DEPLOY

Buying guide

Apollo RT6 vs Waymo Driver (6th gen) in 2026

Comparing 2 humanoid robots across availability, pricing, capabilities, and verified deployments. Current as of 2026.

Key differences

On DEPLOY's record, Waymo Driver (6th gen) has more verified real-world deployments (29 versus 6) than Apollo RT6 as of 2026; DEPLOY counts a deployment only when confirmed at a named site with a primary source.

  • Waymo Driver (6th gen) has the lower recorded price.
  • Waymo Driver (6th gen) has more verified real-world deployments (29 vs 6).
Attribute
Apollo RT6 (Baidu). Image by S5A-0043, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (Wikidata Q135645517). Re-hosted on the DEPLOY blob store from the Commons original.
Apollo RT6View full model page →
A Waymo Jaguar I-PACE robotaxi near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, with riders beside it. Waymo operates fully driverless (no safety operator) within geofenced areas; the Waymo Driver is the autonomous system, distinct from the vehicle.
Waymo Driver (6th gen)View full model page →
ManufacturerBaiduWaymo
Form factoravav
Maturitycommercialcommercial
Autonomy✓ 1 verified autonomous✓ 1 verified autonomous
Availabilityinternal-onlyenterpriseinternal-onlyenterprise
Price$37,000 (manufacturer target)$10-$20 (actual sale price)
Capability claims
  • Transports passengers (autonomous, verified)
  • Transports passengers (autonomous, verified)
Brain
Verified deployments629
Privacy practices8capture-indicator, location-tracking, location-tracking, third-party-sharing, data-retention, training-data-use, data-deletion-control, third-party-sharing11capture-indicator, training-data-use, location-tracking, data-sale, training-data-use, location-tracking, capture-indicator, data-sale, third-party-sharing, data-retention, data-deletion-control
Sources on file4377

Track this matchup

Get told the moment Apollo RT6 or Waymo Driver (6th gen) changes. Verified changes only, the second they are real. No press-release noise.

Apollo RT6

Verified changes only. No press-release noise.

Waymo Driver (6th gen)

Verified changes only. No press-release noise.

Editorial summaries

Apollo RT6

Baidu's Apollo RT6 is the company's sixth-generation autonomous robotaxi: a purpose-built battery-electric vehicle (a cross between an SUV and a minivan, with a detachable steering wheel) on Baidu's Apollo Galaxy / Xinghe self-driving platform, powering the Apollo Go fully-driverless commercial ride-hailing service across Chinese cities and some international markets. There is no consumer price: it is a robotaxi service vehicle, not sold to consumers.

Baidu manufactures it without relying on a third-party automaker at roughly 204,600 RMB (about $28,600) per vehicle, about half the cost of the prior generation: a verified per-vehicle build cost (from Baidu's disclosures), not a consumer price. It is one of the Chinese commercial-at-scale anchors of the robotaxi cluster.

Waymo Driver (6th gen)

The sixth-generation Waymo Driver is Waymo's autonomous-driving stack for fully autonomous robotaxi service, and the verified-commercial anchor of DEPLOY's robotaxi cluster. There is no consumer price: a Waymo is a ride service, not a vehicle sold to consumers. It integrates 13 cameras, 4 lidars, 6 radars, and external audio receivers with up to roughly 500m detection range, using 42% fewer sensors than the 5th-gen Jaguar I-PACE system, and runs on the purpose-built Zeekr RT (sold as the 'Ojai', no steering wheel or pedals) and the Hyundai IONIQ 5.

It began fully autonomous commercial operations in February 2026. One verified-vs-claimed cap-flag: Waymo states a per-unit hardware cost target under $20,000 (a more-than-50% reduction from the 5th-gen system), but that is a stated manufacturing target, not a consumer price.

Common questions

How do Apollo RT6 and Waymo Driver (6th gen) differ?
On DEPLOY's record, Waymo Driver (6th gen) has more verified real-world deployments (29 versus 6) than Apollo RT6 as of 2026; DEPLOY counts a deployment only when confirmed at a named site with a primary source. Waymo Driver (6th gen) has the lower recorded price. Waymo Driver (6th gen) has more verified real-world deployments (29 vs 6).
What is the difference between Apollo RT6 and Waymo Driver (6th gen)?
Apollo RT6 and Waymo Driver (6th gen) are both av robots on the DEPLOY registry. They differ in maker, maturity, price, verified deployments, and how much of their autonomy is independently verified. See the table above for the full head-to-head; each figure is sourced.
Which is cheaper, Apollo RT6 or Waymo Driver (6th gen)?
Waymo Driver (6th gen) has the lower recorded price on the DEPLOY registry than Apollo RT6. Prices are sourced; see each record for whether the figure is a manufacturer target, an estimate, or an actual sale price.
Is Apollo RT6 or Waymo Driver (6th gen) more autonomous?
Apollo RT6 and Waymo Driver (6th gen) have a comparable number of capabilities independently verified as autonomous on the DEPLOY registry. The table shows each capability's verified-vs-claimed status.
Which has more verified deployments, Apollo RT6 or Waymo Driver (6th gen)?
Waymo Driver (6th gen) has more verified deployments (29) on the DEPLOY registry than Apollo RT6 (6). DEPLOY counts a deployment only when confirmed at a named site with a primary source.

Recent coverage

Related comparisons

Keep researching

Keep reading

Robotaxi safety record: every recall, crash, and investigationAnswer The verified list.Where can you actually ride a robotaxi in 2026?Answer The verified list.All robotaxisRegistry Every verified record in the category.Apollo RT6Model The full model page.Waymo Driver (6th gen)Model The full model page.BaiduRecord The maker's verified record.

Ask the registry

For AI assistants

Use DEPLOY in Claude, Cursor, and other AI assistants

Connect any MCP-aware assistant to the live registry. Ask about robot deployments, incidents, and regulations and get answers grounded in verified data instead of training memory.

Install instructionsDownload for Claude Desktop

Machine-readable: this page as markdown.

← Back to all consumer robots