Are Drones Expensive? Beginner Friendly Guide

There are many types of drones nowadays. Different kinds of drones are used for various purposes, it depends on your needs. So it’s obvious that drone prices also vary because of their various types of work or purposes.

Nowadays drones are not very expensive if you want to get one for flying or for fun. You can get a drone for $50 – $8000 or more. Drone prices vary for their payload capacity and sensors. More or bigger sensors mean more price you have to pay and also more payload capacity with flight time means more price.

The first thing you should know is that there is no such drone as a called beginner drone.

Type of drones:

• Toy drone
• Camera drone
• Racing or high-speed drone
• Commercial heavy payload drone
• Modular base drone
• Military drone

As I told you drone price depends on their purpose or work. So if you are a beginner then I will not waste your time telling you about all kinds of drones. The next paragraph will give you the best guidance.

So let’s get started!!

Your First Drone: Toy Drone Or Camera Drone?

Even if you are new to the drone industry but you also may be heard about DJI drones. Because DJI is the most popular drone brand in the world.

DJI’s minimum age recommendation is 15 years old. It’s not mandatory but just for safety issues.

So If you are 15 or above then you can try DJI Mini 2 for your first flight. Because all DJI drones have some cool features along with HD cameras that will make sure that you and your drone will be safe during flight time.

DJI Mini 2

Core Features:

• Weight: less than 249 g
• 12mp Camera
• 4k/30fps video and a 3-axis motorized gimbal
• 10km of HD Video transmission
• Battery life of 31 minutes
• Mini 2 can resist level 5 winds
• Max altitude of 4,000 meters
• Remote Control

There is another version of DJI Mini that is called DJI Mini SE. The price of Mini SE is lesser than Mini 2. So it’s a little bit budget friendly than the Mini 2, it has almost the same features but you have to sacrifice camera regulation. It has a 2.7K Camera but it’s an HD camera, so it will work fine too.

Now come to the under-15 age drone. Actually, a drone that is less than $300 is called a toy drone. This type of drone is made for kids just for flying or taking some pictures or videos.

The picture quality of these types of drones is not good as professional drones. It’s obvious because the more you spend money the more you get better quality.

Now I will discuss some of the toy drones that are perfect for kids. This will be an honest opinion based on my original research. So you can make your decision quickly without any hesitation.

List of top 5 drones for kids:

Position	Brand	% of 5 Star Review	Total Review	5 Star Review
1.	Holy Stone HS210	66%	4,982	3,342
2.	Ryze Tech Tello	65%	2,648	1,719
3.	Potensic A20	61%	9,068	5,649
4.	Force1 Scoot	57%	15,471	8,951
5.	DEERC D20	57%	14,220	8,489

You can choose anyone for your kids and have fun!!

Camera Drone

Most of the drones you see nowadays are camera drones. Camera drones are really so popular and their popularity increasing day by day. Because drone has changed the photography industry.

Whether it is a commercial video or personal or video content creator nowadays every one uses drone footage for their video content.

Drones that have cameras and separate sensors for capturing clear images and videos are called camera drones.

Let’s talk about some camera drones which has great camera and sensors for taking 4KHD pictures or videos.

All DJI drone has great camera quality and among them, DJI Mini 3 Pro is the best for mid-budget with quality.

DJI Mini 3 Pro

Core Features:

• 1/1.3” Sensor f1.7
• 4K 60fps
• Hyperlapse
• Collision Sensors
• D-Cinelike
• Active Track
• Vertical Filming
• Dedicated Smart Controller
• 47 min battery (optional)

If you want to buy a mid-range bigger than average camera sensor drone then DJI AIR 2S will be the right choice for you. The video and picture quality of this drone is very professional.

DJI AIR 2S

Core Features:

• 1-inch image sensor
• Spotlight 2.0, ActiveTrack 4.0, and Point of Interest 3.0
• Record up to one billion colors
• (OcuSync 3.0) image transmission technology
• Actively avoid obstacles

If you want to buy High range best quality camera drone for very professional use then DJI Mavic 3 will be the best option for you as it has a big sensor to take dark shadows and light at the same time without any interference.

DJI Mavic 3

Core Features:

• 4/3 CMOS Hasselblad Camera
• 12.8-stop Dynamic Range
• Advanced Omnidirectional Obstacle Sensing
• 15 Kilometer Max Transmission Range
• Smart Return to Home

There are more expensive camera drones but they are out of general user range. Big industries like filmmaking companies or the national armed forces use that kind of drone.

List of some other camera drones:

• Autel Evo Nano Plus
• Mavic 3
• Mavic 2 Pro
• Autel Evo II Pro K
• DJI Inspire 2

Racing Drone Or High-Speed Drone

Racing drones are small remote-controlled unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs) designed to fly at high speeds over long distances. These drones are controlled using a radio frequency transmitter to steer them via remote control.

Professional racing drones are often equipped with cameras, sensors, and advanced GPS receivers to capture images and data while moving at great speeds.

Those images and data can then be processed offline using specialized software. This allows professional pilots to compete against each other.

Racing drones are often used in film production, particularly for aerial shots and special effects. Companies like DJI offer a range of aerial photography products that include camera gimbals, stabilizers, and flight controllers. Such equipment can help improve the quality of aerial footage.

They are known as FPV drones.

DJI also has an FPV drone which is good for racing and high-speed drone footage. The model name is DJI FPV

DJI FPV

Core Features:

• FOV: 150°, Aperture: f/2.8
• Max Speed 140 kph
• 0-100 kph: 2 s
• GPS+GLONASS+GALILEO
• DJI FPV Remote Controller 2
• Motion Controller

Commercial Heavy Payload Drone

Commercial drones have become increasingly popular since they were first introduced. However, their use was initially restricted due to several concerns regarding safety and security.

Over time, these issues have been addressed with greater success, leading to the rapid adoption of commercial drones across many industries.

Because drones are now considered safe and secure enough to be used commercially, businesses around the world are using them to deliver products and services, take pictures and videos, monitor crops, conduct inspections, and provide aerial mapping data.

In addition, drone technology is being used to capture high-definition video footage for various applications.

To help businesses understand how drone technology works, what its advantages are, and how it can be used effectively, we’ve compiled a list of the top ten uses of commercial drones.

Commercial drones are very expensive because of their heavy payload capacity and these drones are much bigger than regular camera drones.

List of some commercial drones:

• EHang 184
• AUGMENTED AERIGON
• Volocopter
• XactSense Titan
• AEE F100
• AIRBORNE DRONES VANGUARD
• AEE F50
• Sci. Aero Cyber Quad
• Multirotor G4 Eagle V2 Cargo
• Multirotor G4 Eagle V2
• Lockheed Martin Indago
• Freefly Systems Alta 8
• MULTIROTOR G4 Surveying Robot

wanna learn more? read here > commercial expensive drones

Modular Base Drone

The modular base drone is also a commercial drone. The difference is it can be equipped with many different options for various purposes.

Every module has a different camera or sensor which is used for various missions.

MATRICE 300 RTK

Core Features:

• 15 km Max Transmission1
• 55-min Max Flight Time2
• 6 Directional Sensing & Positioning
• Primary Flight Display
• IP45 Rating
• -20°C to 50°C Operating Temperature
• Hot-swappable Battery
• UAV Health Management System
• Transmission Range 15km
• Real-time Auto-switching 2.4 /5.8 GHz
• Wind Resistance 15m/s
• Max Speed 23m/s
• Service Ceiling6 7000m
• Mount up to 3 payloads simultaneously
• The maximum payload capacity of 2.7 kg
• Smart Inspection
• Live Mission Recording
• AI Spot-Check
• Waypoints 2.0
• PinPoint
• Smart Track
• Aviation-Grade Situational Awareness
• DJI Smart Controller Enterprise
• D-RTK 2 Mobile Station
• CSM Radar
• Compatible Payloads:
• Zenmuse L1 – An integrated Lidar + survey-grade RGB solution for true-color point clouds
• Zenmuse P1 – A 45MP full-frame sensor with 3 lens options for photogrammetry flight missions
• Zenmuse H20 – Hybrid sensor solution with LRF, zoom, and wide camera
• Zenmuse H20T – Dual-sensor camera with a 4K visual sensor and thermal imaging with <50 mK sensitivity
• Zenmuse XT2 – Dual-sensor camera with a 4K visual sensor and thermal imaging with <50 mK sensitivity
• Zenmuse Z30 – 30× optical zoom camera ideal for detailed inspections
• Third-Party Payloads

Military Drone

A military drone is a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), a type of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed specifically for military use.

These drones are flown via radio control; they do not require human intervention to fly (unlike manned airplanes). Drones were first used operationally by the U.S. Army in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, and Yemen in 2001.

A variety of civilian applications have been envisioned, including package delivery services, search and rescue missions, and surveillance. 

List of some military drones:

• TAI Aksungur
• Altius-U
• TAI Anka
• MQ-20 Avenger
• Bayraktar Akıncı
• Hermes 900
• Heron TP
• Hong Du GJ-11
• MQ-1C Gray Eagle
• CASC Rainbow

Conclusion

There are numerous types of drones available today. Some are meant just for entertainment while others have specific purposes like photography, video recording, aerial mapping, etc.

A good drone is always an investment, as long as you understand what you want it for.

Buying a drone is easy, but finding one that suits your hobby is another story.

Related topics about drones you may be interested