The video runs 6 minutes. Below is the same content written out, so you can keep it handy on site before you fly.
What you'll achieve
- Choose how to charge: per battery, per hour, per minutes of footage or per project.
- Have reference ranges from the Ecuadorian market so you don't charge too much or too little.
- Separate the price of the flight from the price of the editing.
What you need
- Know what quality you deliver with your equipment (drone camera, number of batteries).
- Know what other pilots charge in your city.
Step by step
1. Start from the quality you deliver
Quality depends on the equipment. In the video I use a DJI Mini 4 Pro, which cost me more than USD 1,000 and has above-average quality, with three batteries to stay in the air longer.
With equipment like that you can place yourself in the middle of the market range, not at the lowest end.
2. Charge per battery
This is the most common. In Ecuador I saw anything from USD 15 per battery up to USD 60 per battery, that is USD 180 if the project uses three.
A reasonable average at that time was about USD 50 per battery.
3. Charge per flight hour
Another option is to charge for the hour on site and deliver everything that comes out of that time: photos, videos, timelapses or 360 photos.
About USD 100 per hour was within what was charged in Ecuador: neither expensive nor cheap.
4. Charge per minutes of footage
You can also charge for the amount of video you deliver, for example about USD 50 for 10 minutes of footage.
5. Charge per project with editing
This is what I do: a single rate for going to the plot and editing. I calculate the flight at about USD 60 per project, whether it takes 10 minutes or an hour.
An edited video starts at an average of USD 90 in my local market, so a project with filming and editing comes to about USD 150. If it is a large project or has several lots, the price goes up.
If someone asks me for the footage only, without editing, the logical thing is to charge more than the flight inside an edited project: between USD 80 and 100, depending on where the plot is.
Tip: Don't go far below the average: a price that is too low gets associated with poor quality work.
Prices change with the market
These values are the ones used in Ecuador when I recorded the video, in February 2025. In other countries or cities some pilots charge USD 100, 120 or 150 for a single battery. Check what is charged in your area and place yourself around the average according to your quality.
If you are also going to edit the video, follow the guide to the 7 shots to film a plot of land with a drone so you don't fly more than needed.
Frequently asked questions
How much is charged for filming a plot of land with a drone in Ecuador?
In February 2025 it ranged from USD 15 up to USD 60 per battery, with an average of about USD 50, or about USD 100 per flight hour.
Is it better to charge per battery or per hour?
Both are used. Per battery is easy to explain; per hour lets you deliver everything you record in that time, including 360 photos and timelapses.
How much to charge for filming and editing the video of a plot of land?
As a reference, in the video I charge about USD 60 for the flight and from USD 90 for the editing: around USD 150 per project. A large project or one with several lots costs more.
Is it bad to charge too little?
Yes: a price far below the average makes people associate your work with low quality.
More After Effects tutorials for real estate
- Real estate drone video: 7 shots for a plot of land
- Animate the outline of a plot of land in After Effects
- Make a plot of land float in After Effects with Mocha
- 3D Camera Tracker errors in After Effects: fixes
- How to build an interactive real estate site plan in real time
All the videos are on the YouTube channel @cristhianitsme.
