FIRST vs VEX Robotics in 2026–27: Which Competition to Join, What It Costs, and What Changed With VEX

Published: by

For a U.S. middle or high school student, the three main team robotics leagues in the 2026–27 season are FIRST Tech Challenge (grades 7–12, $350 to register plus about $1,500 in robot parts), FIRST Robotics Competition (grades 9–12, $6,500 per season including a parts kit and your first event), and the VEX V5 Robotics Competition (middle and high school, $200 per U.S. team). VEX also changed hands this year: official VEX competitions now run through VEX Robotics and the Global Robotics & Science Foundation on events.vex.com, while the REC Foundation, which used to run them, now runs a separate RECF Robotics Competition with the same hardware. Fees below are from each organization’s pages as of October 19, 2026.

Which league fits which grade

  • Grades K–8: FIRST LEGO League or the VEX IQ Robotics Competition (2026–27 game: Level Up). FIRST says on its cost and registration page that the 2026–27 BIOGLOW season is the final season of FIRST LEGO League.
  • Grades 7–12: FIRST Tech Challenge (ages 12–18) or the VEX V5 Robotics Competition (2026–27 game: Override).
  • Grades 9–12: FIRST Robotics Competition (ages 14–18), the largest and most expensive of the three.
  • College: VEX U and VEX AI, both playing Override this season, according to the VEX team registration page.

What each one costs in 2026–27

FIRST lists these U.S. prices, before sales tax and shipping, on its 2026–27 cost and registration page:

  • FIRST LEGO League Challenge (ages 9–14, up to 10 students): $285 per season, plus the $105 BIOGLOW Challenge Set. Teams supply their own LEGO Education SPIKE Prime robot.
  • FIRST LEGO League Explore (ages 6–10, up to 6 students): $150 per season, including one Explore set.
  • FIRST Tech Challenge: $350 per season. Parts are extra; FIRST estimates about $1,500 for a starting kit (Driver Kit $295, REV Control Hub $350, Build Kit $660).
  • FIRST Robotics Competition: $6,500 per season. That fee includes the Kit of Parts and one Regional event, or two District events if your state runs the district model. Extra Regional events cost $3,200 each, extra District events $1,000, and a District Championship $4,000.

FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Tech Challenge registration does not include any event. Local FIRST partners run the tournaments and set their own entry fees. If your team qualifies for the 2027 FIRST Championship, that costs another $2,000 (LEGO League Challenge), $3,000 (Tech Challenge) or $6,000 (Robotics Competition).

On the VEX side, the Global Robotics & Science Foundation FAQ sets team registration at $200 per U.S. team, with no credit card processing fee. Each qualifying tournament charges its own entry fee on top; for example, a Maryland V5 event for February 2027 lists $125 on its events.vex.com page. The robot itself is the bigger cost, and VEX parts are bought separately from VEX Robotics.

The REC Foundation charges $175 per team for its own competition this season, also without a card fee.

What changed with VEX this season

Until spring 2026, the REC Foundation ran VEX competitions and the VEX Robotics World Championship. That partnership ended in May 2026, and there are now two separate tracks that use the same robots:

  • Official VEX competitions. The Global Robotics & Science Foundation introduced itself to coaches on May 18, 2026 as VEX Robotics’ authorized nonprofit partner and the only pathway to the VEX Robotics World Championship. Teams register at events.vex.com, keep their existing logins and team numbers, and keep their award and skills history, according to its FAQ. VEX calls events.vex.com the only authorized platform for its competitions.
  • RECF Robotics Competition. The REC Foundation announced its own league on June 2, 2026. Existing VEX robots, parts and field elements still work, and teams register at recfevents.org. RECF events lead to the RECF STEM World Championship in St. Louis, set for April 27 to May 6, 2027 on the RECF FAQ. The same announcement states that RECF events do not qualify teams for the 2026–27 VEX Robotics World Championship.

The RECF FAQ says a team can register with either organization, or both. The practical question is which events your region actually runs. Before paying, check whether your local tournaments are listed on events.vex.com or on recfevents.org, because a win only counts toward the championship of the organization that sanctioned that event.

VEX Worlds spots are also allocated later than usual this year. The Global Robotics qualifying rules say the remaining spots for regions outside North America are expected on December 1, 2026, and for North America on January 15, 2027. RECF says it will issue its championship spots in January 2027.

How the competitions feel different

  • FIRST Robotics Competition teams build industrial-sized robots from a Kit of Parts after the game is released in January, then play in three-team alliances. Teams often need adult mentors with shop skills and a sponsor or two to cover the $6,500 fee.
  • FIRST Tech Challenge robots are smaller. The game is released every September, and teams use the REV Control Hub and a build kit bought through the FIRST Storefront.
  • VEX V5 (Override) is played on a 12 by 12 foot field by two alliances of two teams. Each match is a 15-second autonomous period followed by 1 minute 45 seconds of driver control, according to the official game page. Schools can run many small teams, since the registration fee is per team and every team builds its own robot.
  • FIRST LEGO League ends after this season. FIRST is building its own replacement K–8 program for 2027–28 and says it will keep supporting LEGO SPIKE Prime and Essential sets through the 2028–29 season, according to its K–8 programs page. If you are buying hardware for elementary students now, that gives existing SPIKE sets about three more seasons of use.

How to join or start a team

  1. Look for an existing team first. Use FIRST’s Find Teams & Events search, or browse events.vex.com and recfevents.org for VEX-based teams near you. Joining a team costs a family far less than starting one.
  2. To start a team, find an adult coach. All three organizations register teams through an adult account: the FIRST Dashboard for FIRST programs, events.vex.com or recfevents.org for VEX-based teams.
  3. Register and pay the season fee. FIRST Robotics Competition payments open September 24, 2026, and the season fee is due November 17, 2026. Extra FRC event fees are due January 21, 2027. FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Tech Challenge registration stays open through the end of the season in April.
  4. Buy the robot hardware. For FTC and VEX this is a separate purchase. FRC teams receive the Kickoff Kit at a local Kickoff in January.
  5. Sign up for events. FLL, FTC and VEX teams register for each local tournament separately and pay that event’s fee.
  6. Check for grants before checking out. FIRST lists team grants, and its payment terms warn that a grant awarded after checkout can’t be applied to the same order. Some FIRST state partners also offer reduced fees for new teams.

Picking one

If your school has a strong FIRST or VEX community nearby, join that one; local mentors and events matter more than the rulebook. If you are starting from nothing, the first-year cash outlay is roughly $1,850 for an FTC team (registration plus FIRST’s parts estimate), $6,500 plus tools and materials for an FRC team, and $200 per VEX team plus the robot kit and event fees. For VEX, decide which track your region runs before you pay, since this season’s split means a VEX or RECF event win does not carry over to the other championship.

Students who want to keep building outside a league can try a low-cost arm kit; our SO-101 robot arm guide covers parts and setup. For a look at robot competitions at the research and humanoid level, see our coverage of the World Humanoid Robot Games and ICRA 2027 in Seoul.