Let’s be honest: cloud costs add up. If you are running multiple AI agents or just want to experiment with OpenClaw without a monthly bill that hurts, Hetzner is the answer.

Known for their incredible price-to-performance ratio, specifically with their new ARM64 instances, Hetzner is a favorite among the self-hosting community.

ARM64: The Secret Weapon

OpenClaw, being a Node.js application, runs natively on ARM architecture (like the chip in your MacBook or Raspberry Pi). Hetzner’s ARM instances are often cheaper and faster than their x86 equivalents.

Getting Started on Hetzner Cloud

  1. Go to Hetzner Cloud.
  2. Create a Project.
  3. Add Server:
    • Location: Falkenstein or Nuremberg (Germany), or Ashburn (USA).
    • Image: Ubuntu 24.04.
    • Type: Shared vCPU (ARM64) -> CAX11 (2 vCPU, 4GB RAM).
    • Price: This CAX11 instance usually costs less than a cup of coffee per month and is more than powerful enough for OpenClaw.

Setting Up the Server

The setup on ARM is identical to x86 for Node.js apps.

ssh root@<your-ip>

Install Dependencies:

apt update && apt install -y git

Install Node.js:

# Verify you are getting the ARM64 version automatically
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | bash -
apt install -y nodejs

Clone OpenClaw:

git clone https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git
cd openclaw
npm install

Why Hetzner?

The CAX11 instance gives you 4GB of RAM. Compare this to DigitalOcean or Vultr, where the entry-level price often gets you only 1GB. For an AI agent that might need to hold large conversation contexts in memory, that extra RAM is a game-changer for stability.

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for how much time you spend tweaking your new affordable server fleet!