1X NEO vs Figure 03: Which Humanoid Robot Is Better?

1X NEO and Figure 03 are two of the most important humanoid robots designed for the home, but in 2026 they solve the buying decision in very different ways.

1X NEO is the only one of the two with a public consumer order programme: US buyers can reserve the Early Access ownership package for $20,000 or register for a later $499-per-month subscription. Figure 03 has the stronger published payload, longer runtime, more advanced public autonomy demonstrations and substantially more documented fleet production, but Figure has not announced a household price, reservation page or consumer delivery schedule.

The short answer is clear: Figure 03 is the more advanced and better-evidenced robot platform in 2026, while 1X NEO is the only practical choice for a consumer who wants to place an order. Choose NEO for early access to a real home-robot programme and accept that its initial autonomy is limited. Choose Figure 03 only as a technology or enterprise deployment option until Figure publishes consumer pricing and availability.

Quick verdict: NEO wins on buyability, lower body weight, published ownership cost, home-focused safety engineering and transparent human-in-the-loop support. Figure 03 wins on runtime, published payload, sensor integration, demonstrated full-body autonomy, current manufacturing evidence and industrial field testing. For an actual household purchase in 2026, NEO wins by default. For the stronger robot irrespective of whether it can be bought, Figure 03 wins.

Anton Robots maintains complete profiles for 1X NEO and Figure 03. You can also compare 1X NEO and Figure 03 side by side using the marketplace comparison tool.

Last reviewed: 17 July 2026. This comparison separates current product specifications, demonstrated capabilities, commercial deployments and future plans. Prices, delivery dates, software abilities and supported tasks can change quickly during an early humanoid rollout.

1X NEO vs Figure 03 at a Glance

What Are We Actually Comparing?

This is a comparison between two current home-oriented humanoid platforms, but not between two products available from the same kind of shop.

1X has built NEO around a consumer commercial model. A buyer can choose an Early Access ownership offer, place a refundable deposit and receive a stated priority-delivery path. Its product page describes the hardware, controls, charger, support concept and the reality that difficult tasks may initially require remote expert assistance.

Figure has built Figure 03 as a higher-performance general-purpose platform that moves between home development, external field testing and commercial deployment programmes. Figure publishes core physical specifications and has manufactured hundreds of units, but those robots are being allocated to internal development, data collection, housework research and enterprise applications—not sold through a consumer checkout.

Which 1X NEO?

This article compares the current production-intended NEO offered on the official 1X NEO product page and NEO order page. It is not based on the older NEO Beta or NEO Gamma prototypes where current information has replaced them.

The distinction is especially important for the hands. The main NEO specification page lists 22 hand DoF per side, while 1X’s July 2026 shipping-hand announcement explains that each complete hand-and-wrist assembly has 25 DoF: 22 fully actuated DoF in the fingers and palm plus three at the wrist. These are two counting conventions for the same current architecture, not evidence that NEO has 22 fingers or 50 finger joints.

Which Figure 03?

This article compares Figure’s third-generation humanoid introduced in October 2025 and currently described on the official Figure 03 product page. It does not transfer Figure 02 specifications or production achievements to Figure 03 unless the historical relationship is explicitly stated.

Figure 02’s reported contribution to 30,000 BMW vehicles in 2025 is valuable evidence that Figure has operated a predecessor platform in production. It is not proof that Figure 03 itself produced those cars. Figure 03 arrived at BMW Group Plant Spartanburg in June 2026 for a more complex logistics sequencing workflow.

The central mistake in most 1X NEO vs Figure 03 comparisons is treating commercial availability and technical maturity as the same thing. NEO is easier to buy. Figure 03 is further ahead in quantified fleet production and external field evidence. Both statements can be true at the same time.

How We Compared 1X NEO and Figure 03

This comparison prioritises current manufacturer product pages, order terms, technical announcements, manufacturing updates and named deployment reports. It does not use an old prototype specification to fill a gap in a current model.

Every important claim is treated as one of five types:

• Published specification: a current figure stated by the manufacturer.
• Demonstrated capability: a task shown under company-controlled conditions.
• Commercial evidence: a price, reservation process, warranty statement or named customer agreement.
• Deployment evidence: work performed in a real home, factory or logistics environment.
• Not published: information that should not be guessed from a video, older robot or executive ambition.

A successful demonstration is not treated as proof of unrestricted autonomy. A robot folding laundry once does not establish how it handles every fabric, cluttered floor, child, pet, weak Wi-Fi connection, unusual appliance, dropped object or recovery event. A production rate is also not the same as customer deliveries, and a reservation is not the same as a mature installed base.

Which Is Better: 1X NEO or Figure 03?

Figure 03 is the better robot platform in 2026, but 1X NEO is the better—and only—buying option for a normal household.

Figure 03 publishes a 20 kg payload, five-hour runtime and 1.2 m/s speed. It combines head cameras, palm cameras, fingertip touch and full-body proprioception under Helix 02. Figure has produced more than 350 third-generation robots, demonstrated a one-unit-per-hour manufacturing cycle and demonstrated Figure 03 in a BMW logistics workflow. Its public home demonstrations include dishwasher loading, laundry folding, living-room tidying, bedroom resetting and multi-robot collaboration.

NEO’s advantage is not that it has surpassed Figure 03 in autonomous household performance. Its advantage is that 1X has turned the robot into a recognisable consumer offer. The price, deposit, US delivery window, warranty, support level, app, charger, colours and remote-assistance model are visible before a buyer commits. NEO is also much lighter at 30 kg, publishes more contact-safety and ingress-protection information and gives owners a direct remote-control path when autonomy is insufficient.

The decision therefore depends on the question:

• Which robot is technically further ahead? Figure 03.
• Which robot can a consumer reserve? 1X NEO.
• Which robot has the stronger current external field and commercial evidence? Figure 03.
• Which robot offers a transparent home ownership proposition? 1X NEO.
• Which robot should a household buy without accepting early-adopter risk? Neither yet.

Price and Availability

How much does 1X NEO cost?

1X publishes two NEO commercial routes:

• Early Access ownership: $20,000, including ownership, a three-year warranty, premium support and priority delivery.
• Standard subscription: $499 per month, with a Starter Productivity Package and standard delivery. 1X says this option will ship later than Early Access.

A $200 deposit is due when reserving and is stated to be fully refundable. 1X says US deliveries start in 2026, with expansion to other markets from 2027. Buyers should still confirm the exact delivery estimate, taxes, freight, cancellation process, included expert assistance, connectivity requirements and any ongoing software or service costs before treating $20,000 as the complete installed cost.

The subscription equals $5,988 per year before any taxes or additional charges. That does not automatically make subscription cheaper than ownership: the answer depends on the minimum term, included support, upgrade rights, usage limits, cancellation rules and whether the robot remains 1X property.

How much does Figure 03 cost?

Figure has not published a Figure 03 consumer price, monthly subscription, deposit, delivery date or household reservation process. The company has a contact form and enterprise relationships, but that is not equivalent to an open product offer.

Any Figure 03 price repeated elsewhere should therefore be treated as an estimate unless it is supported by a current written proposal from Figure. Manufacturing cost reduction, fundraising valuations and executive predictions do not create a customer price.

Price and availability winner

1X NEO wins decisively. It is the only robot in this comparison with a public price and consumer order route. Figure 03 may ultimately become competitively priced at scale, but no buyer can calculate value, financing or payback without an actual commercial offer.

Review the current 1X NEO price and availability, check the latest Figure 03 commercial status, or open the live NEO vs Figure 03 comparison before acting on an older article.

Home Readiness: Which Robot Is Actually Closer to Living With You?

NEO is closer to a consumer home product; Figure 03 is closer to a technically mature autonomous humanoid.

NEO includes the surrounding ownership experience that makes a home robot usable: voice interaction, an app, chore scheduling, remote communication, monitoring, owner teleoperation, self-charging, a soft washable suit and a defined support programme. Its lower 30 kg mass also matters when the robot shares a small space with people, furniture and fragile objects.

Figure 03 is explicitly designed for homes, with soft textiles, multi-density foam, improved audio, wireless charging, a smaller volume than Figure 02 and hands built for close-range manipulation. Its home-task demonstrations are more advanced than NEO’s public autonomy claims. However, Figure has not published the consumer controls, account model, service terms, warranty, installation process, home network requirements or household delivery plan needed to turn that technology into a product.

Home-readiness verdict: NEO wins as a package a household can reserve. Figure 03 wins on the sophistication of the robot performing household work in demonstrations.

Size, Weight and Fit Inside a Home

NEO stands 5 ft 6 in tall and weighs 66 lb, or approximately 30 kg. Figure 03 stands 5 ft 8 in and weighs 61 kg. The height difference is small; the mass difference is not. Figure 03 is more than twice as heavy.

A lighter robot can be easier to transport, recover, service and accommodate on residential floors. Lower mass also reduces—but does not eliminate—the energy involved in a collision or fall. NEO’s compact weight is one of its most meaningful home advantages.

Figure 03’s additional mass may support higher payload, structural stiffness, battery capacity and industrial work. It also means owners would need a credible procedure for a disabled or fallen robot, especially on stairs or in a narrow corridor. Figure says the robot is engineered to navigate stairs, tight corners and changing layouts, but it does not publish a consumer site survey, minimum turning radius, stair geometry envelope or floor-loading requirement.

Before installing either robot, measure:

• Door widths, corridor width and turning spaces
• Stair tread, rise, handrails and landing dimensions
• Floor transitions, rugs, loose cables and thresholds
• Charging location and electrical capacity
• Clearance around ovens, stairs, balconies and wet areas
• A safe recovery route if the robot becomes immobile

Size and home-fit winner: NEO. It is shorter, approximately half the weight and presented with a more complete consumer setup.

Strength, Payload and Carrying Household Objects

The published load figures are not directly equivalent.

1X lists three NEO values:

• Arm payload: 18 lb / 8.2 kg
• Carry capacity: 55 lb / 25 kg
• Lift: 154 lb / approximately 70 kg

The 70 kg figure should not be interpreted as a 70 kg object carried around the home in extended arms. A whole-body lift, a two-handed carry and a single-arm payload place very different loads on the robot. For practical task planning, the arm payload and carry rating are more useful than the largest lift headline.

Figure publishes a 20 kg payload without breaking it into single-arm, dual-arm, peak-lift or sustained-carry categories on the main product page. That makes the figure easy to compare at a high level but incomplete for engineering a specific task.

For most domestic work—laundry baskets, rubbish, dishes, groceries, small appliances and packages—both published ratings appear sufficient in principle. The real limits will be grasp geometry, reach, object fragility, stairs, cycle repetition and whether the AI can reliably complete the task.

Payload verdict: Figure 03 has the cleaner published 20 kg payload and is the safer winner for a general comparison. NEO discloses more categories and a higher 25 kg carry capacity, but the figures need task-specific interpretation.

Mobility, Walking Speed and Stairs

NEO has a published walking speed of 1.4 m/s. Figure 03 is rated at 1.2 m/s. Both are within a useful human walking range for indoor movement.

1X also publishes a maximum run speed of 6.2 m/s. That number is technically striking but should not drive a home purchase. A robot moving at approximately 22 km/h inside a home would create unacceptable risk around people, pets, doors and furniture. Buyers should ask for the normal speed limits, reduced-speed modes, stopping distance and permitted speed near people—not award a winner from the maximum figure.

Figure states that Figure 03 can navigate stairs, tight corners and shifting layouts. Helix 02 demonstrations also show whole-body repositioning while manipulating objects. 1X publishes bipedal walking and running specifications but does not provide a comparable current stair envelope on the main NEO specification page.

Mobility verdict: NEO wins on published walking speed and lower mass. Figure 03 wins on the sophistication of demonstrated whole-body movement and its explicit stair-navigation positioning. Neither company provides enough consumer-grade mobility limits for every home.

Hands and Dexterity

Hands are one of the strongest parts of both platforms, but the companies disclose different information.

1X NEO hands

1X says the hands shipping on NEO use tendon drives with low gear ratios and native force control. Each hand-and-wrist assembly has 25 DoF: 22 fully actuated joints across the fingers and palm plus three wrist DoF. The joints are backdrivable, so external forces can be measured through the drive instead of being hidden by a high-friction gearbox.

1X also publishes:

• High-resolution tactile sensing for normal force, contact position and shear
• IP68 sealing and food-safe materials
• ±0.2 mm hand positioning accuracy
• Up to 45 N distal finger flexion force
• 17.75 Nm wrist torque
• Millions of component and finger-assembly test cycles

The company has demonstrated fine manipulation including screws, coins, light bulbs, zips, USB-C connectors, pouring, tool use and small-object handling. These are manufacturer demonstrations, not an independent guarantee that every Early Access NEO will autonomously perform all of them at delivery.

Figure 03 hands

Figure 03 uses five-finger hands with compliant fingertips, embedded palm cameras and fingertip tactile sensors. Figure says the sensors can detect forces as small as three grams. Palm cameras preserve close-range vision when the head cameras are blocked by a cabinet, object or the robot’s own arm.

Helix 02 has used these inputs for tasks including extracting individual pills, dispensing precise syringe volumes, handling small irregular objects, loading dishwashers, folding laundry and manipulating items while walking. Figure has not published a directly comparable hand DoF count, grip-force rating, IP rating, accuracy figure or service life.

Hands winner

NEO wins on published hand engineering and specification transparency. Figure 03 wins on the public evidence that tactile hands, palm vision and whole-body AI operate together under one learned policy. A buyer prioritising a documented physical interface should favour NEO. A buyer prioritising demonstrated end-to-end autonomy should favour Figure 03.

Perception and Sensors

NEO’s published sensing and compute package includes dual 8.85 MP 90 Hz stereo fisheye cameras, four beamforming microphones, tactile sensing, link-level differential IMUs, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 5G. Its onboard NEO Cortex uses NVIDIA Jetson Thor, with 1X publishing up to 2,070 FP4 TFLOPS of AI compute.

Figure 03 combines head cameras, palm cameras, fingertip tactile sensors and full-body proprioception. Figure says its redesigned camera architecture provides twice the frame rate, one-quarter the latency and a 60% wider field of view per camera than Figure 02. It also supports 10 Gbps mmWave data offload for fleet learning.

A raw compute figure does not establish better perception. Camera placement, latency, calibration, data quality, learned policies, recovery behaviour and the number of difficult cases solved in real operation matter more than peak arithmetic throughput.

Perception verdict: Figure 03 wins because the company has shown a more complete sensor-to-action system controlling the whole body. NEO publishes a strong hardware package, but its Early Access autonomy is explicitly more limited.

AI, Autonomy and Task Learning

NEO and Redwood AI

NEO uses Redwood, 1X’s generalist AI model for learning and performing household chores. 1X says Redwood learns from both successful and failed rollouts, using failure data to improve cognitive predictions rather than training only from perfect demonstrations.

The product also includes a built-in language model, voice interaction, visual context and memory. Owners can ask questions, set chores and build a personalised experience over time.

The commercial limitation is stated openly: Early Access NEO arrives with basic autonomy. For complex tasks it does not yet know, a 1X Expert can remotely supervise the robot at a scheduled time. That may help complete work and collect useful training data, but it means the early product should not be described as universally autonomous.

Figure 03 and Helix 02

Helix 02 is Figure’s full-body vision-language-action system. Its architecture connects semantic reasoning, visuomotor control and a low-level whole-body controller. Figure describes an “all sensors in, all joints out” policy using head cameras, palm cameras, tactile sensing and proprioception to control legs, torso, head, arms, wrists and fingers.

Figure reports that its lowest-level controller runs at 1 kHz and was trained in more than 200,000 parallel simulated environments before transfer to real robots. Public demonstrations show Figure 03 opening doors, loading appliances, tidying rooms, folding and hanging objects, manipulating tiny items and coordinating with another humanoid without a central planner.

These demonstrations are stronger than NEO’s current public autonomy evidence. They still do not publish the success rate over thousands of unedited household cycles, intervention frequency, average recovery time or the exact task catalogue available to a customer.

AI and autonomy winner

Figure 03 wins. It provides the strongest public evidence of a single learned system combining language, perception, locomotion and fine manipulation. NEO’s Redwood strategy is credible and its human-assisted rollout may accelerate learning, but 1X itself says early owners receive foundational rather than complete autonomy.

Human Expert Mode, Teleoperation and Privacy

This category is central to the buying decision because the two products expose very different operating models.

NEO can be controlled remotely by its owner through the mobile app and a VR device. It also offers Scheduled Expert Mode: for a difficult task, a 1X Expert can remotely supervise the robot so the task can be completed and the system can learn.

This is a practical advantage. A robot that can call for skilled human assistance may complete more useful work than a nominally autonomous robot that simply stops. It is also a privacy, security and consent issue because the robot carries cameras, microphones, connectivity and physical actuation inside a private home.

Before ordering NEO, obtain written answers to:

• Who can initiate an Expert session?
• What notice and approval appear before access begins?
• Can the owner define rooms, people, objects or times that are off limits?
• Are video, audio, maps, actions or failed attempts recorded?
• Where is data processed and stored?
• How long is it retained and who can review it?
• Can data use for training be declined without disabling essential functions?
• What happens if connectivity is lost during remote operation?
• How are experts vetted, trained, monitored and audited?

Figure has not announced an equivalent consumer expert service, consumer app or home access-control model. That does not prove Figure 03 never uses teleoperation during development or deployment; it means there is no comparable public household service to evaluate.

Remote support winner: NEO. Autonomous privacy winner: not yet determinable. NEO is more transparent about the presence of a human-in-the-loop, while Figure has not published the consumer data model required for a fair comparison.

Battery Life, Charging and Daily Uptime

Figure 03 publishes five hours of runtime, compared with up to four hours for NEO. Figure therefore wins on nominal runtime.

The charging methods differ:

• NEO: locates its charger and physically plugs itself in. 1X publishes a quick-charge rate of six minutes per hour of runtime.
• Figure 03: uses 2 kW wireless inductive charging through coils in its feet, allowing the robot to step onto a charging stand without handling a connector.

Wireless charging removes a mechanical connection task and may make frequent autonomous top-ups easier. Plug-in charging may be more familiar and potentially simpler to replace, but its reliability depends on the robot aligning and inserting the connector correctly.

Runtime is not productive work time. Walking, carrying, high-force manipulation, Wi-Fi quality, inference load, temperature, charging frequency and idle periods will affect the day. Neither company publishes a standard domestic duty-cycle test that makes the four- and five-hour figures directly comparable.

Battery winner: Figure 03. It has the longer published runtime and a fully wireless charging workflow. NEO’s quick-charge disclosure is useful and could support frequent top-ups.

Battery Safety

Figure has disclosed more battery-specific engineering. The Figure 03 battery includes protection at the battery-management, cell, interconnect and pack levels. Figure says the system is designed to contain external flame and reduce cell-to-cell thermal propagation. The launch announcement stated that the battery had achieved UN38.3 transport certification, while its battery-development article described work toward the UL2271 standard.

NEO publishes an 842 Wh battery, self-charging and a soft home-safe design, but provides less public detail about cell chemistry, pack tests, thermal propagation or battery certification on the main product page.

Battery-safety verdict: Figure 03. The company has published a more extensive pack-level engineering and certification narrative. A home buyer should still request the final certification documents, charger installation requirements and emergency guidance for the exact delivered unit.

Safety Around People, Children and Pets

NEO has the stronger disclosed mechanical safety case for a home.

1X publishes a 30 kg body, low-inertia tendon actuation, 95% backdrivability, a soft custom lattice polymer structure, covered joints without external pinch points and a Head Injury Criterion below 250. The soft suit and shoes are machine washable. These design choices aim to make contact more forgiving than a rigid industrial humanoid.

Figure 03 also uses home-focused safety features: strategically placed multi-density foam, soft textiles, less mass and volume than Figure 02, compliant hands and a protected battery. However, at 61 kg it remains a heavy moving machine. Figure does not publish a directly comparable HIC figure, whole-robot IP rating, stopping distance or consumer collaborative-force limit.

Neither company’s marketing material replaces a household risk assessment. Important cases include:

• A child running into the robot
• A pet moving between its feet
• A fall near stairs, glass or a hot surface
• A grasped knife, pan, chemical or heavy object
• A person attempting to steady or move the robot
• A software fault, sensor obstruction or network loss
• Emergency stop and manual recovery

Human-proximity winner: NEO. Its lower mass, tendon actuation and published contact-safety metrics are more appropriate for a first consumer rollout. That does not mean NEO is proven safe for unsupervised use around children, vulnerable adults or pets.

Water Resistance, Cleaning and Durability

NEO publishes an IP44 body and IP68 hands. IP44 means the body is protected against solid objects larger than 1 mm and splashing water from multiple directions under the standard’s test conditions. It is not waterproof, suitable for immersion or approved for pressure washing. The IP68 hands provide substantially stronger water protection and are described as food-safe and washable.

Figure 03’s removable soft goods are washable and can be replaced without tools. Figure also offers durable and cut-resistant garment options. The company has not published a whole-robot IP rating, hand IP rating or washdown procedure.

For both robots, kitchens and bathrooms are difficult environments. Water, steam, grease, detergents, hot pans, sharp tools, reflective surfaces and slippery floors create risks beyond a simple IP code.

Durability and cleaning winner: NEO for published ingress protection; Figure 03 for removable garment design.

Noise and Social Presence

NEO publishes an audible-noise level of 22 dB, which would be very quiet if measured under a representative operating condition. The page does not describe the exact test distance, movement or load, so the number should not be treated as a universal maximum.

NEO also uses expressive ear rings to communicate attention, battery and state, and includes speakers that can turn the robot into a mobile Bluetooth speaker. Figure 03 has an upgraded audio system with a larger, more powerful speaker and repositioned microphone for real-time speech-to-speech interaction.

A home robot needs to be understandable without becoming intrusive. Useful evaluation points include walking noise at night, speech recognition across a room, whether the robot clearly communicates uncertainty and whether status signals remain understandable to guests who have never used it.

Noise winner: NEO because it publishes a figure. Conversational-audio winner: not enough independent evidence.

Software, Owner Controls and Household Integration

NEO has the more complete consumer software proposition. The NEO app allows owners to manage chores, communicate remotely, monitor the robot and pilot it. Voice control provides a hands-free interface, while memory and contextual awareness are designed to personalise interactions.

Figure demonstrates natural-language delegation under Helix and positions Figure 03 as a robot that can understand a home and take action. It has not launched a public consumer app, household dashboard, user-profile system, permission model, parental controls, smart-home API or service portal.

Neither company publishes broad compatibility with Matter, HomeKit, Google Home, Alexa, Home Assistant or mainstream appliance ecosystems. A robot can physically press buttons without being digitally integrated, but reliable automation often benefits from both.

Consumer software winner: NEO. It is the only platform with a public owner-control stack.

SDK, ROS and Developer Access

Neither robot should be purchased on the assumption that it is an open humanoid development kit.

1X describes its new hand as an “API to the physical world”, but that is an engineering metaphor rather than evidence of a public software API. The consumer NEO pages do not document a public SDK, ROS 2 package, simulator, low-level actuator interface or third-party application store.

Figure publishes substantial AI research and technical architecture, but it does not offer a public Figure 03 SDK, ROS package or customer control interface. Enterprise integrations may exist under private agreements, which is different from open developer access.

Developer-access verdict: no winner. Universities, labs and startups requiring direct ROS control should compare research-focused humanoids and developer platforms rather than assume either home robot is programmable at the required level.

Manufacturing Scale

Both companies understand that a useful humanoid must become a manufactured product rather than remain a hand-built prototype.

1X manufacturing

1X says its 58,000 sq ft NEO Factory in Hayward, California employs more than 200 people and has commenced full-scale production. The company reports current capacity of up to 10,000 NEO robots per year across its manufacturing footprint, with planned automation intended to increase production toward more than 100,000 units annually by the end of 2027.

1X vertically integrates motors, batteries, structures, transmissions, soft goods and sensors. This supports rapid iteration and reduces dependence on outside suppliers for critical systems. The company has not published a cumulative number of completed NEO robots or delivered consumer units comparable to Figure’s fleet count.

Figure manufacturing

Figure reported in April 2026 that BotQ had produced more than 350 Figure 03 robots and increased production from one robot per day to a demonstrated one-per-hour cycle time. The company disclosed more than 9,000 actuators produced, over 500 battery packs shipped internally, an end-of-line first-pass yield above 80% and a battery-line first-pass yield of 99.3%.

Figure’s battery line was designed around a first-generation capacity of up to 12,000 humanoids per year. The robot was redesigned around die-casting, injection moulding, stamping and other high-volume processes rather than extensive CNC machining.

Manufacturing winner

Figure 03 wins on current evidence. Figure publishes an actual robot count, throughput, yield and component volume. 1X publishes a larger near-term consumer scaling plan, but capacity is not the same as output or delivery.

Real-World Deployment and Field Evidence

Figure 03 has the stronger external field and commercial evidence.

In June 2026, Figure reported that Figure 03 arrived at BMW Group Plant Spartanburg for a logistics sequencing workflow. Helix 02 coordinates the robot’s hands, arms, torso and feet while it manipulates parts, repositions and pulls a loaded cart. This is a more complex task than a fixed pick-and-place cell, although Figure has not published the long-term uptime, intervention rate or economic result.

Figure also announced a commercial agreement with Catalyst Brands to deploy humanoids at a Reno distribution centre for physically demanding supply-chain tasks. The exact number of robots, production start date and performance targets were not published.

NEO is being developed through internal home testing and a public Early Access rollout. 1X says deliveries begin in the United States in 2026, but it has not published a quantified fleet of independent households, cumulative autonomous chore hours or customer success rate.

Field-evidence winner: Figure 03. It has a named external industrial demonstration, a commercial deployment agreement and a quantified produced fleet. NEO has the stronger route to consumer ownership but less public field evidence.

Household Task Performance

The most important question is not whether a robot can walk or talk. It is whether it completes useful chores reliably enough to save time.

Figure has shown the broader set of end-to-end autonomous tasks. Helix demonstrations include loading a dishwasher, folding laundry, tidying living rooms, opening doors, handling small objects and resetting a bedroom with two robots. Figure’s product page says Figure 03 handles laundry, cleaning and dishes autonomously.

NEO is marketed for chores, getting the door, laundry, home organisation and conversational assistance. Its hardware demonstrations show high dexterity, while its commercial page is candid that difficult unknown tasks may require a scheduled expert. This makes NEO more realistic about its initial limits but less autonomous at delivery.

Neither company publishes a standardised household benchmark. A trustworthy comparison would require the same homes, objects, instructions and scoring across:

• Task success without intervention
• Time to completion
• Damage or dropped-object rate
• Recovery after an error
• Performance in clutter and poor lighting
• Adaptation to new objects
• Hours of human setup and supervision

Household-task winner: Figure 03 on demonstrated autonomy. NEO on near-term accessibility and assisted completion.

Best Robot by Use Case

Explore more humanoid robots, review current home robots, or use the Anton Robots finder before assuming a bipedal humanoid is the best solution.

1X NEO Pros and Cons

Pros

• Public $20,000 Early Access ownership price
• Later $499/month subscription route
• Refundable $200 reservation deposit
• Stated US consumer deliveries beginning in 2026
• Three-year warranty and premium support in the Early Access package
• Only 30 kg, approximately half the weight of Figure 03
• Soft body, covered joints and low-inertia tendon actuation
• Published HIC below 250
• Detailed five-finger hand architecture with force and touch sensing
• IP68 hands and IP44 body
• Up to four hours of runtime and self-charging
• Voice, app, monitoring, schedules, owner remote control and VR
• Scheduled expert assistance for unknown tasks
• Published 22 dB noise level
• Vertically integrated US manufacturing and ambitious scaling plan

Cons

• Early Access launches with basic rather than complete autonomy
• Complex tasks may require a remote 1X Expert
• Remote access creates important privacy and security questions
• No quantified public external household fleet
• No independent task-success, intervention or reliability benchmark
• Four-hour runtime is shorter than Figure 03
• 8.2 kg arm payload is below Figure 03’s headline 20 kg payload
• IP44 body is splash resistant, not waterproof
• No public SDK, ROS package or third-party app ecosystem
• International availability is limited, with expansion stated from 2027
• The real total cost may include taxes, delivery and ongoing services not visible in the headline price
• Maximum run speed is not evidence of safe practical household performance

Figure 03 Pros and Cons

Pros

• Five-hour published runtime
• 20 kg published payload
• Strong full-body autonomy demonstrations under Helix 02
• Head cameras, palm cameras, fingertip tactile sensing and proprioception
• Touch sensitivity reported down to three grams
• Wireless 2 kW inductive charging
• Soft textiles, protective foam and home-oriented industrial design
• Advanced battery containment and certification work
• More than 350 third-generation robots produced by April 2026
• Demonstrated one-robot-per-hour manufacturing cycle
• Named Figure 03 logistics demonstration at BMW
• Commercial logistics agreement with Catalyst Brands
• Evidence of high-volume design, testing and fleet diagnostics
• Can serve both home-development and commercial use cases

Cons

• No public consumer price
• No consumer reservation or delivery programme
• No published household warranty or support package
• 61 kg body is much heavier than NEO
• No public whole-robot IP rating
• No published hand DoF, grip-force, accuracy or service-life specification comparable with NEO
• No public consumer app, remote-control model or permissions system
• No public customer SDK or ROS package
• Home demonstrations do not establish reliability across ordinary homes
• BMW and logistics work do not prove consumer home readiness
• No externally verified household uptime, intervention rate or total cost
• Figure 02’s 30,000-car contribution should not be attributed to Figure 03

Total Cost of Ownership

NEO is the only robot for which an initial household cost can be discussed, but even NEO does not yet support a complete long-term cost model.

For NEO Early Access, include:

• $20,000 ownership price
• Taxes, freight and any regional charges
• Home preparation and charging location
• Internet connectivity and possible mobile-data use
• Expert-mode, cloud, AI or software fees after included support
• Repairs after the three-year warranty
• Soft-goods replacement, hand wear and consumables
• Insurance and liability implications
• Time spent supervising, training and recovering the robot
• Resale value and hardware-obsolescence risk

For the $499 monthly plan, compare at least the three-year cash outlay of $17,964 with the $20,000 ownership price. Then verify whether subscription includes upgrades, repairs, Expert Mode, replacement, cancellation and return shipping. A lower initial commitment can be more valuable than ownership during a fast-changing first generation.

No Figure 03 household TCO can be calculated. Figure would need to publish price, service, charging hardware, warranty, software, installation and support terms. Enterprise customers should model integration, site safety, fleet management, human intervention and output per shift rather than guessing from manufacturing-cost claims.

Cost verdict: NEO is measurable but not yet fully predictable. Figure 03 is not commercially measurable for a household.

Questions to Ask Before Ordering or Piloting a Home Humanoid

1. Which exact tasks work autonomously on delivery? Request a written task list, not a highlight video.
2. What is the measured success rate? Ask for results over repeated cycles in homes similar to yours.
3. How often does a person intervene? Separate owner assistance, company teleoperation and onsite service.
4. What data leaves the home? Confirm video, audio, maps, object data, conversations and action logs.
5. Who can access the robot remotely? Define permissions, notice, session recording and emergency access.
6. What happens without internet? Identify which functions remain available and how the robot fails safely.
7. What areas are supported? Confirm stairs, rugs, thresholds, kitchens, bathrooms, pets and outdoor spaces.
8. What can it safely carry? Use the correct arm, carry or sustained payload for the real object.
9. How is a fall recovered? Establish whether the robot self-recovers and how a person moves it safely.
10. What does the warranty exclude? Check hands, batteries, soft goods, accidental damage and third-party use.
11. What costs continue after purchase? Include AI, cloud, Expert Mode, cellular connectivity and premium support.
12. Can the hardware be upgraded? Ask whether hands, compute, batteries and sensors can be replaced by newer modules.
13. Can the order be cancelled? Confirm deposit, delivery-delay and return terms in writing.
14. What safety evidence exists? Request certifications, test methods, emergency procedures and incident reporting.
15. Who is responsible for damage? Clarify liability when the robot acts autonomously or under remote control.

Who Should Consider 1X NEO?

NEO belongs on the shortlist if most of the following are true:

• You are a US-based early adopter prepared to reserve a first-generation home humanoid
• You value a published price and ownership route more than maximum current autonomy
• You accept that abilities will improve through software and real-world learning
• You are comfortable scheduling remote expert assistance for difficult tasks
• You want app and VR remote control in addition to autonomous operation
• You prefer a lighter, soft-bodied robot around the home
• You can maintain a suitable indoor environment, charger and reliable connectivity
• You understand that a reservation is not a guarantee of mature capability or an exact delivery date

Read the full 1X NEO review, then inspect the current NEO price, specifications and availability before placing a deposit.

Who Should Consider Figure 03?

Figure 03 belongs on the shortlist if:

• You are an enterprise exploring logistics, manufacturing or commercial humanoid deployment
• You prioritise demonstrated full-body autonomy and commercial fleet evidence
• Your task benefits from a 20 kg payload and five-hour runtime
• You need a partner developing AI, hardware and manufacturing as one vertically integrated system
• You can negotiate directly with Figure rather than purchase through a public store
• You are monitoring future household availability and can wait for formal pricing, support and delivery terms
• You do not require a public SDK or ROS platform

A normal household cannot currently choose Figure 03 as an orderable alternative to NEO. Review the complete Figure 03 review and Figure 03 product profile as a technology and commercial-status reference, not as evidence of available stock.

Common Comparison Mistakes

• Calling Figure 03 available for consumers: Figure has not published a household price, preorder or delivery programme.
• Calling NEO fully autonomous at delivery: 1X states that Early Access begins with basic autonomy and uses Expert Mode for difficult tasks.
• Comparing NEO’s 70 kg lift with Figure’s 20 kg payload: peak whole-body lift, arm payload and carried payload are different ratings.
• Saying NEO has only 22 total hand DoF: the latest 1X hand announcement describes 22 finger-and-palm DoF plus three wrist DoF per side.
• Inventing a Figure 03 hand DoF count: Figure does not publish a complete current count.
• Attributing 30,000 BMW cars to Figure 03: that reported production contribution came from Figure 02 in 2025.
• Calling one-per-hour manufacturing the same as consumer deliveries: production cycle, finished output, allocation and customer shipment are different.
• Assuming a home demo establishes unrestricted autonomy: edited demonstrations do not disclose intervention rate or long-tail failures.
• Treating remote assistance as a hidden failure: human help can increase usefulness, but it must be disclosed and governed.
• Ignoring privacy: a connected mobile robot can see, hear, remember and physically act inside private spaces.
• Calling IP44 waterproof: NEO’s body is splash resistant, while only the hands are listed as IP68.
• Choosing by maximum running speed: safe reduced-speed performance matters far more inside a home.
• Assuming the lighter robot is automatically safer: control, stopping, grasped objects, falls and software behaviour also matter.
• Using company valuation as product evidence: funding does not establish task success, reliability or customer value.

FAQs

Is 1X NEO better than Figure 03?

NEO is better for a consumer who wants to place an order because it has a public $20,000 Early Access price, a refundable deposit and a stated US delivery path. Figure 03 is the more advanced platform based on published runtime, payload, autonomy demonstrations, quantified production, a BMW field demonstration and a commercial logistics agreement.

Which is more advanced, NEO or Figure 03?

Figure 03 is more advanced in demonstrated end-to-end autonomy, fleet production and external field evidence. Helix 02 controls the full robot using vision, touch, language and proprioception, while Figure has produced hundreds of units. NEO has exceptionally detailed hand hardware and a more complete consumer product, but its Early Access autonomy is explicitly foundational.

Which robot can I buy?

1X NEO can be reserved through 1X’s public order page. Figure 03 does not have a public consumer order programme as of 17 July 2026.

How much does 1X NEO cost?

The Early Access ownership package is listed at $20,000 with a three-year warranty, premium support and priority delivery. 1X also lists a later Standard subscription at $499 per month. A $200 refundable deposit is required to reserve.

How much does Figure 03 cost?

Figure has not published a Figure 03 purchase price, consumer subscription or deposit. Any public number not supported by a current Figure offer is an estimate.

When will 1X NEO be delivered?

1X says US Early Access deliveries start in 2026 and expansion to other markets begins in 2027. Individual dates depend on allocation, order timing, readiness and final commercial terms.

When can consumers buy Figure 03?

Figure has not announced a consumer sales date. The company is using Figure 03 for internal development, home-task research and commercial deployment programmes.

Which robot is taller?

Figure 03 is approximately 5 ft 8 in tall. NEO is 5 ft 6 in. The two-inch difference is less significant than the weight difference.

Which robot is lighter?

NEO is much lighter at 30 kg. Figure 03 weighs 61 kg.

Which robot is stronger?

The ratings are not directly comparable. Figure 03 publishes a 20 kg payload. NEO publishes an 8.2 kg arm payload, 25 kg carry capacity and approximately 70 kg whole-body lift. For an exact task, ask each company for sustained payload at the required reach and speed.

Which robot is faster?

NEO publishes a 1.4 m/s walking speed, compared with 1.2 m/s for Figure 03. 1X also publishes a 6.2 m/s maximum run speed, but maximum running speed is not a useful measure of safe household performance.

Which robot has longer battery life?

Figure 03. It publishes five hours of runtime, compared with up to four hours for NEO.

How does NEO charge?

NEO manages its battery and physically plugs itself into its charger. 1X publishes a quick-charge rate of six minutes for each additional hour of runtime.

How does Figure 03 charge?

Figure 03 uses 2 kW wireless inductive charging. Coils in its feet allow it to step onto a charging stand and recharge without connecting a cable.

Which robot has better hands?

NEO has the more detailed published hand specification: 25 DoF including the wrist, force-transparent tendon drives, tactile and shear sensing, IP68 sealing and published force and accuracy figures. Figure 03 has stronger public evidence of its hands operating autonomously as part of a full-body AI policy. The winner depends on whether hardware transparency or demonstrated AI integration matters more.

How many degrees of freedom does NEO have?

The current product page lists 22 DoF per hand, 7 per arm, 3 in the neck, 2 in the spine and 6 per leg. 1X’s latest hand announcement counts 25 DoF per complete hand-and-wrist assembly: 22 in the fingers and palm plus 3 in the wrist.

How many degrees of freedom does Figure 03 have?

Figure has not published a complete current Figure 03 DoF total or directly comparable hand count. Do not copy a Figure 01 or Figure 02 number into the current robot.

Can NEO work fully autonomously?

1X says NEO is built for full autonomy, but Early Access arrives with basic autonomy and gains abilities over time. Complex unknown tasks may use Scheduled Expert Mode.

Can Figure 03 work fully autonomously?

Figure demonstrates Figure 03 performing household and logistics tasks autonomously under Helix 02. The company has not published a consumer task guarantee, general success rate or evidence that every unfamiliar home task works without intervention.

Does a human remotely control NEO?

NEO can be remotely piloted by its owner through the app and VR. For difficult tasks, a scheduled 1X Expert can remotely supervise the robot. Buyers should review access, recording, privacy and data terms before ordering.

Does Figure 03 use teleoperation?

Figure has not announced a consumer teleoperation or expert-assistance service comparable with NEO’s. Figure uses demonstrations and data collection in development, but the public household operating model has not been launched.

Is NEO waterproof?

No. The NEO body is rated IP44, which provides splash resistance under defined test conditions. Its hands are rated IP68. Do not immerse the robot or assume it is approved for showers, pools or heavy washdown.

Is Figure 03 waterproof?

Figure does not publish a whole-robot IP rating. Its soft goods are removable and washable, but that is not the same as a waterproof robot.

Which robot is safer around people?

NEO has the stronger disclosed home-contact design because it weighs 30 kg, uses low-inertia backdrivable tendon drives, has a soft exterior, covers pinch points and publishes HIC below 250. Figure 03 also uses foam, textiles and compliant hands, but weighs 61 kg and publishes fewer whole-robot contact metrics.

Can NEO or Figure 03 cook?

Both platforms have demonstrated elements of kitchen work, but neither should be assumed capable of unsupervised general cooking. Heat, blades, liquids, contamination, food safety and appliance variation require a much higher safety and reliability standard than moving ordinary objects.

Can NEO or Figure 03 care for an elderly person?

Neither should replace a trained carer, medical device or emergency service. They may eventually assist with fetching objects, reminders or simple household work, but no validated medical or personal-care package establishes responsibility for falls, medication or emergencies.

Which robot is better for factory or warehouse work?

Figure 03. It has a named BMW sequencing deployment, a Catalyst Brands logistics agreement, a 20 kg payload and stronger fleet evidence. NEO is primarily designed and sold as a home robot.

Which robot is better for a small apartment?

NEO is the more practical candidate because it is slightly shorter and approximately half the weight. The real answer depends on doors, turning space, rugs, stairs, charging and whether the robot can safely recover from a fall.

Can developers program NEO or Figure 03?

Both companies program their robots internally, but neither offers a broadly documented public SDK or ROS package for the current consumer or commercial platform. Private enterprise access should not be confused with an open developer product.

Which company is manufacturing more robots?

Figure publishes stronger current evidence: more than 350 Figure 03 robots produced by April 2026 and a demonstrated one-per-hour cycle. 1X publishes capacity of up to 10,000 NEO units per year and a plan to exceed 100,000 annually by the end of 2027, but not a comparable cumulative output figure.

Should I buy NEO or wait for Figure 03?

Reserve NEO only if you actively want an Early Access product, accept limited initial autonomy and are comfortable with remote expert assistance. Wait for Figure 03 if you want the technically stronger platform but require a consumer price, warranty and delivery commitment. Conservative buyers should wait for independent field evidence from both.

Final Verdict

Figure 03 wins the technical comparison. 1X NEO wins the commercial buying comparison.

Figure 03 is the stronger robot platform in 2026. It offers a five-hour runtime, 20 kg payload, sophisticated palm and fingertip sensing, wireless charging and the most convincing public integration of language, perception, touch, locomotion and fine manipulation. Figure has also produced more than 350 third-generation robots, demonstrated a one-unit-per-hour manufacturing cycle and deployed Figure 03 into a BMW logistics workflow.

NEO is the more credible consumer product because 1X has answered questions Figure has not: what it costs, how to reserve it, when US deliveries begin, how long the warranty lasts, how the owner controls it and what happens when autonomy is not enough. It is much lighter, publishes more home-contact safety information and provides a direct path to human-assisted task completion.

The trade-off is fundamental. NEO can be ordered, but it is not yet fully autonomous. Figure 03 is more autonomous and better evidenced, but it cannot yet be ordered by a normal household.

For an early adopter in the United States who wants a home humanoid in 2026, NEO is the only actionable choice. The buyer should treat the $20,000 package as participation in an evolving Early Access programme, not the purchase of a finished robotic housekeeper that completes every chore independently.

For an enterprise evaluating logistics or manufacturing, Figure 03 is the stronger shortlist candidate. For a household that prioritises reliability, privacy, proven safety and predictable support over being first, the correct answer is to wait.

Review 1X NEO and Figure 03 in more detail, compare both humanoid robots side by side, or use the Anton Robots finder to identify the best robot for your application, environment and budget.

Primary Sources

• 1X NEO official product specifications and features
• 1X NEO official pricing, deposit and order options
• 1X NEO home-robot launch, availability and market rollout
• 1X NEO shipping-hand engineering and 25-DoF explanation
• 1X Redwood AI architecture and learning approach
• 1X NEO Factory, current capacity and scaling plan
• Figure 03 official product specifications
• Figure 03 launch, sensors, home design and wireless charging
• Figure Helix 02 full-body autonomy architecture
• Figure 03 multi-robot bedroom-tidying demonstration
• Figure 03 battery engineering, safety and manufacturing
• Figure 03 production volume, throughput, yield and testing
• Figure 03 logistics sequencing deployment at BMW
• Figure commercial logistics agreement with Catalyst Brands