BackgroundRobot-assisted distal pancreatectomy (RDP) has been suggested to hold some benefits over laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy (LDP) but consensus and data on specific subgroups are lacking. This systematic review and meta-analysis reports the surgical and oncological outcome and costs between RDP and LDP including subgroups with intended spleen preservation and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).MethodsStudies comparing RDP and LDP were included from PubMed, Cochrane Central Register, and Embase (inception-July 2022). Primary outcomes were conversion and unplanned splenectomy. Secondary outcomes were R0 resection, lymph node yield, major morbidity, operative time, intraoperative blood loss, in-hospital mortality, operative costs, total costs and hospital stay.ResultsOverall, 43 studies with 6757 patients were included, 2514 after RDP and 4243 after LDP. RDP was associated with a longer operative time (MD = 18.21, 95% CI 2.18–34.24), less blood loss (MD = 54.50, 95% CI ﻿− 84.49–24.50), and a lower conversion rate (OR = 0.44, 95% CI﻿ 0.36–0.55) compared to LDP. In spleen-preserving procedures, RDP was associated with more Kimura procedures (OR = 2.23, 95% CI﻿ 1.37–3.64) and a lower rate of unplanned splenectomies (OR = 0.32, 95% CI﻿ 0.24–0.42). In patients with PDAC, RDP was associated with a higher lymph node yield (MD = 3.95, 95% CI ﻿1.67–6.23), but showed no difference in the rate of R0 resection (OR = 0.96, 95% CI﻿ 0.67–1.37). RDP was associated with higher total (MD = 3009.31, 95% CI ﻿1776.37–4242.24) and operative costs (MD = 3390.40, 95% CI ﻿1981.79–4799.00).ConclusionsRDP was associated with a lower conversion rate, a higher spleen preservation rate and, in patients with PDAC, a higher lymph node yield and similar R0 resection rate, as compared to LDP. The potential benefits of RDP need to be weighed against the higher total and operative costs in future randomized trials.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00464-023-09894-y.