Guides · Updated 2026-10-17
The cheapest way to run Hermes Agent 24/7 (real prices, 2026-10)
Short answer: Hermes Agent itself is free and open source, so you only pay for somewhere to run it plus your model usage. The cheapest always-on options we track right now:
- $0: Oracle Cloud Always Free Ampere A1 (Arm). Allowance is 1,500 OCPU-hours + 9,000 GB-hours per month (≈2 OCPU / 12 GB running 24/7, our arithmetic). Arm64. Account signup with card required by Oracle.
- Cheapest paid VPS: OVHcloud VPS-1 at $4.54/mo (2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM). The renewal price isn't published.
- Most RAM for the money: Contabo Cloud VPS 4 at $5.28/mo for the first 24 months, then $6.60 (4 vCPU, 8 GB).
- Least setup: Hostinger AI automation apps (managed Hermes / OpenClaw) at $5.99/mo on a 24-month prepay, renewing at $11.99.
The official option: Hermes Cloud on Nous Portal
Nous Research, the team behind Hermes Agent, runs its own managed hosting called Hermes Cloud, available through Nous Portal affiliate link. It deploys in one click, stays online, and bills daily from your Nous credits. Inference and tool usage are billed on top. Nous's public page says you need a $2 minimum credit or an active subscription to deploy. Instance prices are only shown after sign-in, so we can't say yet whether it beats a cheap VPS on price. It's the least-setup way to run Hermes specifically, and it comes from the people who build it. Portal subscriptions listed publicly: Free $0, Plus $20/mo (includes $22 credits), Super $100/mo, Ultra $200/mo (source).
3-year cost, not the sticker price
Promo prices often need a long prepay and renew higher. Here's the 3-year total for in-stock VPS plans:
| Plan | RAM | Intro | Renews | 3-year total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OVHcloud VPS-1 | 4 GB | $4.54 | ? | $163.44 |
| Contabo Cloud VPS 4 | 8 GB | $5.28 | $6.60 | $205.92 |
| Hostinger KVM 1 | 4 GB | $6.49 | $11.99 | $299.64 |
| OVHcloud VPS-2 | 8 GB | $8.50 | ? | $306.00 |
| Vultr Cloud Compute Regular 1 vCPU / 2 GB | 2 GB | $10.00 | $10.00 | $360.00 |
| Hostinger KVM 2 | 8 GB | $8.99 | $14.99 | $395.64 |
How much server do you need?
Hermes' source installer adds browser and computer-use tools by default, including a pinned Chromium. To leave them out, pass --skip-browser (official install docs). Browser automation is what makes small servers struggle. Our rule of thumb: 4 GB RAM to be comfortable, 8 GB if your agent browses a lot, and 2 GB only with browser tools turned off. See how much RAM Hermes Agent needs.
Running it on your own computer
Running Hermes on the laptop you already own costs nothing extra, but the agent goes offline whenever the laptop sleeps. To keep it online 24/7, you need a VPS, a managed host or an always-on box at home. Compare the last two in VPS vs Mac mini.
Watch-outs
- Several of Hetzner's low-cost plans showed as not available when we checked. Their in-stock US/Singapore plans cost noticeably more.
- OVHcloud's Asia-Pacific VPS regions have a monthly traffic quota. Other regions are unlimited.
- Model and API usage is billed separately everywhere and is often your biggest cost.