Provision

The complete guide

OpenClaw hosting:
a buyer's guide.

OpenClaw is the open-source AI agent harness behind a fast-growing class of managed cloud products. This page is the honest, side-by-side comparison of what each provider does well — and where Provision fits. If you're evaluating managed OpenClaw, hosted OpenClaw, or OpenClaw alternative to self-hosting, start here.

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What is OpenClaw hosting?

OpenClaw is an open-source AI agent harness — the orchestration layer that gives a large language model a real browser, a file system, memory, and the ability to take actions in the world. It's powerful, transparent, and actively developed, but running it yourself means provisioning servers, sandboxing Chrome safely, configuring email deliverability, and wiring up OAuth integrations for Slack, Telegram, and Discord. Managed OpenClaw hosting handles all of that for you — you get a logged-in dashboard and your agent is ready in minutes.

The space is moving quickly. Several providers now offer different flavors of hosted OpenClaw — from minimal VM-in-an-iframe products at the low end to full multi-channel platforms with email per agent at the high end. The right pick depends on whether you need a personal assistant or a team of agents, whether you want channel integrations, and how much you care about open source / self-host as a fallback.

Managed OpenClaw vs self-hosted OpenClaw

Both are valid. Pick managed if you'd rather pay $99/mo than spend a week on infrastructure; pick self-hosted if you want full control or have compliance requirements that demand it.

Managed OpenClaw cloud

  • Agent live in 5 minutes — no servers, no Docker, no SSH.
  • Sandboxed Chrome browser per agent, viewable in dashboard.
  • Email inbox per agent with deliverability handled.
  • First-party Slack, Telegram, Discord, Web Chat OAuth.
  • Predictable monthly billing.
  • Updates and security patches handled.

Self-hosted OpenClaw

  • Full control — your servers, your data, your network.
  • No subscription — only pay infra and model costs.
  • MIT licensed — fork, audit, modify freely.
  • Trade-off: you handle ops, sandboxing, and integrations.
  • Trade-off: deliverability and channel OAuth take real work.
  • Best if you have a strong ops team and clear compliance needs.

The leading managed OpenClaw providers

Five providers worth comparing. Each link goes to a side-by-side breakdown with feature tables, pricing, and honest "when to pick them" guidance.

ProvisionThis site

Hire the AI team. We run the office.

Managed OpenClaw cloud built for teams. Each agent gets a sandboxed browser, a real email inbox, and one-click connections to Slack, Telegram, Discord, and Web Chat. Open source core (MIT). $99/mo with a 48-hour free trial.

See Provision overview
MyClawmyclaw.ai ↗

Best for: Individuals who want a single OpenClaw assistant in a hosted dashboard.

Pick Provision if you want OpenClaw agents living inside your team's existing communication channels and inbox. Pick MyClaw if you want a personal AI assistant accessed through a hosted dashboard.

Provision vs MyClaw
OpenClawCloudopen.claw.cloud ↗

Best for: Individuals who want a low-cost, self-serve OpenClaw VM in the browser.

OpenClawCloud is the cheapest way to get a turn-key OpenClaw VM. Provision is the only way to get OpenClaw agents that live in Slack, Telegram, Discord, and email like real teammates.

Provision vs OpenClawCloud
WorkClawworkclaw.com ↗

Best for: Teams who want a polished, mascot-driven OpenClaw experience with a SaaS-style onboarding.

Provision is the open-source-core, channel-first, email-per-agent option. WorkClaw is the closed-source, brand-forward, demo-driven option.

Provision vs WorkClaw
Hyperagentwww.hyperagent.com ↗

Best for: Buyers who want a prompt-and-go workflow with rich autonomous browsing and pre-built recipes.

Hyperagent is the prompt-and-go option. Provision is the agent-in-your-channels option. They overlap less than they look — many teams use both.

Provision vs Hyperagent
Viktorgetviktor.com ↗

Best for: Teams that want one polished Slack-native AI coworker with deep SaaS-tool integrations.

Viktor is one agent who's great at everything. Provision is a team of agents who specialize and delegate. Different shapes for different team sizes.

Provision vs Viktor
Claude Codeclaude.com ↗

Best for: Engineers who want a fast, terminal-native AI coding agent with full repo access.

Claude Code is the best agentic coding CLI on the market. Provision is the best home for AI agents outside the codebase. They complement each other.

Provision vs Claude Code
LangChainwww.langchain.com ↗

Best for: Engineering teams building custom AI infrastructure who want a flexible, code-first agent framework.

LangChain is a framework you build with. Provision is a product you log into. Same goal, completely different shapes.

Provision vs LangChain
AutoGPTagpt.co ↗

Best for: Builders and tinkerers who want a flexible, hackable open-source agent platform.

AutoGPT is a hacker's playground for AI agents. Provision is the managed product for shipping AI agents to a real team.

Provision vs AutoGPT
Paperclippaperclip.ing ↗

Best for: Teams orchestrating heterogeneous agents (Claude Code, OpenClaw, shell scripts, webhooks) under one self-hosted management plane.

Paperclip is the management plane, BYO runtime. Provision is the management plane plus an opinionated OpenClaw runtime, channels, email, and managed hosting. Both are MIT-licensed open source.

Provision vs Paperclip

OpenClaw hosting FAQ

What is OpenClaw hosting?
OpenClaw hosting refers to running the open-source OpenClaw AI agent harness on managed cloud infrastructure — so you don't have to provision servers, configure browser sandboxes, set up email deliverability, or wire OAuth integrations yourself. It turns OpenClaw from an open-source project you operate into a turn-key product you log into.
Why use a managed OpenClaw cloud instead of self-hosting?
Self-hosting OpenClaw means running and patching servers, sandboxing browsers safely, getting email deliverability right, and building Slack/Telegram/Discord OAuth flows. A managed cloud handles all of that for you. The tradeoff is monthly cost vs hours of infrastructure work — most teams come out ahead on the managed path.
Which OpenClaw hosting provider should I pick?
It depends on what you need. For team-channel agents with email per agent, Provision is built for that. For a personal hosted OpenClaw assistant, MyClaw is sharper. For the cheapest turn-key OpenClaw VM, OpenClawCloud is the best price. Each provider's vs page on this site walks through the tradeoffs in detail.
Is OpenClaw the same as Claude or ChatGPT?
No. OpenClaw is an open-source AI agent harness — the orchestration layer that gives an LLM a browser, file system, memory, and the ability to take actions. The LLM itself can be Claude, GPT-4/5, GLM, or a local model. OpenClaw hosting providers manage the harness; you bring (or buy through them) the underlying model.
Can I move between OpenClaw hosting providers?
Generally yes — since they're all built on the same open-source harness, agent skills, prompts, and conversation patterns transfer. The unique parts (channel integrations, email inboxes, dashboard data) need to be reconfigured per provider. Provision specifically supports data export anytime, so you can move out as easily as you moved in.
Is open-source OpenClaw still free?
Yes. OpenClaw is open source. You can run it yourself for free if you have the operational appetite. Managed providers like Provision charge for the cloud, browser, inbox, channels, and ongoing maintenance — not the harness itself.

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