Buy or rent
a humanoid robot?
Buying an industrial humanoid costs $5,900 to $106,000 at list price, but the list price only pays for the machine. Deploying it, teaching it the job, maintaining and replacing it stays with you. With a managed service you buy nothing: you pay a fee and someone else handles the rest. The choice comes down to how much of that work you can, and want to, do in house.
The differences, line by line
When buying makes sense
- You already have an automation or robotics team that can deploy, program and maintain the robot.
- The task is stable and will stay the same for years.
- You need a platform for research, development or training rather than a worker in production.
- You want to own the machine and are fine keeping it when more capable models come out.
When a managed service makes sense
- You don't have a robotics team and don't want to build one.
- You need working hours covered (shifts, nights, physically wearing tasks), not a machine to run.
- You prefer a predictable monthly cost to an upfront investment.
- The technology moves fast and you don't want to be tied to one model or maker.
- You want to prove the task works on site before scaling it.
How to compare the two
The fair comparison is the cost of one useful working hour of the robot, not the list price against the fee.
- Buying
- (list price + integration + maintenance and software over the years of use + in-house staff time) ÷ useful working hours over the same years
- Managed service
- annual fee ÷ useful working hours: with a typical configuration, €66,000 a year for up to 6,000 hours, about €11 an hour, against roughly €30 for an hour of work in Italy.
The service figures are indicative and we verify them case by case in the assessment. When buying, integration and maintenance depend on the robot and the site: ask for a quote on them along with the list price.
Leasing, rental and a managed service aren't the same thing
Finances the purchase: you pay in instalments and can buy the robot out at the end. Deployment, programming and maintenance stay with you.
You use the robot for a fee over a period. What it includes (support, maintenance, replacement) varies by contract: read it line by line.
You pay for the work the robot does. Choosing the machine, deployment, training, monitoring, maintenance and replacement sit with the provider. This is Bender's model.
Buy or rent, in brief.
Is it better to buy or rent a humanoid robot?
Buying makes sense if you have an in-house team that can deploy, program and maintain the robot and the task will stay stable for years. If you need working hours covered without building robotics skills, a managed service makes more sense: you pay a fee and the provider handles the robot, deployment, maintenance and replacement.
How much does it cost to rent a humanoid robot?
With Bender the managed service starts at €4,000 a month for the simplest configurations; a typical configuration is about €5,500 a month, with the robot, deployment, training, monitoring, maintenance and replacement included. The exact price is set in the free assessment.
How much does it cost to buy a humanoid robot?
The 12 industrial humanoids with a public list price cost $5,900 to $106,000, with a median of about $28,700. Deployment, integration, programming and maintenance come on top.
What's the difference between leasing and renting a robot?
Leasing finances the purchase and lets you buy the robot out at the end, but running it stays with you. Rental gives you the robot for a period, with services that vary by contract. A managed service like Bender's also covers deployment, training, monitoring, maintenance and replacement.
What work would you give to a robot?
Tell us the task, the environment, the hours you need covered and the result you expect. We'll assess the use case and identify the right robotic worker.