There is no doubt the servo motors are one of the most used actuators in robotics by the DIY community. Sure, countless of them are available and compatible with development boards such as Arduino or Raspberry Pi. Also, the price of servo motors ranging from several dollars and up to tens of dollars. It’s no wonder that the roboticists and hobbyists use servo motors daily to build thousands of projects on its sturdy back.

One week ago we had presented a hand-picked collection of stepper motors for every budget. In addition to them, in another article, we had presented a hobbyist’s guide of Arduino motor shields for every budget that also includes a bunch of servo motor shields. Now it’s time for a new collection of servo motors used by roboticists and hobbyists in robotics and automation. For the sake of this article, let’s lay out the guide of the best servo motors in a range of prices to suit pretty much any budget.

Under $10:

1. 9g Continuous Rotation Micro Servo, operating voltage 4.8V to 6V, stall current 6V 600mA, speed: 0.07 sec/60 degree / ~ 130RPM. Available at Robotshop, priced $4.99;
2. Tower Pro SG90 Servo, operating voltage 3.0V to 7.2V, speed: 0.3 seconds /60 degree. Available at Amazon, priced $5.31;
3. Towerpro mg995, operating voltage 3V to 7.2V, speed: 0.20 seconds / 60 degrees. Available at Amazon, priced $7.02;
4. HS-311, operating voltage 4.8V to 6.0V, speed at 4.8V: 0.19 sec/60 degrees, speed at 6.0V: 0.15sec/60 degrees. Available at Servocity, priced $7.99;
5. HS-55, speed 0.14 sec/60 degrees. Available at Robotshop, priced $9.19;
6. HS-422, speed 0.16 sec/60 degrees. Available at Robotshop, priced $9.69;

$10 – 20:

1. Hitec 33322S HS-322HD, speed at 4.8V: 0.19 sec/ 60 degrees, speed at 6.0V: 0.15 sec/ 60 degrees. Available at Amazon, priced $11.98;
2. Parallax Continuous Rotation Servo. Available at Parallax, priced $13.99;
3. Hitec 31081S HS-81, speed at 4.8V: 0.11 / 60 degrees, speed at 6.0V: 0.09 sec / 60 degrees; Available at Amazon, priced $14.14;
4. Futaba S3004, speed at 4.8V: 0.23 sec/60 degrees, speed at 6.0V: 0.19 sec/60 degrees. Available at Amazon, priced $15.98;
5. HS-425BB, speed at 4.8V: 0.21 sec/ 60 degrees, speed at 6.0V: 0.16 sec / 60 degrees. Available at Amazon, priced $16.91;
6. HS-485HB, speed at 4.8V: 0.20 sec/ 60 degrees, speed at 6.0V: 0.17 sec / 60 degrees. Available at Amazon, priced $19.12;
7. HS-5485HB, operating voltage 4.8V to 6.0V, 0.17 sec / 60 degrees. Available at Lynxmotion, priced $19.89;
8. HS-82MG, operating voltage 4.8V to 6.0 V, speed at 4.8V: 0.12sec/60 degrees, speed at 6.0V: 0.10sec/60 degrees. Available at Servocity, priced $19.99;

$20 – 50:

1. HS-35HD, operating voltage: 4.8V, speed: 0.1 sec/60 degrees; Available at Sparkfun, priced $24.95;
2. HS-65HB, speed at 4.8V: 0.14 sec / 60 degrees, speed at 6.0V: 0.11 sec / 60 degrees. Available at Amazon, priced $25.68;
3. HS-225MG, operating voltage 4.8V to 6.0V, speed at 4.8V: 0.14sec/60 degrees, speed at 6.0V: 0.11sec/60 degrees. Available at Servocity, priced $25.99;
4. HS-645MG, speed at 4.8V: 0.24 sec/ 60 degrees, speed at 6.0V: 0.20 sec/ 60 degrees. Available at Amazon, priced $29.97;
5. HS-85MG, operating voltage: 4.8V to 6.0V, speed at 4.8V: 0.16sec/60 degrees, speed at 6.0V: 0.14sec/60 degrees. Available at Servocity, priced $29.99;
6. Dynamixel AX-12A, operating voltage 9V to 12V, speed 0.169sec/60 degrees. Available at Trossenrobotics, priced $44.90;
7. HiTec 35646W HS-5646WP. Available at Amazon, priced $47.62;

$100+:

1. HS-7950TH, operating voltage: 4.8V to 7.4V, speed at 6.0V: 0.15 sec/60 degrees, speed at 7.4V: 0.13 sec/60 degrees. Available at Servocity, priced $149.99;
2. Dynamixel RX-28, operating voltage 12V to 16V, speed at 12V: 0.167 sec/60 degrees, speed at 16V: 0.126 sec/60 degrees. Available at Trossenrobotics, priced $209.90;
3. Dynamixel MX-28T, operating voltage 11.1V, 12V and 14.8V, speed at 11.1V: 50 RPM, speed at 12V: 55 RPM, speed at 14.8V: 67 RPM. Available at Trossenrobotics, priced $219.90;
4. Dynamixel MX-28AT, operating voltage 11.1V, 12V, and 14.8V, speed at 11.1V: 50 RPM, speed at 12V: 55 RPM, speed at 14.8V: 67 RPM. Available at Trossenrobotics, priced $239.90;
5. Dynamixel RX-64, operating voltage 15V to 18V, speed at 15V: 0.198 sec/60 degrees, speed at 18V: 0.162 sec/60 degrees. Available at Trossenrobotics, priced $279.90;

(Image credits: Robotshop, Parallax, Lynxmotion, Sparkfun, Amazon, Servocity, Trossenrobotics)

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