3-year companion robot ownership cost
Sticker price alone hides business-model differences. Our required-cost baseline counts recurring fees only when they are part of the overall product/service. Optional content and feature-specific AI plans are shown separately instead of being silently treated as mandatory.
ElliQ: recurring service is the product
ElliQ currently lists a $249 initiation fee and required membership starting at $39/month depending on term. At the lowest advertised monthly baseline, 36 months plus initiation is about $1,653. This is a leased service model, not straightforward hardware ownership.
Vector and Mia: the robot works, but AI conversation costs extra
Vector 2.0 can retain local behavior without membership, but its cloud voice/AI experience requires a plan currently listed at $11.99/month or $99.99/year. Mia Two-Way keeps its non-conversation features without Premium, but real two-way AI conversation costs $2/month. Because those plans gate a feature rather than the whole product, our required-cost baseline does not automatically add 36 months unless conversation is the user's requirement; the finder still warns or penalizes a mismatch with monthly-fee tolerance.
Miko: optional paid content
Miko 3 is $299 in our snapshot, while Miko Mini has a current $149 sale reference. Miko Max is optional premium content for both. We therefore do not add Max to the required-cost baseline; if a family wants Max, it should calculate that separately using the live plan price or promotion.
Sony aibo: expensive hardware, first three cloud years included
Sony currently lists aibo at $3,199.99 in the U.S. The initial three-year AI Cloud Plan is included with the new robot, so our three-year baseline remains $3,199.99 rather than incorrectly adding the post-term renewal. The current renewal price becomes relevant after the included period and is listed at $300/year.
One-time-price candidates
Eilik, Eiliko, Loona, Ropet, EMO, AIBI, LOOI and low-cloud tactile products such as metaCat, Joy for All, Qoobo, Petit Qoobo and fufuly do not show a mandatory whole-product monthly plan in the sources used for this snapshot. Moflin also has no required U.S. monthly plan identified in our current profile. That still does not guarantee zero future service, accessory, device, shipping or repair cost; LOOI also requires a compatible smartphone.
Mobile pet-monitoring robots
Enabot's EBO and ROLA models are represented using their current hardware reference prices and no required base monthly fee in our baseline. Optional cloud services can exist for particular features, and several models were out of stock in the official store during this snapshot.
Why this is a baseline, not a promise
Taxes, shipping, accessories, a separately purchased smartphone, consumables, replacement batteries, repairs, sale-price expiry, region-specific support and future plan changes are excluded. Use the numbers to compare business models, then verify the live checkout.