Guide / Buyer guides
Buy, lease or Robots-as-a-Service: which is cheaper over three years?
There is no universal winner. For a cheap serving robot, buying and subscribing end up within a few thousand dollars of each other. For an expensive scrubber, a subscription can look far cheaper, as long as it really includes service. The numbers below are dealer figures, used to show the method rather than to promise a result.
At a glance · reported claims
$17,900 / $750
LG CLOi ServeBot: purchase vs monthly subscription (dealer)
$95,880 / $1,795
Gausium Scrubber 50 Pro: purchase vs monthly subscription (dealer)
36
Months in the comparison
Three ways to pay for the same robot
Buying means a large payment up front, ownership of the asset and responsibility for everything that follows: maintenance, batteries, software licences. Leasing spreads the price over a fixed term, usually with a purchase option or a return at the end, and it is financed like any other equipment. Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) is a monthly fee, often with maintenance, software and support rolled in, and with a shorter commitment.
Only the first and third have published prices that we can compare. We found no public lease rates for service robots, so the leasing column below is intentionally empty. Ask the dealer for an actual lease quote, including the residual value, and compare it with the same method.
Worked example 1: a serving robot
Dealer Keyi Robot lists the LG CLOi ServeBot at about $17,900 or about $750 a month. Maintenance is quoted at 10-15% of the purchase price per year. Buying for 36 months: $17,900 plus $1,790-2,685 a year in maintenance gives about $23,300-26,000. Subscribing for 36 months: 36 x $750 = $27,000.
On these numbers buying is cheaper by roughly $1,000-3,700 over three years, and you still own a robot with some resale value afterwards (we found no published figure for that, so we do not count it). The subscription wins if it includes maintenance and software that you would otherwise pay for, if you are unsure about keeping the robot, or if the capital is needed elsewhere. Software for fleet management ($50-500 a month per robot in the dealer’s guide) would move the purchase total up if charged separately.
Worked example 2: a floor scrubber
The same dealer lists the Gausium Scrubber 50 Pro at $95,880 or about $1,795 a month. Buying for 36 months: $95,880 plus $9,588-14,382 a year in maintenance gives about $124,600-139,000. Subscribing for 36 months: 36 x $1,795 = $64,620. The purchase price alone would take about 53 months of subscription fees to match.
The gap is large enough that it deserves suspicion. Ask whether the subscription covers maintenance, consumables, the software and replacement in case of failure, and what happens after the term: auto-renewal, a buyout price or return. If the monthly fee covers only the use of the machine, the comparison shifts. If the fee is all-in, the subscription is simply the cheaper model for three years, and the vendor is taking the risk of repair and obsolescence.
Contract questions that decide the result
Ask in writing: what is the minimum term and the exit fee; is maintenance included, and what is the response time if the robot stops on a Friday evening; are batteries and consumables covered; who pays for software and map updates; who is liable if the robot damages property or hurts someone, and does your insurer know about it; what happens to your data and maps at the end; can you swap to a newer model.
Price differences between quotes are smaller than the differences in what is included. Put two or three quotes in one table with the same rows and the real winner usually becomes obvious.
How to decide
Buy when you are sure of at least three years of daily use, have a person to look after the robot and can pay for maintenance without a fuss. Subscribe when the robot is expensive, the model may be outdated in two years, or you are still learning whether the venue suits it. Rent by the day for events and for the first trial. Lease when your finance team prefers to spread cost, and ask for the residual value in writing.
None of this replaces your own numbers. The tools we plan to publish on RoboHub will let you enter price, subscription and maintenance and see the break-even month. Until then, the two worked examples above are a template you can copy into a spreadsheet.
Frequently asked questions
+Is RaaS always cheaper than buying?
No. In the dealer figures above, buying a $17,900 serving robot came out slightly cheaper than 36 months at $750, while the $95,880 scrubber was much cheaper as a subscription. The result depends on the price, maintenance and what the fee includes.
+What does a subscription usually include?
It varies by vendor. Common items are the robot, support and sometimes maintenance and software, but you must confirm each in writing. We could not verify a standard bundle.
+Why is there no leasing price in the example?
We found no public lease rates for service robots, and inventing one would be misleading. Ask the dealer or a leasing company for a quote with residual value and compare it with the same table.
+What should I do about insurance?
Tell your insurer before the robot arrives and ask who is liable for injury or damage. We did not find independent data on EU liability rules for service robots, so get written answers from the vendor and the insurer.
Sources & editorial note
- Keyi Robot · Service robot cost guide (dealer prices and RaaS fees)
- Supply Chain 24/7 · Peerless Research Group survey, January 2026
- Interesting Engineering · AgiBot humanoid rentals in China
An original RoboHub summary and analysis based on the sources listed above. Figures and plans are attributed to the companies and media that published them; RoboHub has not independently tested the robots. This is not a sponsored article.