Price Per TokenPrice Per Token
OpenClaw

Cheapest LLMs for OpenClaw — Budget Model Rankings (2026)

Community-voted rankings sorted by API cost per million tokens

Our Picks

Cheapest Good Model

GPT-OSS-120b

$0.00/M input

Best Value

DeepSeek V3

Score 5 · $0.01/M

Free Tier Pick

GPT-OSS-120b

$0/M on free tier

Provider
Model
Input $/M
Output $/M
Vote
Score
$0.450
$2.200
433+40
$0.390
$1.750
244+20
$0.500
$3.000
211+20
$5.000
$25.000
3012+18
$5.000
$25.000
150+15
$0.875
$7.000
92+7
$0.270
$0.950
60+6
$3.000
$15.000
82+6
$0.014
$0.028
72+5
$0.140
$0.420
40+4
$0.090
$0.300
31+2
$0.110
$0.190
20+2
$0.200
$0.500
31+2
$0.200
$0.950
20+2
$0.400
$0.900
20+2
$2.000
$12.000
20+2
$0.000
$0.000
10+1
$0.000
$0.000
10+1
$0.030
$0.110
10+1
$0.060
$0.400
10+1
$0.070
$0.270
10+1
$0.100
$0.500
10+1
$0.100
$0.500
10+1
$0.100
$0.400
10+1
$0.117
$1.365
10+1
$0.140
$0.200
10+1
$0.150
$0.600
10+1
$0.250
$2.000
10+1
$0.300
$2.500
10+1
$0.470
$2.000
10+1
$0.500
$1.500
10+1
$0.520
$2.080
10+1
$0.800
$2.550
10+1
$2.000
$12.000
10+1
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
-
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
IB
Ibm
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
000
$0.010
$0.020
000
$0.010
$0.020
000
$0.017
$0.110
000
$0.020
$0.020
000
$0.020
$0.040
000
$0.030
$0.120
000
$0.030
$0.090
000
$0.030
$0.050
000
$0.030
$0.080
000
$0.030
$0.040
000
$0.030
$0.120
000
$0.033
$0.130
000
$0.035
$0.140
000
$0.037
$0.150
000
$0.040
$0.040
000
$0.040
$0.080
000
$0.040
$0.130
000
$0.040
$0.040
000
$0.040
$0.100
000
$0.040
$0.050
000
$0.045
$0.150
000
$0.049
$0.049
000
$0.050
$0.400
110
$0.050
$0.200
000
$0.050
$0.080
000
$0.050
$0.200
000
$0.050
$0.080
000
$0.050
$0.150
000
$0.050
$0.200
000
$0.059
$0.059
000
$0.060
$0.200
000
$0.060
$0.060
000
$0.060
$0.060
000
$0.065
$0.140
000
$0.065
$0.260
000
$0.070
$0.280
000
$0.070
$0.280
000
$0.070
$0.280
000
$0.070
$0.070
000
$0.071
$0.100
000
$0.075
$0.300
000
$0.075
$0.200
000
$0.075
$0.300
000
$0.080
$0.300
000
$0.080
$0.280
000
$0.080
$0.240
000
$0.080
$0.300
000
$0.080
$0.200
000
$0.090
$0.290
000
$0.090
$0.400
000
$0.090
$0.780
000
$0.098
$0.300
000
$0.100
$0.100
000
$0.100
$0.200
000
$0.100
$0.400
000
$0.100
$0.100
000
$0.100
$0.100
000
$0.100
$0.100
000
$0.100
$0.100
000
$0.100
$0.100
000
$0.100
$0.200
000
$0.100
$0.300
000
$0.100
$0.300
000
$0.100
$0.100
000
$0.100
$0.100
000
$0.100
$0.100
000
$0.100
$0.100
000
$0.100
$0.400
000
$0.100
$0.100
000
$0.100
$0.100
000
$0.100
$0.100
000
$0.100
$0.400
000
$0.100
$0.100
000
$0.100
$0.100
000
$0.100
$0.100
000
$0.100
$0.100
000
$0.100
$0.100
000
$0.100
$0.300
000
$0.104
$0.416
000
$0.120
$0.750
000
$0.120
$0.200
000
$0.120
$0.390
000
$0.125
$0.375
000
$0.130
$0.850
000
$0.130
$0.400
000
$0.130
$0.600
000
$0.130
$0.520
000
$0.137
$0.409
000
$0.140
$0.570
000
$0.140
$0.560
000
$0.140
$0.140
000
$0.140
$0.200
000
$0.140
$0.420
000
$0.149
$0.900
000
$0.150
$0.600
000
$0.150
$0.500
000
$0.150
$0.500
000
$0.150
$0.150
000
$0.150
$0.600
000
$0.150
$0.150
000
$0.150
$0.600
000
$0.150
$0.580
000
$0.150
$0.150
000
$0.150
$0.150
000
$0.163
$1.000
000
$0.170
$0.170
000
$0.170
$0.170
000
$0.170
$0.430
000
$0.180
$0.180
000
$0.195
$0.975
000
$0.195
$1.560
000
$0.200
$1.250
000
$0.200
$0.600
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.800
000
$0.200
$0.600
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$1.100
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.500
000
$0.200
$1.500
000
$0.200
$0.790
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.800
000
$0.200
$0.600
000
$0.200
$0.770
000
$0.200
$1.100
000
$0.200
$0.880
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.200
$0.200
000
$0.207
$0.828
000
$0.210
$0.780
000
$0.220
$0.900
000
$0.240
$0.240
000
$0.250
$2.000
000
$0.250
$0.850
000
$0.250
$0.750
000
$0.250
$0.750
000
$0.250
$2.000
000
$0.250
$2.000
000
$0.250
$0.500
000
$0.250
$1.500
000
$0.250
$1.250
000
$0.250
$0.750
000
$0.255
$1.000
000
$0.260
$0.780
000
$0.260
$2.080
000
$0.260
$0.780
000
$0.260
$0.900
000
$0.260
$1.560
000
$0.270
$0.410
000
$0.280
$0.900
000
$0.290
$0.290
000
$0.300
$1.200
000
$0.300
$2.500
000
$0.300
$0.500
000
$0.300
$1.200
000
$0.300
$0.900
000
$0.300
$2.500
000
$0.300
$0.500
000
$0.300
$0.900
000
$0.300
$0.300
000
$0.300
$0.300
000
$0.300
$0.300
000
$0.300
$0.300
000
$0.300
$0.300
000
$0.300
$0.300
000
$0.340
$0.390
000
$0.350
$1.050
000
$0.390
$0.900
000
$0.390
$1.740
000
$0.400
$2.000
000
$0.400
$2.000
000
$0.400
$2.000
000
$0.400
$2.000
000
$0.400
$1.760
000
$0.400
$2.000
000
$0.400
$0.800
000
$0.400
$1.200
000
$0.400
$0.400
000
$0.420
$1.250
000
$0.450
$0.450
000
$0.450
$2.150
000
$0.500
$0.500
000
$0.500
$0.800
000
$0.500
$0.700
000
$0.500
$0.500
000
$0.500
$0.500
000
$0.500
$1.500
000
$0.500
$1.500
000
$0.500
$0.500
000
$0.510
$0.740
000
$0.550
$0.800
000
$0.550
$2.190
000
$0.550
$2.200
000
$0.600
$6.000
000
$0.600
$1.800
000
$0.600
$2.200
000
$0.600
$1.200
000
$0.620
$0.620
000
$0.625
$5.000
000
$0.625
$5.000
000
$0.625
$5.000
000
$0.650
$0.750
000
$0.650
$3.250
000
$0.650
$0.650
000
$0.660
$0.900
000
$0.700
$1.400
000
$0.700
$0.800
000
$0.720
$0.720
000
$0.750
$4.500
000
$0.750
$1.200
000
$0.750
$3.000
000
$0.750
$1.000
000
$0.776
$0.776
000
$0.780
$3.900
000
$0.780
$3.900
000
$0.800
$1.200
000
$0.800
$1.200
000
$0.800
$1.600
000
$0.800
$4.000
000
$0.800
$0.800
000
$0.800
$0.800
000
$0.800
$1.200
000
$0.800
$0.800
000
$0.800
$3.200
000
$0.800
$4.000
000
$0.800
$0.800
000
$0.800
$0.800
000
$0.800
$1.600
000
$0.850
$1.250
000
$0.850
$3.400
000
$0.850
$0.850
000
$0.875
$7.000
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$1.900
000
$0.900
$3.300
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.900
$0.900
000
$0.960
$3.200
000
$1.000
$3.000
000
$1.000
$3.000
000
$1.000
$5.000
000
$1.000
$3.000
000
$1.000
$10.000
000
$1.000
$5.000
000
$1.000
$1.000
000
$1.000
$1.000
000
$1.000
$1.000
000
$1.040
$4.160
000
$1.100
$4.400
000
$1.100
$4.400
000
$1.100
$4.400
000
$1.100
$4.400
000
$1.200
$1.200
000
$1.200
$1.200
000
$1.250
$10.000
000
$1.250
$10.000
000
$1.250
$10.000
000
$1.250
$10.000
000
$1.250
$10.000
000
$1.250
$10.000
000
$1.480
$1.480
000
$1.500
$2.000
000
$1.750
$14.000
000
$1.750
$14.000
000
$1.950
$2.560
000
$2.000
$6.000
000
$2.000
$6.000
000
$2.000
$5.000
000
$2.000
$12.000
000
$2.000
$8.000
000
$2.000
$8.000
000
$2.000
$8.000
000
$2.000
$8.000
000
$2.000
$8.000
000
$2.000
$8.000
000
$2.000
$6.000
000
$2.000
$6.000
000
$2.000
$6.000
000
$2.000
$12.000
000
$2.500
$15.000
000
$2.500
$10.000
000
$2.500
$10.000
000
$2.500
$10.000
000
$2.500
$10.000
000
$2.500
$10.000
000
$2.500
$12.500
000
$2.500
$10.000
000
$3.000
$15.000
000
$3.000
$15.000
000
$3.000
$15.000
000
$3.000
$15.000
000
$3.000
$15.000
000
$3.000
$15.000
000
$3.000
$15.000
000
$3.000
$15.000
000
$3.000
$15.000
000
$3.000
$15.000
000
$3.000
$15.000
000
$3.000
$3.000
000
$3.000
$5.000
000
$3.000
$15.000
000
$3.000
$4.000
000
$3.750
$7.500
000
$4.000
$8.000
000
$4.000
$4.000
000
$5.000
$25.000
000
$5.000
$15.000
000
$5.000
$15.000
000
$8.000
$24.000
000
$10.000
$40.000
000
$10.000
$10.000
000
$10.500
$84.000
000
$15.000
$120.000
000
$15.000
$75.000
000
$15.000
$75.000
000
$15.000
$60.000
000
$15.000
$75.000
000
$20.000
$80.000
000
$20.000
$20.000
000
$30.000
$180.000
000
$30.000
$60.000
000
$75.000
$150.000
000
$150.000
$600.000
000
$0.000
$0.000
01-1
$0.020
$0.040
01-1
$0.020
$0.050
01-1
$0.060
$0.240
01-1
$0.100
$0.400
01-1
$0.260
$0.380
01-1
$0.270
$1.000
01-1
$1.750
$14.000
01-1

Vote for budget-friendly models that work well (or don't) with OpenClaw.

Pricing from OpenRouter.

Cost Calculator

Estimated monthly cost running OpenClaw daily (~100K tokens/day, 30 days)

GPT-OSS-120b
$0.00/M in · $0.00/M out~$0.00/mo
Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B
$0.00/M in · $0.00/M out~$0.00/mo
Kimi K2.5 Turbo
$0.00/M in · $0.00/M out~$0.00/mo
Marin 8B Instruct
$0.00/M in · $0.00/M out~$0.00/mo
DeepSeek Prover V2
$0.00/M in · $0.00/M out~$0.00/mo

* Estimates based on 50/50 input/output token split at 100K tokens/day

About This Leaderboard

This leaderboard shows community-voted OpenClaw model rankings sorted by API cost (input price per million tokens). Prices are sourced from OpenRouter. The cheapest models are listed first, so you can find options that fit your budget without sacrificing too much quality.

For agentic coding workflows, token costs add up quickly — a typical OpenClaw session can use 50,000–200,000 tokens. Choosing a cheaper model that still handles tool use and long-context reasoning well can save significant money at scale.

Frequently Asked Questions

The cheapest API models for OpenClaw include various open-source options available via OpenRouter like Llama and Qwen models, often under $0.20/M input tokens. Running locally with Ollama is free (electricity only).
Yes. Some models on OpenRouter have free tiers with rate limits. You can also run open-source models locally at zero API cost using Ollama or llama.cpp.
A typical session uses 50K–200K tokens. At $0.20/M that's $0.01–$0.04 per session. Heavy daily use costs $1–$10/month on cheap models, vs $50–$200/month on frontier models.
Cheap models that still handle tool use and multi-step planning well include Qwen 2.5 Coder, DeepSeek V3, and Llama 3.3 70B. Check the community votes in the table above — the score column shows which budget models developers actually rate highly.