8 Ways to Run OpenClaw Completely Free in 2026 (After the Claude Cutoff) | OpenClaw DC

You can run OpenClaw for $0/month in 2026. After Anthropic cut Claude subscription access on April 4, free alternatives matter more than ever. Here are 8 ways to run OpenClaw without paying, ranked by quality and ease of setup.

Why This Matters Now

Two days ago, Anthropic cut off Claude subscription access for OpenClaw and other third-party tools. If you were running OpenClaw on a Claude Pro or Max subscription, your agent stopped working on April 4.

You have paid options (Claude API keys, usage bundles), but you also have free ones. Eight of them, actually. Some are better than what you had before.

Comparison Table: All 8 Free Options

1. Ollama + Qwen 3.5 27B (Best Free Local)

The top pick. Qwen 3.5 27B runs entirely on your machine, handles OpenClaw’s tool calling reliably, and has zero rate limits. Once downloaded, it works offline. You need a machine with 32GB RAM (Mac, Linux, or Windows with WSL). Full setup takes about 5 minutes.

# Install Ollama and pull the model
curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh
ollama pull qwen3.5:27b

# Point OpenClaw at it
openclaw config set providers.ollama.base_url http://localhost:11434
openclaw config set agents.defaults.models.chat ollama/qwen3.5:27b

For the full walkthrough with video, see our Qwen 3.5 + Ollama setup guide.

2. Oracle Cloud Always Free (Best Free Cloud)

Oracle’s Always Free tier gives you 4 ARM Ampere CPUs and 24GB RAM permanently. That is enough to run OpenClaw with Ollama and a smaller model like Qwen 3.5 14B or Llama 3.1 8B. Your agent runs 24/7 without your laptop being on.

# After provisioning an ARM instance on Oracle Cloud
ssh opc@your-instance-ip

# Install Ollama + OpenClaw on the instance
curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh
ollama pull qwen3.5:14b
pip install openclaw
openclaw config set providers.ollama.base_url http://localhost:11434
openclaw config set agents.defaults.models.chat ollama/qwen3.5:14b

The signup requires a credit card for verification, but you will never be charged on the Always Free tier. See our VPS and cloud deploy guide for step-by-step Oracle setup.

3. DeepSeek V3 Free Tier

DeepSeek V3 offers a free API tier with generous daily limits. The model is strong at reasoning and code generation, making it a solid match for OpenClaw tasks. Sign up at platform.deepseek.com and grab your API key.

openclaw config set providers.deepseek.api_key YOUR_DEEPSEEK_KEY
openclaw config set agents.defaults.models.chat deepseek/deepseek-chat

The free tier has rate limits (around 10 RPM) and a daily token cap. For most personal automation, that is plenty. Heavier workloads will hit the ceiling.

4. Gemini Free Tier

Google’s Gemini API includes a free tier with 15 requests per minute and a daily token allowance. Gemini handles long context well, which helps if your OpenClaw tasks involve large documents or codebases.

openclaw config set providers.google.api_key YOUR_GEMINI_KEY
openclaw config set agents.defaults.models.chat google/gemini-2.0-flash

Gemini’s tool calling is less consistent than Qwen 3.5 or DeepSeek for complex multi-step tasks. For straightforward automations, it works fine.

5. Groq Free Tier (Fastest Inference)

Groq is the speed champion. Their free tier runs Llama and Mixtral models on custom LPU hardware with inference speeds that make cloud APIs feel slow. You get 30 requests per minute on the free plan.

openclaw config set providers.groq.api_key YOUR_GROQ_KEY
openclaw config set agents.defaults.models.chat groq/llama-3.1-70b-versatile

The tradeoff: Groq’s free tier only offers open-source models (no proprietary frontier models). Llama 3.1 70B is capable but a step below DeepSeek V3 or Qwen 3.5 27B for complex reasoning.

6. Together AI Free Credits

Together AI gives new accounts $5 in free credits. That translates to roughly 2-4 weeks of moderate OpenClaw usage depending on model choice. They host a wide selection of open-source models, so you can experiment.

openclaw config set providers.together.api_key YOUR_TOGETHER_KEY
openclaw config set agents.defaults.models.chat together/Qwen/Qwen2.5-72B-Instruct-Turbo

The credits do run out. This is best as a trial or bridge while you set up a permanent free option like Ollama or Oracle Cloud.

7. OpenRouter Free Models

OpenRouter aggregates multiple providers and marks certain models as free. Availability and quality vary, but you can access models like Mistral 7B, Llama 3.1 8B, and others at zero cost. Create an account at openrouter.ai.

openclaw config set providers.openrouter.api_key YOUR_OPENROUTER_KEY
openclaw config set agents.defaults.models.chat openrouter/mistralai/mistral-7b-instruct:free

Free models on OpenRouter rotate and sometimes have long queue times during peak hours. Check their model list for current free options.

8. GitHub Codespaces (60 Free Hours/Month)

If you do not have a machine with enough RAM for local models, GitHub Codespaces gives you 60 free hours per month on a 2-core, 8GB RAM machine. You can run OpenClaw inside a Codespace with a cloud API key (like DeepSeek or Gemini free tier) for a fully free setup.

# In your Codespace terminal
pip install openclaw
openclaw config set providers.deepseek.api_key YOUR_KEY
openclaw config set agents.defaults.models.chat deepseek/deepseek-chat

The 60-hour limit means this is not viable for 24/7 agents. It works well for development, testing, and occasional use.

Which Should You Pick?

You have a Mac or Linux machine with 32GB+ RAM: Start with Ollama + Qwen 3.5 27B. It is the best experience, fully offline, no rate limits.

You want a 24/7 cloud agent for free: Set up Oracle Cloud Always Free with Ollama and a 14B model. It takes more initial setup but runs indefinitely.

You want the easiest setup possible: DeepSeek V3 or Gemini free tier. Just grab an API key and paste it in. Two commands.

You need the fastest responses: Groq free tier. Nothing else comes close on inference speed.

You want to try multiple models: Together AI or OpenRouter. Both let you swap between models easily.

You have no hardware and need a quick start: GitHub Codespaces + a free cloud API. Zero hardware requirements.

Most people should start with option 1 (Ollama + Qwen 3.5) if they have the hardware, or option 3 (DeepSeek free tier) if they do not. You can always layer these together. Run Ollama locally for most tasks and fall back to a free cloud API when you need a different model.

Related Guides

• OpenClaw + Qwen 3.5 + Ollama: The Best Free Setup in 2026
• Deploy OpenClaw on a VPS or Cloud Instance
• Anthropic Cut Off Claude for OpenClaw: What Happened and What To Do Now

Need Help Setting This Up?

We help people in the DC area (and remotely) get OpenClaw running on free infrastructure. If you want a guided setup or need help picking the right option for your workflow, book a call and we will get you sorted.