Unitree Robotics · Entry-level humanoid
Unitree R1
The cheapest walking humanoid anyone can buy: 1.23m, 29kg and a $4,900 starting price that reset the bottom of the market.
- Height
- 1.23 m
- Weight
- ≈29 kg
- Degrees of freedom
- 20-26 DOF
- Battery life
- ≈1 hour
Availability
Orderable straight from Unitree's store with no sales call, in white or red. Air and standard editions check out directly; EDU requires contacting sales.
Pricing and availability verified July 31, 2026. Robot pricing moves faster than the hardware does — confirm on the manufacturer's own page before ordering.
Where to buy
| Seller | What you get | Price | Regions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unitree official store | R1 AirShipping quoted separately at roughly $300-$1,200 depending on destination. | $4,900 | Global, subject to export rules | Visit |
| Unitree official store | R1 standard | $5,900 | Global, subject to export rules | Visit |
| Unitree official store | R1 EDU with open joint controlSupports secondary development and customisation; contact sales. | Quote | Global, subject to export rules | Visit |
$4,900 buys the R1 Air. The standard R1 is $5,900, and the R1 EDU — the only edition with open joint-level control — is quote-only. Shipping adds roughly $300-$1,200.
Strengths and limitations
What works
- The lowest price of any humanoid you can actually check out and buy
- Light enough for one person to lift and move
- Open joint and sensor interfaces on the EDU edition
- Multimodal speech and vision built in rather than bolted on
What does not
- Roughly one hour of runtime, the shortest here
- Too small and light for meaningful manipulation work
- Joint-level control is locked behind the quote-only EDU edition
- Hands cost extra
Watch the Unitree R1
“Unitree Introducing | Unitree R1 Intelligent Companion” — official video from Unitree Robotics on YouTube.
Full specifications
Overview
| Type | Bipedal humanoid |
|---|---|
| Maker | Unitree Robotics |
| Announced | July 2025 |
| Editions | R1 Air, R1, R1 EDU |
| Intended use | Education, developers, entry-level research |
Body
| Height | 1.23 m |
|---|---|
| Weight | ≈29 kg |
| Colours | White or red |
Actuation
| Degrees of freedom | 20-26 depending on edition |
|---|---|
| Head | 2 DOF |
| Hands | Optional add-on |
Compute
| Onboard compute | 8-core CPU; Jetson Orin (40-100 TOPS) on EDU |
|---|---|
| Audio | 4-microphone array |
| Vision | Binocular camera |
| AI | Integrated multimodal speech and vision |
Power
| Battery | Quick-release pack |
|---|---|
| Runtime | ≈1 hour |
Software
| Interfaces | Open joint and sensor interfaces on EDU |
|---|---|
| Setup | No calibration required out of the box |
Unitree R1 news and updates
R1-D undercuts the R1 at $4,290
Unitree's store now lists an R1-D starting at $4,290, below the R1's own $4,900 entry point. It makes the R1 family the cheapest route to a humanoid by a wide margin — every other humanoid in this directory with a public price starts at more than triple that.
Source: Unitree store ↗Unitree launches the R1 at $5,900
The R1 undercut the G1 by more than half and pushed the entry price for a walking humanoid below $6,000, with an Air edition later listed at $4,900.
Source: Unitree ↗
Frequently asked questions
How much does the Unitree R1 cost?
The R1 Air is $4,900 and the standard R1 is $5,900, both at Unitree's own checkout. Shipping adds roughly $300-$1,200. The R1 EDU, which unlocks joint-level control, is quote-only.
Is the R1 better value than the G1?
It is cheaper, not better. At 1.23m and 29kg with about an hour of runtime, the R1 is a learning and demonstration platform. If you intend to do manipulation research, the G1's extra height, payload and battery are worth the difference.
Unitree R1 alternatives
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