You do not need to buy a Mac mini to run OpenClaw. Its own FAQ says so in the first line of the answer. What you need is a computer that stays awake. Here are the four places people put it, and what each one asks of you.
OpenClaw runs as a gateway: one process that holds your chats, tools and channels. When that process stops, your assistant stops answering. So the question is not which computer is best. It is which computer you are willing to keep running.
OpenClaw runs on macOS and Linux, and on Windows through WSL2. It needs very little. The docs give a minimum of one CPU and 1 GB of memory, and recommend 2 GB or more once you add several channels or browser automation.
Your laptop: free, until it sleeps
The laptop you installed it on is the easiest start. It costs nothing more, it can open your local files, and you can watch its browser work. The FAQ lists the catch plainly: sleep and network drops disconnect it, and updates and reboots interrupt it. Fine for trying OpenClaw. Poor for an assistant you expect to answer while you are out.
A Mac mini: the home server people like
A Mac mini is popular because it is small, quiet and happy to stay on. It is also the simplest way to use iMessage, which needs a Mac signed into Messages. The docs describe a neat pattern: the Mac mini runs the gateway, and your MacBook joins it as a node when you want local actions.
The costs are the box itself, your home connection and your own upkeep. If the power or the router goes, so does your assistant, and nobody restarts it but you.
A VPS: always on, but yours to run
A rented server is what the FAQ recommends for 24/7 reliability, and its default advice if you have had gateway drops before. It is always on, with a steady network. WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack and Discord all work from a VPS.
You give up a screen. A VPS is usually headless, so the browser works out of sight and you see it through screenshots. You also become its admin: SSH in for updates, keep the firewall right, and read the security guide before anyone else can reach it. The docs suggest Ubuntu LTS as the best-tested choice.
The hardware is the cheap part. The hours you spend keeping it up are not.
A hosted box: always on, run for you
The fourth option is a VPS someone else looks after. OpenClaw on Faivelo gets a box of its own with 1 CPU, 2 GB of memory and 20 GB of disk for $9 a month. That is the size OpenClaw recommends. Bigger boxes are $18 and $36. It stays on, releases are rolled out for you in the quiet hours, and it gets its own email address on top.
iMessage still needs a Mac signed into Messages, and a hosted box is not a Mac. If iMessage is the reason you want OpenClaw, a Mac mini is the honest answer. For WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack and email, you skip the server work. New to it? Start with the fastest way to get started with OpenClaw.
Always on, no server to keep
OpenClaw on its own box with 2 GB of memory and its own email address, for $9 a month. Bring your model key.