Buying guide

Ameca vs Unitree R1 in 2026

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

Key differences

On DEPLOY's record, Ameca has more verified real-world deployments (2 versus 1) than Unitree R1 as of 2026; DEPLOY counts a deployment only when confirmed at a named site with a primary source.

Unitree R1 has the lower recorded price.
Ameca has more verified real-world deployments (2 vs 1).

Attribute	Ameca View full model page →	No image on file Unitree R1 View full model page →
Manufacturer	Engineered Arts	Unitree Robotics
Form factor	humanoid	humanoid
Maturity	commercial	commercial
Autonomy	—	◐ not independently verified
Availability	shipping-nowshipping	preorder-openpreorder
Price	$250,000 (actual sale price)	$4,900-$10,500 (actual sale price)
Capability claims	—	Picks and packs (demo-only, demonstrated-once)
Brain	—	UnifoLM (world-model)
Verified deployments	2Engineered Arts, Engineered Arts	1Unitree Robotics
Privacy practices	—	—
Sources on file	13	9

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Ameca

Unitree R1

Editorial summaries

Ameca

Ameca, from UK-based Engineered Arts, is the famous expressive humanoid: 61 actuated movements (27 DoF head/face plus 34 DoF upper body), 50+ facial expressions, and conversational AI via the Tritium software with LLM and speech integration (Generation 3 shown at ICRA 2025). It is a stationary communication and showpiece robot, not a mobile general-purpose worker.

It is commercially offered for purchase and rental at about $250,000. The expressiveness and conversation are real; what it is not is a walking, working humanoid.

Unitree R1

The R1 is Unitree's price-floor entry into the same research-and-developer category as the G1, lowering the cost barrier to humanoid hardware for hobbyists, education, and capability researchers. The three R1 configurations differ in capability rather than presenting a buyer-tier ladder; the EDU variant adds the research-platform extensions a lab would want.

Unitree describes R1 as developer-tool hardware, with the published specs as the verifiable substance and no commercial deployment record on file. The verified-vs-claimed lens applies differently to a developer platform: hardware credibility is the relevant claim, commercial deployment is not yet in scope.

Common questions

How do Ameca and Unitree R1 differ?

On DEPLOY's record, Ameca has more verified real-world deployments (2 versus 1) than Unitree R1 as of 2026; DEPLOY counts a deployment only when confirmed at a named site with a primary source. Unitree R1 has the lower recorded price. Ameca has more verified real-world deployments (2 vs 1).

What is the difference between Ameca and Unitree R1?

Ameca and Unitree R1 are both humanoid 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, Ameca or Unitree R1?

Unitree R1 has the lower recorded price on the DEPLOY registry than Ameca. Prices are sourced; see each record for whether the figure is a manufacturer target, an estimate, or an actual sale price.

Is Ameca or Unitree R1 more autonomous?

On the DEPLOY registry, neither Ameca nor Unitree R1 has capabilities independently verified as fully autonomous yet; their recorded capabilities are teleoperated-assisted, demonstrated, or vendor-claimed. See the table for each capability's verification status.

Which has more verified deployments, Ameca or Unitree R1?

Ameca has more verified deployments (2) on the DEPLOY registry than Unitree R1 (1). DEPLOY counts a deployment only when confirmed at a named site with a primary source.

Recent coverage

Spain’s second S80 submarine conducts first static dive trialAmeca · Naval Technology · 2026-07-31
Navantia conducts first dive of 2nd S80 submarine ‘Narciso Monturiol’Ameca · Naval News · 2026-07-31
Chinese robot maker Unitree wins approval for 619 million Shanghai IPOUnitree R1 · Ben Smith, Deploy Editor · 2026-07-02
Unitree R1 Offers Humanoid Movement at a Price That Finally Opens the Door for Real-World Buyers - TechEBlog -Unitree R1 · Google News · 2026-06-29

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Which humanoid robots can you actually buy in 2026?Answer The verified list.Humanoid robot prices: every verified figureAnswer The verified list.All humanoidsRegistry Every verified record in the category.AmecaModel The full model page.Unitree R1Model The full model page.Engineered ArtsRecord The maker's verified record.

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