Robot or Human?
Robot or human? Run the numbers.
Calculators, trendlines and projections for when a robot beats a person on cost, and when it doesn't.
Pick a job, pick a country, and see what a person and a robot really cost: wages with employer on-costs, robot prices, integration, supervision, downtime and the work robots can't do. Every default has a source or is marked as our assumption.
Whirrwork modelled estimates, not facts. Projections are scenarios built from the assumptions shown. They will be wrong in ways we will record on the track-record page.
Pick a job
Commercial floor cleaning
Cleaner with a walk-behind autoscrubber vs Autonomous floor scrubber
Human $0.003 · Robot $0.003 / sq ft (US)
Crossover year (US): now
Warehouse order picking (AMR-assisted)
Picker walking with a cart vs Collaborative picking AMRs (people still pick)
Human $0.321 · Robot $0.352 / pick (US)
Crossover year (US): 2029 (2028–after 2035)
Pallet moving
Forklift or pallet-truck operator vs Autonomous pallet mover (AMR)
Human $2.66 · Robot $1.47 / pallet move (US)
Crossover year (US): now
Security patrol
Security guard on patrol vs Autonomous patrol robot (MaaS)
Human $26.12 · Robot $17.33 / patrol hour (US)
Crossover year (US): now
Home lawn mowing
Lawn service (per visit) vs Wire-free robot mower
Human $50.00 · Robot $39.52 / mow (US)
Crossover year (US): now
Commercial mowing
Crew member on a commercial ride-on mower vs Autonomous commercial mower (lease)
Human $13.45 · Robot $19.12 / acre (US)
Crossover year (US): not by 2035
Pool cleaning
Weekly pool service vs Robotic pool cleaner (you still do chemistry)
Human $125 · Robot $96.37 / month of service (US)
Crossover year (US): now
Window and facade cleaning
Rope-access or lift crew (contract) vs Cleaning-drone service
Human $1.25 · Robot $0.45 / sq ft (US)
Crossover year (US): now
Roof inspection
Inspector on a ladder vs Drone roof inspection
Human $138 · Robot $261 / roof (US)
Crossover year (US): not by 2035
Cell tower inspection
Tower climber inspection vs Drone tower inspection
Human $1,150 · Robot $555 / tower (US)
Crossover year (US): now
Wind turbine blade inspection
Rope-access blade inspection vs Drone blade inspection
Human $2,250 · Robot $630 / turbine (US)
Crossover year (US): now
Solar farm inspection
Manual inspection (handheld thermal, walking rows) vs Drone thermography
Human $10,000 · Robot $4,775 / MW (US)
Crossover year (US): now
Crop spraying
Ground rig or crop duster (custom hire) vs Spray drone (hire, or buy and fly)
Human $8.70 · Robot $11.06 / acre (US)
Crossover year (US): after 2035 (2031–after 2035)
Drone light show vs fireworks
Fireworks display (pyrotechnics crew) vs Drone light show
Human $25,984 · Robot $52,500 / show (US)
Crossover year (US): not by 2035
Restaurant food running
Food runner / busser vs Serving robot (staff load and hand over)
Human $23.35 · Robot $13.01 / runner hour (US)
Crossover year (US): now
Hospital deliveries
Porter / orderly making runs vs Autonomous hospital delivery robot (TUG-class)
Human $8.77 · Robot $5.21 / delivery (US)
Crossover year (US): now
CNC / injection machine tending
Operator loading and unloading a machine vs Cobot machine tending cell
Human $28.32 · Robot $10.78 / tending hour (US)
Crossover year (US): now
Welding
Manual MIG welder vs Cobot welding system (welder still loads and supervises)
Human $36.93 · Robot $30.51 / welding hour (US)
Crossover year (US): now
End-of-line palletizing
Packer stacking cases by hand vs Cobot palletizing cell
Human $0.10 · Robot $0.04 / case (US)
Crossover year (US): now
Warehouse inventory counting
Cycle counter with a scanner and lift vs Autonomous inventory drone (RaaS)
Human $0.428 · Robot $0.184 / location (US)
Crossover year (US): now
Residential snow clearing
Snow removal service (per visit) vs Autonomous snow blower robot
Human $50.00 · Robot $134 / visit (US)
Crossover year (US): not by 2035
Any other job (build your own)
A person doing the job vs A robot doing the job
The Robot vs Human Index
When does the cheapest robot option cost less than the human way of doing the job, with our default workload? Base-case year, with the range from the robots-fast to robots-slow scenario.
| Job | US | DE | GB | JP | CN | IN | BR | MX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial floor cleaning | now | now | 2029 (2028–2033) | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 |
| Warehouse order picking (AMR-assisted) | 2029 (2028–after 2035) | 2029 (2028–after 2035) | 2032 (2029–after 2035) | after 2035 (2035–after 2035) | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 |
| Pallet moving | now | now | now | now | 2031 (2029–after 2035) | not by 2035 | after 2035 (2032–after 2035) | after 2035 (2034–after 2035) |
| Security patrol | now | now | now | now | after 2035 (2032–after 2035) | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 |
| Home lawn mowing | now | now | now | 2027 | 2032 (2029–after 2035) | after 2035 (2032–after 2035) | after 2035 (2031–after 2035) | after 2035 (2031–after 2035) |
| Commercial mowing | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 |
| Pool cleaning | now | now | now | now | now | 2031 (2029–after 2035) | 2027 (2027–2030) | 2028 (2027–2030) |
| Window and facade cleaning | now | now | now | now | now | now | now | now |
| Roof inspection | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 |
| Cell tower inspection | now | now | now | now | now | now | now | now |
| Wind turbine blade inspection | now | now | now | now | now | now | now | now |
| Solar farm inspection | now | now | now | now | now | now | now | now |
| Crop spraying | after 2035 (2031–after 2035) | after 2035 (2031–after 2035) | after 2035 (2032–after 2035) | not by 2035 | after 2035 (2035–after 2035) | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 |
| Drone light show vs fireworks | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 |
| Restaurant food running | now | now | now | now | now | not by 2035 | 2029 (2028–2033) | 2033 (2030–after 2035) |
| Hospital deliveries | now | now | now | now | 2033 (2030–after 2035) | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 |
| CNC / injection machine tending | now | now | now | now | now | not by 2035 | now | now |
| Welding | now | now | now | after 2035 (2033–after 2035) | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 |
| End-of-line palletizing | now | now | now | now | 2027 (2027–2028) | not by 2035 | after 2035 (2035–after 2035) | after 2035 (2035–after 2035) |
| Warehouse inventory counting | now | now | now | now | after 2035 (2032–after 2035) | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 |
| Residential snow clearing | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 | not by 2035 |
Cite this
APA
Whirrwork. (2026). Robot vs Human Index: cost crossover estimates for 20 jobs in 8 countries (Version 1.0.0) [Data set and interactive model]. https://whirrwork.com/tools/robot-vs-human/
Chicago
Whirrwork. “Robot vs Human Index: cost crossover estimates for 20 jobs in 8 countries.” Version 1.0.0. 2026. Accessed October 25, 2026. https://whirrwork.com/tools/robot-vs-human/.
MLA
Whirrwork. “Robot vs Human Index: cost crossover estimates for 20 jobs in 8 countries.” Whirrwork, 2026, whirrwork.com/tools/robot-vs-human/. Accessed 25 Oct 2026.
BibTeX
@misc{whirrwork2026robot,
author = {{Whirrwork}},
title = {Robot vs Human Index: cost crossover estimates for 20 jobs in 8 countries},
year = {2026},
version = {1.0.0},
howpublished = {\url{https://whirrwork.com/tools/robot-vs-human/}},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-25. Modelled estimates, not facts.}
}