Renting a robot dog: prices and when buying pays off
Renting a Unitree Go2 costs $229 a day with a 3-day minimum, $995 a week or $2,895 a month: that is the only public price list we found, Maverick Drone's in the United States (18 Sep 2026). In Italy and Europe the rental companies (Eagle Robots, Futurobots, E-quipe, ROBOTio) work on quotation and publish no figures. The sum can be done all the same: at those rates 13 days of rental, or a single month, cost as much as a brand-new Go2 Pro at list price ($2,800). For a two- or three-day event renting makes sense; beyond two weeks it pays to buy and, when you're done, resell.
What renting costs: public prices and quotations in Italy
| Rental company | Where | Robots | Public price | Minimum term | What's included |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maverick Drone | USA | Go2 Air, Pro or EDU, subject to availability | $229/day (3 days: $687), $995/week, $2,895/month; refundable $590 deposit | 3 days | Standard battery, charger, remote control, 4 spare feet, display stand; shipping or collection to be arranged |
| Eagle Robots | Italy | Quadrupeds A2, As2, B2 (also in W version); humanoids G1, G1-D, GD01, H1/H1-2, H2, H2 Plus. The Go2 and R1 are in the sales catalogue: for rental you have to ask | n/a (quotation) | Short, medium or long term | Maintenance, updates, technical support |
| Futurobots | Marketplace, delivery by a certified EU supplier | Go2, G1, R1, A2 | n/a (price per country, shown only at checkout) | 7 days (Go2 EDU: 1 month) | Delivery and collection, 3 hours of training, standard damage protection, support; refundable deposit |
| E-quipe | Rome | G1 | n/a | n/a | AI trained on the client company's documents, Livox MID-360 safety LiDAR, set-up for trade fairs and galas |
| ROBOTio | Prague, shipping to CZ and the EU | 16 Unitree models (G1, R1, Go2) | n/a (quotation within 24 hours) | From 1 day to several weeks | Shipping, installation, operator training; the rental is credited against a future purchase; spare parts covered on long terms |
| Sebotics | Switzerland | Service robots (BellaBot, CadeBot, Mars); no Unitree | n/a | n/a | Delivery, installation, training, technicians on request |
Sources consulted on 18 September 2026, listed at the end. In euros, at the exchange rate used by the Robolero catalogue (USD × 0.92), Maverick's rates are about €211 a day, €915 a week and €2,663 a month. They are American prices: they serve as a reference for the order of magnitude, not as an Italian price list. An Italian quotation usually includes transport, an operator and insurance, which in the United States are extra.
Who rents in Italy and Europe: Go2, G1, R1 for events, trade fairs, commercials
Unitree robot rental in Europe has two markets. The first is events: trade fairs, product launches, galas, commercials, private parties. Here the robot is an attraction and the rental lasts from a day to a week. E-quipe, in Rome, offers the G1 as an "advanced host" on the stand, with an artificial intelligence trained on the client company's catalogues and an extra LiDAR to move through the crowd (e-quipe.it, 18 Sep 2026). ROBOTio, in Prague, ships across the Union with installation and operator training, and credits the rental against the price if you later buy (shop.robotio.eu, 18 Sep 2026). Futurobots is a marketplace: it owns no robots, it rents them from a network of certified operators with delivery in a nearby EU country, with no customs; 7-day minimum, a different price for each country (futurobots.com, 18 Sep 2026).
The second market is operational, for companies and institutions: pilot projects, inspections, research. This is the ground of Eagle Robots, the only authorised Unitree service centre in Italy, which rents the industrial quadrupeds (A2, As2, B2) and the humanoids from the G1 to the H2 Plus with maintenance and updates included; for the Go2 and R1, which it sells, the rental page does not list them and you have to ask (eaglerobots.com, 18 Sep 2026).
The Go2 is the robot that appears in the most rental catalogues (Maverick, Futurobots, ROBOTio) because it is the most widespread, the easiest to use and the least fragile: it walks, runs, avoids obstacles and responds to voice commands (Pro and X). The G1 is the choice when you need a humanoid that talks to people; the R1 is the lightweight version for content and activations. No rental company in the table publishes figures for the G1 and R1: n/a.
Operational rental for companies: what it includes and typical terms
Operational rental is a service contract: you pay a fee and the supplier remains responsible for the robot. Eagle Robots describes it with three items: "maintenance, updates and technical support", with "tailored solutions" for "pilot projects, events or long-term use" (eaglerobots.com, 18 Sep 2026). ROBOTio adds that on long rentals spare parts are covered; Futurobots includes delivery, collection, 3 hours of training and basic damage protection, with a paid full plan for crowded events and filming (futurobots.com, 18 Sep 2026).
The terms, from the same pages: from 1 day to several weeks for events (ROBOTio), minimum 7 days on Futurobots, with the best discount when booking 28 or more days ahead, and short, medium or long term for corporate pilots (Eagle Robots). For the Go2 EDU, the version for programmers, Futurobots requires a one-month minimum and the presence of a trained operator during use.
For a company the advantage is not the price, which over the long run exceeds a purchase, but three things: no capital tied up, no risk on breakdowns (a Go2 battery costs €460–600 if it needs replacing, and on the G1 and R1 repairs go through Unitree with shipping at the customer's expense) and the option to switch models when a new one comes out.
The break-even point: after how many days of rental buying pays off
The calculation uses Maverick's public rates and Unitree's official dollar list prices, as reported in the Robolero catalogue (18 Sep 2026): Go2 Air $1,600, Go2 Pro $2,800, Go2 X $4,500. For the Go2 EDU Unitree publishes no list price: we use the US resellers' price, $11,190.
| Robot | New list price | Daily ($229) | Weekly ($995) | Monthly ($2,895) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Go2 Air | $1,600 | 7 days ($1,603) | 2 weeks ($1,990) | Less than 1 month |
| Go2 Pro | $2,800 | 13 days ($2,977) | 3 weeks ($2,985) | 1 month ($2,895) |
| Go2 X | $4,500 | 20 days ($4,580) | 5 weeks ($4,975) | 2 months ($5,790) |
| Go2 EDU | $11,190 (resellers) | 49 days ($11,221) | 12 weeks ($11,940) | 4 months ($11,580) |
How to read it: Maverick rents the Air, Pro or EDU at the same rate, subject to availability. If they give you an Air, after a week you have spent what it is worth new. If they give you a Pro, break-even comes on the thirteenth day. Only with the EDU, which costs four times the Pro, does renting stay worthwhile for more than a month.
In Italy the comparison has to be made with the price you actually pay. A Go2 Pro from a European reseller costs €3,799 incl. VAT (Generation Robots, 18 Sep 2026), i.e. about 18 days of rental at the American daily rate, or 5 weeks, or 2 months. Importing it from the Unitree store you pay €2,580 list price plus shipping, duty and VAT: Robolero's real-cost calculator gives you the total for your country. The rule stays the same: under two weeks rent, over three buy.
Buy and resell: the alternative to renting, with the residual value
There is a third way that rental companies don't mention: buy, use the robot for as long as you need and resell it. What you really spend is the difference between the price paid and the resale value.
| Robot | New (list price) | Used in good condition (Robolero estimate) | Net cost if you resell |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go2 Air | €1,470 | €910–1,250 | €220–560 |
| Go2 Pro | €2,580 | €1,600–2,190 | €390–980 |
| Go2 X | €4,140 | €2,570–3,520 | €620–1,570 |
| Go2 EDU | €10,300 | €6,390–8,760 | €1,540–3,910 |
| G1 | €12,400 | €7,690–10,540 | €1,860–4,710 |
List price and used range from the Robolero catalogue (18 Sep 2026). The comparison is stark: a Go2 Pro bought at list price and resold in good condition costs €390–980, less than a month of rental (about €2,663) and comparable to a week (about €915). Even buying in Europe at €3,799 incl. VAT, the net cost of €1,610–2,200 stays below a month of rental.
The conditions for the sum to work:
- Actually resell. The used robot market is young: sellers need patience, photos, an invoice and the box. Robolero's valuation tells you what to ask and at what figure it sells quickly.
- Battery. It is the part that wears out: a Go2 replacement costs €460 on the Unitree store and €600 incl. VAT in Europe. A robot resold with a tired battery is worth less.
- Documents and CE. A robot imported without an invoice or CE marking resells worse; read the used guide and the one on importing.
What to ask the rental company
Six questions before signing, with what the rental companies' public pages say:
- Is the operator included? For events usually yes (E-quipe, ROBOTio, Sebotics); Futurobots trains your team for 3 hours and on the Go2 EDU insists on a trained operator being present at all times. A Go2 in a crowd with nobody driving it is a risk, not an attraction.
- Who pays if it breaks? Maverick holds a $590 deposit. Futurobots includes standard protection and excludes theft, wilful damage and misuse; the full plan is paid. Ask for the limit and the excess in writing.
- Transport and set-up. Futurobots and ROBOTio include delivery and collection; Maverick arranges them separately. A Go2 weighs about 15 kg, a G1 about 35 kg: ask who unloads it and who switches it on.
- How many batteries? Maverick includes one. A Go2 lasts 1–2 hours and recharges in 2 hours with the standard charger (0.8 with the fast one); for an 8-hour trade fair you need at least three batteries or a plan of breaks. The G1 lasts about 2 hours, the R1 about 1.
- Firmware, accounts and data. Ask for the robot to arrive updated and with the rental company's account set up for you, and for it to be reset on return: a robot with cameras and microphones passes from hand to hand. We cover it in the guide on data and security of robots at home.
- Is it credited against a purchase? ROBOTio says so. If you are considering buying, this is the clause that turns the rental into a half-paid trial.
Who should rent and who should buy
Rent if you need the robot for a single 1–3-day event, for a commercial, for a trial before deciding, or if you are a company that wants a pilot of a few weeks without tying up capital and without breakdown risk. Rent also if you want a humanoid: a new G1 costs €12,400 at list price and €27,000 incl. VAT in Europe, and for a weekend it makes no sense.
Buy if you will use it for more than two or three weeks in a year, if you are a creator or a developer who works with it every day, or if you want the budget model: a new Go2 Air costs as much as 7 days of American rental. And remember that buying is not forever: reselling, a Go2 Pro costs you €390–980 net, by Robolero's estimate.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to rent a robot dog for a day? The only public price list is American: $229 a day for a Unitree Go2, with a 3-day minimum ($687), from Maverick Drone (18 Sep 2026). In Italy the price is on quotation and usually includes transport and an operator: n/a.
Can you rent a humanoid robot in Italy? Yes: Eagle Robots rents the G1, H1 and H2 with maintenance and support included; E-quipe, in Rome, offers the G1 for trade fairs and events. Neither publishes prices.
After how long does buying pay off instead of renting? With the public rates and Unitree's list prices, a new Go2 Pro costs as much as 13 days of daily rental or one month of monthly rental. Above three weeks of use, buying costs less; if you then resell, it costs much less.
Does the rental include the operator and insurance? It depends on the contract. For events in Italy and Europe the operator is usually included; the insurance has to be read clause by clause: security deposit ($590 from Maverick), standard protection with exclusions (Futurobots) or paid full cover.
Can I rent a robot dog for a private party? Yes. Futurobots lists private parties among the uses, ROBOTio rents from one day. Ask for the operator: a Go2 among children and tables has to be driven by someone who knows it, and Unitree's usage warnings ask for 2 metres of distance from people.
Deciding between renting and buying? Get Robolero's free valuation: it tells you what a used robot is worth today and what you would resell it for tomorrow, so you do the sum with real numbers. On Robolero's marketplace you'll find listings from private sellers and dealers with the deal rating; if your robot has done its job, put it up for sale.
Sources
- Maverick Drone, "Unitree Go2 Quadruped Robot Dog Rental" ($229/day, $995/week, $2,895/month, $590 deposit, kit): https://www.maverickdrone.com/products/unitree-go2-quadruped-robot-dog-rental (accessed 18 Sep 2026)
- Eagle Robots, "Noleggio operativo" (models, maintenance, updates, support; quotation): https://www.eaglerobots.com/noleggio-operativo/ (18 Sep 2026)
- Futurobots, home, Go2 page and FAQ (7-day minimum, Go2 EDU 1 month, delivery and collection, 3 hours of training, damage protection, deposit): https://www.futurobots.com/ (18 Sep 2026)
- E-quipe Lab, "Noleggio robot umanoidi per eventi" (G1, trained AI, Livox MID-360 LiDAR, Rome): https://e-quipe.it/it/news/noleggio-robot-umanoidi-eventi-unitree-ai (18 Sep 2026)
- ROBOTio Shop (16 Unitree models, event rental from 1 day, shipping CZ/EU, credit against purchase, spare parts on long terms): https://shop.robotio.eu/ (18 Sep 2026)
- Sebotics, "Robot rental for events" (Switzerland, service robots, price after a call): https://sebotics.com/it/eventvermietung/ (18 Sep 2026)
- Unitree, official Go2 store ($2,800 Pro, battery from $500, remote control $300, shipping $399–1,000): https://shop.unitree.com/products/unitree-go2 (18 Sep 2026)
- Unitree, official G1 store ($13,500; EDU on request; shipping $300–1,200): https://shop.unitree.com/products/unitree-g1 (18 Sep 2026)
- Generation Robots, Unitree Go2 Pro at €3,799 incl. VAT: https://www.generationrobots.com/en/404129-unitree-go2-pro-quadruped-robot.html (18 Sep 2026)
- Robolero catalogue, `public/models.js` (USD list prices × 0.92, EU prices, used range, battery life) and used valuation in `value.html`, verified on 18 Sep 2026.