The Black Friday drone deals have now fully taken off, with some great price cuts available on all the leading brands from DJI to Autel and Skydio. If you're looking for a new aerial photography companion, check out our pick of all the latest drone deals below.
With the Black Friday deals now in full swing, most retailers have released their deals into the skies, with some of the best drones appearing in the discounts. Best Buy, for example, has some big discounts on Autel's impressive flying cameras in the US, while in the UK the DJI Mini 2 and DJI Mavic Air 2 Fly More Combo both offer excellent value thanks to their discounts at Amazon UK.
DJI itself is also running some more limited offers, but one that's definitely worth waiting for (in the US, at least) is a 15% price cut on the DJI Mini 2's Fly More Combo, which will be available on November 28 only. Whichever model you're looking for, we've rounded up all of the best Black Friday drone deals below in our regularly updated guide.
Black Friday drone deals in the US
Black Friday deals are now live from retailers like Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart, and some more specialist retailers like Adorama are following suit. We've listed all of those sales below, which include some impressive discounts on Autel drones.
- Amazon: early discounts on beginner drones (opens in new tab)
- Adorama: lowest-ever prices on Autel drones (opens in new tab)
- Best Buy: massive discounts on Autel drones (opens in new tab)
- B&H Photo Video: price cuts on DJI bundles (opens in new tab)
The best Black Friday drone deals in the US
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(opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)Black Friday drone deals in the UK
- Amazon: price cuts on the DJI Mini 2 and more (opens in new tab)
- Argos: clearance sale on the DJI Mavic Air 2 (opens in new tab)
- Drones Direct: discounts on Autel drones (opens in new tab)
- Park Cameras: savings on the DJI Mavic 3 and more (opens in new tab)
The best Black Friday drone deals in the UK
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(opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)What should I consider when buying a drone?
If you're new to flying cameras, it can be tricky to decide which one to target in the Black Friday drone deals. For drones with built-in cameras, rather than cinewhoop stunt drones for FPVs , the best starting point is deciding where you're planning to publish the video and photos.
For example, if your aerial shots are mainly for social media or B-roll, you might be better off spending less on a compact drone with a smaller sensor. Those who are looking to shoot for bigger TV screens, or in more challenging lighting conditions, will benefit from a camera drone with a larger 1-inch (or larger) sensor, like the DJI Air 2S.
In general, the size of a drone, along with its wind resistance and price tag goes up with the size of that camera sensor. Those who are looking to dabble with drones, or need a gift to give to a budding pilot, will be fine with a toy model like the very affordable Ryze Tello, which is made by DJI, which is considered the leader in the drone market. It has a small sensor and limited 100m range but is a very affordable way to learn the ropes before committing some serious cash to more professional models.
If you need 4K video quality, you'll need to spend at least $400 / £400 / AU$750. The original DJI Mavic Mini is a good affordable drone to look out for this Black Friday and is below that figure, but it's only capable of shooting 2.7K video. For 4K resolution, you'll need to look at the next drone up, which includes the DJI Mini 2, FIMI X8 Mini, or DJI Mavic Air 2. These drones also come with very handy automated flight modes that are ideal for beginners.
Above those drones are the prosumer models like the DJI Air 2S, Autel Evo II Pro, Skydio 2 (US-only), and of course the newly announced DJI Mavic 3. Once you reach this level, the size starts to become a consideration – and it's worth considering whether the extra shooting power and features are worth that extra bulk.
In our book, the relatively compact DJI Air 2S, and its DJI Mavic Air 2 predecessor, sit in the sweet spot of size to performance – but you may want to go down to the tiny DJI Mini 2 SE, or up to the 1kg weight of an Autel Evo II Pro, depending on how important video and photo quality is to you.
Is buying a drone bundle worth it?
While buying a drone is a very fun experience, you have to consider all your options before clicking that buy button, like should you buy a drone as a bundle or not in the Black Friday Drone deals?
A lot of drones are sold on their own, with a controller, but they can also be sold as a kit or bundle that includes worthy additional items like spare propellers, extra batteries, ND filters, and a bag to store your new drone and all the extras. Spare propellers, well, sad to say but you’ll probably need these early on as if you're new to drones, more than likely you'll have a few dumps along the way.
Batteries are expensive, and it can be a long walk to charge them from where you use them, so these should be seriously considered a factor in the price of a bundle. A well-designed bag can protect all of these (even if you just stuff it inside your preferred bag). Don’t forget, too, that you can’t just get ND filters to fit most drones –the gimbals tend to have one-off lens mounts, all worth bearing in mind.
Our advice would be to really study what is included in the bundle and make your own judgment if the items included are worth the bundle price tag, we would advise staying clear of bundles that only include items like a landing pad, drone lights, amour skins, etc, and only really focus on those that include an extra battery or two, propellers, car charger, or high capacity memory card, so it is a plug-and-play experience for you once it arrives at your door.
