinger KVM 2 | 8 GB | $395.64 | $10.99 |
| DigitalOcean Basic Droplet 2 GiB / 1 vCPU | 2 GB | $432.00 | $12.00 |
| Akamai (Linode) Shared Linode 2GB | 2 GB | $432.00 | $12.00 |
Compare a VPS with home hardware →
Weekly price-change email coming soon
A short weekly note when prices or plans change for running Hermes Agent, OpenClaw and other always-on agents. Until then, the price changes page is updated every week.