Care robots in the UK: rent, lease or subscribe

Illustration of a small companion robot on a side table next to an older woman with a cup of tea — Illustration by The Robot Radar

Updated 10 November 2026

Care is where renting robots by the month is already happening in the UK. Councils pay a monthly licence for small home care robots that remind people to take their medication, and care homes lease cleaning and delivery robots by the week. This guide shows every care robot you can rent, lease or subscribe to, what it costs, how families can get one and what to ask first.

The quick answer

For councils and care providers: yes, today. GenieConnect home care robots were reported at £120 a month per licence, and care homes can lease robots from £84 a week plus VAT.
For families: not directly yet. The usual route is through the council or the care provider, who pays the monthly fee.
Coming next: ElliQ, a companion robot for older people, is leased by the month in the US and says a UK subscription for individuals is on the way.

Care robots you can rent, lease or subscribe to

Robot	What it does	How you pay	Price	Where
GenieConnect	Small home care robot that reminds people to take medication, eat and drink, and tells carers if they stop responding	Licence paid by councils and NHS care boards, through Cera	£120 a month per licence	UK. In use. Reported in November 2025; Cera said in May 2026 it was signing up a new council every week. Source
ElliQ	Tabletop AI companion for older people: check ins, reminders, video calls, games and music	Subscription with the device on lease, plus a one off lease fee	US$39 to US$59 a month + US$249 lease fee	US (UK care services only). Ships to US homes only. In the UK and Ireland it is offered to healthcare services, with a subscription for individuals promised "soon". Source
Labrador Caddie	Self driving shelf that carries things around the home for people with limited mobility	Upfront fee plus a monthly plan	US$100 a month + US$1,500 up front	US. Sold mainly through US care providers. Source
United Robotics Group care robots	Robots for care homes: companion and activity robots, linen and meal transport, cleaning, drinks delivery	Buy, or rent as a service for a monthly fee	On quote	Germany and the EU. No UK offer listed. Source
Hospitable Automation	Cleaning, delivery and serving robots, which the company says have been trialled in UK care homes	Weekly lease with warranty, support and training	From £84 a week + VAT	UK. Business lease, available now. See our robot as a service guide. Source

Prices as published or reported, in the currency they were given, before tax. We never convert US prices into a made up UK price. Checked 10 November 2026. For home robots of every kind, see the robot subscription tracker.

Home care robots paid for by councils

GenieConnect is a small robot that lives in the home of someone who receives care. It reminds them to take medication, eat and drink, and lets carers know if they stop responding. The home care company Cera bought the GenieConnect platform in 2025 and licenses the robots to councils and NHS care boards at £120 a month each, according to Healthcare Leader.

Cera says pilots got 96% of people taking the right medication at the right time, and that more than a dozen councils and 30 care providers had trialled the robots by November 2025. In May 2026 it said it was signing up a new council every week. These are Cera's own figures.

This is a robot subscription in all but name: a monthly fee per robot, with the software and support included, paid from a care budget instead of bought outright. It is the same model our robot leasing guide expects most households to use for their first home robot.

Companion robots by the month: ElliQ

ElliQ is a tabletop companion for older people that chats, suggests activities, reminds people about medication and water, and makes one touch video calls. In the US it is never sold: the subscription includes a lease of the device for as long as you pay. Plans cost US$59 a month rolling, US$49 a month on an annual plan or US$39 a month on a two year plan, plus a one off US$249 lease fee, with a lifetime hardware warranty included.

In the UK and Ireland, Kingfisher Phoenix offers ElliQ to healthcare services and says a subscription for individuals is coming soon. No UK price or date has been published. We will add it here and on the tracker the day it appears.

Care homes: robots by the week

Care homes rent robots the way restaurants and hotels do. UK supplier Hospitable Automation leases cleaning robots from £84 a week plus VAT, about £364 a month (our sum: weekly price times 52, divided by 12), with a three year warranty, support and training included, and says its robots have been trialled in care homes. In Germany, United Robotics Group offers care home robots for companionship, linen and meal transport, cleaning and drinks delivery, to buy or to rent as a service, and is frank that renting is not automatically cheaper. Full prices and providers are in our robot as a service guide.

How a family can get a care robot today

Route	How it works
Through the council	Some councils and NHS care boards now pay for home care robots such as GenieConnect for people they support. The family does not sign a lease or pay the monthly fee. Ask the adult social care team or the care provider whether they use care technology.
Through a care provider	Home care companies and care homes rent or license robots and build them into the care they provide. Ask what technology they use and what it does.
Buy a small one yourself	Robotic companion pets cost about £100 to £200 in UK shops, and the PARO therapy seal costs over £5,000 through a specialist distributor, according to the Robot Carer UK directory. These are bought outright, not rented.
Subscribe to one at home	Not in the UK yet. ElliQ, Labrador and the new home humanoids such as 1X NEO all sell by the month in the US. ElliQ says a UK subscription for individuals is coming.

Want to see robots in person first? Robot dogs and humanoids can be hired for a day with an operator. Prices for robots on sale in UK shops are in the UK Robot Price Index.

Why care robots will be rented, not bought

Needs change. Someone may need a reminder robot for a year, then move into a care home. A monthly plan can stop when it is no longer needed.
Support matters more than the hardware. The value is in the alerts, the software and the people who respond, which suits a monthly fee.
Care budgets are monthly. Councils and care homes pay for services from running budgets, so a licence or lease fits how they already spend.
Repairs are someone else's job. ElliQ's US plans include a lifetime hardware warranty, and UK business leases usually include repairs and a replacement robot.

Six questions to ask before you rent a care robot

Who sees the alerts, and who acts on them? A reminder robot is only as good as the person who responds when a dose is missed. Ask who is told, how fast, and what happens out of hours.
What does it record, and who agreed to that? Cameras, microphones and check in answers are personal data. Ask what is stored, where, for how long, and how the person using it agreed.
What happens if it breaks or the internet goes down? Ask about repairs, a replacement robot and whether it still works offline.
What is the minimum term and the exit fee? Especially important if needs may change, for example a move into a care home or a stay in hospital.
Can it be paused or handed back? Ask whether you can pause payments during a long hospital stay and how the robot is collected.
Is the provider FCA authorised? If a consumer hire or finance agreement is involved, check the provider on the FCA register. Our rules guide explains when this applies.

Your rights to cancel, end early and complain are in robot leasing rules in the UK, and who covers damage is in robot insurance in the UK. New to terms like minimum term and hand back? See the robot leasing glossary.

Questions people ask

Can you rent a care robot in the UK?

Yes, for care organisations. Councils and NHS care boards license GenieConnect home care robots for about £120 a month each, and UK suppliers lease cleaning and serving robots to care homes from £84 a week plus VAT. Families cannot yet subscribe to a care robot directly in the UK, but ElliQ says a UK subscription for individuals is coming.

How much does a care robot cost per month?

In the UK, a GenieConnect licence was reported at £120 a month, paid by councils and care boards. In the US, ElliQ costs US$39 to US$59 a month plus a US$249 lease fee, and Labrador Caddie costs US$100 a month plus US$1,500 up front.

Can my parent get a care robot from the council?

Possibly. More councils are paying for home care robots that remind people to take medication, eat and drink. Ask your local adult social care team or your parent's home care provider whether they offer care technology.

Is ElliQ available in the UK?

Not for individuals yet. ElliQ ships to US homes only. In the UK and Ireland, Kingfisher Phoenix offers it to healthcare services, and says a subscription for individuals is coming soon. No UK price has been published.

Do care homes rent robots?

Yes. Care homes can lease cleaning, delivery and serving robots by the week from UK suppliers, and in Europe United Robotics Group rents care home robots as a service for a monthly fee.

Is it better to rent or buy a care robot?

Renting usually includes repairs, updates and support, and can be stopped if needs change, which suits care. Buying makes sense for simple, cheap robots such as companion pets. One European care robot provider says renting is not automatically cheaper, so compare the total over the term.

Sources

General information, checked 10 November 2026. Not financial, legal or medical advice: robots support care, they do not replace it. We do not sell, rent or arrange robots or finance, and none of the companies named pays us to appear here. How we make money.