In 2026, we spent three months tracking every humanoid robot rental program that actually exists — from our time on the CES floor in Las Vegas to pricing sourced across 17 countries. Most humanoid robots for rent cannot actually be booked. This is the honest breakdown.
Table of Contents
Two Robots, One Crowd
The Only Robot You Can Actually Book
What You Should Know
- Only the Unitree G1 via ZMProbots offers a transparent booking process with no enterprise contract, from $299/day
- AgiBot X2 launched a formal rental program at MWC 2026 — available in 17 markets, starting around €899/day
- Both robots walk and interact autonomously — the key difference is price, availability, and US logistics support
- 10 of the 12 robots on this list have no public rental program at all
- The humanoid robot rental cost guide breaks down every cost component
Unitree G1 — From $299/day (via ZMProbots)
Maker: Unitree Robotics, China | Rental status: Available, bookable online
The Unitree G1 is the only walking, fully autonomous humanoid robot available for event rental at a day rate most event budgets can work with. ZMProbots rents the G1 across the US (48 contiguous states), Canada, UK, and Europe — no enterprise contract required. Pay via Stripe, and a trained operator delivers the unit to your venue.
Specs: 127 cm tall, 35 kg, 41 degrees of freedom, five-finger dexterous hands, 3D LiDAR, stereo cameras, NVIDIA Jetson Orin compute, approximately 2-hour battery per charge with quick-swap capability. Every booking includes delivery, collection, and base ZMP Protection coverage. For events requiring operator dispatch, the robot rental for events page covers operator scheduling and logistics.
At Pfizer’s Boston product launch in September 2025 — a 3-day booking, 400 attendees — the G1 ran a 20-minute interaction loop every hour. That is what a working event-rental humanoid looks like in practice.
AgiBot X2 — From €899/day
Maker: AgiBot (Zhiyuan Robot), China | Rental status: Available in 17 markets
AgiBot launched a formal rental program for its X2 humanoid at MWC 2026, covering 17 markets including the US. It is a legitimate walking humanoid: 130 cm tall, 33.8 kg, 25 to 31 degrees of freedom depending on variant, capable of walking, running, dancing, and riding a bicycle. AgiBot’s proprietary WorkGPT AI model powers task execution.
Published rental rate at launch: approximately €899/day, with on-site AgiBot technical support required — adding logistics complexity for US events. For clients with larger budgets who need a European-primary deployment, it is a genuine option. For most US event teams, the cost and logistics gap makes the G1 the practical choice. To understand how to evaluate and compare robot rentals, the complete rental guide covers every step.
Six-Figure Stages: Sophia and Ameca
Two robots on this list are genuinely bookable — but require budgets that put them out of reach for most events. Both are real products with real rental programs. Neither is practical for standard event budgets.
Sophia (Hanson Robotics) — $100k to $125,000+ Per Event
Maker: Hanson Robotics, Hong Kong | Rental status: Available via talent agencies
Sophia is the most recognizable AI humanoid in the world. Saudi Arabia granted her citizenship in 2017. She has appeared at the UN, CES, and hundreds of corporate stages. She produces 62+ distinct facial expressions via Hanson’s patented Frubber skin and speaks in 16+ languages. She is genuinely impressive at close range.
In-person US event appearances are booked through agencies — Gotham Artists and Celebrity Talent International have publicly listed rates of $100k to $125,000 and up for a US event. Travel, equipment, and technician costs are additional. Sophia does not walk — she operates from a wheeled or stationary base. She is a conversation and presence robot, not a floor-walking activation robot.
Ameca (Engineered Arts) — Estimated $5,000 to $15,000+ Per Day
Maker: Engineered Arts, United Kingdom | Rental status: Quote only
Ameca is the most visually sophisticated humanoid on this list — 187 cm, 61 degrees of freedom (27 in the face alone), capable of micro-expressions and gestural nuance no other robot can match. It went viral at CES 2022. The third generation debuted in 2025. Engineered Arts rents Ameca directly and through partners on a quote-only basis.
Estimated cost based on published case studies and industry sources: $5,000 to $15,000+ per day, depending on duration, location, and technical requirements. Like Sophia, Ameca does not walk — it operates from a stationary base. For events where facial expressiveness and real-time conversation are the activation, it is effective. For events that need a robot walking a floor, neither qualifies. For a practical comparison, read what humanoid robots actually do at events.
Enterprise-Only: Figure 02, Digit, and Fourier GR-3
Three robots on this list are commercially deployed — but exclusively in industrial and enterprise contexts. None has a public rental program. None is accessible for events.
Figure 02 (Figure AI) — BMW Deployment, No Public Access
Maker: Figure AI, Sunnyvale CA | Rental status: Not available — B2B industrial only
Figure 02 is deployed at BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina facility for automotive assembly tasks. Figure AI has raised over $675 million from Microsoft, OpenAI, Amazon, and NVIDIA and is entirely focused on industrial B2B partnerships. Specs: 168 cm, 70 kg, 35 DOF, 5-hour battery, 25 kg payload. No public pricing, no rental program, no event bookings of any kind.
Agility Robotics Digit — Warehouse Only
Maker: Agility Robotics (backed by Amazon) | Rental status: Not available — logistics B2B only
Digit is a genuine commercial success in warehouse automation — it has moved over 100,000 totes at GXO’s Flowery Branch, Georgia facility, as documented by IEEE Spectrum. It stands 175 cm, weighs 65 kg, and is sold through Robot-as-a-Service contracts to logistics companies. It is purpose-built for repetitive warehouse tasks with predictable environments — not audience interaction, event floors, or brand activations.
Fourier GR-3 — No US Rental Channel
Maker: Fourier Intelligence, China | Rental status: No US access
Fourier unveiled the GR-3 at CES 2026: 165 cm, 71 kg, 55 degrees of freedom, 12-DOF dexterous hands with tactile sensors. The hardware is genuinely sophisticated. Commercial access for US customers is not. The GR-3 is sold through enterprise channels only. There is no US distribution network and no rental program. Fourier is a research and care-robotics company, not an event rental supplier.
Not Available: Tesla Optimus, Atlas, and 1X Neo
The three most-covered humanoid robots in mainstream tech media. None of them can be rented. They are either factory-deployed or not yet shipping as commercial products.
Tesla Optimus — In Factories, Full Stop
Maker: Tesla, USA | Rental status: Not available — internal factory use only
As of April 2026, every Optimus unit is deployed at Tesla’s Fremont and Giga Texas facilities. No pre-order, no waitlist, no public sales channel, no rental program. Gen 2 specs: 173 cm, 57 kg, 22-DOF hands with force-feedback sensors. External B2B sales are targeted for late 2026 at industrial scale only — not event rental, not commercial activations, not any public program.
Boston Dynamics Atlas — Committed to Partners, Not for Rent
Maker: Boston Dynamics (Hyundai subsidiary), USA | Rental status: Not available — all units committed
Boston Dynamics unveiled a production-ready electric Atlas at CES 2026: 56 fully rotational joints, 89 kg, capable of lifting 50 kg across a wide operating temperature range. The hardware is the most capable on this list. The access is not. All 2026 units are committed to research institutions and industrial partners. There is no consumer sales channel and no rental program. Atlas is not an event product.
1X Neo — Pre-Order Only, Late 2026
Maker: 1X Technologies, Norway/USA | Rental status: Not available — pre-order only
1X Neo is a consumer-facing walking humanoid with US and Canada deliveries targeted for Q3-Q4 2026. 1X is positioning Neo for household use — chores, home assistance — not brand activations or trade show floors. No event rental program exists. 1X’s older wheeled platform has had some B2B commercial use, but Neo is not a rental product. To understand how robots are evaluated for real event suitability, see what humanoid robots still cannot do in 2026.
Discontinued and Defunct: Pepper and Meka M1
Two robots still appear in rental searches. Both are traps. Neither should be booked under any circumstances.
SoftBank Pepper — Discontinued, IP Sold
Maker: SoftBank Robotics (originally Aldebaran), Japan/France | Rental status: Effectively dead
Pepper was the world’s first social robot deployed at commercial scale — retail stores, hospitals, hotels. SoftBank stopped production in June 2021. In July 2025, Aldebaran (the French entity behind Pepper) declared bankruptcy, and Pepper’s IP was acquired by Maxvision Technology Corp. in Shenzhen. No confirmed new production as of April 2026. Some used Pepper units appear on secondary rental markets — these are unserviced hardware running outdated software with no support chain. Do not book them.
Meka M1 — Has Not Existed Since 2013
Maker: Meka Robotics (acquired by Google 2013) | Rental status: Defunct — company does not exist
Meka Robotics was an MIT CSAIL spin-off building the M1 Mobile Manipulator — a research-grade upper-body humanoid on a wheeled base, sold exclusively to universities at research pricing. Google acquired Meka in December 2013 as part of Andy Rubin’s robotics initiative. The project was absorbed and eventually closed. No Meka M1 has been commercially available since 2013. It appears in search results because it was well-documented by IEEE Spectrum during its active research period — do not let that documentation mislead you. The company does not exist. The product cannot be booked.
If you have been quoted a price for a Pepper or Meka M1, ask the vendor for a current service agreement, spare parts inventory, and software support contact. In every known case, none of these exist.
The Honest Summary: What You Can Actually Rent in 2026
Of 12 researched robots, three have any form of event rental availability in 2026. Only one is accessible to most event budgets:
| Robot | Can You Rent It? | Starting Cost | Walks? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unitree G1 (via ZMProbots) | YES | from $299/day | Yes — 41 DOF |
| AgiBot X2 | YES | ~€899/day | Yes |
| Sophia (Hanson Robotics) | YES (via agencies) | $100k–$125,000+ per event | No — wheeled base |
| Ameca (Engineered Arts) | Quote only | $5,000–$15,000+/day | No — stationary |
| Tesla Optimus | NO | Factory only | Yes (factory) |
| Boston Dynamics Atlas | NO | Not for rent | Yes |
| Figure 02 | NO | Enterprise only | Yes |
| Agility Digit | NO | Warehouse B2B | Yes |
| SoftBank Pepper | DISCONTINUED | Secondary market only | No — wheeled |
| 1X Neo | NOT YET | Pre-order; late 2026 | Yes |
| Fourier GR-3 | NO US ACCESS | Enterprise only | Yes |
| Meka M1 | DEFUNCT | Does not exist | No — wheeled |
The price gap between option one and option two is significant. Between option two and option three, it is enormous. The Unitree G1 via ZMProbots is not just the most accessible — it is the only humanoid event rental in the US that does not require an enterprise budget or a procurement team. We also tracked every other company claiming to offer humanoid robot rentals — the full review of every humanoid robot rental company covers the complete picture.
People Also Ask
Can you rent a Tesla Optimus humanoid robot for an event?
No. As of April 2026, all Optimus units are deployed at Tesla factories. No rental program exists. External B2B sales are targeted for late 2026 at industrial scale only — not event rental or commercial activations.
How much does it cost to hire Sophia the robot?
In-person US event appearances run $100k to $125,000 and up, based on published rates from Gotham Artists and Celebrity Talent International. Travel, equipment, and technician costs are additional. Sophia does not walk — she operates from a wheeled or stationary base.
What happened to SoftBank Pepper?
SoftBank stopped production in June 2021. In July 2025, the IP was acquired by Maxvision Technology Corp. in Shenzhen after Aldebaran declared bankruptcy. No new production has been confirmed. Units appearing on rental sites are unserviced secondary-market hardware with no support.
Is Boston Dynamics Atlas available to rent for events?
No. Atlas is sold as an enterprise platform to research institutions and industrial partners. All 2026 units are committed to partners. There is no rental program, no consumer sales channel, and no event activation pathway.
Which humanoid robot can actually be booked for a corporate event today?
The Unitree G1 via ZMProbots is the only walking humanoid available for direct booking without an enterprise contract. AgiBot X2 is available in 17 markets but at significantly higher cost and with required on-site AgiBot technical support.
Is Figure 02 available for brand events?
No. Figure 02 is deployed exclusively at BMW’s Spartanburg facility. Figure AI has no public rental program and no event booking pathway. All commercial activity is enterprise B2B industrial manufacturing.
What is the cheapest humanoid robot to rent in 2026?
The Unitree G1 via ZMProbots, available as a Self-Service Rental from $299/day or as a Full-Service Event with operator dispatch — request a quote for full-service pricing. No other walking humanoid has a lower publicly available rate in 2026.
The Bottom Line
Of 12 humanoid robots that appear in rental searches, three have any form of availability. One is genuinely accessible. The Unitree G1 — deployed at Pfizer Boston, CES Las Vegas, and events across the US, Canada, UK, and Europe — is the only walking humanoid you can reserve today without a procurement team, an enterprise contract, or a six-figure budget.
Optimus is in a factory. Atlas is committed to research partners. Figure 02 is at BMW. Sophia costs as much as a mid-sized marketing campaign. Pepper does not exist as a serviceable product. Meka M1 has not existed since 2013. The G1 is what the humanoid robot rental market actually looks like in 2026 — and the gap between what is searchable and what is bookable is enormous.
Ready to rent the only humanoid robot that is actually available? Humanoid robot rental starts here.
