Your drone isn’t indestructible, and it might end up suffering a bit of damage here and there, especially if you happen to crash it or get it wet. But even without any traumatic events, some drones just simply need repairs every now and then due to normal wear and tear. But if you’re looking at needing to fix your drone, you probably want to know how much it’s going to cost to repair your drone.
In general, you can expect to pay between $200 to $600 for a repair job on your drone. The exact cost will depend on the type and brand of the drone, and on what repairs are needed, including how long the repair work takes, and on what replacement parts are needed.
The thing about drone repairs is that the overall costs will depend a lot on the drone you have. That’s because different parts and services will vary widely in cost. You probably won’t be surprised to hear that parts and repair services for cheaper drones tend to be much cheaper compared to the more expensive drones the market has to offer.
How much does it cost to have a drone repaired?
Having your drone repaired and the costs associated with such a repair depend almost entirely on the drone that you want to have repaired. That’s because different drones have different demands in terms of how difficult they are to repair and how expensive their parts are.
Many drone repair services, including the DJI repair service, charges a standard hourly rate for work on repairs (according to the drone model). On top of this hourly rate, there will be charges for any replacement parts that are needed for the repair.
Here’s the basic hourly fee table from the DJI repair service:
Standard DJI Repair Service Fee
| Part | Time in Hours | Service Fee in USD |
| Battery | 0 | Free |
| Gimbal or Remote Controller | 1 | $65 |
| Aircraft | 2 (Phantom and Mavic series) | $130 |
| 3 (Inspire series) | $195 |
If you opt for another repair service, be sure to look for reputable and credentialed repair services that will do a good job of repairs without charging you an arm and a leg. Just keep in mind that doing repairs with another service may void your manufacturer’s warranty.
A few other repair services to look into include:
- Fortress UAV
- Dronefly
- Dronenerds
You can also take your drone in to a drone hobby shop or other local drone stores for repairs. Check your local area for stores that sell drones or other RC equipment to see if they offer special pricing on drone repairs.
How much does it cost to repair a Mavic Air 2?
For the Mavic Air 2, the entry-level drone repair will cost you $79. You can expect to pay an additional $100 including repair costs and parts replacements. This level will only include replacements for the propeller, landing gear, minor camera damage, and arms.
However, you could have to pay an additional $300 if the job consists of more serious parts replacements or multiple parts replacements. Or if the parts replacements include having to replace a major part, then you could end up paying an additional $500 for the drone repair.
DJI Mavic Air 2 Parts Costs
| Category | Component | Price in USD |
| Aircraft Components | Front Aircraft Arm Module | 14.00 |
| Rear Aircraft Arm Module | 12.00 | |
| Upper Cover Module | 4.00 | |
| Aircraft Middle Frame Module | 4.00 | |
| Aircraft Lower Cover Module | 9.00 | |
| Aircraft Core Board Module | 199.00 | |
| Fan | 11.00 | |
| Backward Vision Module | 26.00 | |
| Forward Vision Module | 23.00 | |
| Downward Vision Module | 21.00 | |
| IMU Module | 9.00 | |
| Gimbal Axis Arm Module | 35.00 | |
| Rear Camera Cover | 2.00 | |
| Gimbal and Camera Components | Lens Barrel | 2.00 |
| Gimbal Camera Module | 77.00 | |
| Gimbal Coaxial Cable | 15.00 | |
| Remote Controller Core Board Module | 52.00 | |
| Remote Controller Upper Cover Module | 4.00 | |
| Remote Controller Components | Remote Controller Lower Cover Module | 4.00 |
| Remote Controller Battery | 5.00 |
How much does it cost to repair a Mavic 2 and Mavic Pro?
Like the Mavic Air 2, the initial payment you would have to pay for having your Mavic 2 or Mavic Pro repaired is somewhere close to $79. However, you would also have to shell out additional costs depending on how much the necessary parts replacements are, and depending on how long the repair job takes.
The prices for parts replacements are similar to the Mavic Air 2 in that you would have to pay an additional $100 for an entry-level repair job that includes replacements for basic parts such as propellers, landing gear, and single arms and legs.
Meanwhile, multiple repairs and more serious repairs can also cost you about $300 to $500 depending on how major the parts replacements are.
DJI Mavic 2 Pro & Zoom Parts Costs
| Category | Component | Price in USD |
| Aircraft Components | Upper Cover | 12.00 |
| Front Aircraft Arm Module | 26.00 | |
| Rear Aircraft Arm Module | 22.00 | |
| Middle Frame Module | 14.00 | |
| Bottom Shell | 22.00 | |
| Forward Vision System Module | 42.00 | |
| Core Board | 339.00 | |
| Fan | 12.00 | |
| ESC Board | 34.00 | |
| GPS Module | 27.00 | |
| Upward Infrared Sensing System Module | 9.00 | |
| Downward Infrared Sensing System Module | 22.00 | |
| Remote Controller Components | Button Board | 12.00 |
| Remote Controller Main Board | 144.00 | |
| Left Antenna | 2.00 | |
| Right Antenna | 2.00 | |
| Gimbal Components | Mavic 2 Pro Gimbal Axis Arm Module | 170.00 |
| Mavic 2 Zoom Gimbal Axis Arm Module | 101.00 | |
| Mavic 2 Pro UV Filter | 8.00 | |
| Mavic 2 Zoom UV Filter | 5.00 | |
| Mavic 2 Pro Rear Camera Cover | 6.00 | |
| Mavic 2 Zoom Rear Camera Cover | 4.00 | |
| Gimbal Fixing Cover | 1.00 | |
| Gimbal Flexible Flat Cable | 5.00 | |
| Gimbal ESC Board | 49.00 |
Phantom 4
Because the Phantom 4 is a bit more expensive, you would have to pay a higher initial repair cost of $99 per hour or somewhere close to that depending on the repair center. There are even repair centers that would charge you up to $130 per hour because the repair job for a Phantom 4 is a lot more technical compared to the more affordable drones on this list.
On top of the hefty hourly repair rate that you would have to pay for a Phantom 4 repair, you would also need to pay for the price of the parts as well. Thankfully, the parts are not really any more expensive than they are for some of the other cheaper DJI drones.
For example, an entry-level parts replacement job for the Phantom 4 can cost you an additional sum of $100. Meanwhile, if there are multiple parts that need to be replaced, the fee could reach about $300, give or take. However, when there is a more serious parts replacement job for the Phantom 4, you might be spending about $500 to $600 for the cost of parts.
DJI Phantom 4 Parts Costs
| Category | Component | Price in USD |
| Gimbal | Phantom 4 Pitch Motor | 12.00 |
| Phantom 4 Roll Motor | 13.00 | |
| Phantom 4 Yaw Motor | 12.00 | |
| Phantom 4 Pitch-axis Bracket | 9.00 | |
| Phantom 4 Roll-axis Bracket | 6.00 | |
| Phantom 4 Gimbal FPC Cable | 11.00 | |
| Phantom 4 Lens | 69.00 | |
| Phantom 4 Camera Main Board | 176.00 | |
| Aircraft | Phantom 4 Top Cover | 6.00 |
| Phantom 4 Middle Cover | 8.00 | |
| Phantom 4 Bottom Cover | 10.00 | |
| Phantom 4 2312S Motor | 25.00 | |
| Phantom 4 Left Landing Gear | 10.00 | |
| Phantom 4 Right Landing Gear | 10.00 | |
| Phantom 4 ESC Board 1 | 11.00 | |
| Phantom 4 GPS Module | 45.00 | |
| Phantom 4 Downward Vision Module V2 | 10.00 | |
| Phantom 4 Forward Vision Module V3 | 10.00 | |
| Phantom 4 Triple Plate | 189.00 | |
| Phantom 4 Ultrasonic Module | 13.00 | |
| Phantom 4 Main Controller | 69.00 | |
| Phantom 4 RC Top Shell (Silk Print) | 17.00 | |
| Phantom 4 RC Bottom Shell (Silk Print) | 12.00 | |
| RC Main Board | 148.00 |
How much does it cost to repair an Inspire 2?
The repair costs for a DJI Inspire 2 are a lot higher compared to the other drones on this list. And another thing you need to consider is that it might take more than just an hour or two for the drone to be repaired.
So, if your repair center charges about $140 per hour on the Inspire 2 but needs three hours to complete the job, that is already a sum of $420 on repair fees alone. And that doesn’t include the fees for parts replacements.
The good news is that the additional fees for the parts might not be that expensive. For entry-level parts replacements for your Inspire 2, you might end up having to pay at least $100 on top of the repair fees. This can easily make the total go up to more than $500.
However, the more parts that are required to be replaced, the more expensive the parts replacement fees are. You might end up having to spend at least $300 for multiple replacements. And when the parts that need to be replaced are major parts, that means that you could end up having to spend over $500 plus the repair fees for your Inspire 2.
All that to say that you could easily end up spending upwards of $500 on repairs for your Inspire 2.
DJI Inspire 2 Parts Costs
| Component | Price in USD |
| Landing Gear Module | 6.00 |
| Motor CW/CCW | 39.00 |
| Landing Gear Mounting Piece | 10.00 |
| Landing Gear Antenna Cover | 1.00 |
| Gimbal Vibration Absorbing Board Module | 34.00 |
| ESC Board Module | 30.00 |
| Sweepback Left/Right Arm Module | 88.00 |
| GPS Cover | 1.00 |
| Nose Cover | 7.00 |
| FPV Gimbal and Camera Module | 85.00 |
| Forward Vision Module | 58.00 |
| Gimbal and Camera Co-axial Cable | 39.00 |
| Middle Frame Module | 179.00 |
| Auxiliary Arm Viscose Module | 24.00 |
| Battery Bracket Module | 70.00 |
| Gimbal Vibration Absorbing Board & Cable | 59.00 |
| Lower Shell & Sensor Module | 49.00 |
| Upper Shell Module | 24.00 |
| Middle Frame Servo | 93.00 |
| Upper Shell & Infrared Sensing System & Button Module | 55.00 |
| Main Controller Module | 789.00 |
| Lower Shell & Downward Vision Board & Fan Module | 162.00 |
| Left/Right External Arm Viscose Module | 48.00 |
| Screw Mandrel Module | 40.00 |
| Battery Compartment & Battery Interface Board Module | 101.00 |
| Remote Controller Dual Band Grey Antenna | 6.00 |
| Remote Controller Mobile Device Holder | 59.00 |
| Remote Controller Upper Shell Module | 52.00 |
| Remote Controller Connection Cover Module | 1.00 |
| Remote Controller Lower Shell Module | 22.00 |
Is it worth paying for repairs on my drone?
If you’re wondering whether you can just get by flying a slightly damaged drone, the answer is probably not. Flying a damaged drone can lead to even more problems, and most likely more crashes. It’s not a good idea to try to fly a drone that isn’t in proper working order.
If it’s a matter of replacing your bent propellers on your own, by all means, you can probably handle that. You may even be able to handle the replacement of some other minor damaged parts.
But once again, keep in mind that taking repairs into your own hands may void your warranty. Also, if you don’t really know what you’re doing, you could end up damaging more parts in your efforts to fix things. Then you’d have to pay even more for repairs and replacement parts than you might have if you just sent it in for repairs to begin with. Just depends on how confident you are with your handy skills.
If, on the other hand, you’re wondering whether you should just upgrade to a new drone, well, that depends on what model of drone you’re talking about. For most DJI drones, the cost of repairs, if they’re not extremely extensive, will end up being about 20%-35% of the cost of a new drone. At those prices, it’s still probably worth it to pay the repair fees.
Even if you do decide you want to upgrade to a better drone, it’s still a good idea to repair the damaged drone so that you can sell it. Or in some cases, you may be able to trade in your damaged drone without needing to repair it first.
If you have a non-DJI drone, the cost of repairs will probably be less than those we’ve estimated here, in proportion to the lower cost of the drone model in general. This being the case, it’s probably usually worth it to pay for the repairs at a fraction of the cost of a new drone. If you take your drone to a local repair shop, you can usually get a repair price quote before committing to having the repairs done. This can help you decide if you want to go ahead with it, or upgrade your drone instead.
DJI Care Refresh
If you don’t like the idea of having to pay up to 35% of the cost of your drone on repairs, you might seriously consider getting a DJI Care Refresh plan for your DJI drone. Like a hull coverage insurance plan, DJI Care Refresh will essentially give you a new drone for a flat rate (depending on your drone model), at a much lower fraction of the cost even of repairs.
» MORE: You can read more about DJI Care Refresh in our article on the topic, and decide whether DJI Care Refresh is worth it for you.