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Hosting Comparison

HostAgentes vs Cloudways

A managed server with an agent preinstalled versus a purpose-built agent platform. Cloudways (DigitalOcean) now sells managed OpenClaw and Hermes hosting — compared honestly.

Direct answer

Cloudways (DigitalOcean) sells managed OpenClaw and Hermes hosting from $9.99/mo flat (Scout: 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 50 GB storage; the former $4.99 intro rate is retired) on a dedicated instance with BYOK and managed SSL. Choose Cloudways if you want a managed server with an agent preinstalled and your pick of data centers. Choose HostAgentes for $3.99/mo with double the RAM plus the managed agent layer: persistent memory, auto-restarts, auto-scaling, agent-level monitoring, and Paperclip multi-agent orchestration. Figures verified September 20, 2026.

Feature comparison

Feature HostAgentes Cloudways
Entry price $3.99/mo (OpenClaw Basic) $9.99/mo flat (Scout; $4.99 intro retired)
Entry specs 1 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 12 GB 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 50 GB
Agent model OpenClaw framework pre-configured + managed agent layer Managed server with agent preinstalled
Frameworks OpenClaw, Paperclip + managed Activepieces, Dify, Flowise, Langflow OpenClaw, Hermes
Multi-agent orchestration Yes (Paperclip) No
Agent-level monitoring Yes No (server-level only)
Auto-scaling Yes No (fixed tiers)
Persistent memory Built-in No (instance disk)
Storage at entry 12 GB 50 GB
Tier headroom Paperclip plans to $45/mo Named tiers to 8 vCPU / 16 GB ($79.99 Swarm)
Region choice Managed for you Pick your data center
BYOK Yes Yes — OpenAI, Anthropic, Google keys
Free trial 24h (card required) Not published
Backing ZUI TECHNOLOGY DigitalOcean

Cloudways figures verified against their public site in September 2026. They win real rows — more storage at entry, named scaling tiers, and data-center choice. If you want raw managed infrastructure, they are a credible choice.

Pricing compared

HostAgentes
  • OpenClaw Basic: $3.99/mo — 1 vCPU, 4 GB, BYOK
  • Paperclip Starter: $15/mo
  • Paperclip Pro: $25/mo
  • Paperclip Scale: $45/mo
  • Trial: 24h, card required
  • Focus: purpose-built agent platform
Cloudways
  • Scout: $9.99/mo flat ($4.99 intro retired) — 1 vCPU, 2 GB, 50 GB
  • Operator: $19.99/mo — 2 vCPU, 4 GB, 80 GB
  • Squad: $39.99/mo — 4 vCPU, 8 GB, 160 GB
  • Swarm: $79.99/mo — 8 vCPU, 16 GB, 320 GB
  • BYOK: LLM costs stay with your provider
  • Focus: managed infrastructure + agent preinstalled

Frequently asked questions

Is Cloudways a good alternative to HostAgentes for AI agents?
For server-layer hosting, yes. Cloudways (owned by DigitalOcean) sells managed OpenClaw and Hermes instances on dedicated servers with BYOK, managed SSL, and one-click deployment (verified against their site September 2026). It works well if you want a managed VPS with an agent preinstalled. The gap versus a purpose-built platform: no persistent agent memory, no auto-scaling, no agent-level monitoring, and no multi-agent orchestration — the agent layer is still yours to run.
How does Cloudways pricing compare to HostAgentes?
Cloudways agent hosting starts at $9.99/mo flat for Scout (1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 50 GB storage; the former $4.99 intro rate is retired), with Operator ($19.99), Squad ($39.99), and Swarm ($79.99, 8 vCPU / 16 GB) above it. HostAgentes OpenClaw Basic is $3.99/mo flat with 1 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, and the full agent layer (memory, auto-restarts, monitoring, auto-scaling) included. Cloudways gives you more storage at entry; HostAgentes gives you double the RAM, a $6/mo lower entry price, and the managed agent layer. All figures verified September 20, 2026.
Does Cloudways host OpenClaw?
Yes — Cloudways provisions a dedicated server with OpenClaw (or Hermes) preinstalled: pick a region and tier, connect your OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google keys, and the agent is deployed in minutes. The difference is how much is managed for you: on Cloudways the server and the agent binary are managed, while agent-state logic, restarts, scaling decisions, and per-agent observability stay on you. On HostAgentes, OpenClaw is the platform — persistent memory between runs, auto-restarts, auto-scaling, and agent-level monitoring ship pre-configured.
What does Cloudways' managed agent hosting not include?
The agent layer. Cloudways manages the infrastructure — dedicated instance, validated agent updates, automatic backups, managed SSL, your choice of data center — but persistent memory, auto-scaling, agent-level monitoring, and multi-agent orchestration are not part of the platform. If your agent needs state between runs or traffic-dependent scaling, you build and operate that yourself on top of the instance.
Can I migrate from Cloudways to HostAgentes?
Yes. Both platforms are BYOK, so your LLM API keys move with you. Export your OpenClaw configuration and environment variables from your Cloudways instance, create your OpenClaw agent on HostAgentes, import the config and keys, and run both side by side until you cut over. Most single-agent migrations take under an hour, and our migration guide covers the steps.

Want the agent layer managed too?

HostAgentes ships OpenClaw pre-configured with persistent memory, monitoring, and auto-scaling — from $3.99/mo.

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