Top drones compared

About Top drones compared

This ranking sets out 11 places to buy drones and drone footage gear, mixing the makers that design the aircraft with the retailers that stock them. Holy Stone, DJI, Insta360, Potensic and Autel Robotics build their own drones, while Scan, Wex Photo Video, Newegg, XRshop and Harvey Norman sell across a wider floor. The trade-off buyers weigh is what the first payment buys against what is still true years later. Entry prices in this category run €21.92 to €1,332.98 and the median listed price is €198.50, so the spread between a budget brand and a premium one is wide. Cover follows the same pattern, with a median warranty of 1.5 years. Flight time and video resolution split the field again: most listings here reach 8k, while the longest air time belongs to Holy Stone at 90 minutes. Readers chasing the longest flights and the lowest entry figure should start at the top; readers who want a maker with a long market list and a full support menu have plenty further down.

How we picked

Scores combine cost, offer and trust, weighted 40% for cost, 40% for offer and 20% for trust. Cost and offer carry most of the ranking, so entry price sits beside what a buyer receives for it: flight time, highest listed video resolution, stabilisation, warranty length and the support channels standing behind the sale. Trust is the smaller share and leans on warranty terms, company standing and how many markets a seller reaches. Each score is built from that brand's own product pages, store pages and policy pages, read together with the range and category statistics held for drones. Those category figures are the backbone of the criteria below: €198.50 for entry price, 1.5 for cover, 100% for support, 66.7% for video and 100% for stabilisation. Partners lead the order shown. This ranking covers 11 brands, with 0 partners and 0 licensed, so the order runs on score alone.

Our top picks

1. 1. XRshop - Tienda de Realidad Extendida y Gaming: best for highest-warranty-years

   XRshop carries the highest-warranty-years label in this ranking on a 3 year warranty, level with Scan and the longest listed here. Based in Spain and trading as MIXED REALITY SHOP SL, it ships to DE, AD and SA, a market list that runs wider than DJI's, AE, AT and AU. Support runs on email, phone and chat and the highest video resolution listed is 8k. Its range is vr headset, controller and gaming headset, and its entry price of €47.95 sits with the cheapest listings here, so the shop earns this place on cover and reach rather than on drone specifications. Newegg, next in the ranking, also ships widely, on US, AR and AU, but its support reaches only help centre, phone and chat.

   • Price from: €47.95
   • Wireless peripherals: Yes
   • Warranty: 3 years

   Pros

   • Entry pricing from €47.95 sits below the site median of €86.82, so the door is low for a first headset.
   • Warranty of 3 years places the store at 2 in a field of 40, well above the 1 typical across sites.
   • The catalogue mixes vr headset, controller and gaming headset with haptics, drones, action cameras, printers and laser cutting, so one order can cover several hobbies.
   • Returns run 14 days and support spans email, phone and chat, covering email, phone, chat and a help centre.
   • Store categories reach computers, audio and tv, so refurbished gear and cameras sit beside the gaming lines.

   Cons

   • Extended warranty is not offered, so buyers wanting cover past the 3 years term have to look elsewhere.
   • Price from ranks 26 of 47, so it is not the cheapest way into the category.
   • Platforms listed for the haptics vest cover pc, playstation and standalone, leaving Xbox and Switch players to check each product page.
   • A headset-only shop such as Skullcandy carries gaming headset, which keeps buying focused on audio rather than mixed hardware.

2. HS2. Holy Stone: best for top-pick

   Holy Stone carries the top-pick label in this ranking because it pairs the longest flight time listed here, 90 minutes, with an entry price of $25. Its range is drone and the highest video resolution it lists is 6k, with stabilisation yes. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in the US, it sells into AU, AT and BE, reaching the UK and much of Europe as well as North America, and support runs on email, phone and help centre, so a help centre, email, phone and community are all there. Against Scan, next in this ranking, the trade is plain: Holy Stone buys air time, since Scan lists 23 minutes of flight in a single market, GB, while Scan buys resolution, listing 8k against 6k.

   • Price from: $25
   • Top video resolution: 6k
   • Flight time (min): 90

   Pros

   • Entry price of $25 puts a beginner drone within reach.
   • 90 min of flight time decides how much you can film before charging.
   • Stabilisation is listed as yes, so the camera steadies footage in the air rather than in an edit.
   • Support runs on email, phone and help centre, which includes phone as well as written help.
   • The store lists AU, AT and BE, so the range is reachable well beyond the US home market.

   Cons

   • The product types listed are drone, so a buyer who also wants an action or compact camera in the same basket ends up at DJI, which lists drone, action camera and 360 camera.
   • Help runs on email, phone and help centre, with live chat not among those channels.
   • 6k video sits below the 66.7% class that most of the drone ranking sits in.
   • The store covers AU, AT and BE, so a buyer outside that list faces a cross border order.

3. 3. Wex Photo Video

   Wex Photo Video takes this slot on range breadth. Its listed products cover mirrorless, compact and instant, so a drone buyer can add a lens, an action camera or a used body in the same basket. Flight time is listed at 51 minutes, the highest video resolution at 8k with stabilisation yes, and a listed drone weight of 151 grams. Founded in 1997 and trading as Warehouse Express Limited, it serves a single market, GB, with support on email, chat and phone. The trade-off in this ranking is cover: a 1 year warranty is short beside the 2 years listed by DJI, which follows in this ranking with a far longer market list, AE, AT and AU.

   • Top video resolution: 8k
   • Flight time (min): 51
   • Weight (g): 151

   Pros

   • The range covers mirrorless, compact and instant, so mirrorless, compact, instant, action cameras, drones, lenses and used bodies all sit in one basket.
   • Delivery is free above £50 and returns run 30 days, with click and collect on top.
   • Support runs on email, chat and phone, and chat is the rarest channel here at 34.9% of the brands in the set, against 96.7% for a help centre.
   • Store categories span cameras, audio and computers, so audio, computers and refurbished equipment sit alongside the photography sections.
   • The aerial range is quoted at 8k video with 51 minutes of flight and stabilisation, which lines up with 66.7% of the brands in the drone group.

   Cons

   • Warranty is 1 year, the same as the site median of 1 and shorter than the upper quartile of 2.
   • On cover length Wex sits at 18 of 41 brands in this set, so short protection is its weakest showing.
   • Terms are listed for GB, so shoppers outside that market have no stated delivery or returns coverage.
   • Store categories stop at cameras, audio and computers, with no phones or gaming in the list, so Wex reads as a camera stop rather than a general electronics store.

4. 4. Newegg

   Newegg sits in this ranking as a general electronics seller rather than a drone specialist. It is a US company, founded in 2001 and trading as Newegg Commerce, Inc., shipping to US, AR and AU, which includes the UK and much of Asia. Its listed range is laptop, gaming laptop and desktop, so aircraft are not the centre of the catalogue, and its entry price of $1,099.99 is among the highest listed here. Support runs on help centre, phone and chat, and email is not among those channels, so a help centre, phone and chat carry the load. Buyers with a specific drone model in mind can find it in a catalogue this broad. Buyers weighing flight time against resolution and cover should read the Insta360 entry next in this ranking, where 39 minutes of flight, 8k resolution and a 2 year warranty are all stated by the maker.

   • Return window: 30 to 90 days
   • Price match: Yes
   • Extended warranty: Yes

   Pros

   • Return windows run 30 to 90 days, long enough to set a machine up properly before deciding to keep it.
   • Categories cover computers, phones and audio, so computers, phones, audio, gaming and refurbished kit come from one account.
   • Price match is offered, so a cheaper listing elsewhere gives you a number to hold the seller to.
   • Trade in is available, so an older phone or laptop can offset part of a new order.
   • Support covers help centre, phone and chat, so help is not limited to reading policy pages.

   Cons

   • Refurbished phones are graded excellent, very good and good, so a lower price can mean fair rather than excellent condition.
   • The refurb warranty runs 3 months, shorter than the usual 12 months for the sites in this group.
   • Support runs on help centre, phone and chat only, with email absent from the listed channels.

5. 5. Insta360

   Insta360 earns its place in this ranking with a maker's spread and solid cover. Its range, compact, action camera and 360 camera, sets drones alongside action and compact cameras, the warranty runs 2 years, and the highest listed resolution is 8k with stabilisation yes. Founded in 2015, it lists a flight time of 39 minutes and a weight of 53 grams, among the lightest in this ranking. Entry pricing starts at €309, above DJI's €169. Support runs on email, chat and help centre, giving email, chat, a help centre and a community, with no phone line among them. Potensic, next in this ranking, is the specialist alternative: its listed range is drone alone, its flight figure a range of 40 to 50 minutes, and its entry price $259.99.

   • Price from: €309
   • Top video resolution: 8k
   • Flight time (min): 39

   Pros

   • Product types cover compact, action camera and 360 camera, a wider spread than Campark at action camera and compact, and the drone sits in the same range as the bodies.
   • Max video of 8k with stabilisation as standard covers the upper recording band without a separate gimbal.
   • A warranty of 2 years, well above the 1 year median across the site.
   • Flight time of 39 minutes on the drone and a listed weight of 53 g keep the kit easy to carry.

   Cons

   • Price from €309 sits well above the €86.82 median entry price across the brands here, and above the €69 median in action cameras.
   • That entry price ranks 32 of 42 on price from, so cheaper options sit in the same shopping list.
   • Support runs on email, chat and help centre only, with no phone line listed, so voice support is not part of the plan.
   • Warranty of 2 years falls short of the 3 year ceiling in the drones ranking.

6. D6. dronebro: best for dronebro

   dronebro is a Swiss online shop for DJI camera drones, FPV drones and industrial drones, with drone repair and advice.

   • Markets: CH

7. A7. Antigravity: best for Antigravity

   Antigravity makes immersive 8K 360 drones, co-engineered with Insta360.

   • Markets: AD, AT, AU, and 27 more

8. G8. GEPRC: best for GEPRC

   GEPRC sells FPV drones, frame kits, motors, flight controllers and related parts at geprc.com.

   • Markets: US

9. H9. HOVERAir: best for HOVERAir

   HOVERAir makes flying camera drones that follow the user and record hands-free aerial photo and video.

10. V10. VILFY: best for VILFY

    VILFY is an online shop for drones and drone gear.

    • Markets: US

What to look for

Entry price with the model beside it

The median listed price in this category is €198.50, the lower quartile €54.68 and the upper quartile €472.91, against a full spread of €21.92 to €1,332.98. Listed prices sit in different currencies, so read each figure with the model it belongs to rather than comparing headline numbers.

Warranty length

Median cover is 1.5 years, the lower quartile 1 and the upper quartile 2.25. Warranty terms are the clearest published difference between the makers and the retailers in this ranking, so settle the length before paying more for longer air time.

Support channels you can reach

A help centre is the one channel every listing here carries, at 100%, while email and phone reach 72.7% and 72.7%, chat 54.5% and community 36.4%. A phone line is the difference between waiting and asking while a drone sits grounded.

Video resolution and stabilisation

Maximum resolution across this category sits mostly at 66.7%, with 22.2% next and 11.1% rarest. Resolution on its own says nothing about steady footage, so read it beside the stabilisation listing, which is standard here at 100%.

Specialist maker or general seller

Broader sellers are common in this category, with computers in 100% of the listings, cameras in 100% and audio in 100%. Makers publish flight time, weight and resolution for their own aircraft, while general retailers publish support and range information instead. Decide which you need before comparing prices.

Flight time and weight

Flight time is the sharpest air time comparison in this ranking: Holy Stone lists 90 minutes, Wex Photo Video and DJI 51 min and 51 min, Insta360 39 min, Scan 23 min and Potensic a range of 40 to 50 minutes. Weight runs the other way, from 52 grams to 866 grams.

Frequently asked questions

Top drones compared by country

• Australia
• Canada
• France
• Germany
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV