3 Robotics ETFs, 3 Different Ways to Bet on Humanoid Robots

Key Points

• The newly launched Rareview Humanoid Robotics ETF (HOID) joins a growing field of robotics-focused funds, including KOID and IBOT, each with distinct cost and holding structures.
• HOID is actively managed with a 1.64% gross expense ratio, temporarily reduced to 0.75% through January 2028, while KOID and IBOT offer lower, passively managed fees.
• IBOT leads 2026 year-to-date performance with a 19% return compared to KOID's roughly 9%.

With the launch of the Rareview Humanoid Robotics ETF BATS: HOID in October 2026, the landscape of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) giving exposure to robots, industrial automation, and the shift toward machine labor gets denser. Robotics and automation are undoubtedly compelling technologies with the potential to be transformative for a host of other industries. The main question for investors is whether funds like HOID can profitably capture growth in this area.

Humanoid robotics remains a largely untested industry in the broader market, making this a long-term growth play that will rely on expansion of the space and commercialization to reach its full potential. An ETF may be a suitable option for investors looking to buy and hold, but that depends on its specific holdings, costs, and other factors. The presence of HOID may help to prompt other funds to become increasingly competitive in these ways.

HOID: A Focus on the Humanoid Robotics Supply Chain

HOID's basket of 33 stocks focuses primarily on companies that make robotics products or that develop or produce software and other technology essential to robots. The fund is actively managed, allowing it to move freely between allocations toward AI/compute stocks, design and software firms, and companies involved in motion, sensing, or other aspects of automation.

As with many actively managed funds, HOID charges investors a premium for this oversight. The fund's gross expense ratio is significantly higher than that of many other ETFs at 1.64%. However, the fund provider has waived a substantial portion of this expense for the time being, bringing the net expense ratio down to 0.75% until late January, 2028.

The problem for many investors may be that, while the cost is more attractive for now, there is no guarantee that the robotics industry will see its most significant growth prior to early 2028. Investors expecting major developments in the space throughout 2027 might find the prospect of buying and holding HOID shares most attractive.

For others, however, the prospect of paying a hefty fee for a fund that may or may not still have its best performance ahead of it could be too high a risk beyond the fee waiver period.

KOID: Lower Cost, Broader Portfolio, Improved Liquidity

Humanoid robotics ETFs are one of the newer categories of exchange-traded products, but the KraneShares Global Humanoid Robotics and Physical AI Index ETF NASDAQ: KOID is among the longest-trading of these funds. As the first U.S.-listed humanoid robotics ETF, KOID has the benefit of a more established investor base and about $350 million in managed assets.

To be sure, KOID remains a niche fund, and this ETF's asset base and trading volumes remain much lower than those of many popular, more general funds.

Still, KOID offers some of the best liquidity of any robotics fund, and its fee of 0.69% undoubtedly adds to its appeal.

KOID can undercut HOID's expense ratio because it is a passively managed fund. Still, with 59 holdings across the global robotics industry, this fund provides a solid entry point to virtually all corners of the market.

Investors looking for a buy-and-hold option might see all of these as benefits KOID enjoys over HOID.

This fund also has the advantage of a longer performance record, and it can boast returns of about 40% since launch in June 2025.

IBOT: Widest Portfolio, Lowest Cost, But Less Specific Strategy

The VanEck Robotics ETF NASDAQ: IBOT is not a pure-play humanoid robotics fund, but it does offer exposure to many of the same companies and industries as the two ETFs above. This fund has two more years of trading history than KOID, as well as an even lower expense ratio of 0.47%.

Investors seeking stability and a lower price tag may be drawn to IBOT, provided they are willing to give up some of the specificity of the other funds' humanoid robotics focus on this list.

While IBOT's managed assets and trading volume lie in between those of the ETFs above—meaning they remain quite low overall—this fund offers the most attractive performance of 2026, having returned 19% year to date (YTD). By contrast, KOID has returned only around 9% YTD.

IBOT also has a broad global focus, but its 66-stock portfolio is slightly larger still than KOID's. While the fund is somewhat concentrated in a handful of holdings, the largest position is still under 7% of the total portfolio.