Should beginners buy a cheap drone first before upgrading?
I keep seeing conflicting advice. Some people say start with a cheap $50-60 drone to learn on so you don't crash an expensive one. Others say cheap drones teach bad habits and you'll just end up buying a better one anyway. What does the community actually think? Should a complete beginner start cheap and upgrade, or buy something decent from the start?
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5 Answers
This is one of the most common questions new drone buyers ask, and I've seen it play out in both directions. Here is my honest assessment after helping dozens of new flyers over the years:
Start cheap if any of these apply:
- You genuinely aren't sure you'll enjoy the hobby (good risk management)
- You want to learn indoor flying before heading outside
- You're buying for a child who might lose interest within a month
- Budget is truly tight and $140 feels like a stretch right now
Skip to a GPS model if any of these apply:
- You already know you want outdoor aerial photography or video
- You want to fly at parks, beaches, or travel destinations
- You've already done research and are clearly interested in the hobby
- You can comfortably afford $130-150 for a Potensic ATOM SE or similar
The upgrade trap is real: Most beginners who start at $50-60 end up upgrading within 3 months because the short battery life (10 min), lack of GPS, and limited range frustrate them. The total spend then becomes $60 + $140 = $200 versus just $140 from the start.
My recommendation: If you're reading forum discussions about drones, watching YouTube reviews, and asking detailed questions -- you're already invested enough to justify starting at the $130-150 tier. The cheap drone phase won't save you money at that level of interest.
From an FPV perspective, cheap drones actually do provide useful learning value that more expensive GPS drones remove.
GPS drones hover automatically and return home on their own. You don't learn to manage throttle or develop real spatial awareness when the drone does stability management for you. A cheap altitude-hold drone without GPS forces you to actively maintain position, which builds instincts.
For FPV racing specifically, I'd recommend a small cheap drone for indoor learning before investing in a race setup. For casual GPS photography flying though, the GPS features on a $140 ATOM SE are genuinely helpful from day one and won't create bad habits for that use case.
The "bad habits" argument applies more to FPV flying than casual recreational GPS flying. Know your intended flying style before deciding.
Brutally honest math on the "start cheap to save money" strategy:
Path A: Start cheap, then upgrade
$60 Holy Stone HS110D + $140 Potensic ATOM SE = $200 total. You now own both drones but only fly the ATOM SE.
Path B: Start with the right drone
$140 Potensic ATOM SE. Done. You have the drone you actually want from day one.
Unless you sell the starter drone (likely $25-35 used), Path A costs $60-80 more than Path B for the same end result. The "save money by starting cheap" argument only holds if you might genuinely stop the hobby early -- which is the only valid reason to start at the lower price.
Counter-point worth considering: I bought the HS110D first and sold it on Facebook Marketplace for $35 after upgrading to the ATOM SE. Net cost of the "learning phase" was $25. For two months of discovering whether I actually liked flying, that felt reasonable. Selling the starter drone partially justifies the two-drone path. Though I'll acknowledge BudgetFlyer88's math still makes the single-purchase path cheaper overall.
Final framework from a photography perspective:
Photography/video is your goal: Skip straight to the $130-150 tier. You will not get usable aerial photography from a $50-60 toy drone -- the camera quality, stability, and GPS positioning on entry GPS models like the ATOM SE are the minimum required for results you'll actually want to keep and share.
Just want to experience flying: Start at $50-65. The HS110D is genuinely fun. If you love flying and want more, upgrade. If you don't, you risked $60 not $140.
Already committed to aerial photography: Consider whether the Potensic ATOM SE at $130-150 is the right starting point or whether it's worth investing $299 in the DJI Mini 2 SE from day one. The DJI is significantly better for photography and you won't need to upgrade again for years.
For the full case on the ATOM SE as a starting point for aerial photography, see our thread on good drones under $150 that fly well.