Humanoid robot cost calculator
Compare buying a humanoid robot with paying a monthly fee (subscription, rental or robots-as-a-service) over one to five years. Enter a price, a fee and how the robot is used; the calculator returns the total, the cost per month and per working hour, and the month in which buying becomes cheaper.
| Buy | Pay monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Total over 3 years | $26,000 | $17,964 |
| Per month | $722 | $499 |
| Per working hour | $4.33 | $2.99 |
| Paid up front | $20,000 | $0 |
| Operator time | $0 | $0 |
Buying becomes cheaper only in month 61, after the 3-year period. Over 3 years, paying monthly costs $8,036 less.
An estimate from the numbers above, not a quote or financial advice. Details
Prices and availability are collected from vendor pages and public sources on the date shown; they change without notice. Verify with the vendor before purchase. Details
What to do with the result
- Paying monthly wins over your period. Check what the fee covers: maintenance, software, remote assistance, the minimum term and what happens at the end of it. A monthly plan offered on pre-order is not a delivery; see the robot's evidence level on its card and in the verification policy.
- Buying wins. List prices exclude shipping, import duties and integration unless you entered them. Configurations differ in price; compare them in the price registry.
- Operator time is the largest line. The cost then depends on how much of the work the robot does without a person. How to read a maker's claims about this: autonomous or teleoperated.
How the cost is worked out
Inputs: purchase price P, monthly fee F, years Y, hours per day H, days per year D, shipping and duties share s, one-off setup I, maintenance share per year m, operator share of hours o, operator cost per hour W.
| Output | Formula |
|---|---|
| Months, working hours | N = 12 × Y; T = H × D × Y |
| Operator time | O = o × T × W |
| Total, buy | P × (1 + s) + I + P × m × Y + O |
| Total, pay monthly | F × N + I + O |
| Per month, per working hour | Total ÷ N; Total ÷ T |
| Break-even month | ⌈ P × (1 + s) ÷ (F − P × m ÷ 12) ⌉ when F > P × m ÷ 12Otherwise paying monthly stays cheaper. Setup and operator time are the same under both options and cancel out. |
The monthly fee is assumed to include maintenance and delivery, so s and m apply to buying only. The same formulas run in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
Defaults and their sources
| Input | Default | Basis | Source / checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | $20,000 | 1X NEO, pre-order | 1x.techVendor 20 Oct 2026 |
| Monthly fee | $499 | 1X NEO subscription: vendor subscription price, pre-order | 1x.techVendor 20 Oct 2026 |
| Operator cost per hour | $30.50 | Illustrative fully burdened labour rate in an Agility Robotics investor presentation (BLS rate for material movers, 2025, plus inflation and benefits) | sec.govFiling 20 Oct 2026 |
| Years of use | 3 | Assumption. The same presentation uses a five-year useful life; the calculator allows one to five. | sec.govFiling 20 Oct 2026 |
| Hours per day, days per year | 8 h, 250 d | Assumption: one shift, five days a week, 50 weeks. | Robopear assumption |
| Maintenance | 10% a year | Assumption: a round figure for parts, repairs and software after any warranty. Replace it with the vendor's service quote. | Robopear assumption |
| Shipping and duties, setup, operator share | 0 | Depend on the country, the site and the robot; enter your own. | Robopear assumption |
Price presets
Every humanoid with a USD list or pre-order price in the database on 20 Oct 2026. Prices in other currencies are converted at the ECB reference rate.
| Model | Price | Basis | Source / checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hiwonder TonyPi | $600 | List price | hiwonder.comVendor 20 Oct 2026 |
| Unitree R1 | $4,900 | List price | shop.unitree.comVendor 20 Oct 2026 |
| Weave Isaac | $7,999 | Pre-order | weaverobotics.comVendor 20 Oct 2026 |
| SwitchBot Onero H1 | $9,999 | List price | switch-bot.comVendor 20 Oct 2026 |
| Unitree G1 | $13,500 | List price | shop.unitree.comVendor 20 Oct 2026 |
| ROBOTIS OP3 | $13,764 | List price | robotis.usWeb 20 Oct 2026 |
| LimX Dynamics TRON 1 | $15,000 | List price | shop.limxdynamics.comVendor 20 Oct 2026 |
| UBTECH UWORLD U1 | ¥119,800 ≈ $17,932 | List price | prnewswire.comPress 20 Oct 2026 |
| 1X NEO | $20,000 | Pre-order | 1x.techVendor 20 Oct 2026 |
| NEURA 4NE1 Mini | €19,999 ≈ $22,449 | Pre-order | neura-robotics.comVendor 20 Oct 2026 |
| AgiBot X2 | $25,600 | List price | store.agibot.comVendor 20 Oct 2026 |
| EngineAI T800 | ¥180,000 ≈ $26,943 | List price | en.engineai.com.cnVendor 20 Oct 2026 |
| Unitree H2 | $29,900 | List price | shop.unitree.comVendor 20 Oct 2026 |
| Kepler Forerunner K2 | ¥248,000 ≈ $37,122 | List price | prnewswire.comPress 20 Oct 2026 |
| AgiBot A2 | $44,560 | List price | store.agibot.comVendor 20 Oct 2026 |
| Enchanted Tools Mirokaï | €50,000 ≈ $56,125 | List price | enchanted.toolsVendor 20 Oct 2026 |
| Galaxea R1 | $69,999 | List price | galaxea-dynamics.comVendor 20 Oct 2026 |
| NEURA 4NE1 | €98,000 ≈ $110,005 | Pre-order | neura-robotics.comVendor 20 Oct 2026 |
Monthly presets
| Plan | Per month | Basis | Source / checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1X NEO subscription | $499 | Vendor subscription price, pre-order | 1x.techVendor 20 Oct 2026 |
| Weave Isaac 1 subscription | $449 | Vendor subscription price, pre-order | weaverobotics.comVendor 20 Oct 2026 |
| Pepper rental (Japan) | $252 | Rental per month, ¥39,800 excl. tax, 12-month contract | softbankrobotics.comVendor 20 Oct 2026 |
| Agility Digit RaaS | $8,500 | Assumption in an investor presentation (SEC Form 425, Ex. 99.1, 6 Oct 2026) | sec.govFiling 20 Oct 2026 |
The Agility Digit rate is the presentation's own assumption, not a published price list; Agility Digit 5 is sold on quote.
Worked examples
- A $8,500 monthly fee over five years. 8,500 × 60 = $510,000, or $102,000 a year; the investor presentation rounds these to about $500,000 and $100,000. At 20 hours a day on 312 days (120 hours a week), that is $16.35 per working hour.
- A $13,500 robot with 10% shipping and duties, $2,000 setup and 10% maintenance a year, used 8 hours a day on 250 days for 3 years: 13,500 × 1.1 + 2,000 = $16,850 up front, plus 13,500 × 0.1 × 3 = $4,050 maintenance, $20,900 in total. That is $580.56 a month and $3.48 per working hour over 6,000 hours.
- $20,000 up front against $499 a month. Without maintenance, buying becomes cheaper in month ⌈20,000 ÷ 499⌉ = 41. With 10% maintenance a year (about $166.67 a month), the gap is $332.33 a month and the break-even month is 61, after a three-year period.
What the calculator leaves out
Taxes, financing and interest, insurance, energy, downtime and repairs beyond the maintenance rate, resale value, and price changes during the period. It compares one robot under two payment options and assumes the robot can do the work; it says nothing about whether a given model can.
Sources
- Purchase prices: vendor store product feeds and vendor pages, each linked in the presets table with its check date.
- Monthly rates: vendor order pages and an SEC filing (Churchill Capital Corp XI, Form 425, Exhibit 99.1, investor presentation of 6 Oct 2026), listed on sources.
- Formulas and defaults are also referenced from the methodology.