📋 Pricing Contents
💰 ClawdBot Pricing Overview
The Short Answer: ClawdBot software is 100% free and open-source. However, you'll pay for:
- ✅ AI Model API usage (Claude, GPT-4, etc.) - OR use free local models
- ✅ Hosting/Hardware (your own computer, Mac Mini, or cloud server)
- ✅ Electricity (minimal if self-hosting)
Typical Monthly Cost: $5-25/month depending on usage and model choice.
Budget Setup
$0/month
Local Ollama models + existing computer
Standard Setup
$10-15/month
Claude API (moderate use) + Mac Mini
Power User Setup
$30-50/month
GPT-4 + Claude + AWS hosting
🎉 Software Cost: $0 (Free Forever)
ClawdBot is open-source software licensed under MIT. This means:
- ✅ No subscription fees
- ✅ No license costs
- ✅ No "Pro" or "Premium" tiers
- ✅ Full access to all features
- ✅ Commercial use allowed
You can download, install, and use ClawdBot without paying a single cent to the developers. See installation guide.
What You Get for Free
- Gateway server software
- All messaging platform integrations (Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, etc.)
- Browser automation capabilities
- System command execution
- Persistent memory system
- Skills and plugin support
- Community support via Discord
🤖 AI Model API Costs
This is where the real cost comes in. ClawdBot needs an AI "brain" to function. You have several options:
Option 1: Anthropic Claude (Recommended)
| Model | Input Cost | Output Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude 3.5 Sonnet | $3 / 1M tokens | $15 / 1M tokens | Coding, complex tasks |
| Claude 3 Haiku | $0.25 / 1M tokens | $1.25 / 1M tokens | Simple queries, budget use |
Real-World Example: Moderate daily use (50 messages/day) with Claude 3.5 Sonnet costs approximately $8-12/month.
Option 2: OpenAI GPT-4
| Model | Input Cost | Output Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-4 Turbo | $10 / 1M tokens | $30 / 1M tokens | General purpose |
| GPT-4o mini | $0.15 / 1M tokens | $0.60 / 1M tokens | Fast, cheap responses |
Option 3: Google Gemini
| Model | Input Cost | Output Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini 1.5 Pro | $1.25 / 1M tokens | $5 / 1M tokens | Long context, multimodal |
| Gemini 1.5 Flash | $0.075 / 1M tokens | $0.30 / 1M tokens | Ultra-budget option |
Option 4: Local Models (Ollama) - FREE
Run AI models completely free on your own hardware using Ollama:
- Llama 3.1 (8B): Fast, good for simple tasks
- Llama 3.1 (70B): Powerful, requires 48GB+ RAM
- Mistral: Balanced performance
- CodeLlama: Optimized for coding
Hardware Requirements:
- 8B models: 8GB RAM minimum
- 13B models: 16GB RAM recommended
- 70B models: 48GB+ RAM (Mac Studio, high-end PC)
Trade-off: Free but slower responses (5-15 seconds vs 1-3 seconds for cloud APIs).
🖥️ Hosting Options & Costs
Option 1: Use Your Existing Computer (Free)
Cost: $0/month (just electricity, ~$2-5/month)
Pros: No additional hardware cost
Cons: Only available when computer is on
Option 2: Dedicated Mac Mini Server
One-time Cost: $599 (Mac Mini M2)
Monthly Cost: ~$2-3 electricity
Pros: Silent, energy-efficient, always-on
Cons: Upfront investment
See detailed guide: ClawdBot on Mac Mini
Option 3: Cloud Server (AWS, DigitalOcean, etc.)
| Provider | Instance Type | Monthly Cost | Specs |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS EC2 | t3.small | $15-20 | 2 vCPU, 2GB RAM |
| DigitalOcean | Basic Droplet | $12 | 2 vCPU, 2GB RAM |
| Hetzner | CX11 | $5 | 1 vCPU, 2GB RAM |
Pros: No hardware, accessible anywhere, automatic backups
Cons: Ongoing monthly cost
Option 4: Old Laptop/PC (Repurpose)
Cost: $0 (use existing hardware)
Turn an old laptop into a dedicated ClawdBot server. Works great for Linux setups.
🧮 Cost Calculator
Scenario 1: Budget User
- AI Model: Ollama (Llama 3.1 8B) - Free
- Hosting: Existing laptop - Free
- Total: $0/month
Scenario 2: Moderate User
- AI Model: Claude 3.5 Sonnet (50 msgs/day) - $10/month
- Hosting: Mac Mini (electricity) - $2/month
- Total: $12/month
Scenario 3: Heavy User
- AI Model: GPT-4 Turbo (150 msgs/day) - $25/month
- Hosting: AWS EC2 t3.small - $18/month
- Total: $43/month
Scenario 4: Power User (Multi-Model)
- AI Models: Claude + GPT-4 + Gemini - $30/month
- Hosting: DigitalOcean Droplet - $12/month
- Total: $42/month
📊 vs. ChatGPT Plus & Claude Pro
| Service | Monthly Cost | What You Get | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Plus | $20/month | GPT-4 access, web browsing, DALL-E | Web-only, no messaging integration, rate limits |
| Claude Pro | $20/month | Claude 3.5 Sonnet, priority access | Web-only, message limits, no customization |
| ClawdBot (Moderate) | $10-15/month | Any model, messaging apps, full control, browser automation | Requires setup, self-hosted |
| ClawdBot (Free) | $0/month | Local models, all features | Slower responses, requires powerful hardware |
Cost Comparison Over 12 Months
- ChatGPT Plus: $240/year
- Claude Pro: $240/year
- ClawdBot (Moderate): $144/year + $599 Mac Mini = $743 first year, then $144/year
- ClawdBot (Free): $0/year
Break-even Point: If you buy a Mac Mini, ClawdBot becomes cheaper than ChatGPT Plus after 2.5 years. But you get far more features and privacy.
💡 How to Save Money with ClawdBot
1. Use Cheaper Models for Simple Tasks
Configure ClawdBot to use:
- Gemini Flash for quick questions ($0.075 per 1M input tokens)
- Claude Haiku for simple tasks ($0.25 per 1M input tokens)
- Claude Sonnet only for complex coding/analysis
2. Enable Prompt Caching
Claude's prompt caching can reduce costs by 90% for repeated context. ClawdBot supports this automatically.
3. Use Local Models for Offline Tasks
Run Ollama for:
- Summarizing local documents
- Code review
- Simple Q&A
4. Set Usage Limits
Configure monthly spending caps in your AI provider dashboard to avoid surprise bills.
5. Optimize Context Window
Shorter conversations = lower costs. Use ClawdBot's memory system to store important info instead of sending full context every time.
6. Choose Hetzner for Cloud Hosting
At $5/month, Hetzner is 70% cheaper than AWS for equivalent specs.