December has arrived and brought with it plenty of excellent drone deals. Whether you’re looking for a discount on a toy model that can be used as a little stocking filler or you’re trying to buy something special for yourself, you should be able to spot a good option in our round-up below.
Right now, our favorite drone deal is probably from Parrot, as the company’s popular Anafi model has been discounted to $549.95 on Amazon. This usually retails for around $699, so that’s a fairly hefty $150 saving you can currently make. However, there are some much cheaper options available too – if you are buying a Christmas gift for a kid, we’d recommend something like the Ryze Tech Tello, which costs $103.30 in this special bundle.
So far, we’ve not seen any discounts on the excellent DJI Mavic 3, which we rate as the best drone available. This isn’t surprising given that the drone has just been released. If we do spot any deals, we’ll be sure to shout about them here.
- Amazon Drone deals: Save up to $70
- See the drone deals at Walmart
- B&H Drone deals: Save on DJI FPV and Mavic bundles
- Adorama drone deals: Big savings on DJI drones and bundles
- Best Buy Drone deals: Save on Snaptain and DJI drones, accessories
Today's best drone deals
Beginner's buying advice
There are numerous types of drones, but when it comes to buying one, there are (very roughly) three main categories: toys, FPVs and photography/video models.
The toys are the simplest. Weighing under 250g, they tend to cluster together at the lower end of the price range because they feature simpler designs. They don’t usually sport any kind of camera. Instead, they give people the opportunity to try their hand at flying something simply for the fun of it, without any bells and whistles. Designs that fall into this category are still subject to drone regulations, but you don’t have to register them with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
FPV drones are designed to give you a first person view when you are flying. This is typically done through the use of goggles, which you wear when you fly. A lot of models also let you stream the drone-camera view to a smartphone. This type of drone is usually used for racing or for tackling obstacle courses. You can read a full breakdown of their design in our article: ‘What are FPV drones?’ They can feature some good cameras on their main body, but they are usually built to prioritise speed. A lot of FPV drone enthusiasts like to build their own models, too.
Finally, you have the prosumer photography/video models. There’s still massive variation within this category, as some cheaper models sport simpler camera designs and won't cost too much. But the really top-end drones in this category have huge sensors that allow experts to take wonderful panoramic shots or videos from high up in the air. These drones can cost as little as $100 but most of them sit around the $1000 mark - and the really top-end models can set you back by $8000.
The more expensive drones tend to feature sophisticated designs, with automatic-collision detection that help keep your drone safe and some cool pre-programmed flight paths that allow you to take interesting videos. Whichever one you choose, do make sure you buy insurance, too, as they can suffer if you give them an accidental knock.
