K1 vs R1
Booster Robotics K1, Unitree Robotics R1 compared on the things that decide a purchase: price, capability, what actually ships, and estimated costs to your destination.
Delivered price, head to head
Base-machine prices delivered to United States, by the cheapest route on record.
Booster Robotics
K1
$5,999
at Maverick Drone, delivered
Lowest delivered price
Unitree Robotics
R1
$8,888
to $9,432 landed
Delivered to United States: the import estimate (machine plus freight, Sales tax (0%), robot duty, and broker), or a seller in your own market where one lists the machine for less. Accessories excluded. Check configuration and request a seller quote on each robot's datasheet.
About 40% on China-origin collected today: the 2.5% MFN base, 25% Section 301 List 1, and the 12.5% Section 301 forced-labor duty effective 24 Jul 2026 with no expiry. It began the same morning the 10% Section 122 surcharge lapsed, so the total rose from about 37.5% rather than falling to 27.5%. Confirm the live rate before ordering. Under review; next checked 2026-10-30.
Compare the details
20 rows, 12 with differences
Scroll within the table to see all details. Model names and row labels stay visible. Unknown specifications remain marked as not published.
| Specification |  Booster Robotics K1 |  Unitree Robotics R1 |
|---|---|---|
| Priced configuration | See seller configuration | R1 |
| Listed price | €9,000 | $5,900 |
| Class | Dev / demo | Dev / demo |
| Who can buy | Consumer | Consumer |
| Status | Shipping now | Shipping now |
| Capability rating | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Maturity rating | 5/5 | 5/5 |
| Origin | China | China |
| Size class | Compact | Compact |
| Height | 95 cm / 3 ft 1 in | 123 cm / 4 ft 0 in |
| Footprint (W x D) | 40 x 22 cm | 36 x 19 cm |
| Weight | 19.5 kg | 29 kg |
| Degrees of freedom | 22 | 26 |
| Battery (listed) | 30 min | 60 min |
| Payload (listed) | Not published | 2 kg |
| Hands | Hands sold separately | No hands, none offered |
| Out of the box | Among the most functional at its price: walks day one, remote and app control, demo motions, voice/LLM interaction, and a proven autonomous soccer stack (RoboCup 2025 KidSize champion lineage). Widely used for demos with zero code. | Walks, runs, gets up after a fall and performs Unitree's preset motions (dances, kung fu, handstands) from the handheld remote or the phone app, and holds voice and image conversations through its onboard multimodal AI. Compared with the Air it adds a 2-joint waist, a 2-joint head and a depth camera. It runs Unitree's programs only. |
| Development access | Open across ALL tiers (unlike Unitree R1): Python/C++ APIs, ROS 2, Booster Studio IDE, open-source RoboCup framework, and sim support (Isaac, MuJoCo, Webots, Gazebo). Tiers differ by compute, not by SDK lock. | Unitree's specification table, its store and its IPO prospectus all say only the EDU is configured for secondary development; the R1 and R1 Air run Unitree's own programs from standard commands. |
| Best for | Schools, RoboCup teams, and labs that want an affordable, fully open, competition-proven development platform. | Events, showrooms, schools and enthusiasts who want an agile walking humanoid to demonstrate, not to program. |
| Listing checked | 2026-10: sources for Booster Robotics K1 | 2026-10: sources for Unitree Robotics R1 |
Listed prices may cover different configurations and tax terms. Use the delivered estimates above for your destination. Battery and payload figures are manufacturer specifications, not results from a shared test.
K1
In the box
- Robot (fully assembled)
- Remote control
- Charger
- Documentation
- Transport case (Edu/Pro tiers)
- 6 months Doubao LLM access (China config)
Not included
- Hands or grippers (arms are 4-DOF with no end effector)
- Longer warranty on lower tiers (3 months on Geek)
- Charging dock
R1
In the box
- R1 robot (26 joints, fixed hands)
- Smart quick-release battery (about 1 hour)
- Handheld remote controller
- Charger
- Stand that assembles into a hanging bracket
Not included
- Secondary development (R1 EDU only)
- Dexterous hands or grippers
- A high-power compute module (EDU option)
- Spare battery ($500 on Unitree's store)
- Import duties and taxes when buying direct
What the evidence tells you
- Highest capability rating
- K1 and R1 share 3/5 (tied).
- Highest maturity rating
- K1 and R1 share 5/5 (tied).
- Lowest listed weight
- K1: 19.5 kg.
Capability and maturity are editorial ratings based on specifications and sales availability. They do not measure reliability, autonomy, or performance on your task. Each datasheet shows the scoring factors.