Microduck compared: every head-to-head, alternative and review in one place

Robot comparisons are usually written by whoever sells one of the robots - this page included, and we say so up front. What a page like this can honestly do is put every comparison in one place, keep the facts about the other robots fair, and link to the deep write-ups instead of padding out summaries. Start with the table, then read the one that matches your question.

How to use this page

The line-up in one table

	Microduck	Reachy Mini (Lite / Wireless)	Open Duck Mini v2	Petoi Bittle X	Beni
Price	$399	$399 / $499	Parts in the low hundreds to around $500	Around $300, kit-dependent	Free
What it is	25 cm biped duck robot, about 800 g	Expressive desktop companion	DIY biped you print, source and assemble	Palm-sized quadruped robot dog	Open-source browser robot racing game
How it moves	Walks, turns, kicks, balances, drives on rollers	Expressive motion for interaction and apps	Walks - once you have built it	Walks on four legs	Runs in your browser on MuJoCo physics
Open in what way	Software, SDK, simulator and RL stack (Apache-2.0)	Design files and SDK; a large app library	Everything - CAD, parts, runtime, training	OpenCat framework open; the kit is a product	MIT-licensed game, server and training source
Best for	Learning sim-to-real locomotion on real hardware	Interaction, creative coding, AI experiments	Makers who want the whole build	STEM learning and first robots	Racing (and reading RL code) for free

Prices are what each maker published at the time of writing - check the current number before you decide.

The four head-to-heads

Microduck vs Reachy Mini - the in-house one

Same maker, same $399, opposite jobs: Microduck is built to walk and to be retrained; Reachy Mini is built to interact. It is the most common comparison because the price tag makes people ask, and the full write-up answers it spec by spec.

Microduck vs Open Duck Mini v2 - buy or build?

Both are small walking bipeds trained with reinforcement learning; the difference is who assembles the machine. If the build is the hobby, Open Duck Mini wins outright - the comparison says so plainly.

Microduck vs Petoi Bittle - biped or quadruped?

A walking duck against a robot dog: the honest split is locomotion research versus first-robot stability. Biped or quadruped goes through the projects each one is actually built for.

Microduck vs Beni - hardware or browser?

Not really competitors: Beni is a free browser racing game (MIT-licensed, MuJoCo WebAssembly, ONNX policies) that shares Microduck's training ecosystem. If you like one, you will like the other - here is why.

Beyond the four

Still deciding?

Compare FAQ

Which one is best? There is no honest single answer, and any page that gives you one is selling something. Match the robot to the job: locomotion and retraining (Microduck), interaction (Reachy Mini), building (Open Duck Mini), four-legged first robots (Bittle), free racing (Beni).

Is a robot dog better with kids? Quadrupeds are steadier and often the better first robot; bipeds are more mechanical drama. That trade-off has its own page: Microduck vs Petoi Bittle.

Can I try before choosing? Three free ways: the browser simulator, Beni in a browser tab, and the launch videos linked from the press page.

Do the prices on this page hold? They are the makers' published prices at the time of writing; robots get discounts and bundles all the time, so check the store before deciding.

Where do I buy a Microduck? microduck.homes, this site - it is sold nowhere else, and the official sources check explains how to verify that before paying.