How much does Drone Photography Cost?

Average Price
£50 - £200 per hour

What is the price of Drone hire?

Looking to grab a video or photography shot from above? Read our handy guide to find out how much drone operators will charge for their services.


How much does Drone Photography cost?

Drone photography costs between £50 and £200 per hour on average. As you may have noticed, there is quite a sizable price difference, and that’s because it depends on what the drone photography is for.

For example, there’s a huge difference between someone wanting to inspect their roof tiles, versus a film company requiring an image that needs to be shot from a considerable height.

Average cost of Drone Photography

Average cost (per hour)£75 Minimum cost (per hour)£50 Maximum cost (per hour)£200

Your drone pilot may charge by the hour, but most commonly they will give you a fixed fee. The total fee will take into account the time needed, the drone model you select and also any post-production that’s required.

  • Job type

  • Drone model

  • Permission level

  • Personnel required

  • Image quality

  • Post-processing

  • Time

  • Experience

  • Location

What changes the price of Drone photography?

Job type

The common denominator with all drone jobs is that they will be shooting footage or images from a height. But the job that you request will either be straightforward or require more specialist equipment, not to mention manpower to complete.

For basic jobs, expect to pay anywhere between £150 and £500. Such jobs may only take a couple of hours of work, and usually only require 1 pilot.

Moving into the more specialist drone work can set you back anywhere between £1,500 and £4,000. Such work includes any job which takes a significant amount of time, experience or personnel to complete. Specialist jobs will also use more expensive drone models.

Aerial photography involves sending an aircraft (manned or battery operated) to capture images. This service starts at £800, though can run into several thousands, especially for TV work or similar larger projects.

Highest average price

Type of drone job

Drone hire (standard)

Drone hire (specialist)

Aerial photography

£500

£4,000

£2,000

Average cost of Drone photography based on the type of job

Lowest average price

£150

£1,500

£800