Robot rental demand in China is surging as corporate bookings flood in during the year-end and New Year holiday season, with some rental platforms reporting near-complete reservations through mid-February.
"If you're planning to rent robots for early 2026 corporate annual events, you'd better book as soon as possible," a Shanghai-based robot rental company official told China's state-run Global Times on Sunday, warning that reservations will soon be fully booked. The company owns 30 units including humanoid robots and robot dogs, with bookings nearly filled from January through mid-February ahead of the Lunar New Year.
Rental costs have dropped significantly, lowering entry barriers. According to China Central Television (CCTV), basic robots can be rented for around 200 yuan ($27) per day on some platforms, down from previous rates exceeding 10,000 yuan ($1,370). Advanced models with intelligent interaction and complex functions cost 2,000 to 5,000 yuan daily, while robot dogs rent for 200 to 500 yuan per day.
Industry observers project China's robot rental market will exceed 1 billion yuan ($137 million) this year and reach 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) next year. Many view 2025 as "year one for commercial humanoid robots."
Last week, China's first open robot rental platform, Qingtian Rent (BotShare), launched to provide integrated solutions through a Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) model.
"We plan to expand to 200 cities next year, serving more than 400,000 customers," said Zhang Qingsong, BotShare chairman and partner at Zhiyuan Robotics (Agibot). "We will connect with more than 10 robot manufacturers, 200 premium service partners, and over 3,000 content creators."
The platform's most popular budget product is Agibot's robot dog at 200 yuan per day, offered with New Year subsidies and 48-hour delivery through WeChat mini-programs.
Zhang Yi, CEO of iiMedia Research, noted that current rental demand is concentrated in commercial scenarios with strong "emotional value" such as performances and exhibitions. "Annual demand is about 800 million yuan, and the market is still in its early stages," he said, projecting expansion into retail, security, industrial, and cultural tourism sectors over the next two years, potentially reaching tens of billions of yuan annually within two to three years.
Wang Xingxing, CEO of Unitree, said the robot market including rentals has changed significantly this year. "Humanoid robots' participation in performances and events is just the beginning for 2025," he said.
Recently, six humanoid robots performed on stage at singer Wang Leehom's Chengdu concert. Tesla CEO Elon Musk reposted the video on X, commenting "Impressive," drawing widespread attention.
Beyond corporate events and performances, falling rental costs are enabling robots to serve as practical auxiliary workers in factories, warehouses, and tourist sites.
Hot pot chain Haidilao has become BotShare's first major client, according to People's Daily Online. The company plans to deploy rental robots in some stores before the 2026 Lunar New Year for calligraphy performances, viral dances, and customer service.
Song Xiangqing, vice chairman of the China Society of Commercial Economics, said the market is transitioning from short-term entertainment hype to deeper enterprise-level demand. "In the long term, it will evolve from simple equipment rental to 'intelligent service rental,'" he said.
Zhang Yi compared the future of robot rentals to China's drone industry, where explosive growth came not from agriculture or industrial applications but from urban drone light show rentals. The key, he said, is providing integrated "equipment plus solutions."
Song added that as the market shifts from fragmented operations to platform-based models, simple hardware rental is no longer competitive. "Integrating large language models and industrial knowledge bases to expand into data-driven decision-making services is key to evolving from equipment rental operators to intelligent service providers," he said.
