Microduck vs Reachy Mini: how the two Pollen robots compare
Both robots come from Pollen Robotics, and both cost the same to start with: $399. But they are built for different things. Microduck is the one that walks - a 25 cm biped duck you train with reinforcement learning. Reachy Mini is the desk companion - an expressive robot built for human interaction, creative coding and AI experimentation.
Here is the honest comparison, so you can pick the one that matches what you actually want to do.
The short answer
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Want a robot that walks, balances and kicks on your desk? Pre-order Microduck, $399.
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Want a robot that makes eye contact and runs interactive apps? That is Reachy Mini - the Lite at $399 or the Wireless at $499.
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Want both? Plenty of people will own both. They overlap less than the price tag suggests.
Specs side by side
| Microduck | Reachy Mini Lite | Reachy Mini Wireless | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $399 | $399 | $499 |
| What it is | 25 cm biped duck robot, about 800 g | Expressive desktop robot | Same robot with the computer built in |
| Compute | Onboard policy loop at 50 Hz | Uses your Mac, PC or Linux machine over USB | Raspberry Pi CM 4 on board, Wi-Fi and USB |
| Motion | Walking, turning, kicking, balancing, driving on rollers | Expressive motion for interaction and apps | Same motion capabilities as the Lite |
| Sensing | Camera, LiDAR, two IMUs | Camera, four microphones, speaker, accelerometer | Camera, four microphones, speaker, accelerometer |
| Software | Python SDK, simulator, reinforcement-learning stack (mjlab) | JavaScript SDK and a library of ready-made apps | Same apps and SDK as the Lite |
| Best for | Legged locomotion, RL training, sim-to-real | Interaction, creative coding, AI experiments | The same, cord-free |
Prices are as published by the makers at the time of writing - check each store for the current number.
What Microduck does that Reachy Mini does not
Microduck's whole point is legged locomotion. A biped has to balance, catch itself and recover, and that is where the interesting engineering lives:
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Seven trained moves ship installed: standing up, sitting and standing, walking, turning, kicking, driving and grabbing.
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Every move is a policy you can retrain - the RL environments are public and built on mjlab.
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The accessory pack adds the props the moves use: rollers for driving, a ball for kicking, NFC tags for tricks.
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It is a sim-to-real robot: train in the simulator, then move the policy onto the hardware and tune it. The training guide walks through the whole loop.
If you want to learn reinforcement learning on real hardware, this is the harder, more interesting robot.
What Reachy Mini does that Microduck does not
Reachy Mini is designed around human interaction. On its store page it is pitched as "an expressive companion robot designed for human interaction, creative coding, and AI experimentation":
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A four-microphone array and a speaker, so it can listen and talk back.
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Ready-to-use apps - the getting-started path is "download an app", not "train a policy".
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A JavaScript SDK, which is friendlier if your background is web development.
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A Wireless version with a Raspberry Pi CM 4 inside, so it runs with nothing else attached.
If your project is "build a robot that reacts to people", Reachy Mini starts closer to that goal.
Which one should you buy
Pick Microduck if: you want to train policies, you find walking robots fascinating, you are happy in Python, and you want a robot that gets back up after a push.
Pick Reachy Mini if: you want expressive interaction, quick wins from ready-made apps, and you would rather write JavaScript than tune reward functions.
Pick Microduck first if you are choosing one: it is the same entry price, and the reinforcement-learning skills transfer to any robot you touch afterwards. Just know that a biped is harder than a wheeled or desk-bound robot - that difficulty is the point.
Buying and shipping
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Microduck is a pre-order at $399 before taxes and shipping, checked out on the pre-order page. The where to buy guide covers packs, countries and checkout.
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Reachy Mini is ordered directly from its own store, with the Lite at $399 and the Wireless at $499.
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Both are open source and both have communities on the Pollen Robotics Discord, so whichever you choose, you are not alone with it.
Microduck vs Reachy Mini: FAQ
Are Microduck and Reachy Mini made by the same company? Yes - both are Pollen Robotics robots.
Which is cheaper? Microduck and Reachy Mini Lite both start at $399. The Reachy Mini Wireless is $499. All prices are before taxes and shipping.
Is Microduck just a Reachy Mini accessory? No. It is a separate robot with its own SDK, its own RL stack and its own hardware design.
Can I own both? Yes, and they do different things. Microduck walks; Reachy Mini interacts.
Which is better for a beginner? Reachy Mini, if you start from ready-made apps. Microduck, if you want to learn reinforcement learning and do not mind that walking robots are genuinely hard.
Do they share an SDK? No. Microduck is programmed from Python, Reachy Mini has its own JavaScript SDK.
Which one is more open? Both are open source. Microduck's walking policies and training environments are published, so the "how" behind every move is inspectable.