Coming from OpenClaw?
OpenClaw is an open-source assistant environment you operate, for example on a Linux server or cloud VPS, with optional local-device nodes. It supports agent and code payloads. Whenever offers a hosted procedure you describe and supervise through summaries and sample results; fixed non-AI logic is deterministic with the same inputs and dependencies, while optional AI and external state can change outcomes. Free AI building has weekly limits; the file is yours.
What you get on Whenever
Hosted, with no server to run
Whenever runs published workflows for you, with managed credentials for supported connections and stored secrets for other APIs. There is no server of your own to provision or keep awake; account permissions and connection setup remain yours.
A procedure you can read
You describe the business job and AI writes it as TypeScript you review before it runs.
One run, whatever it calls
A published workflow execution counts as one run within its call budget. Runtime AI draws on the plan’s included AI spend, and external services may bill separately. AI building has weekly limits; contact Whenever about a larger plan if you reach a run or AI-spend limit.
A concrete decision
Illustrative scenarios, not customer results or recorded runs.
Greg: no “done” without the invoice receipt
Illustrative decision, not a recorded customer run: Greg wants each paid order checked against Stripe, then an invoice created, its ID saved, and only then a confirmation sent. He specifies that an invoice failure must stop the confirmation, and an already-handled order must not be charged or invoiced again. He checks the summary, sample records, provider receipts and run history—not source code. Test a missing payment, a failed invoice and a duplicate event before publishing. Whenever fits when those prescribed steps matter more than an agent deciding them again; a fixed workflow elsewhere can fit too. No screenshot here claims these actions were actually delivered.
Jaunius: make the edge cases explicit
Illustrative decision, not a benchmark: Jaunius needs all pages of 5,000 contacts, a saved last-seen ID, updates only for changed records and a clear record of which writes failed. He brings the old workflow and sample inputs, reconnects accounts, and tests pagination, an API failure and a repeated event before switching triggers. Choose a single procedure if it makes this logic easier to maintain; the other tools can also support complex logic. An optional model that classifies a note can vary and adds runtime AI usage. Compare the monthly subscription and actual usage, not the number of steps alone.
Own the host, or focus on the workflow.
Both can run without your laptop. The difference is who operates the runtime and how you budget for the work.
OpenClaw
Hosting + providers
Your deployment, your service bills
Open-source software; budget for hosting, operation and any model or API usage.
OpenClaw documents running its Gateway on a VPS. Shell-command automations do not need a model call. Compare the cost of your actual host and providers, plus the work of securing and maintaining the Gateway, not an invented per-run OpenClaw price.
A run is one execution of one workflow, start to finish. AI building and editing are free within weekly usage limits; runs are metered separately.
A closer look
What changes when you describe the job in plain language and code runs it: to build, to run, and to keep.
Repeatable execution logic
OpenClaw
The payload matters. Agent turns use a model; shell commands can run without one. Headless code-mode scripts and system events are also supported. OpenClaw is not prompt-only automation.
Whenever
AI writes it, then published code runs the same execution logic. With identical inputs and dependencies, non-AI logic is deterministic. Changing API data, time, randomness or an optional model step can change results; this is not an exactly-once delivery guarantee.
Runs per dollar
OpenClaw
OpenClaw is MIT-licensed, granted free of charge; budget your host, configured provider usage and operating work. Command payloads run without a model-backed turn, so they need not carry token costs.
Whenever
Pro includes 10,000 runs per month; see the pricing page for current US dollar prices. AI building and editing are free within weekly usage limits. Published runs are metered separately: the meter counts the whole run, not individual steps. External services and optional model calls can have their own charges.
What you can express
OpenClaw
A broad assistant environment with tools, channels, host access and scheduled jobs. That flexibility is valuable when the work reaches beyond a bounded API procedure.
Whenever
Describe the rules you already know; AI writes the procedure. Review the summary and sample results, not necessarily the code. Keep an explicit model step for judgment. Agent platforms may also offer fixed workflows or scripts; compare the mode you actually use.
Export and portability
OpenClaw
MIT-licensed source and a user-operated Gateway give you real control over the host, workspace and state. OpenClaw’s docs advise backing up the state and workspace regularly.
Whenever
The TypeScript is yours: read it, edit it, export it, take it with you. Moving it to another runtime can require adapting managed connections, triggers and runtime-specific integrations.
Debugging a failed run
OpenClaw
Inspect the Gateway, job configuration and host environment as well as the chosen command or agent payload. A broken script and a poor model decision are different problems.
Whenever
Review the procedure and execution log together. Re-test with representative inputs, while accounting for API changes and avoiding duplicate external writes.
Where the AI cost lands
OpenClaw
Model-backed jobs consume the selected provider’s tokens. Shell commands have no model call; system events do not call one by themselves. Costs depend on what you configure.
Whenever
AI writes the workflow once, with free building subject to weekly AI usage limits. A published procedure runs its steps without a model choosing them. Any model call you explicitly include still runs and has its own cost.
When to keep OpenClaw
OpenClaw
Keep it for open-source extensibility, control over host and data, local-device capabilities and an assistant available through your chosen channels. A Gateway on a VPS may already meet your reliability needs.
Whenever
Consider Whenever when the job is a defined business workflow and you would rather have one reviewed TypeScript file and managed connections than provision, secure and back up a Gateway. It is not a replacement for every assistant or device-control use case.
Sources and scope
Official sources captured on the date shown below. These describe published features and billing rules, not independent performance tests. Check the linked documentation for current modes, plans and limits. No competitor dollar price is asserted.
Checked
Assistants that live in a chat app
Starter briefs for related jobs, not recorded runs. Connect authorised accounts, confirm trigger and plan requirements, then review and test the workflow before publishing.
Build this workflowAsk a Telegram bot for your agenda and inboxReplies to /today with your calendar and open tasks and to /inbox with a one-line summary of each unread email. After publishing, you pick a secret token in Whenever and pass it with the webhook address to Telegram's setWebhook; one bot serves one workflow.
Build this workflowSchedule Telegram channel posts from a sheetPublishes due rows from your posting sheet to Telegram on the cadence you choose, then marks each row Posted.
Build this workflowGet Telegram alerts on big price movesChecks your tickers every hour and messages you on Telegram when one moves more than your threshold within that hour.
Build this workflowCollect leads in a Telegram bot conversationAsks for name, email, phone and company one question at a time, keeps the answers in a sheet, and adds each finished lead to HubSpot. After publishing, you pick a secret token in Whenever and pass it with the webhook address to Telegram's setWebhook; one bot serves one workflow.
Build this workflowSend yourself a morning digest on TelegramDelivers one Telegram message each morning with your unread email, today's meetings and the tasks due.Build this workflowStart with one OpenClaw job.
Keep the assistant where it helps. Move one well-defined procedure into code you can review.
Identify the actual payload
Choose a cron or webhook job. Record whether it runs an agent turn, shell command or script, along with its inputs, output destination and host dependencies.
Separate API work from host work
Describe the business rules and required API access, and Whenever’s AI writes them as TypeScript. Review the rules and sample outputs, then reconnect services. Do not assume a local file, device tool or Gateway skill has a direct hosted equivalent.
Switch the trigger carefully
Test with safe records, including errors and duplicate events. Disable the original job before enabling the replacement so both do not perform the same external action.