What does this TCO calculator include?

It includes capex amortization, planned maintenance, energy consumption, software/subscription, supervision labor, and a downtime estimate based on MTBF and MTTR.

How is downtime modeled?

Downtime hours are estimated from MTBF (mean time between failures) and MTTR (mean time to repair). The cost of downtime is modeled as a $/hour value you provide.

Is this an official forecast?

No. This is a scenario tool. Results are directional and depend on your assumptions and operating conditions.

Should I use 1 shift or 3 shifts?

Use your expected utilization. Higher utilization spreads capex over more productive hours, lowering $/hour—unless maintenance and downtime increase materially.

Can I share a scenario?

Yes. Use “Copy share link” to encode inputs in the URL.

ROBOCHRONICLE TOOLS 2026 EDITION ECONOMICS

Robot TCO Calculator

Estimate Total Cost of Ownership for a robot across 1–5 years. Includes capex amortization, planned maintenance, energy, software, supervision, and downtime.

Inputs Directional model (fast)

Horizon (years)

Discount rate (optional, %)

Robot purchase price (capex, USD)

Deployment & integration (one-time, USD)

Planned maintenance (% of capex per year)

Spare parts (USD per year)

Software/subscription (USD per month)

Average power draw (W)

Electricity price (USD/kWh)

Shifts per day (1–3)

Hours per shift

Utilization during scheduled time (%)

Supervision labor (USD/hour)

MTBF (hours)

MTTR (hours)

Downtime cost (USD per downtime hour)

Use your estimated lost margin/throughput impact per hour when the robot is down.

This is a simplified model for fast comparisons. If downtime is hard to price, set downtime cost to 0 and treat results as “best case”.

Results

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Effective cost per productive hour

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Total discounted cost ÷ productive hours.

Total cost (horizon)

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Includes capex, opex, and downtime.

Productive hours (horizon)

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Scheduled hours × utilization minus downtime estimate.

Estimated downtime (hours/year)

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Approx: (operating hours / MTBF) × MTTR.

Cost breakdown (horizon) Top drivers

Chart shows the share of total cost by category.

Year-by-year table Copy/paste friendly

Year	Scheduled hrs	Downtime hrs	Productive hrs	Opex (USD)	Downtime cost (USD)	Total (USD)	Discounted total (USD)

Robot TCO Calculator

What TCO usually misses

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this include?

Can I share scenarios?