METHODOLOGY

How we source and verify cobot pricing.

The honest starting point.

No major cobot vendor publishes hardware list prices on its own website in 2026. Universal Robots, FANUC, ABB, KUKA, Doosan, and Techman all sell through a distributor network and require a quote for any production arm. The single counter-example we found is Productive Robotics, whose OB7 model is consistently listed at $24,900 across multiple US machine-tool resellers.

That means every “list price” on this site is third-party-quoted or industry-reported. We flag each entry explicitly with one of four statuses.

01live-verified — a price consistently listed by multiple US distributors at the same number.

02industry-reported — a price range from two or more 2026-dated third-party reviews or distributor quotes, vendor page does not publish.

03quote-only — no public 2026 USD price found, distributor quote required.

04discontinued — product line no longer in production.

Wage anchors.

The payback math leans on two primary BLS series. Production-worker hourly wage (manufacturing): $30.1 per hour, April 2026, BLS Current Employment Statistics series CES3000000008. Fully-burdened hourly: $46.3 per hour, BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation Q2 2025. Annualised on a two-shift schedule the displacement saving runs $55,000 to $75,000 per displaced FTE.

The turnkey multiplier.

Three independent 2026 sources (Standard Bots, EVSint, Robotiq) converge on a 2.5x to 4x ratio between bare-arm price and complete deployed cell. The arm is 40 to 50 percent of total project cost. The rest is integration ($5,000-$30,000 typical), EOAT, safety scanners, vision, ISO/TS 15066 risk assessment, training, and an annual service line — twelve cost categories in total, all sourced on the home page.

Payback range disclosure.

Interact Analysis publishes an “8 to 14 month” payback headline. That figure assumes 24/7 operation plus scrap-reduction credit. Most real-world dual-shift deployments cluster at 12 to 24 months per AMD Machines and Robotomated integrator data. The calculator on the homepage defaults to a dual-shift assumption.

Re-verification cadence.

Pricing distributor pages are re-fetched every 90 days. Pre-deploy gate blocks any change with a stale dated row.

Conflicts of interest.

cobotcost.com has no affiliate revenue, no vendor sponsorships, no paid placement. Digital Signet owns the site and funds editorial work. We do not accept payment for inclusion or ranking.