How much does a security robot cost in the UK?
Published
The short answer
Outwarden’s security robot costs £989 a month ex VAT, after a free 30-night pilot. There is nothing to buy. The robot, its charging station, connectivity, maintenance and a human operator on every patrol and alarm check are in that price, with 60 recorded patrols and unlimited alarm checks a month. There is a 4-week minimum, then you cancel by email.
What the £989 includes
It is one line on one invoice, and there is no fee per alarm check.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| The robot, on your yard | Included |
| Charging station | Included |
| Connectivity and maintenance | Included |
| An operator on every patrol | Included |
| An operator on every alarm check | Included |
| 60 recorded patrols a month | Included |
| Alarm checks, unlimited | Included |
| Morning report, every day | Included |
| Delivery and set-up | Included |
| Total a month, ex VAT | £989 |
| The first 30 nights | £0 |
“Unlimited” has one line of small print, and it is in the contract: fair use up to 500 alarm checks a month, which is an alarm every 45 minutes, all night. If a yard ever gets there, you get a call from us, not an invoice.
The morning report counts the night: how many patrols, how many alarms checked, how many vans sent.
Why it is a service, not a purchase
Search for a security robot price and the figures are hard to compare, because some are for a machine you buy and some are for a service you rent. For a yard, the useful number is what a month of cover costs with everything in. Outwarden is not for sale, for three practical reasons.
- The operator is part of the product. The robot is not autonomous. A trained operator drives every patrol and every alarm check over a mobile link and points the camera, so the person comes with the machine.
- Keeping it running is our job. Maintenance, the two mobile links and the machine itself stay ours.
- There is no capital cost to approve. It is a monthly cost with a 4-week minimum, which is easier to start, and easier to stop, than a purchase.
What it costs next to what yards pay now
These are published UK prices for the usual alternatives, for scale, not quotes for your yard. Monthly = weekly × 4.33.
| Option | Published price | A month |
|---|---|---|
| Managed CCTV tower, with loss waiver and alarm response | £460 a week in a 2025 council quote, plus £780 delivery | about £2,000 |
| Mobile patrols, 2 visits a night | £25 a visit, so £350 a week | about £1,520 |
| Static guard, 12-hour nights | £20 an hour, so £1,680 a week | from £7,300 |
| Van call-out to check one alarm | £45 to £75 each time, and it takes 20 to 60 minutes | per call-out |
| Outwarden | One price: operator, 60 patrols and unlimited alarm checks included | £989 ex VAT |
The rows are not like-for-like. A guard is a person on site, with judgement. A tower watches open ground all night. A patrol puts a person on the yard at set times. Outwarden puts a light and a camera on the spot of an alarm, usually in under a minute, and your control room decides what happens next.
They also combine. The most common arrangement is a guard at the gate and the robot at the far corner. A CCTV tower, a night guard, mobile patrols or a robot sets out what each one sees and what it misses.
What changes the price, and what does not
The price does not move with the night. A month of false alarms costs the same as a quiet one, up to the fair-use line. There are no per-check fees and no extras.
Four things are priced on the call, because they depend on the site:
- An operator reserved for one site.
- Several robots on one yard. One robot reaches about 100 m from where it stands, so bigger yards take more than one; we work that out from your layout.
- Weekly hire for a construction or temporary site.
- Partner rates for security companies.
What the yard has to provide
- Power. One 230 V socket for the charging station.
- Mobile signal. 4G or 5G on the yard. We check your coverage before the pilot.
- Ground. Hard-standing to drive on.
- A fence. The robot is geofenced to the site and never leaves it.
Installation takes one day. There is no cabling, no building work and nothing mounted on your building, and the robot works the same night. If one of the four is missing, say so on the call and you will hear straight away whether it is workable.
How to try it
The first 30 nights are free. We deliver the robot, set it up, and it works from the first night. The first 2 weeks run in shadow mode: the robot patrols and checks, your team watches, and nothing is escalated automatically.
After 30 nights you keep it at £989 a month, or we take it away. If you keep it, there is a 4-week minimum, and after that you cancel by email.
What to ask any provider before you sign
These 8 questions make quotes comparable, whoever they come from, us included. Ask for the answers in writing, so they end up in the contract.
- What is in the monthly price, and what is extra?
- Is there a fee per alarm check, per call-out or per visit? A busy month should not be a surprise on the invoice.
- What do delivery, set-up and collection cost?
- What is the minimum term, and what notice ends it?
- Who pays if the kit is damaged or stolen?
- What happens when the mobile signal drops? Does the machine stop, and who is told?
- Who decides to call the police, and through whom? The answer should be the same in the contract, at your alarm receiving centre and in your control room.
- Where is the video kept, who can see it, and for how long? Ask for the data protection impact assessment.
Questions
Is VAT added to the £989?
Yes. Prices are ex VAT, and VAT at 20% is added on the invoice, which makes £1,186.80 a month. VAT-registered businesses reclaim it.
Can I buy the robot outright?
No. Outwarden is a service only. That way keeping it running every night is our problem rather than yours, and you are never left with a machine on the yard that nobody maintains.
Is there a fee for each alarm check?
No. Alarm checks are unlimited, with no per-check fee. Fair use is up to 500 checks a month; past that, you get a call from us, not an invoice.
What about several robots, or weekly hire for a construction site?
Both are priced on the call, as is an operator reserved for one site. One robot reaches about 100 m from where it stands, so bigger yards take more than one. Security companies get partner rates.
Is there a set-up or delivery fee?
No. Delivery and set-up are in the monthly price, and the first 30 nights are free. Installation takes one day and needs one 230 V socket, 4G or 5G coverage, hard-standing and a fence.