Compliance
Data residency, internal policy, or on-prem requirements.
AdClaw is Apache 2.0.
Run it locally, on VPS,
DigitalOcean, Railway, or AdClaw Host.
Hosted plans include bundled credits.
No Docker needed. Local install for development and testing.
pip install adclaw
adclaw init
adclaw app
121 skills, Chromium, Playwright, all messaging channels (Telegram, Discord, Feishu, DingTalk).
docker run -d --name adclaw \
-p 8088:8088 \
nttylock/adclaw:latest
Self-host is fast and valid. The hosted edge is bundled credits, bundled LLM messages, backups, and zero ops.
| Cost item | Self-host | AdClaw Host Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure | $5-10/mo VPS or existing server | Included |
| Setup time | ~5 minutes on partner deploys | About 90 seconds |
| Monthly maintenance | ~1-2 hours for updates, debug, backup tuning | 0 |
| Backups | Manual | Included |
| SSL / domain config | Manual | Included |
| Citedy credits | Optional pay-as-you-go | — credits bundled |
| Bundled LLM messages | None | — messages bundled |
| LLM keys | Bring your own | Bundled messages + bring your own |
| Total monthly | ~$45/mo + ops time | $29/mo, zero ops |
Verdict: hosted is cheaper for many Pro users because Citedy credits and LLM messages are bundled. Self-host wins when you already operate servers, need compliance control, or want to modify source.
Data residency, internal policy, or on-prem requirements.
You already run servers and one more container has marginal cost.
You want to fork, add custom skills, or embed AdClaw in your product.
Running the source is the best way to understand the architecture.
The same Citedy MCP server is bundled inside every AdClaw install, so the marketing actions work the same on laptop, VPS, DigitalOcean, Railway, or AdClaw Host. Hosted plans include bundled Citedy credits up to 1,500/month. On self-hosted installs, the power is the same, but credits are added separately by you.
~20 credits
~2 credits
~139 credits
~30 credits
~40 credits
Free to your blog or socials
| AdClaw Host | OpenClaw self-host | Botpress | n8n Cloud | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price entry | $10/mo | Free + infra | $89/mo | $24/mo |
| Marketing personas | Unlimited custom | Generic | No | Generic |
| Citedy credits | Bundled | Separate | No | No |
| LLM messages | Bundled | Bring your own | Bring your own | Bring your own |
| Telegram team routing | Yes | DIY | Multi-channel | Configured |
| Open-source alternative | Apache 2.0 | MIT | AGPL | Fair-code |
Install free when you want full control. Use hosted when bundled credits, bundled messages, backups, and zero ops are worth more than the infra work.