Figures are sourced and dated. Check them before relying on them in client work.
AGV ROI Calculator: Payback, NPV and IRR
Estimate payback period, NPV, and IRR for an Automated Guided Vehicle deployment. All calculations run server-side.
Drives fleet size, and with it the whole investment.
These describe the operation but do not change fleet size, investment, payback, NPV or IRR. They scale the reported cost per pallet move only.
Denominator of cost per pallet move.
Denominator of cost per pallet move.
Recorded for reference; not used in any formula.
Superseded by Residual Labor Count, which sets post-AGV headcount directly.
AMR: $60–110K · Fork LGV: $180–275K · Cold storage: $250–300K
Ongoing OPEX. Leave 0 to exclude.
Advanced Parameters
Preliminary estimates based on an Engineer's Opinion of Probable Cost (EOPC) for planning purposes only. Cost, savings, and payback projections represent professional judgment and do not constitute a formal proposal. Actual results will vary based on facility-specific conditions and implementation details.
What this calculator does
This calculator estimates whether an automated guided vehicle (AGV) deployment pays for itself. It compares today's forklift labor and maintenance cost with the cost of running an AGV fleet, then reports cost per pallet move, straight-line and adjusted payback, net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR). It can model a purchase or a lease.
Inputs that matter
- Volume and labor: pallets per day, working days per year, forklift operators per shift, shifts per day and the fully burdened annual operator rate.
- Fleet: AGV unit cost, the AGV-to-operator ratio, the AGVs-per-charger ratio and the number of operators who remain after automation.
- Project costs: software, commissioning, integration and contingency are percentages of AGV equipment cost. Floor preparation is facility square feet times concrete cost per square foot times a floor-prep percentage.
- Financial: evaluation period in years, wage inflation, discount rate, annual software subscription, maintenance as a percentage of AGV cost and annual energy cost per AGV.
- Lease mode: a down payment is paid upfront and the rest becomes a level annual payment over the lease term at the APR you enter.
How it works
The AGV count is operators per shift times the AGV ratio, rounded up. Total investment is AGV equipment, chargers, software, commissioning, integration, electrical and floor preparation, plus a contingency percentage on that subtotal.
Current annual cost is operators per shift times shifts times the operator rate, plus forklift maintenance. Future annual cost is the residual operators times the rate, AGV maintenance, the software subscription and energy. Annual savings are the difference, and cost per pallet move is future annual cost divided by pallets per day times working days.
Savings then grow each year with wage inflation, and in lease mode the lease payment is subtracted while the lease runs. Adjusted payback is the point where cumulative cash flow turns positive. NPV discounts each year's net benefit at your discount rate and subtracts the upfront cost, and IRR is solved numerically from the same cash flows.
Frequently asked questions
- How does the calculator decide payback?
- Adjusted payback is the first year in which cumulative cash flow turns positive, interpolated within that year. Straight-line payback is upfront cost divided by first-year net annual benefit. If the investment is not recovered inside the evaluation period, adjusted payback is shown as beyond the evaluation period.
- Does it model leasing instead of buying?
- Yes. In lease mode only a down payment is upfront, and the financed balance becomes a fixed annual payment over the lease term using the standard loan-payment formula. That payment is subtracted from savings while the lease runs, and payback uses the net benefit.
- How many AGVs and chargers does it assume?
- The AGV count is operators per shift times the AGV ratio, rounded up. The charger count is the AGV count divided by the AGVs-per-charger ratio, rounded up. Both ratios are editable advanced inputs.