Every shop owner looking at a first cobot eventually asks the same question: FANUC or Universal Robots? Both brands show up in nearly every machine-tending and material-handling conversation in Middle Tennessee right now, and both make a good cobot. The real decision comes down to payload, reach, and what the integration actually costs once tooling and programming are added in. Here’s that comparison laid out plainly, the way we’d walk through it with a customer at the shop.
The short answer
If you’re tending a CNC lathe or mill with parts under 10 kg, either platform will do the job and the choice comes down to your controls ecosystem and who’s integrating it. If you’re moving heavier parts, palletizing, or running a welding cell, payload class narrows the field fast, and that’s where the two lineups actually separate.
Payload and reach, side by side
Pricing below is typical street pricing for the robot arm alone, pulled from integrator and reseller listings since neither FANUC nor Universal Robots publishes official list prices. Treat it as a planning range, not a quote.
FANUC CRX series
- CRX-5iA: 5 kg payload, 994 mm reach, roughly $40,000 to $65,000
- CRX-10iA/L: 10 kg payload, 1,418 mm reach
- CRX-25iA: 25 kg payload, 1,889 mm reach, roughly $65,000 to $75,000
- CRX-30iA: 30 kg payload, 1,756 mm reach
Universal Robots e-Series and UR20
- UR3e: 3 kg payload, 500 mm reach, roughly $23,000 to $30,000
- UR5e: 5 kg payload, 850 mm reach, roughly $30,000 to $45,000
- UR10e: 12.5 kg payload, 1,300 mm reach, roughly $45,000 to $60,000
- UR16e: 16 kg payload, 900 mm reach, roughly $57,000 to $65,000
- UR20: 20 kg payload, 1,750 mm reach, roughly $65,000 to $85,000 and up
Lined up that way, Universal Robots covers the light end (3 to 5 kg) more cheaply, and FANUC’s CRX-25iA and CRX-30iA push further into heavy-payload territory than anything UR currently ships. If your part, fixture, and gripper together land north of 20 kg, FANUC is the shorter list.
What you actually pay for
The robot arm is rarely the real number on the quote. Plan on adding, on top of the arm itself:
- End-of-arm tooling: grippers, vacuum cups, or weld torches, typically $2,000 to $15,000 depending on the application
- Vision and safety: cameras, light curtains, or safety-rated area scanning if the cell isn’t fully enclosed
- Integration and programming: the labor to mount the arm, build the cell, and get it running your actual part, which often runs $5,000 to $30,000 on top of hardware for a straightforward machine-tending cell
A fully integrated, turnkey robotic welding cell, arm plus positioner plus fixturing plus programming, typically lands in the $150,000 to $250,000-plus range, which is a different conversation than tending a single CNC.
Where FANUC CRX tends to win
If your shop already runs FANUC CNC controls, or you’re building toward a FANUC-heavy floor, keeping the robot brand the same simplifies training, spare parts, and who you call when something’s down. FANUC’s CRX line also reaches higher payloads (25 and 30 kg) than UR’s current lineup, which matters for heavier parts, pallet loads, or dual-purpose cells that do both machine tending and simple material handling.
Where Universal Robots tends to win
UR built the collaborative robot category and it shows in the ecosystem: the UR+ marketplace has the widest range of third-party grippers, vision kits, and quick-change tooling of any cobot platform, which can shrink both cost and lead time on a first cell. For light-duty tending, a UR3e or UR5e is usually the lower-cost way into automation, and the installed base in Middle Tennessee means operators and maintenance techs with UR experience aren’t hard to find.
The question that actually matters
Neither brand is wrong. The question that decides it is: what’s the heaviest part, fixture, and gripper this cell will ever need to move, and does your shop’s existing control platform make one brand the easier long-term fit? Answer that, and the lineup above narrows itself.
How we help you decide
We’re a FANUC Authorized System Integrator and we also build and program Universal Robots cells, so we’re not steering you toward one brand to protect a dealership. Our owner holds CMSE certification, we’re ITAR registered, and we run an AS9100 Rev D quality system, so the same cell that tends your CNC can be built to the documentation standard an aerospace or defense customer expects. We’ll look at your actual part, your actual floor space, and your actual budget before we recommend a platform.
FAQ
Q: Can a cobot really work without a safety cage?
A: Often, yes, if the application, speed, and force stay within the cobot’s rated collaborative limits. A risk assessment decides that, not a guess, and some applications (high speed, sharp tooling, heavy payloads) still need guarding regardless of brand.
Q: Do I need a different robot for welding versus machine tending?
A: Not necessarily the arm itself, but welding adds a positioner, fume extraction, and welding-specific software that changes the integration cost significantly more than it changes which brand you pick.
Q: Is a used cobot a reasonable way to get started?
A: Refurbished units, often $10,000 to $40,000, can be a reasonable entry point, but check the warranty and software version before you buy, since an older controller can limit which third-party tooling you can run.
Q: How long does a typical machine-tending cell take to integrate?
A: A straightforward single-machine tending cell usually runs a few weeks from kickoff to running production, once the part, fixture, and gripper are finalized. Multi-machine or welding cells take longer.
Q: Can you support both FANUC and UR if we’re not sure yet which way we’re going?
A: Yes. Send us the part and the application and we’ll quote both ways so you’re comparing real numbers, not guesses.
Ready to compare real numbers for your part?
Send us the print and we’ll quote the cell both ways, FANUC and Universal Robots, so you can see the actual cost difference for your application. Request a quote at blackpearlllc.com.