Buy a humanoid robot if you know which robot you want for years and can carry the safety paperwork, the service and the resale risk yourself. Lease one if you want to spread the price but are happy to keep the same machine for the whole term. Rent one all in if you want a single monthly fee that covers the paperwork, service and replacement, and the right to change your mind when a better model ships. We rent humanoids, so read the table below with that in mind.
| Buy | Lease one machine | Rent all in from ovibot | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up front | The full price of the robot, plus install | Usually little or nothing | Nothing in these prices: install is spread over the fee |
| Every month | Your own service, insurance and software costs | A payment for the machine; service is often extra | One fee, from €3.958 (illustrative) |
| Safety paperwork | Yours to arrange | Usually yours to arrange | We sign it for the whole term |
| If it breaks | The warranty, then you | Depends on the service contract | Repaired, or replaced within 48 hours |
| When a better model ships | Sell the old one, if you can | Usually locked in until the end | Swap at month 12 or 24 for a fixed fee |
| At the end | You own it | Hand it back or buy it, on the lease terms | Hand it back, renew, or buy at a price set on day one |
| Resale risk | Yours | Shared with the lessor | Ours |
The list price is the smallest part of the question. Unitree lists its base G1 from USD 13.500 in its own shop, and EU dealers list it from about €22.500 before VAT (Unitree, checked 28.09.2026). That base version comes without developer access, so nobody can teach it a store job. The EDU versions a store needs are priced on request. More on the Unitree G1.
On top of the robot come freight and import, installation and training on your floor, insurance, spare parts and service. From 20 January 2027 the EU Machinery Regulation also applies to every new robot installation: someone has to check it and sign for it, and sign again when the robot or its software changes (Regulation (EU) 2023/1230). If you buy, that someone is usually you. More on the 2027 rules.
Most robot deals lock you into one machine for three years. A new humanoid model ships roughly every twelve months. So the robot you sign for today is likely to be two generations old by the end of the term.
That would not matter if you could sell it, but nobody knows yet what a used humanoid is worth. Buying on day one puts that risk on you. A lease of one machine spreads the payment but usually keeps you on the same robot. Renting with a swap right moves the risk to the company renting it to you.
On an ovibot contract you can swap to any other model we offer for the same job at month 12 or 24, on 30 days' notice, for a fixed fee. Between those points a swap is possible when another customer or ovibot takes your robot over, at a price quoted before you decide. How the swap works.
Some providers rent humanoid robots by the hour. That suits a one-off event. A store runs the same shift every night, so a monthly fee is simpler to plan, and it can cover the paperwork, the service and a replacement too.
Whichever way you pay, check the arithmetic against your own staff schedule: how many paid hours a day the robot takes over, at your own cost per salary hour. We do not promise savings. See the arithmetic on our pricing page.
Buying can be the better choice when:
Most independent and mid-size stores have none of that, which is why we rent. If buying is better for you, we will say so on the store check.
We will tell you, even when the answer is to buy.
It depends on how long you keep it, what service and paperwork cost you, and what it is worth at the end. Buying looks cheaper on the list price; renting all in moves the paperwork, service and resale risk off your books. Compare both against your own staff schedule.
Leasing one machine is possible through some dealers and lessors, usually with service and the safety paperwork outside the lease. ovibot rents humanoids all in, on a 36-month agreement with a swap right.
With ovibot from €3.958 a month for a Unitree G1 EDU Plus, all in: the humanoid, install, the safety paperwork, service, insurance, the app, 12 remote-operator hours a month and a 48-hour replacement. Prices are illustrative until contracts are signed.
Yes. At month 12 or 24 you can swap to any other model we offer for the same job, for a fixed fee.
If you buy, usually you. On an ovibot contract, we do, for as long as the contract runs, including after a swap or a move.
A humanoid integrator picks, installs, certifies and runs humanoid robots, and signs for them again when they change. What the role covers.
Read →From 20 January 2027 the EU Machinery Regulation applies to every new robot in a store. The full timeline of EU rules, what each one asks, and who signs.
Read →We come and watch a shift, then tell you which job would pay for itself first. If none would, we say so.
No sales deck. No hard sell.