Robot dogs have moved faster than any other robotics category in the past two years. In 2024 a capable quadruped cost a minimum of £2,500. Today you can spend £1,200 and get a platform with 4D LIDAR, depth cameras and ROS 2 support. At the other end, industrial platforms have matured to the point where a single robot replaces a full inspection crew on offshore platforms and construction sites.
This guide covers every tier of the market with UK prices, honest assessments of what each robot can and cannot do, and specific recommendations for each buyer type. Prices throughout are in GBP and reflect September 2026 UK new and used market rates.
This is different from our used robot dog buyers guide, which focuses specifically on the second-hand buying process and what to check before you buy. This article ranks the best options across the entire market — new and used, every price point.
Quick Reference: Every Robot Dog Ranked by Price
| Robot | New Price (GBP) | Used Price (GBP) | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petoi Bittle / Bittle X | £200–250 | £120–180 | STEM, hobbyist programming |
| Unitree Go1 | Discontinued | £500–800 | Entry developer, budget research |
| Xiaomi CyberDog 2 | ~£2,500 | £1,600–2,000 | Developer, open-source AI |
| Unitree Go2 Air | £1,200–1,500 | £900–1,100 | Hobbyist, university projects |
| Unitree Go2 Pro | £2,000–2,400 | £1,500–1,800 | Developer, perception research |
| Unitree Go2 EDU | £2,800–3,200 | £1,800–2,200 | Research teams, product development |
| Deep Robotics Lynx | £3,500–4,500 | £2,500–3,200 | Developer, outdoor research |
| Unitree B2 | £18,000–22,000 | £12,000–16,000 | Outdoor industrial, agriculture |
| Boston Dynamics Spot | £59,000–75,000 | £35,000–50,000 | Enterprise inspection |
| Ghost Robotics Vision 60 | £55,000–80,000 | Very limited | Defence, security, government |
| ANYbotics ANYmal D | £80,000–120,000 | Very limited | ATEX-rated, offshore, mining |
Tier 1: Hobbyist and STEM (Under £500)
Petoi Bittle X — Best Under £250
New price: £200–250 Used price: £120–180
The Petoi Bittle X is a small open-source quadruped designed for STEM education. At roughly 20 cm long, it uses servo-driven legs controlled by an Arduino-compatible BiBoard. Python and Arduino SDKs are available, the community has produced a solid library of gait examples, and it is genuinely reprogrammable rather than just toy-controlled.
The Bittle X cannot navigate autonomously, carry meaningful payloads, or operate outdoors beyond a flat garden path. What it can do is teach the fundamentals of quadruped locomotion, inverse kinematics, and embedded motor control at a price that most students and hobbyists can justify without institutional funding.
For UK buyers, Petoi ships directly and units are in stock. The used market is thin but units occasionally appear on eBay at £120–180.
Verdict: The best entry point into real quadruped robotics. Buy it if you want to learn, not deploy.
Unitree Go1 (Used Only) — Best Under £1,000
New price: Discontinued Used price: £500–800
The Go1 was Unitree's first mass-market quadruped and is now only available second-hand. It has been superseded in every meaningful way by the Go2 series, but for buyers who want a walking quadruped with real actuators and ROS community support for under £800, nothing else competes.
The Go1 walks on four 12-DOF legs, has a basic IMU and front-facing camera, and runs Ubuntu. Community-maintained ROS packages exist. Locomotion is noticeably less capable than the Go2 on rough terrain and stairs, and the onboard compute is limited.
Buy a Go1 if budget is the hard constraint and you need physical hardware to work with now. Plan to spend an extra £200–300 on a Raspberry Pi or Jetson Nano for any serious compute work.
Verdict: Not the best robot, but the best £500–800 robot dog you can buy.
Tier 2: Developer and Research (£1,000–£5,000)
This is where the 2026 market has transformed most dramatically. Three years ago, nothing in this price range was worth serious consideration. Today it is the most competitive segment in all of robotics.
Unitree Go2 Air — Best Value Overall
New price: £1,200–1,500 Used price: £900–1,100
The Go2 Air is the entry model in Unitree's current quadruped lineup and the single most disruptive product in the robot dog market. For £1,200–1,500 you get a platform that would have cost £8,000–10,000 five years ago.
What it has:
- 4D LIDAR for simultaneous depth and intensity mapping
- Front and rear depth cameras
- IMU for terrain compensation
- Capable locomotion stack handling slopes, grass, gravel, stairs
- ROS 2 integration via the Go2-ROS2 community SDK
- Active community with regular firmware updates
What it lacks versus higher Go2 tiers:
- Less onboard compute headroom for heavy ML inference
- Fewer mounting points for custom payloads
- No real-time sport-mode performance unlock
For hobbyists, university undergrads, and small developer projects that do not require onboard GPU inference, the Air is genuinely difficult to fault at this price. Used units bought from first owners are now appearing in the UK at £900–1,100 — an excellent entry point given how mature the platform is.
Read our dedicated Unitree Go2 price UK 2026 breakdown for the full variant comparison and how UK import costs stack up.
Verdict: Buy this unless you have a specific reason to step up. Best capability-per-pound of any robot dog in 2026.
Unitree Go2 Pro — Best Mid-Tier Developer Platform
New price: £2,000–2,400 Used price: £1,500–1,800
The Go2 Pro adds a more powerful onboard processor and expanded wireless connectivity over the Air. The practical difference matters if you want to run custom perception pipelines, SLAM algorithms, or neural network inference directly on the robot without plugging in an external GPU module.
The Pro is the sweet spot for UK developers building ROS 2 applications where onboard compute matters: a university team training a custom terrain classifier, a startup building an inspection product, or a serious individual developer who wants to avoid the compute bottleneck.
Verdict: Step up from the Air if you need onboard ML inference. Otherwise save the £800.
Unitree Go2 EDU — Best for Research Teams
New price: £2,800–3,200 Used price: £1,800–2,200
The Go2 EDU is Unitree's developer-first variant. It adds the highest compute specification in the Go2 range, additional mounting points and accessory interfaces for custom sensor payloads, extended API access, and the full sport mode SDK that lets you write custom low-level locomotion controllers.
For university research groups, robotics companies building products on top of Go2, and anyone who needs the maximum extensibility and sensor integration, the EDU is the recommended choice. At £2,800 new or £1,800–2,200 used, it remains extraordinary value for what it delivers.
See our full Unitree Go2 review 2026 for real-world performance data.
Verdict: The best research-grade robot dog under £5,000. The used market is liquid enough to find good units at meaningful discounts.
Xiaomi CyberDog 2 — Best Open-Source Alternative
New price: ~£2,500 Used price: £1,600–2,000
The CyberDog 2 is Xiaomi's second-generation quadruped, released in 2023 and now settled in as a credible alternative to the Go2 series. It is powered by an Nvidia Jetson Xavier NX, which gives it significantly more onboard AI compute than any Go2 Air or Pro variant. The open-source hardware and software stack has attracted a community of developers, particularly for computer vision and embodied AI experiments.
The CyberDog 2 is physically smaller and lighter than the Go2, which makes it better for indoor lab use and worse for outdoor terrain. Locomotion performance is comparable to the Go2 Air on flat surfaces but noticeably behind on rough terrain and stairs.
For UK buyers interested in onboard AI at the £2,500 price point without wanting the Go2 ecosystem, the CyberDog 2 is a serious option. Note the FCC ban considerations if you are procuring for UK government or critical infrastructure — commercial buyers are unaffected.
Verdict: Best onboard AI compute in the £2,500 bracket. Buy it over Go2 Air if Jetson GPU inference is your priority use case.
Deep Robotics Lynx — Best for Outdoor Terrain
New price: £3,500–4,500 Used price: £2,500–3,200
Deep Robotics is a Zhejiang-based company that has built a strong reputation for rugged outdoor quadrupeds. The Lynx is their mid-range platform, designed specifically for outdoor terrain and rough environments.
Compared to the Go2 EDU at a similar price point, the Lynx has stronger actuators, higher payload capacity, and superior protection rating for wet and muddy outdoor use. It is a better physical platform for UK field conditions — agriculture, construction, outdoor inspection — than any of the Go2 variants.
The trade-off is a smaller developer community and a less mature software SDK compared to Unitree's ecosystem. ROS support exists but is thinner than Go2's. The platform rewards buyers who know exactly what outdoor deployment they need and are willing to do more SDK integration work themselves.
Verdict: Better hardware for serious outdoor UK deployment than Go2 at a similar price. Smaller community is the trade-off.
Tier 3: Industrial and Enterprise (£15,000+)
Unitree B2 — Best Value at the Industrial Tier
New price: £18,000–22,000 Used price: £12,000–16,000 (emerging market)
The B2 is Unitree's industrial-grade platform — larger, stronger, and more weatherproof than the Go2 series. It has a payload capacity of 40 kg, IP67 weather resistance, and leg actuators designed for sustained outdoor operation rather than lab demos.
In practical UK terms, the B2 can carry inspection sensors across a farm in the rain, operate on a construction site, or handle the kind of sustained outdoor use that would wear out a Go2 in months. Its price — £18,000–22,000 new — is a fraction of Spot's, and it delivers genuinely competitive outdoor capability for the price.
The B2's weakness is ecosystem maturity. Boston Dynamics Spot has five-plus years of industrial deployment, certified integration partners, and a proven track record in regulated industries. B2 is newer and its enterprise software stack is less mature. For UK businesses that need to report on platform compliance or integrate with existing inspection software suites, Spot's ecosystem may justify the premium.
Used B2 units are beginning to appear on the secondary market, estimated at £12,000–16,000, though UK transactions are still limited.
Verdict: Best value at the industrial tier for businesses that need outdoor durability and can manage a less mature ecosystem.
Boston Dynamics Spot — The Industrial Benchmark
New price: £59,000–75,000 Used price: £35,000–50,000
Spot is the robot that defined the market and it remains the benchmark in 2026. Five years of industrial deployments across oil and gas, construction, utilities, nuclear, and defence have produced an ecosystem that no other quadruped can match.
What Spot offers beyond the hardware:
- Spot Arm — a manipulator arm that can open doors, pick up objects, and operate valves, turning Spot into a mobile manipulator rather than just a sensor platform
- Mission scripting — Spot Autowalk lets operators record inspection routes that the robot repeats autonomously, triggering readings, photos and thermal scans at defined waypoints
- Payload ecosystem — certified payloads from Trimble, Aeva, Taurob, and others that snap into Spot's payload rail system
- Enterprise support — Boston Dynamics offers support contracts with SLAs, software updates, and hardware service
- Regulatory track record — Spot has been deployed in ATEX-adjacent environments, nuclear facilities, and UK critical infrastructure with regulatory documentation trails
For UK businesses deploying into regulated or high-stakes environments, Spot's price premium is largely justified by the audit trail, ecosystem depth, and support structure rather than the hardware itself.
See our Boston Dynamics Spot price UK 2026 guide for the full breakdown of new versus used pricing and configuration costs, and our Spot review for real-world assessment.
Verdict: Still the enterprise benchmark. Buy it if ecosystem, support, and regulatory track record matter. The used market at £35,000–50,000 gives excellent value for buyers who can forgo factory warranty.
Ghost Robotics Vision 60 — Best for Defence and Security
New price: £55,000–80,000 Used price: Very limited
The Ghost Robotics Vision 60 is designed explicitly for defence, border security, and critical infrastructure protection. It has been procured by the US Air Force and evaluated by UK MoD-adjacent organisations for base security and perimeter patrol applications.
The Vision 60 is not sold directly to the general commercial market — it goes through integrators and government procurement channels. Its hardware is hardened against GPS spoofing and electromagnetic interference in ways consumer and standard commercial quadrupeds are not.
For UK buyers in defence, home office, or critical infrastructure security, this is the platform to evaluate. For everyone else, it is not accessible and not relevant.
Verdict: The right tool for defence and government security procurement. Not a commercial purchase.
ANYbotics ANYmal D — Best for Hazardous Environments
New price: £80,000–120,000 Used price: Very limited
ANYmal from Swiss company ANYbotics is the industrial quadruped for environments where Spot is not certified. The ANYmal D carries ATEX Zone 1 and IECEx certifications, meaning it can legally operate in explosive atmospheres — oil platforms, chemical plants, refineries, gas compression stations.
Spot does not carry ATEX Zone 1 certification. If your deployment is in an Ex-classified zone, ANYmal is currently the only commercially available quadruped that complies.
Used ANYmal units are extremely rare because most deployments are under multi-year service contracts and operated by ANYbotics' own field teams as part of the package.
Verdict: The only quadruped for ATEX Zone 1 deployments. The price is steep but the certification cost is built in.
How to Choose: A Decision Framework
Step 1 — Define the deployment environment:
- Indoor lab / university → Go2 Air or Pro
- Outdoor UK conditions (grass, mud, rain) → Go2 EDU or Deep Robotics Lynx
- Sustained industrial outdoor → Unitree B2
- Regulated industrial / enterprise with compliance requirements → Spot
- ATEX-rated explosive atmosphere → ANYmal only
Step 2 — Assess your SDK requirements:
- Learning and experimentation → Bittle X, Go1 used
- ROS 2 with strong community support → any Go2 variant
- Maximum onboard AI compute → CyberDog 2 (Jetson Xavier)
- Custom low-level locomotion control → Go2 EDU
- Full enterprise mission scripting → Spot
Step 3 — New versus used: The used market for Go2 and Spot is liquid enough to buy with confidence. For both platforms, a used unit at a 30–40% discount versus new with a firmware-updatable software stack is excellent value. For ANYmal and Vision 60, used stock is effectively unavailable.
UK-Specific Buying Considerations
Import duty and VAT: All robots shipped from outside the UK are subject to import duty (typically 3.7% for robots under HS code 8479) and 20% VAT. Buying from a UK-based importer or the used domestic market avoids the import paperwork and the upfront cash flow hit.
Chinese-sourced platforms and UK procurement: The FCC actions in the US in early 2026 have created uncertainty around Chinese-manufactured robots in some UK procurement contexts. UK government and critical infrastructure operators have adopted informal policies; commercial buyers are unaffected. Read our FCC robot ban and UK buyers article for the current picture.
Resale value: Boston Dynamics Spot holds its value best — a three-year-old Spot in good condition sells for 55–65% of its new price. Unitree Go2 variants are settling at around 60–70% of new price for units under 18 months old. Chinese platforms like CyberDog 2 depreciate more steeply at around 40–50% of new price within two years.
Verdict: Our Top Picks by Category
| Category | Top Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Best overall value | Unitree Go2 EDU | Best capability-per-pound in the market |
| Best budget | Unitree Go2 Air (new) or Go1 (used) | Real quadruped capability from £900 |
| Best for AI research | Xiaomi CyberDog 2 | Jetson Xavier GPU at £2,500 |
| Best outdoor / rugged | Deep Robotics Lynx | Strongest actuators under £5,000 |
| Best industrial value | Unitree B2 | Spot-competitive outdoors at £18–22k |
| Best enterprise | Boston Dynamics Spot | Ecosystem, support, regulatory track record |
| Best hazardous environment | ANYbotics ANYmal D | Only ATEX Zone 1 certified quadruped |
Browse current robot dog listings on Robot AutoTrader to see live UK inventory, or check the Robot AutoTrader Resale Index for current used pricing benchmarks across the quadruped category.
Ready to Buy?
Browse current robot dog listings on Robot AutoTrader. Whether you want a used Unitree Go2, a Boston Dynamics Spot, or any other quadruped, every listing on the platform shows firmware version, actuator hours, and provenance.
- Browse robot dog listings — live UK inventory across all tiers
- Used robot dog buyers guide — what to check and what to pay before buying used
- Robot Resale Index — current used pricing benchmarks for the Go2 Pro and Spot
- Full robot database — detailed specs for every model in this guide
Related guides
- Used robot dog and quadruped UK buyers guide — what to check before buying used
- Unitree Go2 review 2026 — detailed Bench Test
- Unitree Go2 price UK 2026 — variant breakdown and import costs
- Boston Dynamics Spot price UK 2026 — new vs used, dealers, configurations
- FCC robot ban and UK buyers — what it means for UK purchasers
- Best humanoid robots to buy used 2026 — if a biped might suit your use case better