The core difference is how the machine navigates. An AGV (automated guided vehicle) follows a fixed path (a buried wire, magnetic tape or reflectors), so it only runs where that is laid. An autonomous forklift navigates from a laser map of the building (SLAM) and re-routes around people with no floor works. A manual truck relies on its driver.
Side-by-side comparison
| Factor | AGV (guided) | Autonomous forklift (free nav) | Manual forklift truck |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navigation | Fixed wire / tape / markers | Map-based SLAM + laser scanners | The driver |
| Floor works | Guide-path installed in the floor/environment | No guide path: just a flat floor + a digital map | None beyond charging or refuelling |
| Commissioning | Slower: floor works first | Faster: map the building, go | Operator training before use |
| Flexibility | Routes fixed; changing them means re-laying guidance | Re-route in software as layouts change | Fully flexible; the driver decides |
| Working with people | Typically segregated paths | Detects, slows and routes around staff | Depends on the driver's attention |
| Cost per pallet move | Hardware and guide-path works spread over moves on fixed routes | Hardware, fleet software and support spread over every shift's moves | Mostly the driver's wage, plus the truck's lease, energy and maintenance |
| Best for | Fixed, high-volume routes that rarely change | Evolving layouts, mixed tasks, mixed traffic | Irregular, one-off and outdoor work |
Why the terms blur (and why navigation is what matters)
In everyday warehouse language, “AGV forklift,” “automated forklift” and “autonomous forklift” get used for the same thing: a lift truck that runs without a driver. The meaningful distinction isn't the label but the navigation method, guided path versus free, map-based navigation, because that determines how fast you can deploy, how easily you can change, and how well the truck copes with people and obstacles. The broader category contrast between guided AGVs and free-roaming AMRs is covered in AGV vs AMR, and the navigation technology in how autonomous forklifts work.
Which should a UK warehouse choose?
If your routes are fixed and never change, a guided AGV can be a cost-effective, proven option. But most UK warehouses change, with new SKUs, seasonal peaks, re-slotting and new contracts. That is where free-navigation autonomous forklifts pay off, with no floor works to commission, software re-routing instead of re-laying tape, and safe operation alongside staff. Many sites run a mix, and the right answer comes from your real task and layout data, not a rule of thumb.
Every truck in our range of AGV forklifts for UK sites uses free, map-based SLAM navigation, from 300 kg single-fork trucks to 3,000 kg counterbalance trucks, so the site survey decides the class of truck rather than the navigation method.
AGV vs conventional MHE (manual forklift trucks)
A manual forklift truck, the conventional MHE most sites already run, depends on a trained driver, so it handles irregular, one-off and outdoor work that robots do not, and most of its cost per pallet move is the driver's time. An AGV or autonomous forklift takes the repeatable moves without a driver and repeats them the same way on every shift it runs, stopping only to charge.
On most UK sites one does not replace the other. Robots take the dock-to-stock, line-end and replenishment moves that repeat all day; drivers keep the exceptions. To compare them fairly, put both on a cost per pallet move: the fleet's annual cost divided by the moves it completes, against the driver's fully loaded hourly cost plus the truck's lease, energy and maintenance over the same moves. The AGV forklift price guide shows the method, and the ROI calculator runs it with your own labour figures.