MemoryClaw vs MyClaw: Which Is Right for Your OpenClaw Setup?

What MemoryClaw does

MemoryClaw is an encrypted cloud backup service purpose-built for OpenClaw. It doesn't host or run your assistant — it protects the setup you already have. Specifically, it backs up your ~/.openclaw/ directory: memory files, custom skills, configuration, credentials — everything that makes your OpenClaw instance yours.

• AES-256-GCM zero-knowledge encryption — Your data is encrypted on your machine before it leaves. We never see it in plaintext. We cannot read your backups, by design.
• Automatic scheduled backups — Set up once via the CLI, then backups run on a cron schedule without you thinking about it.
• Cross-platform restore — Back up on macOS, restore on Linux (or vice versa). One command: memoryclaw pull.
• Multi-claw support — Run multiple OpenClaw instances? Each one gets its own backup track with independent version history.

MemoryClaw is free to start (24 backups/day, 500 MB, 1 claw). Pro is $4.99/mo for unlimited backups, 15 GB, and up to 10 claws. The plugin is available on ClawHub.

If you self-host OpenClaw and want your setup protected, portable, and encrypted, that's what MemoryClaw is for. The full pipeline it protects — short-term capture, consolidation, promotion to MEMORY.md, and recall — is covered in How OpenClaw Memory Actually Works.

What MyClaw does

MyClaw (myclaw.ai) is a managed hosting service built around OpenClaw. If you don't want to install OpenClaw yourself, manage updates, or keep a machine running, MyClaw handles all of that for you. It's a wrapper that provides:

• Always-on instances — Your OpenClaw assistant runs on their infrastructure 24/7, no local machine required.
• Zero setup — No terminal, no installation, no dependency management. Sign up and start using it.
• Auto-updates — When OpenClaw releases a new version, MyClaw updates your instance automatically.
• Skills hub — A curated marketplace of pre-built skills you can enable with a click.
• Channel integrations — Connect your OpenClaw instance to Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, and other messaging platforms.

The target audience is clear: non-technical users who want an OpenClaw assistant without managing infrastructure. MyClaw charges $19–79/mo depending on the plan, with no free tier available. It is worth noting that MyClaw is not affiliated with the OpenClaw project itself — it's an independent commercial service.

If you want someone else to handle the ops, MyClaw is a legitimate option.

Key differences at a glance

These are fundamentally different products. The table below makes that clear:

The short version: MyClaw replaces your infrastructure. MemoryClaw protects it.

The security difference worth understanding

Both MyClaw and MemoryClaw make claims about data privacy. The difference is in how those claims are enforced.

MyClaw states that they “can't read your conversations.” This is a policy promise. It means they have internal rules against accessing your data. That's a reasonable baseline — most reputable SaaS companies operate this way. But it ultimately depends on trust: trust in their access controls, their employee vetting, their compliance practices, and their infrastructure security.

MemoryClaw's privacy is a cryptographic guarantee. Your data is encrypted with AES-256-GCM on your machine using a passphrase that only you know. The encryption key is derived via scrypt and never leaves your device. Our servers store opaque ciphertext. We don't have a decryption key, a master key, or a backdoor. We cannot read your data — not “we choose not to,” but “it is mathematically impossible without your passphrase.”

This is not a criticism of MyClaw's approach. A managed hosting service that runs your code necessarily has some level of access to the environment it operates. That's inherent to the model. The question is whether that tradeoff is acceptable for your use case.

If your OpenClaw setup contains sensitive project context, API keys, or proprietary information, the distinction between “we promise not to look” and “we are unable to look” matters.

Can you use both?

Yes. They solve different problems, and using one doesn't preclude the other.

If you host your OpenClaw instance on MyClaw, you still might want a portable, encrypted backup of your data. Reasons include:

• Portability — If you decide to leave MyClaw and self-host, your MemoryClaw backups let you restore your full setup on any machine with a single command.
• Infrastructure insurance — If MyClaw's infrastructure has issues — outages, data loss, service discontinuation — your backups are preserved independently.
• Encryption you control — Even if you trust MyClaw's hosting, having a zero-knowledge encrypted copy that only you can decrypt adds a layer of protection that doesn't depend on a third party's security posture.

Think of it as the same reason you back up a hosted database. The hosting provider probably has their own backups, but you keep yours too — because relying on a single provider for both hosting and disaster recovery is a single point of failure.

Who should choose what

And if you use both — MyClaw for hosting, MemoryClaw for backup — you get the convenience of managed infrastructure with the security of independent, encrypted, portable backups. That's not a bad combination.