OpenClaw is a personal agent; Qwen Code is a coding agent: different tools for different jobs. Here is what each is for, how they differ, and when to run each (or both). Vote for your favorite.
Either way, you pay for the model calls. A median coding-agent day on our gateway is 95 requests and 8.6 million tokens. The table prices every step at one model’s rate.
Both run on Standard Compute, where each step goes to the cheapest model that can do it: routine steps go to efficient open models, hard ones to frontier models such as Claude Fable 5.1 or GPT-6 Astra.
| Model | Typical day | Busy day |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 5.5 | $7.34 | $59.10 |
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 | $3.67 | $29.55 |
| GPT-6 Luna | $0.23 | $2.43 |
Fixed monthly plans from $19. Eligible new accounts can try $0.25 of compute first, no card. Trial terms
Pick a winner in each category. You can change your vote anytime.
OpenClawQwen CodeChoose OpenClaw if you are tinkerers who want a self-hosted JARVIS that actually does things. Choose Qwen Code if you are developers who want a free, Claude Code-style terminal agent that runs Qwen models next to any other provider.
In our editorial scoring, Qwen Code leads in 3 of six categories (output quality, reliability and ease of use), while OpenClaw leads in 2 (autonomy and value). On price, OpenClaw runs free (mit) / models via standard compute and is open source; Qwen Code runs free (apache 2.0), bring your own provider and is open source.
What it costs to run OpenClaw or Qwen Code
Best API for OpenClaw →
5 options compared, with prices and limits
Best API for Qwen Code →
4 options compared, with prices and limits
Standard Compute sends each step to the cheapest model that can do it, on providers we vet for price, uptime and speed. Plans start at $19 a month, and eligible new accounts can try $0.25 of compute with no card. Choose your agent below to connect.
See the trial and activation steps →
More on OpenClaw: How do I use DeepSeek in OpenClaw? · How do I use GLM 5.3 in OpenClaw?
OpenClaw is the open-source autonomous agent created by Peter Steinberger (it began as Clawdbot in 2025, became Moltbot, then OpenClaw in January 2026, and passed 390,000 GitHub stars by October 2026). It runs locally, uses messaging platforms (29 channels) as its main interface, and acts rather than advises: with skills from the ClawHub registry it browses the web, sends email, manages files, runs shell commands, and drives APIs. Since July 2026 the MIT-licensed project has been run by the nonprofit OpenClaw Foundation, with Steinberger, who joined OpenAI earlier in 2026, still its chief steward.
Qwen Code is Alibaba's Qwen team's open-source coding agent. It was originally based on Gemini CLI v0.8.2, stopped syncing with upstream at v0.1 and has been developed on its own since, with frequent releases (v0.25.2 on October 15, 2026). It ships subagents, agent teams, skills, hooks, MCP, plan mode, LSP and git worktrees, plus VS Code, JetBrains and Zed plugins, a desktop app and Telegram, DingTalk, WeChat and Feishu channels. Unlike Gemini CLI it speaks the OpenAI, Anthropic and Gemini APIs, so any compatible provider works through modelProviders in ~/.qwen/settings.json. The free Qwen OAuth tier ended on April 15, 2026: the tool is still free, and the models come from Alibaba's Coding Plan or Token Plan, a built-in third-party provider, a local model or a custom provider.
OpenClaw and Qwen Code both run on Standard Compute
