Robots as a Service (RaaS) means you rent robots for a monthly or hourly fee that usually includes the hardware, software, maintenance and support. Published rates are rare, but the ones that exist sit around $2,000 per robot per month for warehouse picking robots (Brightpick starts at $2,190) and $10 to $15 an hour for forklifts and palletizers (Vecna advertises $10 an hour or less). Expect a minimum term, often three years, and sometimes an upfront fee.
Published RaaS rates
| Provider | Robot | Published price | Terms | Source date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brightpick | Autopicker picking robot | from $2,190 per robot per month, plus $1,000 per robot upfront | 3-year minimum; 15 robots minimum per site | 2025–2026 |
| Vecna Robotics | Autonomous forklifts, tuggers | $10 an hour or less per robot | KPI guarantee, 24/7 monitoring | 2024 |
| Formic | Cobot palletizers | $15 an hour (one customer’s rate) | Pay for uptime | 2022 |
| Rapid Robotics | Machine-tending cobot | $2,100 a month | Programming included | 2022 |
| Locus Robotics | Picking AMRs | Not published | Monthly fee | 2025 |
Sources: Brightpick’s RaaS explainer (June 2025) and ROI page (September 2026); Vecna; a 2022 report on a Formic customer; a 2022 report on Rapid Robotics; Locus’s RaaS article (October 2025). The 2022 figures are dated examples; ask for current quotes.
What the fee usually covers
Brightpick’s explainer is the most specific public example. Its fee covers the robots, software, 24/7 support, on-site service and preventive maintenance; shelving and totes are extra. At the end of the three-year term you can renew, upgrade or buy. Locus says its monthly fee covers hardware, software and AI updates, maintenance and 24/7 support, and that returned robots are refurbished at no cost to you. Formic describes one fixed rate that includes service, monitoring, spare parts and the ability to swap or add robots without renegotiating.
What’s often not included: building changes, racking and containers, Wi-Fi upgrades, integration with your warehouse management system, and your own staff’s time during deployment. Our quote checklist lists the lines to ask about.
Monthly fee or hourly rate?
- Per robot per month (Brightpick, Locus, Rapid Robotics): predictable cost, but you pay for idle robots in slow months.
- Per hour of use (Vecna, Formic): you pay roughly in line with work done, which suits shift-based or seasonal operations. Ask how hours are measured and whether there’s a monthly minimum.
To compare with labor, convert both to cost per hour of work. A $2,190 monthly fee over two eight-hour shifts, five days a week (about 350 hours a month) works out to roughly $6.30 an hour, before the upfront fee and any extras. Whether one robot replaces one worker’s hours depends on the job, so compare cost per order or per pallet, not per robot.
RaaS or buy?
RaaS tends to fit when you can’t spare capital, your volumes are uncertain, or you want the vendor to carry the risk of the robots working. Buying can cost less over five years or more if volumes are steady and you have maintenance staff; compare both on the same scope. Ask each vendor for both prices on the same scope; MiR, OTTO and Seegrid mostly sell, while Locus, Vecna and Brightpick mostly rent. Our AMR companies comparison shows which model each vendor uses.
The market is growing
The International Federation of Robotics said in October 2025 that the robot-as-a-service fleet grew 31%. Geek+ reported subscription orders of RMB 156 million in the first half of 2026, up more than 75%, in its interim results.
Questions to ask before signing
- What is the rate per robot per month or per hour, and is there an upfront or installation fee?
- What is the minimum term and minimum fleet size?
- What happens if a robot is down: response time, replacement, fee credit?
- Can you add robots for peak season, and at what rate?
- What happens at the end of the term: renew, buy at a set price, or return?
- Who owns the data the robots collect?
For vendor-specific detail, see our guides to Locus Robotics, autonomous forklifts and cobot palletizers. If one rented robot will serve several lines, our analysis of shared versus dedicated robots shows how to measure the waiting first.
Humanoids are now offered the same way: our humanoid robot rental, lease and RaaS prices page covers 1X NEO, AgiBot and Agility Digit.
If you are weighing a subscription against buying, our AMR cost breakdown lists published robot, charger, fleet-software and lease prices layer by layer.
Vendor pages and reports checked October 23, 2026.