Phoenix vs Pepper: Specs, Price & ROS Support Compared (2023)
Sanctuary AI vs SoftBank Robotics / Aldebaran — independent, side-by-side analysis.
Quick Verdict
Phoenix leads in more DOF. Overall, Phoenix has an edge in 1 out of 1 compared categories.
Phoenix
Sanctuary AI
Pepper
SoftBank Robotics / Aldebaran
DNA Fingerprint Overlay
Phoenix Pepper
Specifications
Contact (enterprise)Price$32,000
170 cmHeight120 cm
70 kgWeight28 kg
41DOF20
25 kgPayload—
—Runtime12h
0.83 m/sSpeed0.83 m/s
YesStairsNo
NoLiDARNo
Carbon AI system (Microsoft Azure)ComputeIntel Atom Z530
Ecosystem Openness
8
Phoenix
/100
—
Pepper
Carbon AI fully proprietary. Microsoft Azure backend.
Pros and cons at a glance
Phoenix
Pros
- High rated payload (25 kg) for industrial pick-and-place
- 41 degrees of freedom — full-body articulation
Cons
- Still in development, no commercial availability
- Unit price not publicly disclosed (quote-on-request or enterprise-only)
- Closed software stack — no public SDK or ROS support
Pepper
Pros
- Long runtime (12h per charge) for full-shift operation
Cons
- Discontinued by the manufacturer
- Cannot navigate stairs — restricts deployment environments
Frequently asked questions
How do Phoenix and Pepper compare on price?
Phoenix: Contact (enterprise). Pepper: $32,000. Only one of the two has a public unit price; the other publishes a range or enterprise-only terms.
Is Phoenix or Pepper actually available to buy?
Phoenix is in active development without commercial availability. Pepper has been discontinued. Status reflects the vendor's published commercial position as of the last review and can change between announcement and actual delivery.
Which is better for ROS-based development: Phoenix or Pepper?
Phoenix has no ROS support; Pepper has ROS 1 only. For research and multi-vendor robotics stacks, native ROS 2 is the strongest signal of ecosystem maturity.
Last updated: 2023