Best DJI Drones in 2021

I grew up with remote-control aviation in the ’90s, spent 20 years with a commercial airline company as a pilot, and have been a commercial drone services provider (DSP) in Cleveland, Ohio now for 6 years, shooting everything from real estate, construction, inspection to high-end TV and Film video production (you can read my story here), and so I have developed some strong opinions about what drone is best to use for certain tasks.

While you will find that I am mostly recommending DJI products, that doesn’t mean that other manufacturers’ (Autel, Skydio, Parrot, etc.) drones are subpar by any means. It’s just that I adopted the DJI platform from the start and stuck with it because it works for me and I’ve learned the ‘ins and outs’ of their products. Investing in a new platform always takes time, so unless I am forced to quit DJI products with new regulations or there are clear advantages over existing DJI products, I am not keen on investing a lot of time and money to learn them. However, if I do find and try out new drones that provide a similar or better price/value ratio, I will update this blog post.

Disclosure: these drone recommendations include affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. However, I am only recommending the products I use and stand by.