Oracle Cloud offers an "Always Free" tier with enough resources to run OpenClaw. Here's how to set it up — and an honest assessment of the trade-offs.
What You Get for Free
Oracle's Always Free tier includes:
- 1 AMD VM with 1 GB RAM, 1/8 OCPU
- OR 4 ARM VMs with 24 GB RAM total, 4 OCPUs
- 47 GB boot volume storage
- 10 TB/month outbound data
The ARM option (Ampere A1) is the better choice for OpenClaw — 6 GB RAM and 1 OCPU is more than enough.
Setup Guide
Step 1: Create Oracle Cloud Account
Sign up at cloud.oracle.com. You'll need a credit card for verification (you won't be charged on the free tier).
Step 2: Create ARM Instance
- Go to Compute → Instances → Create Instance
- Select "Ampere" (ARM) shape
- Choose Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04
- Set to 1 OCPU, 6 GB RAM (within free limits)
- Upload your SSH public key
- Create the instance
Step 3: Configure Firewall
Oracle has strict default firewall rules. Open the necessary ports:
In the Oracle Console:
- Go to your VCN → Security Lists → Default
- Add ingress rules for ports 80, 443 (web), and your OpenClaw gateway port
On the VM itself:
sudo iptables -I INPUT -p tcp --dport 3000 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -I INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -I INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j ACCEPT
sudo netfilter-persistent save
Step 4: Install Docker
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
Step 5: Deploy OpenClaw
docker run -d \
--name openclaw \
--restart unless-stopped \
-p 3000:3000 \
-v openclaw-data:/data \
openclaw/openclaw:latest
Step 6: Configure Domain & TLS
Set up a domain pointing to your Oracle VM's IP, then use Caddy or Certbot for TLS.
The Reality Check
Free hosting sounds great. Here are the honest trade-offs:
Limitations
| Aspect | Free Tier | ClawTank |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | 1-2 hours | Under 1 minute |
| RAM | 1 GB (AMD) or 6 GB (ARM) | Pre-configured |
| Automatic TLS | Manual setup | Automatic |
| Subdomain routing | Manual Caddy/Nginx | Automatic |
| Security updates | Your responsibility | Automatic |
| Monitoring | None | Built-in |
| Backup | Manual | Managed |
| Uptime guarantee | None (free tier) | Yes |
| ARM compatibility | Some Docker images don't support ARM | x86, all images work |
| Support | Community forums | Direct support |
Common Issues
ARM Compatibility: Not all Docker images support ARM architecture. Some OpenClaw skills may not work on the ARM free tier.
Instance Reclamation: Oracle may reclaim idle free-tier instances. If your VM goes unused, it can be stopped.
Firewall Complexity: Oracle's security lists + iptables + the VM's firewall create three layers that all need correct configuration.
No Redundancy: Free tier = single VM. If it goes down, your AI agent goes down.
Maintenance Burden: You're responsible for OS updates, Docker updates, OpenClaw updates, security patches, and monitoring.
Who Should Use Free Tier
- Experimenters: Want to try OpenClaw before committing any money
- Developers: Building skills/integrations and need a test environment
- Hobbyists: Casual use where downtime is acceptable
- Budget zero: Literally cannot spend any money on hosting
Who Should Use Managed Hosting
- Daily users: Need reliable 24/7 uptime
- Non-technical: Don't want to manage servers
- Business use: Can't afford downtime or security incidents
- Time-conscious: Value time over saving $10/month
The Math
Your time has value. If you spend 2 hours setting up free hosting and 1 hour/month maintaining it:
- At $25/hour: $50 setup + $25/month maintenance
- Managed hosting: ~$10-15/month, zero maintenance
- Break-even: never (managed is cheaper from month 1)
Get Started
Want to try the free route? Follow the steps above. Want to skip the DevOps and start using your AI agent immediately? Deploy on ClawTank in under 1 minute.