Robotics market
Professional service robot sales jumped 24% to almost 250,000
Almost 250,000 professional service robots were sold in 2025, 24% more than the year before. All three of IFR's service robot segments grew by double digits.
Transport and logistics led with 117,500 units, up 21% and 47% of the professional market. Medical robots grew 19%, with surgical robots the main driver at 8,400 units and 57% growth. Consumer service robots, mostly domestic machines, rose 37% to almost 34.2 million. IFR also notes that robot-as-a-service models keep gaining ground and are already the dominant business model in the US.
This page traces each segment to IFR's service robot release and keeps the three segments apart, because they are counted separately and differ enormously in scale.
Data covers Global service robot sales in 2025 by segment (IFR World Robotics 2026 Service Robots release, September 2026). Published 2026-10-06. Last reviewed 2026-10-06. Last updated 2026-10-06. Edited by Mike Ramsey / Reliable Media.
The figures and where they come from
Each figure is rated for how safely you can cite it today. Ratings judge current usability, not whether a number was ever correct.
| Figure | What it is | Source | Citation Confidence | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| almost 250,000 (+24%) | Professional service robots sold | [A] | High | The professional segment only; medical and consumer robots are counted separately. |
| 117,500 (+21%) | Transport and logistics robots | [A] | High | The top application, up 21%. |
| 47% | Logistics share of professional sales | [A] | High | Close to half of the professional segment. |
| +19% | Medical robots, growth | [A] | High | A separate IFR segment. |
| 8,400 (+57%) | Surgical robots | [A] | High | IFR names surgical robots the main driver of medical robot growth. |
| almost 34.2 million (+37%) | Consumer service robots | [A] | High | Mostly domestic robots for household tasks; a different scale from professional robots. |
| Dominant model | Robot-as-a-service in the US | [A] | Medium | IFR's statement, made in the context of logistics robots. |
| about 7,000 | Full-size humanoids | [A] | High | Reported in the same release; see the humanoid page. |
Why the numbers disagree
Three segments, three scales. Consumer robots number in the tens of millions, professional service robots in the hundreds of thousands, and surgical robots in the thousands. Adding them together, or quoting one segment's growth as service robot growth, produces figures that describe nothing in particular.
Units are not revenue. These are unit counts. A segment of expensive machines such as surgical robots can matter far more in value than its unit count suggests, and nothing in these figures measures value.
Sales are not fleet size. Under robot-as-a-service, robots are rented rather than bought, and IFR says that model is already dominant in the US. A sales count captures new units, not how many are working.
How to cite these figures
Cite almost 250,000 professional service robots sold in 2025, up 24%, from IFR World Robotics 2026 Service Robots.
Name the segment every time. Professional, medical and consumer service robots are separate IFR categories.
For logistics, cite 117,500 units and a 47% share of the professional market.
Where people go wrong
Calling 34.2 million service robot sales without saying consumer. It is the consumer segment only.
Folding medical robots into the 250,000. IFR reports medical robots as their own segment.
Reading unit growth as revenue growth. The release gives units only.
How we checked
All segment figures come from IFR's World Robotics 2026 service robot release. We quote each from the release and do not add them together.
IFR's service robot figures come from its annual survey of service robot producers, which is why totals carry qualifiers such as almost and why they are best read for scale and direction.
Our pages on 2024 service, logistics and medical robot sales remain as the record for that year; the figures here are their 2025 successors.
Full source list
Primary sources, with live links. Every figure above traces to one of these.
- [A]International Federation of Robotics (IFR)September 30, 2026
IFR, "Global Sales of Professional Service Robots Surge 24%" (World Robotics 2026 Service Robots release)
https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/global-sales-of-professional-service-robots-surge-24-percent
Common questions
- How many professional service robots were sold in 2025?
- Almost 250,000, up 24%, according to IFR World Robotics 2026 Service Robots.
- What is the biggest application for professional service robots?
- Transport and logistics, with 117,500 units sold in 2025, up 21% and 47% of the professional market.
- How many consumer robots were sold?
- Almost 34.2 million in 2025, up 37%, mostly domestic robots for household tasks.
- How fast are surgical robot sales growing?
- Surgical robots sold 8,400 units in 2025, up 57%, and IFR names them the main driver of growth in medical robotics, which grew 19% overall.
More data, traced to source
- About 7,000 full-size humanoid robots were sold in a year
IFR's World Robotics 2026 counts about 7,000 full-size humanoid robots, taller than 140 cm, sold worldwide in a year. Set beside nearly 250,000 professional service robots, it shows how far attention has run ahead of deployment.
- Professional service robots hit about 200,000 units in 2024
Sales of professional service robots reached almost 200,000 units in 2024, up 9%, with logistics robots the biggest slice. This is IFR sample data rather than a full-industry total. This page traces it.
- Logistics led professional service robot sales in 2024, up 14%
Transportation and logistics led professional service robot unit sales excluding medical in 2024, up 14%, ahead of hospitality, in a market of more than 199,000 units. Service robots, separate from factory arms. Traced to the IFR.
- Medical robot sales jumped 91% in 2024 to about 16,700 units
Medical robot sales rose 91% in 2024 to about 16,700 units, the standout growth story inside the IFR's service robot data. This is sample data rather than a full-industry total. This page traces it.