After two years of self-hosting OpenClaw on a cheap VPS, here’s my take: it’s the most reliable, cost-effective way to run a personal AI assistant.
The Setup
I pay roughly a month for a basic VPS. That’s it. For the price of two coffees, my assistant runs 24/7, never sleeps, and is always online when I need it.
No managing home servers. No worrying about power outages. No ‘turn on the PC first.’ It just works.
Why This Makes Sense for Young Users
If you’re under 30, you probably want three things:
- Reliability — Your assistant should work whether you’re at 2 PM or 2 AM. A VPS guarantees uptime.
- Low cost — 0/year is cheaper than most subscriptions, and you own the setup.
- No hassle — No hardware to maintain. Deploy once, run forever.
The Kimi K2.5 Bonus
Here’s what sealed the deal: OpenClaw now includes Kimi K2.5 in its onboarding. No complex configuration. No API juggling. It works out of the box, and the quality is noticeably better than default alternatives.
Bottom Line
VPS hosting isn’t just for developers. For anyone serious about having a personal AI assistant that actually shows up, it’s the practical choice. Two years in, I haven’t looked back.