Cobot Payback Calculator: How Fast Does a Collaborative Robot Pay Back?
Collaborative robots are popular with smaller plants because they are cheaper and easier to deploy than caged robots. Payback depends mostly on how many hours of real work the cobot does each day. This calculator makes that visible.
Your numbers
End effector, mounting, programming and commissioning.
Risk assessment, sensors or fencing where the application requires it.
Hours the cobot does real work that a person would otherwise do.
Allows for changeovers, faults and waiting for parts.
Your results
Labor value counts only if staff are redeployed or overtime and hiring are avoided. A cobot that frees five minutes here and there does not remove cost.
Payback (months) vs hours freed per day
Sweeps Operator hours freed per working day from 1 to 16, holding your other inputs fixed.
Pick the right first application
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How to use it
Enter the arm price, then the total of gripper, fixtures, programming and safety work, which is often as large as the arm itself. For hours freed, count only productive time: palletizing, machine tending, screwdriving or dispensing that a person would otherwise do. Use realistic uptime. If you plan to redeploy the person to value-adding work, labor value is fair; if the person simply stands nearby, savings are zero. Add any grant or tax incentive as a percentage of the investment.
- Include integration, not just arm price
- Count productive hours only
- Use fully loaded labor cost
- Check the safety risk assessment scope
The formulas
Net investment is arm price plus integration plus safety, less incentive. Annual labor value is hours freed per day times working days times labor rate times uptime. Net annual benefit is that value less annual service. Payback in months equals net investment divided by net annual benefit, times twelve. Three year net gain is three years of benefit less the investment. It is intentionally simple, so you can explain it to an owner or a bank in a minute.
Worked example
With a 35,000 dollar arm, 22,000 for integration and 6,000 for safety, the investment is 63,000. Six hours freed a day, 250 days, 32 dollars an hour and 85 percent uptime gives about 40,800 in labor value. After 2,500 of service, net benefit is around 38,300 and payback is close to 20 months. Slide hours freed down to two and the payback goes beyond five years, which shows why application selection matters more than brand.
Common mistakes
The main mistake is buying a cobot for a task that runs only an hour a day. Others are underestimating programming and fixture time, ignoring cycle time (cobots are often slower than caged robots), and skipping the risk assessment. A cobot with a sharp tool or a heavy payload may need guarding, which changes the economics. Pilot on one stable application first.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a typical cobot payback?
Vendors often quote under a year, but real projects commonly fall between about one and three years, depending on shifts, utilization and integration cost. Single-shift, low-utilization cells take longer.
Do cobots need safety fencing?
Not always. Safety depends on the application, tool, speed and payload, and is assessed under ISO 10218 and ISO/TS 15066 guidance. Always do a documented risk assessment before deciding.
Are cobots slower than industrial robots?
Generally yes, because speed and force are limited near people. For repetitive, low-volume or variable tasks that is acceptable, but for high-speed, high-volume work an industrial cell may pay back faster.
Can one cobot work two shifts?
Yes, and that is often the best case for payback. Increase hours freed per day to reflect both shifts, provided parts, programs and maintenance cover them.
Netray works with plant data in ERP and MES systems; if you need measured cycle times and labor hours for the case, we can help get them out of the system.
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