Agent 37 is a Y Combinator-backed host, and it sells hosting two ways. One is a metered Cloud API that gives each of your customers an isolated persistent sandbox. The other is a set of flat monthly dashboard plans, each for one managed OpenClaw or Hermes agent. Hivra sells a single thing: a monthly plan that gives you a computer for an agent, at a flat price.
Building a product that spins up an agent per customer? Agent 37's API is aimed at you. Hivra isn't. If you just want to run your own agents and know the bill in advance, the two are closer than the headline prices suggest.
What each one costs for an agent that stays on
Agent 37's Cloud API bills per minute from a prepaid balance. The monthly rates are $0.80 per vCPU, $0.70 per GB of RAM and $0.09 per GB of disk. A 2 vCPU, 4 GB shape with 4 GB of disk comes to $4.76 a month if it's awake around the clock, and a 4 vCPU, 8 GB shape comes to $9.34. An instance that sleeps when idle pays for disk only, so a mostly idle agent costs far less.
Hivra is $9.99 a month for 2 vCPU and 4 GB of RAM, or $19.99 a month for 4 vCPU and 8 GB of RAM, billed monthly. That same always-on 2 vCPU, 4 GB shape costs about half as much on Agent 37's metered API. On raw compute, Agent 37 wins.
Agent 37's flat managed plans are the closer match to Hivra's model. The entry plan is $3.99 for 1 vCPU, 4 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage. At $9.99 you get 1 vCPU, 4 GB of RAM and 12 GB of storage with some bundled model usage, and $29.99 buys 2 vCPU, 8 GB and 20 GB. Hivra's $9.99 gets you 2 vCPU and 4 GB of RAM, and its $19.99 gets you 4 vCPU and 8 GB, with models paid for through your own key. The plans also bundle different things, so read both lists before you decide on price alone.
Billing: a flat price or a balance that runs down
Agent 37's Cloud API runs on a prepaid balance. Auto top-up is on by default after your first top-up, and if the balance runs out your instances may be paused. A new workspace can run one instance on the smallest shape until it makes a first real top-up. After that, larger shapes and more instances open up as cumulative top-ups grow. If you meter usage per customer, that suits you. If you want one agent, it's a chore.
Hivra's plans are a fixed monthly price for a compute pool that your agent computers share, so there's no balance to watch for the computer itself. Model usage is separate. You pay your model provider when you bring your own key, and Hivra also sells managed model credits if you'd rather not.
Which agents each one runs
Agent 37's homepage lists Hermes, OpenClaw, Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Grok and Pi, and its docs let you bring a custom Docker image. Its flat managed plans list OpenClaw, Hermes, Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode and Grok. That's a wider list than Hivra's.
Hivra runs Hermes from its own maintained image, plus OpenClaw, Agent Zero, Claude Code and Codex on their own logins, and Aeon on your GitHub Actions. OpenClaw and Agent Zero need a paid size. Custom images aren't supported on Hivra today.
Refunds, free hosting and security
Agent 37 refunds the first month of a subscription in full if you ask before the second billing cycle. Prepaid top-ups are non-refundable except where the law requires it. It has a real free tier too: one managed agent at $0 that sleeps when idle and is removed after 30 days asleep (Agent 37 emails a week before), plus a one-time $5 starter credit once a card is on file. Agent 37 also publishes SOC 2 Type I status, with Type II in progress, and uses gVisor isolation.
Hivra has no free hosting and no trial. The platform is free to use with your own computer, but a computer run by Hivra needs a paid plan. It offers a 7-day money-back guarantee on card payments, and nothing beyond that. It doesn't claim a SOC 2 report either, so if a SOC 2 report is a procurement requirement, Agent 37 is ahead today.
Where Hivra is the better fit
Hivra is open source, so you can read the code that runs your agent computers and self-host it on your own server. Agent 37's platform is closed. Hivra's dashboard is built around running your own agents: each one gets a terminal, files, chat and scheduled tasks, with sizes and prices fixed in advance.
If you're running a handful of your own agents, the flat price with no balance to top up is the difference you'll feel most. If you bill your own customers per agent, it isn't, and Agent 37 is the better tool.
Feature comparison
| Criterion | Hivra | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Always-on 2 vCPU, 4 GB | $9.99/mo flat | $4.76/mo metered, prepaid balance |
| Always-on 4 vCPU, 8 GB | $19.99/mo flat for 4 vCPU and 8 GB | $9.34/mo metered, prepaid balance |
| Billing model | Fixed monthly price | Per minute from a balance; auto top-up on by default |
| Free hosting | None. A free account works with your own computer | One managed agent at $0; sleeps when idle |
| Agents hosted | Hermes, OpenClaw, Agent Zero, Claude Code, Codex, Aeon | Hermes, OpenClaw, Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Grok, Pi, custom image |
| Built for reselling per-customer agents | No | Yes, API-first with white-label dashboard |
| Refund | 7-day money-back guarantee on card payments | First month of a subscription; top-ups non-refundable |
| Open source and self-host | Yes | No platform release found |
| Security attestation | None claimed | SOC 2 Type I, Type II in progress |
Verdict
Agent 37 if you resell agents to your own customers, want the cheapest raw compute, or need free hosting or a SOC 2 report. Hivra if you run your own agents and want a fixed monthly price, an open-source platform and a dashboard built around them.
Where these numbers come from
Prices and terms for the other provider come from its own pages, as of . Vendors change prices, so check the source before you pay.
Common questions
Is Agent 37 cheaper than Hivra?
On raw compute, yes. Agent 37's metered Cloud API runs an always-on 2 vCPU, 4 GB shape for $4.76 a month against Hivra's $9.99. A 4 vCPU, 8 GB shape is $9.34 against Hivra's $19.99 for 4 vCPU and 8 GB. The metered price assumes you keep a balance topped up, and the plans bundle different things.
Does Agent 37 keep agents running when I close my laptop?
Yes. Its instances run on Agent 37's servers, not on your machine. They can stay awake around the clock, or sleep when idle and wake on the next request. A Free managed agent sleeps after a period without use and is removed after 30 days asleep.
Which one is better for running Claude Code?
Both list it. Agent 37 lists Claude Code on its Cloud API and on its flat managed plans. Hivra runs Claude Code on its own Anthropic login and keeps the computer, files and login while you're away. Runs you start inside tmux in the terminal tab keep going after the laptop closes.
What happens if my Agent 37 balance runs out?
Its terms say instances may be paused when the balance runs out. Auto top-up is on by default after the first top-up. Top-ups are non-refundable, so pick the top-up amount with that in mind.
Can I self-host either one?
Hivra is open source and can be self-hosted, though we don't promise support for self-hosters. We found no open-source or self-host release of Agent 37's platform on its pages.