Autonomous forklift ROI calculator

Start from your own operating figures: the number of manual forklift or material-handling operators you would automate, their fully-loaded labour cost per hour, the hours per shift, shifts per day and operating days per year. Multiply these to estimate annual manual labour cost, then compare that against your automation investment, expressed here as a multiple of one year of that labour cost. The payback period is the investment multiple expressed in months. This calculator does exactly that maths on your inputs and never assumes a price for you.

Payback varies widely with shift pattern, labour cost and how much of the work is automated, so any single figure would be misleading. Automation that runs across multiple shifts usually models a shorter payback than a single-shift site, but the only payback that matters is the one this calculator produces from your own numbers and your own quoted investment. FlyWei does not publish a universal payback figure because it depends entirely on your site.

Throughput uplift is the productivity improvement automation can add versus the manual baseline. The calculator defaults to an illustrative 25% and lets you move it across a typical 15 to 35% range so you can test conservative and optimistic scenarios. This is an adjustable assumption for modelling only, not a FlyWei performance guarantee. Your actual figure depends on your flows, layout and duty cycle, which a site survey would assess.

No. The calculator contains no FlyWei prices and no fabricated savings. It works purely from the numbers you enter, and the automation cost is something you supply as a multiple of your own annual labour cost. For a real, costed comparison, request a free site survey and fleet-sizing quote: FlyWei will model leasing, hire and purchase against your actual volumes.

Leasing over 3, 5 or 7 years, or hire with the term agreed per site, replaces the one-off investment with a monthly rate that already includes maintenance, the M4 fleet manager and UK support. In that case compare the monthly rate against the monthly labour and productivity benefit rather than looking for a payback point. The calculator models the purchase case; ask for a leasing quote to see the monthly version side by side. Leasing and hire are subject to credit approval.

From your own quote, not from this page. What drives the number is the robot class and count, the top modules or forks, the software and WMS integration, the site survey findings and the support term. The autonomous forklift cost guide on this site walks through each factor. The free UK site survey turns those factors into a fleet plan and a quote, typically 8 to 14 weeks before go-live.