Restaurant robots compared: types and costs

Restaurant robots do one of two jobs today. Most carry food and dirty dishes, and a US reseller lists them from about $10,000 to buy or $279 to $519 a month on a 36-month term. A smaller group greets guests at the door, and that group runs from a free waitlist app on a tablet to a robot with a person behind it at $10 to $20 an hour.

Restaurants look at robots mainly because of staffing, although that pressure has eased. The National Restaurant Association's 2026 hiring and staffing report says 22% of restaurants lacked enough employees to meet customer demand in 2025, down from 32% in 2024 and 78% in 2021. In the same report, 62% said recruiting and keeping employees was a very or fairly significant challenge.

The two jobs robots do in a restaurant

The first job is carrying. A runner robot takes plates from the kitchen to a table and takes bus tubs back, so servers stay in the dining room. This is the larger category and the proven one, with several makers and published prices.

The second job is greeting, which means welcoming guests, quoting the wait and leading a party to its table. Far fewer products do this, so most restaurants still cover it with a host and a tablet.

Robots that carry food and bus tables

Bear Robotics Servi

Servi runs food and busses tables, and it carries 22 lb on each tray and 66 lb in total. The larger Servi Plus carries 88 lb and needs a path at least 25.6 inches wide. Bear gives prices by quote, but RobotLAB lists Servi from $9,990 or $279 a month and Servi Plus from $13,990 or $479 a month.

Keenon Dinerbot T10

RobotLAB lists the Keenon T10 from $18,400 or $519 a month. Its page says the robot delivers food and drinks in dining rooms and works for 6 to 8 hours on a charge.

Pudu BellaBot

BellaBot carries up to 40 kg, with 10 kg on each tray, and has a cat-like face. Pudu shows no price, and RobotLAB lists it from $14,500 or $409 a month. BellaBot and Starlife Bella are unrelated products from unrelated companies, and this page explains the difference.

Robots and tools that greet guests

Host robots

The closest product to a robot host is the Pudu KettyBot Pro, which Pudu calls a delivery and reception robot. It has an 18.5-inch advertising display, carries 10 kg on each tray layer and, in Pudu's words, can "lead customers to their tables in the best possible path". RobotLAB lists it from $14,000 or $479 a month. Pudu says you can set its expressions, voice and content.

Kiosks and waitlist tablets

Most restaurants manage the door with a waitlist app on a tablet. Guests add their name, get a text when the table is ready and see the expected wait. Waitwhile has a free plan for up to 50 visits a month, and its paid plans start at $31 and $55 a month. TablesReady has a free plan with 150 messages a month, and its paid plans cost $39 and $79 a month when billed annually. A tablet does not greet anyone, so the host still does that part.

A robot with a person behind it

Starlife Bella is a humanoid service robot with a friendly face and a chest display, on a wheeled base. It holds a real conversation with each guest, and a robot pilot controls it live. What that could mean for a restaurant is set out further down.

The options in one table

Prices checked in November 2026. They change often; check the linked pages.

How much does a robot waiter cost?

A robot that carries food costs about $10,000 to $18,400 to buy from RobotLAB, or $279 to $519 a month on a 36-month term, based on the listings above. RobotLAB's own pages do not always agree with each other. Its Servi page shows both $9,990 and $11,990, and its T10 page shows $13,500 in one place, so ask for a written quote that names the model, the term and what the service plan covers.

The robots sold under the name "robot waiter" are runners: they carry food, and your servers still take the order and the payment. Staff also spend time loading the trays and sending the robot to the right table.

What Starlife Bella could do in a restaurant, and what it cannot

Bella does not carry plates, drinks or bus tubs. If you need food moved, buy or lease one of the runner robots above.

Bella has also not worked in a restaurant yet. Starlife's published results come from a mall and from healthcare settings, and we are looking for a first restaurant pilot site.

Bella could greet each party, quote the wait that your host or waitlist app gives it, and lead guests to their table. It speaks more than 30 languages with live translation both ways, and it can answer simple menu questions from the information you supply. Bella passes any question about allergies or ingredients to your staff, because your kitchen has to answer it.

Bella is not autonomous. A trained robot pilot, whom Starlife supplies, controls it live from a laptop with AI assistance. The price is $10 to $20 an hour with no big contract and nothing to buy, so a five-hour dinner service costs $50 to $100. The normal start is a 14-day pilot, and the restaurants page says more.

Which restaurants each option suits

A runner robot pays off in a large dining room where the kitchen is far from the tables, such as a buffet, a banquet hall or a busy family restaurant. It needs wide, flat aisles, so a small cafe with tight tables and steps is a poor fit.

Almost any restaurant with a queue at peak hours can use a waitlist tablet, and it is the first thing to try because it is cheap or free. If you want promotion on a screen and delivery from the same machine, look at a KettyBot Pro.

Bella would suit a restaurant where the welcome matters and the host stand is hard to staff, or where many guests do not speak English. No pilot has tested this yet.

If you run a restaurant and want to be the first to try Bella at the door, tell us about your host stand. Book a demo.