No payroll reduction
-$254,0000% of released hours become paid hours avoided.
Decision tool / Robotics economics
Robotics cost & ROI calculator.
Could a robot make this task worth automating? Start with the work, see what changes for your team, then compare buying with a monthly subscription.
Illustrative exampleFour steps. Start with what you know.
Terms such as have a dashed underline. Hover, focus or tap for a plain-language explanation.
Step 1 of 4
Describe the work today.
Choose one task. Count the staff time and costs used to do it now.
A description, not a set of industry averages.
Changes labels, not exchange rates.
How would you like to enter the staff time?
Use a monthly total, or let the calculator convert a typical working day.
Count time spent on this task across all people and shifts, not the whole payroll.
Add everyone’s time on this task. Two people spending 8 hours each = 16 staff hours. A team total can exceed 24 hours.
Days this task runs in a typical month. Use 1–31; decimal averages are allowed.
51.96 staff hours/day × 20 days = 1,039.2 staff hours/month. Converted automatically.
Include pay and employer costs that would fall if paid hours were reduced. Leave out overhead that stays.
Add other current costs Optional
For this task only, such as scrap or outsourcing. Staff costs are already counted.
Your starting point
This task uses 1,039.2 staff hours a month, costing $33,774 in staff time at today’s rate.
Next, estimate how much of that work the robot can take over.
Step 2 of 4
What will the robot change?
First the work it takes over. Then the staff help it still needs. Finally, what happens to the time you free up.
How much of the task can it handle?
Use the complete system’s capacity after downtime and practical limits, for the same workload as step 1.
Monthly hours of today's work the complete quoted system can handle, after downtime and capacity limits. Maximum 1,039.2 h / month.
The robot takes over 519.6 of 1,039.2 staff hours/month.
Each month: loading, supervision, changeovers and handling exceptions. This is subtracted from the work taken over.
Apply this to hours freed after support. Use your plan for avoided overtime, agency hours, funded hires or payroll. 0–100%.
What that means for your team
The robot frees 415.68 hours a month. Your plan avoids paying for 207.84 hours and leaves 207.84 hours for other work.
At full operation, that is $6,755/month in staff-cost savings, before robot costs. Deployment and staffing dates are applied later.
Account for existing idle staff time Optional
Only offsets extra support work. Leave at zero unless already-paid capacity is genuinely available.
Step 3 of 4
Enter the supplier offers.
Use prices for the same workload and performance. The example amounts are placeholders, not market prices.
Monthly subscription
Access to the complete system through recurring payments.
The fee for the complete system in the first billed month. Use the same workload as your purchase quote.
One payment upfront for installation, integration or training. Enter zero if included in the subscription.
Each month, only costs outside the fee: energy, consumables, software or service exclusions. Staff help is already counted.
You can hide this option without deleting its numbers.
Buy the system
Same operating performance, different upfront and running costs.
The complete system for the same workload and performance. Paid upfront.
Integration, site work and training only if excluded from the purchase price.
Maintenance, service, energy, consumables and software. Staff help is already counted.
Resale and end-of-period costs Optional
Cash you expect to receive at the end of the comparison. Leave at zero without evidence. Maximum 150,000 USD.
Removal or other cash costs paid at the end of the comparison.
RaaS end-of-period payment Optional
Cash paid at the end of this comparison. Remaining initial-contract fees are disclosed separately.
Keep the comparison fair
Staff help is already counted in step 2. Enter only the other costs outside each quote. Next, choose when payments and benefits start.
Step 4 of 4
Choose the timing.
Give installation time to happen. Then choose how far ahead to compare the cash flows.
How long do you want to compare?
A longer comparison includes more monthly payments and benefits. It does not change your quoted contract.
The length of your cash-flow comparison. It does not change the supplier's contract. 1–120 whole months.
The supplier's initial commitment, counted from the first billing month. This is independent of the comparison period. 1–120 whole months.
Zero means benefits start in month 1. One full month of installation means benefits start in month 2. 0–119 whole months.
How quickly does it reach full performance?
Choose a rollout, or enter your own . These choices do not move the billing dates.
Count the first working month. One means full performance immediately after installation. 1–120 whole months.
For a gradual rollout, benefits rise evenly from this share to 100%. 0–100%.
Your rollout
Benefits start in month 2 at 50%, reaching full performance in month 4.
Subscription billing starts in month 1; running costs start in month 1. Paid-cost reductions are allowed from month 1, once the robot releases time.
Adjust payment and staffing dates Advanced
Billing can begin before the robot delivers benefits. The quoted fee applies in this month. 1–120 whole months.
Applies to both options, independently of benefits and subscription billing. 1–120 whole months.
Use the date your staffing changes can take effect. Savings also wait for the robot to release time. 1–120 whole months.
Financial assumptions and extra benefits Advanced
These assumptions stay in the calculation when this section is closed. Optional benefits begin at zero.
Used to value future cash in today's money. Use your organisation's rate if known; 8% is an example. 0–100%.
Applied to avoidable hourly costs. Zero keeps the opening rate throughout. 0–100%.
Applied from each contract's first billed month. Zero means no annual increase. 0–100%.
Applied to other operating costs and their corresponding savings. 0–100%.
Can only come from the other current costs in step 1. Do not repeat staff savings. Maximum 0 USD.
Extra sold output after all extra costs. Requires demand and capacity evidence; do not reuse staff also removed from payroll.
Using 8% ; annual increases: staff 0%, subscription 0%, running costs 0%. Extra benefits: $0/month before ramp-up.
Add a quote or evidence note Optional
Your label, not independent verification.
Optional. Keep confidential details out of shared exports.
Your comparison
36 months · USD · before tax and financing
Value of RaaS in today’s money ·
-$23,538
- RaaS over 36 months
- -$22,648 Includes upfront, rollout and end-of-study cash flows.
- RaaS
- Not within 36 months First recovery of a cumulative cash deficit.
Hours released ≠ payroll removed
415.68 hNet task hours released each month
207.84 hPaid hours actually avoided each month
Cash saving207.84 h available for other work
Full-deployment hours. The cash projection also applies the rollout and staffing-change dates.
Same workload. Different cash commitments.
| Measure | Manual operation | Buy a system | RaaS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront cash | $0 | $150,000 | $20,000 |
| Monthly cash cost at full operation | $33,774 | $28,019 | $33,519 |
| Monthly benefit at full operation | $5,755 | $255 | |
| Total cash cost over study | $1,215,864 | $1,170,512 | $1,238,512 |
| over study | Baseline | $45,352 | -$22,648 |
| Baseline | Month 29 | Not within 36 months | |
| at 8% | Baseline | $22,700 | -$23,538 |
Steady figures use full deployment at starting prices. Cash cost excludes additional sales contribution; net benefit includes it. Total and NPV use actual monthly timing.
Follow the cash through deployment
Above zero means a positive cumulative cash benefit versus manual operation. Setup is charged once, at month zero.
View the monthly cash-flow table
| Month | Manual cost | RaaS cost | RaaS net | RaaS cumulative | Buy cost | Buy net | Buy cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | $0 | $20,000 | -$20,000 | -$20,000 | $150,000 | -$150,000 | -$150,000 |
| 1 | $33,774 | $40,274 | -$6,500 | -$26,500 | $34,774 | -$1,000 | -$151,000 |
| 2 | $33,774 | $36,897 | -$3,123 | -$29,623 | $31,397 | $2,377 | -$148,623 |
| 3 | $33,774 | $35,208 | -$1,434 | -$31,057 | $29,708 | $4,066 | -$144,557 |
| 4 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$30,802 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$138,802 |
| 5 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$30,547 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$133,047 |
| 6 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$30,292 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$127,292 |
| 7 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$30,037 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$121,537 |
| 8 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$29,782 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$115,783 |
| 9 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$29,528 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$110,028 |
| 10 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$29,273 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$104,273 |
| 11 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$29,018 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$98,518 |
| 12 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$28,763 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$92,763 |
| 13 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$28,508 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$87,009 |
| 14 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$28,254 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$81,254 |
| 15 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$27,999 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$75,499 |
| 16 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$27,744 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$69,744 |
| 17 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$27,489 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$63,989 |
| 18 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$27,234 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$58,234 |
| 19 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$26,980 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$52,480 |
| 20 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$26,725 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$46,725 |
| 21 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$26,470 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$40,970 |
| 22 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$26,215 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$35,215 |
| 23 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$25,960 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$29,460 |
| 24 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$25,706 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$23,706 |
| 25 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$25,451 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$17,951 |
| 26 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$25,196 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$12,196 |
| 27 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$24,941 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$6,441 |
| 28 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$24,686 | $28,019 | $5,755 | -$686 |
| 29 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$24,432 | $28,019 | $5,755 | $5,068 |
| 30 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$24,177 | $28,019 | $5,755 | $10,823 |
| 31 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$23,922 | $28,019 | $5,755 | $16,578 |
| 32 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$23,667 | $28,019 | $5,755 | $22,333 |
| 33 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$23,412 | $28,019 | $5,755 | $28,088 |
| 34 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$23,158 | $28,019 | $5,755 | $33,842 |
| 35 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$22,903 | $28,019 | $5,755 | $39,597 |
| 36 | $33,774 | $33,519 | $255 | -$22,648 | $28,019 | $5,755 | $45,352 |
What if paid costs do not fall as planned?
RaaS net cash over 36 months. Same equipment and released hours; only the share that reduces payroll changes. These are scenarios, not probabilities.
Your staffing plan
-$22,64850% of released hours become paid hours avoided.
All released hours avoided
$208,704100% of released hours become paid hours avoided.
Evidence: Illustrative example. Replace these example assumptions with a scoped supplier quote and staffing plan.
Keep or share your scenario
Calculations stay in this page. Saving is optional and uses this browser only. Exported files include your entered assumptions.
How this works
A business case you can inspect.
This is a quote-based planning model. It makes the workload, staffing changes, timing and commercial assumptions visible.
Prepared by Justinas Mišeikis. Model 2.0.0. The starting scenario is illustrative and has not been validated for an installation.
1. Connect work to cash
Subtract retained human support from the manual-equivalent work automated. Only the entered share of released hours counts as avoided paid work. Additional human work remains a cost unless evidenced paid idle capacity can cover it.
Net released hours = work automated − retained human support
Payroll saving = paid hours avoided × avoidable hourly cost
2. Keep rollout and payments separate
The deployment delay and ramp affect benefits. Billing and operating costs follow their own start dates. Upfront payments occur at month zero; and exit costs occur at the end of the study. There is no second amortised setup charge.
3. Compare the same monthly cash flows
Net cash is the undiscounted sum of incremental cash flows versus manual operation. discounts each monthly amount at the entered annual rate. is the first recovery after an actual cumulative deficit; a later reversal is flagged.
Monthly benefit = manual cost − option cost + additional contribution
NPV = sum of monthly benefit ÷ (1 + annual rate)month / 12
What this version assumes
Constant workload, equivalent system performance for purchase and RaaS, a fixed whole-system subscription, pre-tax cash flows and no financing. Prices share one currency. Use a supplier quote to include reliability, capacity, maintenance scope and service exclusions in the inputs.
Metered tariffs, seasonal workloads, changing staffing schedules, taxes, loans and complex replacement schedules need a more detailed project model. A favourable result does not establish that the system can safely or reliably perform the task.
Method reference
For capital-investment analysis methods, including net present value, payback and sensitivity analysis:
Common questions
Read the result in context.
Does a robot freeing an employee create a cash saving?
It creates released capacity. A cash saving occurs when paid expenditure falls or a funded cost is avoided, such as overtime, an agency shift or a planned hire. If the person is reassigned, show the released hours and separately substantiate any extra contribution.
Why can monthly savings be positive but the business case still be negative?
Small steady savings may not recover upfront payments and rollout losses within the study period. also reflects when the cash arrives. Compare the full monthly projection rather than one steady-state figure.
Is a faster payback always the better option?
No. A smaller upfront payment can produce earlier while recurring fees reduce total value. Compare affordability, cash-flow timing, NPV, contractual flexibility and the risks actually transferred by the service agreement.
Are these robot prices or performance figures market averages?
No. The starting values form a worked example. Selecting an application or currency does not insert local prices or convert currencies. Replace the inputs with your own task measurements, staffing plan and supplier proposal.
Are my scenario inputs sent anywhere?
The calculator runs locally in the page and does not submit its financial inputs. Save in this browser writes only to browser storage when you click it. JSON and CSV exports are downloaded to your device; they contain your scenario data.
From scenario to evidence
Need to challenge a robotics business case?
Bring the workload, supplier proposal and staffing assumptions. A focused technical review can identify the evidence needed before an investment decision.