Glossary / Commercial models
What is Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)?
TCO is the full cost of running a robot over its working life, including purchase or subscription fees, maintenance, consumables, energy and any staff time involved.
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Total Cost of Ownership goes beyond the sticker price of a robot or its monthly subscription fee. It accounts for consumables such as cleaning solution and brushes, electricity for charging, any staff time spent supervising or troubleshooting, insurance where applicable, and eventual battery or component replacement.
TCO is the right basis for comparing a robot against continuing with manual labour or against a competing robot supplier, because sticker prices alone hide meaningful differences — one supplier's 'cheaper' robot may need more frequent servicing, shorter battery life, or more staff oversight, eroding any upfront saving.
A credible supplier should be able to walk through a TCO comparison for your specific site, including realistic duty cycle assumptions, rather than quoting a headline price in isolation.
Common questions
- What's included in total cost of ownership for a robot?
- Purchase or subscription fees, maintenance, consumables, energy use, and any staff time spent on supervision or minor troubleshooting.
- Is a cheaper robot always lower TCO?
- Not necessarily — a lower purchase price can be offset by higher maintenance costs or shorter service life, so TCO should be compared over the full contract term.
- How does TCO relate to ROI?
- TCO is the cost side of the equation; ROI compares that cost against the savings or output the robot delivers to give a net return figure.
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