How to compare robot hire quotes

The single most useful thing to understand about hiring a robot is that the headline price is not the price, and that two headline prices from two suppliers are almost never measuring the same thing. This guide is about turning several quotes into one comparable number.

Why headline prices are not comparable

A day rate can mean six hours or twelve. It can include an operator or assume you supply one. It can be ex works, meaning you arrange transport, or delivered and collected. It can assume the robot runs a programme somebody already built, or it can require two days of content development first. It can quote one robot for a two-day event with a one-day minimum, which is a two-day charge either way.

None of these differences are dishonest. They are just different business models. But they mean that ranking four quotes by their first number tells you nothing.

Normalise before you compare

Rebuild each quote as a single comparable total for the same scope:

1. Rental for the duration you actually need, after applying the minimum. If the supplier has a two-day minimum and your event is one day, use the two-day figure.
2. Plus operator or crew time, including the hours before doors open and after they close.
3. Plus transport out, to the venue.
4. Plus transport back. Return legs are the most commonly omitted line in the whole category.
5. Plus setup and teardown, where these are charged separately from crew time.
6. Plus travel time, if the supplier bills it separately from transport cost.
7. Plus accommodation and per diems for overnight jobs.
8. Plus programming or content development, including rehearsals and changes.
9. Plus branding, wrapping, costume or custom graphics.
10. Plus any other mandatory fee: rigging, power distribution, standby technician, venue insurance charge, waste, on-site storage.
11. Minus discounts that are actually granted, not indicative ones.

Then, and separately:

• List tax separately. Rates differ by country and by the supplier's registration, and mixing tax into the comparison rewards whoever happens to be in the lower-tax jurisdiction rather than whoever is better value.
• Show any refundable deposit apart from the cost of the service. A 5,000 deposit you get back is not a cost. Adding it to the total makes a supplier look expensive when they are only being careful. Note whether it is refundable, how long the refund takes, and what would reduce it.

What you are left with is the comparable total. Use that.

Things that change the number more than people expect

• Day definition. Ask how many hours a day is and what happens after them.
• Active programme minutes. A humanoid rarely runs continuously. A supplier quoting four hours of active programme in an eight-hour day is being realistic, not evasive; one quoting eight is worth questioning.
• Number of units. Two robots for a busy stand is often a better answer than one, and is not double the price once transport and crew are shared.
• Cross-border movement. Customs, carnets and import formalities take time and money, and they are the usual reason a cheaper distant supplier is not cheaper.
• Venue conditions. Floor surface, ramps, lift dimensions, power, WiFi congestion and lighting all affect crew time.
• Cancellation terms. A lower price with a strict cancellation policy is a different product from a higher price with a flexible one. Price them together.

Questions worth asking every supplier

• What exactly is included, and what is explicitly not?
• How many hours is a day, and what is the overtime rate?
• Is the operator included, and for how long?
• Who arranges transport, and is the return leg quoted?
• What happens if the robot fails on site? Is there a spare, and what is the remedy?
• What insurance do you carry, and can I see the certificate?
• Is the capability you are describing autonomous, teleoperated or pre-programmed?
• What is the deposit, and what would reduce it?

What this platform does and does not tell you

Quotes on this platform use a shared set of line types so the arithmetic above can be done for you, and quote versions are kept so you can see what changed. The platform does not set prices, does not hold tax rates, and does not verify that a quoted figure is a good one for your market. The supplier quote is the authoritative document.