What is the cheapest usable quadruped from China in 2026?

The Unitree Go2 Air class, from ≈$1,600 EXW China. It walks and runs basic APIs, but lacks the SDK depth and compute of the research tier — fine for teaching and prototyping, not for research.

Go2 or Lite3 for a research lab?

Go2 has the larger ecosystem and the lower entry price, and most published baselines run on it; Deep Robotics Lite3 counters with a 7.5 kg payload and a maker focused on legged R&D. If your work builds on existing Go2 code, Go2; if you want the specialist platform, Lite3.

Why are the industrial models POA instead of listed prices?

Because at that tier price depends on payload, ingress sealing, sensor kit, and service scope — the X30 is quoted with its inspection kit per project, and the B2's 40+ kg payload class is configured to the job. Send your use case for a figure.

What does IP67 actually buy me on the X30?

Sealing that lets the robot work in rain and dust — the difference between an indoor demo and an outdoor substation or plant patrol. The education and research units carry no published IP rating; keep them dry.

Do these prices include shipping and duty?

No — all figures are EXW China. Add freight, your import duty/VAT, and (for US buyers) current tariffs. Verify customs classification with your broker; ask us for a landed-cost estimate via the RFQ form.

How current are these prices?

Indicative and as of 2026; list prices move and industrial units are project-quoted. For a verified figure on a specific configuration and country, send the model, quantity, and destination.

Quadruped Robot Price Guide 2026

Pick your tier first

Quadruped buying splits into three genuinely different markets. The chassis looks similar across them; what you actually pay for is capability, protection, and how far down the software stack you can reach.

Tier	Typical use	Models (catalog)	Price band (indicative, EXW China, 2026)
Education / entry	Walking, teaching, basic APIs, prototyping	Unitree Go2 Air	$1–5k (from ≈$1,600)
Research	Locomotion/RL research, perception payloads, low-level joint control	Unitree Go2 Pro / EDU · Deep Robotics Lite3	$1–5k (≈$2,400–2,800; EDU POA)
Industrial / inspection	IP-rated patrol, thermal/gas payloads, longer endurance, service depth	Deep Robotics X30 / X30 Pro · Unitree B2 / B2-W	POA

The jump from research to industrial is where the price stops being a list number and becomes a project quote — because at that tier you are buying an ingress rating, a payload budget, and a service organisation, not a robot on its own.

The catalog at a glance

These are the quadrupeds we quote, with the headline specs that separate the tiers. Performance figures are manufacturer-reported.

Model	Maker	Price band	Payload (walking)	Top speed	Endurance	Ingress	Lead
Go2 (Air / Pro / EDU)	Unitree	$1–5k (from ≈$1,600)	≈7–8 kg	≈3.5 m/s (EDU ~5)	—	—	2–6 wks
Lite3	Deep Robotics	$1–5k (from ≈$2,400)	7.5 kg	≈4 m/s	90 min · 5 km	—	2–6 wks
X30 / X30 Pro	Deep Robotics	POA	—	≥4 m/s	2.5–4 h · ≥10 km	IP67	4–8 wks
B2 / B2-W	Unitree	POA	40+ kg	6+ m/s	4–5 h · 15–20 km	—	4–8 wks

MOQ is 1 unit across the board. The X30 inspection kit is quoted per project; the B2 sits at roughly half of the Western reference price class (indicative), with a wheeled B2-W variant available.

What drives the price

Four levers move a quadruped's price far more than the leg count or the marketing tier name.

Payload. This is the biggest single driver at the top of the ladder. A Go2 or Lite3 carries roughly 7–8 kg walking — enough for a lidar, a small compute box, and a camera. A Unitree B2 carries 40+ kg walking. That order-of-magnitude payload jump means bigger actuators, a heavier structure, a larger battery, and a chassis engineered for continuous load — which is most of why B2-class machines are POA rather than list-priced.

Ingress protection (IP rating). Education and research units in the catalog carry no published IP rating — treat them as splash-resistant at best and keep them out of rain and dust. The Deep Robotics X30 is IP67, and that sealing is a large part of what you pay for at the inspection tier: it is the difference between a demo robot and one that patrols a substation or chemical plant in weather. Match the IP rating to the mission, not the video.

SDK openness. For research buyers this is the whole decision. The Go2 line spans Air, Pro, and EDU precisely because the tier decides how far into the stack you can reach — low-level joint control and high-compute options live in the upper tiers, which is why locomotion-learning work runs on Go2 EDU fleets rather than the consumer unit. If you are buying to publish, the EDU/research tier is the product; the entry unit is a demonstrator.

Onboard compute. Perception, mapping, and autonomy need a GPU or an accelerator on the robot, and higher compute options push price within a line. This ties back to SDK openness — the tier that unlocks joint-level control is usually also the tier that lets you specify the compute payload.

Tier by tier

Education / entry — from ≈$1,600

The Unitree Go2 Air is the reference entry point: it walks, runs basic APIs, and carries a light sensor payload, at a price (from ≈$1,600) that put quadrupeds within reach of teaching labs and prototyping benches. What it does not give you is deep SDK access or a serious compute option — buy it to learn the platform, not to run research on.

Research — ≈$2,400–2,800

Two credible choices here. The Go2 Pro (≈$2,800) stays in the Unitree ecosystem, which is the global default for published locomotion baselines; the Go2 EDU (POA) is the tier that unlocks low-level control and compute for RL work. The Deep Robotics Lite3 (from ≈$2,400) counters with a 7.5 kg payload, ≈4 m/s, and 90 min / 5 km endurance from a maker focused on legged R&D. If your work builds on existing Go2 code, that usually decides it; if you want a legged-robotics specialist's platform, Lite3 is the alternative.

Industrial / inspection — POA

This is a two-horse decision in the catalog. The Deep Robotics X30 is the inspection flagship: IP67, ≥4 m/s, and 2.5–4 h / ≥10 km endurance, quoted with an inspection kit per project and reported at roughly 30% above comparable Unitree hardware — a premium justified by inspection-specific payloads, software, and service depth. The Unitree B2 wins on raw capability and price: 40+ kg payload, 6+ m/s, 4–5 h / 15–20 km endurance, at roughly half the Western reference price class (indicative), with the wheeled B2-W for large-perimeter patrol where terrain allows. Unitree leads on price and ecosystem; Deep Robotics competes on vertical inspection completeness.

What's not in the sticker price

The unit price is EXW China — the robot leaving a Chinese dock. To reach "running on my site," budget for:

Payloads and compute: lidar, cameras, thermal/gas sensors, and any GPU box are usually separate line items, especially on the research and inspection tiers.
Batteries and shipping: every unit ships with lithium packs, which trigger UN 38.3 paperwork; spare packs ship under stricter cargo rules, so order them with the robot. See the shipping guide.
Import duty, VAT, and tariffs: not included at EXW. US buyers in particular should model current tariffs into landed cost — see the tariff guide — and verify classification with your customs broker.
Spares and warranty: feet and shins are consumables on rough terrain; 12-month warranty is typical, but confirm international RMA and who pays return freight.

For a fuller walkthrough of the buying process, see How to buy robots from China, or browse the full quadruped catalog.