According to the FAA, there are more than 850,000 drones registered in the U.S. at this time. This includes about 530,000 residential drones and about 320,000 commercial drones.
If you’re interested in buying a drone, there has never been a better time to do it. There are all types of drones that are on the market today.
Prior to purchasing a drone, though, you should ask yourself, “How much does a drone cost?” and learn more about the average drone prices. It’ll make it so much easier for you to set aside some money to buy a drone sometime soon.
We’ve created a drone buying guide to shed some light on the different factors that will have an impact on the prices of drones. It should help you answer the question, “How much does a drone cost?” in no time at all.
Here are the various factors that will affect what a drone will cost you.
Type
Table of Contents
One of the first things that you’ll realize when you’re shopping for a drone is that there are several different types of them. The four most common types of drones are:
- Fixed-wing drones
- Multi-rotor drones
- Single-rotor helicopter drones
- Fixed-wing hybrid VTOL drones
You should take the time to educate yourself on these types of drones before choosing one over all the rest. You should also know that more advanced drones are going to set you back more money than simpler ones.
A basic fixed-wing drone won’t cost you anywhere close to what a single-rotor helicopter drone will. It would be worth exploring this further to avoid buying a drone that will cost you more than you can afford to spend.
Size
Outside of the fact that there are different types of drones that you can buy, drones also come in many different sizes. And the size of a drone can affect what it’s going to cost you.
Here are the main drone sizes:
- Nano
- Micro
- Miniature
- Medium
- Large
If you’re trying to save money while buying a drone, you’ll more than likely want to go with one that falls somewhere in the middle in terms of size. Medium-sized drones will usually be the most affordable options, while nano and large ones will be on the higher end of the spectrum.
Brand
The global drone market is on the verge of blossoming into a $20 billion business. It’s not going to be too long now before people are buying up drones in droves.
Because of this, there are many brands trying to get in on the action. They’re manufacturing their own drones and selling them to the masses. And they’re doing it at a bunch of different price points.
When you find yourself wondering, “How much does a drone cost?” it would be worth looking into all the different brands that sell them. You should sneak a peek at what they’re selling their drones for so that you know which brand you should buy one from.
You should also learn about the different brands that specialize in selling drones. Ideally, you’ll want to invest in a drone from a company like DJI that you can trust to sell you a high-quality drone. This DJI m300 is a wonderful example of what this company brings to the table.
Speed
Drones are a lot like cars and other types of vehicles in that they’re capable of traveling at a wide range of different speeds. There are some drones that can only go about 20 miles per hour at most. There are also other drones that can go more than 100 miles per hour (though these drones are often customized to achieve these kinds of speeds!).
If you’re just going to casually fly a drone around and have fun with it, you might not need for it to go too fast. But if you’re going to be using a drone for professional purposes, you may want to look into buying one that can travel at higher rates of speed.
Either way, you’re going to get what you pay for when it comes to drone speeds. Faster drones are typically going to force you to have to pay a little bit more for them.
Controller
No matter which type of drone you decide to buy, you’ll need to get the hang of things as far as trying to control it. Each individual drone that is on the market today has a slightly different controller for it.
Some drone controllers are easy to figure out almost as soon as you pick them up. They’ll have joysticks that you can move around to manipulate a drone when it’s up in the air.
Other drone controllers are going to look like you’ll need to have a Ph.D. to work them. They’ll have a variety of joysticks on them that you will have to move around to get a drone to fly in different directions.
There are even some drone controllers that have screens on them. You can see what’s happening with a drone in real-time and use the information that you see on a screen to control it more effectively.
Obviously, a complex controller like this is going to make a drone cost you more than one that’s on the simpler side. You should be sure that you check out the controller for a drone in advance so that you don’t have any issues controlling it.
Camera
One of the reasons why drones have become so popular in recent years is because of the cameras that they come equipped with. People can use the cameras on drones to:
- Capture B-roll footage for videos they’re putting together
- Take aerial photos of homes for real estate listings
- Explore parts of their cities or towns they haven’t been able to access before
You’re going to absolutely love the videos that the camera on a drone is able to capture. But it’s worth noting that not all drones have the same cameras in them.
Some drones have cameras that can capture very basic videos that won’t show many details. Others have cameras that will capture incredible videos that show every single detail in a home, landscape, etc.
The better that the camera in a drone is, the more it’s going to cost you. But it may be worth splurging a little bit on a drone with a great camera if you plan on using it early and often.
Retailer
It used to be pretty difficult for people to buy drones. They had to go through retailers that specialized in selling drones to get their hands on them.
But nowadays, almost all of the major electronic stores sell drones. Most drone manufacturers sell their drones on their websites as well.
As a result, you can shop around for a drone when you want to buy one and see who has the best prices on them. You might be able to buy a drone through one retailer for a lot less than other retailers are selling the same drone for.
This is a big part of the reason why it’s hard to nail down a definitive answer to the question, “How much does a drone cost?” Retailers are racing to make their drones cheaper all the time and making it easier for people to afford them in the process.
Sales
Right before you go to click “Order” when buying a drone, you should always check to see if there are any drone sales going on. You should also make it your mission to scour the internet for promo codes that can be utilized on drones.
The drone industry is hotter than ever before, and this has made it possible for people to score great sales on drones when they’re buying them. You should be able to find at least one retailer that is holding a sale on drones when you’re interested in buying one if you search hard enough.
So, How Much Does a Drone Cost? These Factors Will Help Determine It
As you’ve seen here, there are so many factors that go into answering the question, “How much does a drone cost?” You’ll need to consider each of them to see what impact they’ll have on you when buying a drone.
You can find some entry-level drones for under $100. You can find other commercial drones for tens of thousands of dollars.
It would be smart to come up with a budget for buying a drone in advance. It’ll keep you on the right track when you’re looking around for one.
Go read some other informative technology-related articles posted on our blog.
