How much does a work-capable humanoid robot cost?
Humanoid robot price, capability-adjusted · $/unit · measured 2021–2026 · fitted live from 5 observations by the Many Minded cost-curve engine.
The last measured value is $50K (2026, vendor pricing + press). Over the fitted window the series falls 27.5% a year (80% interval −39.2% to −13.6%) — a halving every 2.2 years (80%: 1.4–4.7). Carried forward on that fit, 2031: $10K (80%: $3K–$35K).
Estimate-grade series. This one is constructed, not read off an authoritative sheet — capability-adjusted price of a WORK-capable general-purpose humanoid — a judgment series (est-grade) until autonomy benchmarks exist; the raw list-price collapse is the measured sibling below, and it runs far steeper. Treat the level as an estimate and the slope as the claim.
Thin series — n=5. Under six observations the interval is carried by the Farmer–Lafond drift-volatility prior rather than by this series' own measured volatility. The band is wide because the evidence is thin, and that is the correct response.
the curve
what this series measures
capability-adjusted price of a WORK-capable general-purpose humanoid — a judgment series (est-grade) until autonomy benchmarks exist; the raw list-price collapse is the measured sibling below, and it runs far steeper.
the gate — what crossing this threshold changes
Central fit: ~2029. 80% window: 2028–2033 · est-grade · n=5. That is 1.3 halvings away at today's value.
what the fit says
| quantity | value | how it is computed |
|---|---|---|
| fitted rate | −27.5%/yr (80%: −39.2% to −13.6%) | Farmer–Lafond drift over the trailing window · n=5 points, 5 years |
| halving time | 2.2 years (80%: 1.4–4.7) | implied by the fitted drift |
Not shown for this curve, because the machinery returns nothing: Wright's law (no cumulative-deployment series for this technology); the accelerating/decelerating check (needs ≥8 observations, this has 5); a regime break (needs ≥12 observations).
the projection, with its interval
Log cost as a random walk with drift: the forecast variance grows with horizon (τ + τ²/m), which is why these bands widen instead of staying parallel. The middle column is the least useful number on this page; the interval is the claim.
| year | central fit | 80% interval | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | $36K | $24K to $56K | near horizon |
| 2028 | $26K | $14K to $51K | near horizon |
| 2029 | $19K | $8K to $45K | near horizon |
| 2030 | $14K | $5K to $40K | the band is already wide here |
| 2031 | $10K | $3K to $35K | the band is already wide here |
| 2032 | $7K | $2K to $30K | the band is already wide here |
| 2033 | $5K | $1K to $26K | far horizon — read the interval, not the middle |
Projected to 2033, the horizon the whole engine uses.
questions this page answers
How much does a work-capable humanoid robot cost?
$50K as of 2026, the latest measured value in the series (vendor pricing + press). The fitted trend has it falling 27.5% a year, with an 80% interval of −39.2% to −13.6%. This is an estimate-grade series: the level is constructed, so read the slope as the claim.
How fast is the price of a work-capable humanoid falling?
−27.5% a year over the fitted window, an 80% interval of −39.2% to −13.6% — a halving every 2.2 years (80%: 1.4 to 4.7 years). Fitted from 5 observations spanning 5 years.
What will the price of a work-capable humanoid be in 2031?
The central fit says $10K, inside an 80% interval of $3K to $35K. The interval is the forecast; the middle number is only its midpoint. Bands widen with horizon because shocks accumulate — a constant-width band would be overconfident.
When will the price of a work-capable humanoid reach ≤ $20K/unit (capable)?
The central fit says ~2029, with an 80% window of 2028–2033, on an estimate-grade series from 5 observations. Crossing it is what the engine calls "robot build labor ≤ half of human cost", firing: the town · houses grow 2×. Treat the window, not the year, as the claim.
Where does this data come from?
vendor pricing + press. 5 observations spanning 2021–2026. The series is estimate-grade — constructed from vendor sheets and practitioner reports, and labeled as such wherever it appears. Both the observation ledger and the fitting code are public, and the engine publishes its own calibration score and its misses.
the raw numbers
Every observation behind the fit, unrounded by us and unsmoothed. This table is here on purpose: graphs make people underestimate exponential change, and the raw series beside the curve is the one correction shown to work.
| year | $/unit | change |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $250K | — |
| 2023 | $150K | −22.5%/yr |
| 2024 | $90K | −40.0% |
| 2025 | $65K | −27.8% |
| 2026 | $50K | −23.1% |
where this comes from
- Source: vendor pricing + press.
- Basis: estimate-grade. The series is constructed from vendor sheets and practitioner reports, labeled as such everywhere it appears, and never presented as a measured benchmark.
- Observations: n=5, spanning 2021–2026. Ledger last updated 2026-09-07.
- Fit: the Farmer–Lafond stochastic model — log cost as a random walk with drift over a 10-year trailing window, Student-t tails, and (for series under 15 points) a volatility floor at their drift-volatility prior. The code is readable source; the observation ledger is public JSON.
- Reuse: this compiled series and the numbers on this page are published under CC BY 4.0 — take them, cite the page. The underlying source keeps its own terms.
- Accuracy: the engine grades its own intervals in public — every feasible hindcast re-fitted on data as it stood, scored for whether the actual landed inside the 80% band. The calibration score is on the engine page, misses included.
the rest of the graph
Other GOODS curves:
Recent briefs from GOODS, the daily record of what moved:
- Factory robot purchases in North America jump by a quarter in third quarter 2026-10-29A3 counts 10,989 robots ordered in Q3 2026, up 24.8% in units, with electronics, plastics and pharma leading and automotive still behind.
- Robot imports ruled a security threat, but no tariff yet 2026-10-29A Commerce finding says imported robotics and industrial machinery threaten national security; the proclamation sets up negotiations, not duties.
- AI chip demand pushes PC costs up and shifts assembly back toward China 2026-10-28Rising memory and component prices tied to AI demand are squeezing PC affordability and pulling production toward cheaper Chinese supply chains.
- Berlin and Bonn chemists turn used silicone back into a raw building block 2026-10-28A Nature paper describes breaking silicone polymers down to dichlorosilane, an industrial monomer, rather than landfilling or burning them.
- DeepSeek V4.1-Flash-1017 lowers AI task costs while outperforming rivals 2026-10-18AI model cuts per-task costs to about $0.10 while beating major competitors in coding benchmarks
- Fairphone's Fairbuds 2: Repairable Earbuds Extend Lifespan 2026-10-18Fairphone released repairable earbuds in 2026 that let users swap batteries and replace individual components, cutting e-waste while extending product life.
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