<p>Past scholarship has conceptualized companionship as shared leisure with intrinsic value of enjoyment. Today, the advent of social robots in various social roles raises the question as to whether robots can serve as companions and how such companionship compares to human companionship. This study addresses this question by analyzing individuals’ reflections on human companionship and robot companionship through real-life interactions with a home-based social robot. Over seven days, participants interacted with the robot, documented their experiences in diaries, and participated in semi-structured interviews. Our study suggests that human companionship features sharing/shared experiences, emotional and tangible support, reciprocal relational investment, and unpredictability. In contrast, robot companionship is valued more for its functional benefits and serves as a medium for channeling users’ emotions and reconfiguring users’ social networks. By juxtaposing human and robot companionship, our study offers an updated understanding of companionship and provides an entry point for redefining the concept.</p>