Where to buy a humanoid robot (and where not to)
Two makers will take your money for a walking humanoid today, Unitree and 1X, and the cheapest checkout is $4,900. Every US reseller sells the same Unitree hardware for $1,990 to $4,490 more, including Unitree's own Amazon storefront.
Where to buy a humanoid robot, in the middle of 2026, is a question with a very short answer. Unitree's own store lists six bipeds, from $4,290 to $100,000. 1X takes a $200 refundable deposit on a robot with no independently verified customer delivery as of 2026-08-04. Three US resellers carry Unitree hardware at a markup, and so, strangely, does Unitree, through its own Amazon storefront. That is the entire channel list for a US buyer as of 2026-08-07.
Everything else that turns up when you search is a quote request, a mislabeled toy, or a robot with no way to buy it at any price.
The whole map, in one table
Prices are what each seller displays. "Orderable" means a normal person can complete a checkout, not that a crate leaves this week.
| Robot | Where it actually sells | Price (2026-08-07) | Orderable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unitree R1 | shop.unitree.com | from $4,900 | Yes (R1 Air White backordered) |
| Unitree R1-D | shop.unitree.com | from $4,290 | Contact sales, no cart |
| Unitree G1 | shop.unitree.com | $13,500 | Yes, backordered |
| Unitree H2 / H1 / H2 Plus | shop.unitree.com | $29,900 / $90,000 / $100,000 | Yes (the H1 listing adds "Contact us for the real price") |
| Booster K1 | booster.tech | from $5,999 | No. "Buy Now" opens an inquiry form |
| Booster T1 / T2 | booster.tech | not shown | No, sales contact only |
| 1X NEO | 1x.tech/order | $20,000 or $499/mo, $200 fully refundable deposit | Deposit only, US deliveries start 2026 |
| Tesla Optimus | nowhere | no price page | No |
| Figure 03 | nowhere | not disclosed | No |
Booster's K1 carries a public "from $5,999" on the company's front page, and the button under it opens a form asking Booster to contact you, so the number is a quote you request. Figure's site has no store, no price, no waitlist and no reservation form. Its strongest call to action is a contact box reading "What's on your mind?".
What the maker-direct price leaves out
Unitree's checkout is the cheapest way to get a G1 or an R1, and the sticker is the beginning of the bill. Both product pages state that shipping costs between $300 and $1,200, that the "Customer is responsible for all applicable customs duties, taxes, and import clearance," and that a contactable phone number and email are required for clearance, with some countries also wanting a tax ID. Miss that step and the page warns the shipment can come back to the sender with extra freight charges on you.
I will not invent a duty figure for your address, because the rate turns on classification and on the week. Budget the $300 to $1,200 you can see, then expect a second bill from the border.
Two more lines on those pages matter more than buyers expect. The consumer G1 and R1 both say the product "does not support secondary development," pointing you at the quote-only EDU editions if you want to modify anything. And neither page states a warranty at all. The full price breakdown for the category is in how much a humanoid robot costs.
The dealer tier: same robot, plus $1,990 to $4,490
Three US sites resell Unitree humanoids, and their spread over the factory is remarkably consistent. Every figure below came off the seller's own product page.
| Channel | Unitree G1 (basic) | Cheapest R1 | Terms it states |
|---|---|---|---|
| shop.unitree.com (the maker) | $13,500 | $4,900 | Plus $300 to $1,200 shipping, buyer pays customs, no warranty stated. G1 backordered |
| Amazon, sold by "UnitreeRobotics" | $17,990.00 | $6,890.00 (R1 Air) | "Usually ships within 4 to 5 weeks" |
| RoboStore | $17,990.00 | $8,990.00 (R1 Basic) | In stock. Calls itself "The Official US Distributor of Unitree" |
| US Robot Store | $17,900.00 (from $20,900) | $7,500.00 (R1 Air) | "Price includes all applicable tariffs and shipping." Local pickup in Los Angeles |
| Futurology | $17,990.00 (from $21,600) | not listed | Marked "Coming soon," so not currently orderable |
So a G1 through a US channel runs $4,400 to $4,490 over the factory price, and the cheapest R1 runs $1,990 to $4,090 over. US Robot Store's R1 page says that price includes all applicable tariffs and shipping, which eats a real chunk of the gap before anyone has profited, and the same page lists a US phone number and pickup in Los Angeles. What the premium buys, above the hardware, is somebody else handling the border.
The warranty difference is the part I would pay for. Unitree's own consumer pages state none. US Robot Store lists 6 months on the R1 Air, 8 months on the R1, 12 months on the R1 EDU models, and 18 months across the G1 EDU line. Futurology's G1 Basic listing states 8 months. Short, by consumer-electronics standards. Longer than nothing, which is what the direct page offers.
The premium scales badly at the top of the range. RoboStore lists the H1 at $99,900 against Unitree's $90,000, the H2 at $40,900 against $29,900, and the H2 Plus at $150,000 against $100,000. A $50,000 premium on the flagship, and both H-series listings were marked sold out.
The oddest channel on the list: Unitree marking up Unitree
The G1 on Amazon is not a third-party flipper. The seller behind that listing is UnitreeRobotics, the maker's own storefront, charging $17,990.00 for the same "No Secondary Development" configuration that costs $13,500.00 on the company's website. The R1 Air is $6,890.00 there against $4,900.00 direct. Both quote 4 to 5 weeks.
One detail makes that channel useful as well as expensive. The R1 EDU is quote-only on Unitree's own store, "contact sales" with no number attached. On Amazon, the same maker lists R1 EDU (White) at $13,990.00, in public, next to a delivery estimate. The factory does publish a reference price for the SKU it will only discuss by email, just not on its own website. For the rest of that search page, most of which is not humanoid robots in any sense, see my page-1 census.
"Authorized dealer" is a claim you cannot check
RoboStore describes itself as the official US distributor of Unitree. So does US Robot Store. Futurology's page title says authorized US dealer. I have no evidence against any of them, and their prices line up with each other and with Unitree's own Amazon listing, which is what a real distribution agreement would look like from outside.
What I could not find is a maker-side list to check them against. Unitree's own site publishes no directory of authorized distributors, dealers or resellers: a store link, a customer-service console, a contact form, and nothing naming a partner. So the "official distributor" label is self-declared on every site carrying it. Read it as marketing, and let the warranty terms and the return policy carry the weight instead.
Where not to buy
Four pitches, none of which end with a robot on your porch.
- Any listing offering Tesla Optimus or a Figure robot. No consumer channel exists for either, at any price, from any seller. Tesla has never published an Optimus price page or reservation flow, and Figure sells to businesses. The dated record of what Tesla has promised is on the Optimus tracker.
- A price with no checkout. Booster's T1 ships worldwide and shows no price. Apptronik routes you to sales. Both are real companies, and neither is a place a consumer buys a robot today.
- Cheap "humanoid robots" on marketplaces. On the day I counted, page one of Amazon's humanoid robot search held 22 priced listings and three real humanoids. The rest were STEM kits, desk companions filed in the wrong category, and literal action figures.
- Any storefront pricing well below the maker. Nothing on this map discounts a Unitree humanoid. Every real channel charges the factory price or more, so a bargain G1 should read as a warning.
- A NEO order page that is not 1X's own. Fake storefronts for the one home humanoid currently taking deposits already exist, and the maker has had to say so in public. On April 2, 2026 1X replied to a would-be buyer who had found one: "This is a scam website," followed by an instruction to order NEO on the company's own domains exclusively.
1X tells a would-be buyer that the NEO order page he found is a scam website, and to order only on 1X's own domains. (@1x_tech, 2026-04-02)
The two-minute check before you pay
Open the maker's page in a second tab, then check five things. What the factory charges today, and the date. Who the seller of record is on the invoice, rather than the logo at the top of the page. What warranty is written down, since it runs from zero to 18 months depending on the channel. Who pays customs. And whether the SKU supports secondary development, because the consumer versions do not.
If you want the machine rather than the paperwork, the cheapest real checkout is still the R1 at $4,900, and what arrives is a developer platform you program. If you want the one sold as a home robot, the NEO preorder explainer covers the $200 deposit and the remote human who currently drives it. Live prices and stock sit on the tracker, including the G1, the R1 and NEO.
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