Planning tool

Understanding the five-year cost of VR.

Compare the cost of delivering the same number and duration of learner sessions across 6 DoF, Class Lab, and SVR. Change the assumptions to match your environment.

Why total cost matters

The headset has a price. Using it has a cost.

A VR programme can consume both direct cash and paid staff time. Hardware may create an invoice; supervision, IT/support, charging, cleaning, storage, and routine checking may instead be absorbed inside existing staffing. Both matter when comparing the cost of delivering learning.

This calculator is a planning tool, not a definitive cost claim. Major operational assumptions are visible or adjustable so schools, training organisations, and corporate learning teams can use figures that reflect their own environment.

Learning and utilisation

These inputs determine how many learner sessions are delivered. The same session count is used for all three systems.

Number of headsets15-minute sessions per dayDefault 12 = 3 hours/day. Maximum 24 = 6 hours/day.Active learning days per yearDefault 180. Schools can use school days; organisations can enter their expected active days.

Labour rates

Absorbed staff cost may not create a new invoice, but it represents paid staff time used by the VR activity.

Labour-rate presetPreset rates are in USD and can be replaced with your own rate in the Full Calculator.Instructor hourly rate (USD)IT hourly rate (% of instructor rate)Current IT rate: $46.50/hr.

Supervision

Enter concurrent users per instructor. Effective concurrency is capped at the number of headsets available; 0 for SVR means no dedicated supervision.

6 DoF users supervised by one instructorDefault 2. Current effective concurrency: 2.Class Lab users supervised by one instructorDefault 30. Current effective concurrency: 4.SVR users supervised by one instructorDefault 0 assumes one seated, self-directed learner while the teacher continues normal classroom instruction.

IT and technical support

Enter recurring IT/support hours per device per year. Annual hours scale with headset quantity and remain separate from routine physical handling.

6 DoF IT/support hours per device/yearDefault 15. Current annual total: 60 hours.Class Lab IT/support hours per device/yearDefault 6. Current annual total: 24 hours.SVR IT/support hours per device/yearDefault 0 for ordinary offline use. Current annual total: 0 hours.

Routine device handling

This common physical-handling baseline applies equally to all three systems for charging, cleaning, storage, and routine visual checks. Technical setup/support is counted separately above.

Routine handling minutes per active day per group of up to 30 devicesDefault 6 minutes/day per group of up to 30 devices. At the Canada labour-rate preset, that is about $1,962/year, or $9,810 over five years, per system.

Current handling calculation: 1 group × 6 minutes × 180 active days × 5 years = 90 hours per system.

Hardware / direct cash assumptions

The defaults are $600 per device for 6 DoF and $500 per device for Class Lab. Enter your expected five-year hardware spend if it differs.

6 DoF hardware cost per device over 5 yearsInclude replacement purchases here if you expect them during the five-year period.Class Lab hardware cost per device over 5 years

SVR volume price: $1,239.52 per device at 4 devices; $4,958 total hardware/direct cash cost. Reduces significantly with volume purchasing.

Current comparison volume: 2,160 sessions/device/year · 8,640 learner sessions/system/year · 43,200 learner sessions/system over five years.

Built-in assumptions and capacity context

Five-year analysis period and 15-minute learner sessions.
Current utilisation: 12 sessions/device/active day across 180 active days/year. Defaults are 12 sessions and 180 days.
Six hours of daily use would equal 24 sessions/day, or 4,320 sessions/device over a 180-day year.
Current supervision targets: 6 DoF 2 users, Class Lab 30 users, and SVR 0. Effective concurrency never exceeds the headset count.
SVR supervision 0 assumes one seated, self-directed learner while the teacher continues normal classroom instruction.
Current IT/support hours per device/year: 6 DoF 15, Class Lab 6, and SVR 0. Defaults are 15, 6, and 0; annual totals scale with headset quantity.
Current routine physical handling for all systems: 6 minutes per active day for each group of up to 30 devices.
IT/support labour is currently 75% of the $62.00/hr instructor rate.
SVR hardware uses the existing quantity-based volume-pricing curve.

Current calculation: 8,640 learner sessions per system per year and 43,200 over five years. For example, 1 headset used once per day for 180 active days delivers 180 learner sessions/year, or 900 over five years. The calculator changes cost assumptions, not the amount of learning being compared.

Five-year comparison

Cost of delivering the same number and duration of learner sessions

43,200 learner sessions per system over five years

6 DoF

Cost per 15-minute learner session

$8.26

5-year Total Cost of Ownership$356,730

Direct cash: $2,400
Absorbed staff: $354,330

Class Lab

Cost per 15-minute learner session

$4.18

5-year Total Cost of Ownership$180,560

Direct cash: $2,000
Absorbed staff: $178,560

SVR

Cost per 15-minute learner session

$0.24

5-year Total Cost of Ownership$10,538

Direct cash: $4,958
Absorbed staff: $5,580

Absorbed staff cost does not necessarily mean a new invoice or additional salary expense. It represents paid staff time consumed by supervision, IT/support, and routine device handling.

Five-year comparison	6 DoF	Class Lab	SVR
Direct cash cost (hardware)	$2,400	$2,000	$4,958
Effective supervised users	2	4	No dedicated supervision
Supervision hours (5 years)	5,400	2,700	0
Supervision staff cost	$334,800	$167,400	$0
IT/support hours per device/year	15	6	0
IT/support hours (5 years)	300	120	0
IT/support cost	$13,950	$5,580	$0
Routine device-handling hours	90	90	90
Routine device-handling cost	$5,580	$5,580	$5,580
Total absorbed staff cost	$354,330	$178,560	$5,580
Learner sessions per year	8,640	8,640	8,640
Total learner sessions (5 years)	43,200	43,200	43,200
5-year Total Cost of Ownership	$356,730	$180,560	$10,538
Cost per 15-minute learner session	$8.26	$4.18	$0.24

Utilisation

Use it more. Pay less per learner.

Fixed costs are spread across more learning sessions as utilisation increases.

System	Current · 12/day	Higher use · 24/day
6 DoF	$8.26	$8.00
Class Lab	$4.18	$4.03
SVR	$0.24	$0.12

Sensitivity check

Give the alternative the benefit of the doubt.

Lower utilisation and more generous 6 DoF supervision assumptions can be tested without changing the underlying comparison.

6 DoF: $4.89
SVR: $0.49
Calculated ratio: 10×

Scenario: 6 sessions/device/day and a 6 DoF target of 5 concurrent users, capped at 4 by the available headsets.

What is not included

Comparable third-party content costs, professional development, optional MDM or platform subscriptions, breakage, replacement accessories, facilities or room costs, and other organisation-specific expenses are not included unless explicitly entered.

SVR includes more than the hardware.

SVR pricing includes a large offline learning-content library with a perpetual content licence. It also includes MySense-VR (MSVR), Sensible-VR’s offline authoring tool, allowing schools and organisations to create and use their own VR learning and training content without requiring an ongoing online platform or content-creation subscription.

MySense-VR is included with SVR. No separate authoring subscription is added in this calculator.

Explore MySense-VR

Change the assumptions. The calculator should still make sense.The headset has a price. Using it has a cost.

Want to test your own assumptions?

Talk with Sensible-VR about the operating model behind your VR plan.

Contact Sensible-VR