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Mac mini vs VPS vs cloud computer for an always-on AI agent: what does it cost?

By the Sanbox team updated

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For one always-on agent over 12 months, a small VPS is the cheapest option, at about €72 before VAT for a Hetzner CX23 when it's in stock. A Mac mini costs about €1,075 in its first year including electricity. Sanbox is sold to businesses and priced per organisation. Buy the Mac mini if you need macOS, iMessage or local models. Rent a VPS if you want the lowest bill and are happy to run a server. Choose a Sanbox Computer if you want each agent isolated, with snapshots and no open ports, without running a server yourself. Whichever you pick, the model bill is usually the largest number.

What are the assumptions?

All prices were checked on 2026-11-06 and are given in euros for Germany. Prices change, so treat them as approximate.

  • Mac mini. The base Mac mini with M6 costs about €1,049 including 19% VAT at Apple Germany, or about $899 in the US. Apple lists the M6 model with 16 GB memory at 4 W idle and 70 W maximum. We assume an 8 W average for an agent that mostly waits, which is about 70 kWh a year. At BDEW's 2026 German household average of 37.3 cents per kWh, that is about €26 a year.
  • Small VPS. Hetzner's CX23 (2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB disk, IPv4 included) costs about €5.99 a month before VAT. Hetzner's page lists it as currently unavailable, so we also price the CPX22 (2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 80 GB disk), which costs about €19.99 a month before VAT.
  • Sanbox. Sanbox is priced per organisation for business use, so it isn't in the cost table. Talk to us for a quote.
  • Not included. Model API costs, which are the same in every option, and your own time, which the effort table below covers.

What does each option cost over 12 months?

Mac mini (M6, at home)Hetzner CX23Hetzner CPX22
Upfrontabout €1,049nonenone
Monthly feenoneabout €5.99 + VATabout €19.99 + VAT
Electricity per yearabout €26includedincluded
First 12 monthsabout €1,075about €72 (€86 with VAT)about €240 (€285 with VAT)
Per year, if kept 3 yearsabout €376about €72about €240
Machines11 server1 server

Hetzner lists prices before VAT, so the table shows both. The Mac mini price includes German VAT.

The "per year" line spreads the Mac mini's price over three years and ignores resale value. Over four years it drops to about €288 a year. Several agents can share one VPS or one Mac mini, but then they share one operating system, one disk and one set of credentials. On Sanbox, each Computer is its own microVM with its own disk.

Why is the model bill usually bigger?

Hosting is the small part. An agent that spends €3 a day on model API calls costs about €1,095 a year, more than any column above. Sanbox doesn't sell or host models: you bring your own provider and key, so this cost is the same wherever the agent runs. Local models on a Mac mini avoid the API bill, but you are limited to models that fit in its memory.

What do you have to run yourself?

Mac mini at homeVPSSanbox Computer
SetupmacOS, the agent, keep-awake settingsLinux, firewall, SSH keys, the agentA template and sanbox run; Hermes and OpenCode Computers come with the agent installed
UpdatesmacOS, packages and the agent are yoursThe OS, packages and the agent are yoursA Computer keeps its pinned image; start a new run from the template to get a newer one
Inbound exposureYour home router; forwarded ports expose your home networkA public IPv4 address, open unless you firewall itNo inbound ports by default; port connections need a short-lived token
Outbound controlWhatever your home network allowsWhatever you configureDeny-by-default network policy per template
Where traffic comes fromYour home IP addressThe server's IP addressSanbox's EU data centres, with no static egress IP
If the agent breaks somethingIt's your own machine and accountsRebuild or restore from a backupStop it, fork it, or start fresh from a snapshot
Power and networkHome outages, sleep and rebootsThe provider'sSanbox's
API keysOn disk or in environment variablesOn disk or in environment variablesSecret proxies add keys outside the Computer

OpenClaw's own docs give the same advice for any self-run host: keep its gateway on loopback and reach it through an SSH tunnel or Tailscale Serve rather than opening a port.

When does a Mac mini win?

  • You need iMessage or macOS. OpenClaw's FAQ says iMessage needs a Mac signed in to Messages (any Mac, not only a Mac mini), and that macOS-only tools need a Mac.
  • You want local models. Nothing else in this table runs a model for you.
  • You'll keep it for years. Spread over three or four years, the hardware costs about the same per year as a mid-size VPS.
  • You want the machine in your own home. Some people prefer physical control over a rented server.

When does a VPS win?

  • Lowest price. A Hetzner CX23, when available, costs about €6 a month before VAT.
  • More disk. 40 GB to 80 GB on these plans, against 1 to 8 GB per Sanbox Computer.
  • Full control. Any port, any protocol and your own firewall rules.
  • You already run Linux servers. Patching, backups and hardening are routine for you.

When does a Sanbox Computer win?

  • Isolation. Each Computer is a Firecracker microVM with its own kernel and its own disk, separated from other Computers by hardware virtualisation and kept off your own laptop.
  • Agents come installed. A Hermes Computer has memory, skills, an email inbox and Telegram. An OpenCode Computer runs OpenCode as a private server.
  • Undo. Stop and resume keep files and installed packages. Forks and snapshots give you a known starting point.
  • Controls. Deny-by-default egress, no inbound ports unless you add them, and secret proxies for API keys.
  • EU contract. Computers run in EU data centres under an Article 28 GDPR data processing agreement with Sanlabs GmbH.

When Sanbox is not the right fit

  • You need macOS, iMessage or Windows. Sanbox Computers run Linux.
  • You need GPUs or want to run local models.
  • You need more than 8 GB of disk per Computer today.
  • You need WebSockets or raw TCP into the agent. Port connections carry HTTP and SSE only.
  • A destination must allowlist your agent by IP address. Sanbox has no static egress IP.
  • You want the lowest possible bill for one personal agent and don't mind running the server. A small VPS is cheaper.

For a team or a business use case, talk to us: our forward-deployed engineers can build it with you.

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