Humanoid robot: subscribe or buy?

For 1X NEO, buying costs $20,000 and subscribing costs $499 a month, so owning becomes the cheaper option after about 40 months. If you expect to keep the robot longer than that and it works, buy. If you want to try an unproven robot with a way out, subscribe, but check the terms first, because 1X has not published cancellation or return rules on its order page.

NEO is the only home humanoid with both options. Figure, Tesla, Xpeng, Fourier and AgiBot have published neither. Unitree sells its robots outright only.

The two NEO offers

The figures come from 1X’s order page. It also says “US Deliveries start 2026” and names no other country. The page lists FAQ questions on data sharing and refunds, but when we read it the answers were not shown.

The math

Divide $20,000 by $499 and you get 40.1 months. Ownership also includes the three-year warranty, so the real comparison is not just price. After three years of payments you would have spent $17,964 and own nothing, while an owner would be at the end of the warranty with a robot of the same age.

The same math for the wheeled Weave Isaac 1 gives $7,999 divided by $449, or about 17.8 months. Weave also lists an optional $99-a-month premium membership, which The Gadgeteer notes adds $1,188 over a year to the hardware price. Isaac 1 is not a humanoid, but it is the closest priced comparison.

What the order page does not tell you

These are the questions to get answered in writing before you pay anything beyond the refundable deposit:

1. Is the subscription required to run an owned NEO? The page does not say. If owners need a monthly plan for remote help or updates, $20,000 is not the whole cost.
2. Can you cancel, and what happens to the robot? Do you return it, and who pays for shipping a 66-pound machine?
3. Who pays for repairs and damage on a subscription? The page lists the warranty only for ownership.
4. Does the price lock? The page gives no guarantee that $499 stays at $499.
5. What data stays with 1X after you cancel? Early robots lean on remote Experts and learn from those sessions, so deletion rights matter. The privacy guide covers this.
6. What exactly is the Starter Productivity Package? The page names it but does not describe it.
7. When is the rest of the $20,000 due? The page shows only the $200 due today, not when the remaining $19,800 is charged.

Delivery order and the deposit

Offbrand Human quotes 1X’s FAQ as saying US deliveries begin with Early Access purchases, followed by subscriptions, and that international deliveries come later with no date. That means a subscriber is likely to receive a robot later than an owner. The same FAQ says deposits are refundable up to the point your NEO is ready for delivery. As of mid-October 2026, Startup Fortune reported no independently verified delivery to a customer outside 1X’s early-access program, and 1X has told buyers that some will get a NEO this year and some later.

What “Early Access” means for an owner

1X labels the ownership option Early Access, and says NEO “arrives with basic autonomy for early owners and grows in capability over time.” Dezeen reports that the first owners will help train the AI. In practice, a $20,000 purchase is a stake in an unfinished product: you get the hardware, a three-year warranty and priority delivery, and the capabilities arrive through updates and remote sessions. The first-year production capacity is 10,000 units, according to The Next Web, and 1X says that batch sold out in five days. Offbrand Human points out that this counts refundable $200 deposits, so it is a measure of interest and not of robots sold.

Who should do what

Subscribe if you want to test home robotics without a large outlay, can accept being later in the delivery queue, and get answers on cancellation and returns. A subscription limits your loss if the robot is not useful.

Buy if you are confident you will keep the robot beyond three to four years, value the longer warranty and priority delivery, and can afford $20,000 for a product whose autonomy has not been independently verified.

Wait if you want proof first. The robots are early. An independent owner report is worth more than any spec sheet, and neither Figure nor Tesla has set a price. See can you buy a humanoid robot today and the price guide.

Other makers

Unitree sells the R1 ($4,900 and up) and G1 ($13,500) outright through its shop. Sunday’s beta is free to join and invite-only, but that is a selection process and not a rental, and Sunday says it will announce pricing closer to launch. Figure and Tesla have published no ownership or lease terms. If a headline mentions a monthly price for Figure or Tesla, check that it comes from the company.

One more check

A subscription that depends on a remote operator turns the robot into an ongoing service with a person on the other end. Compare 1X NEO to the alternatives in 1X NEO vs Figure 03 before you commit.