How to Choose the Best DIY Build a Drone Kit
Whether you’re new to the hobby, or you want to upgrade your drone, the best DIY build a drone kits make the process a piece of cake! We searched far and wide to find the best kits for any type of drone enthusiast, from beginners and students to FPV racing pros. Before we get into the reviews, there are a few features you should know about to make sure you get the drone kit you need. Okay, let’s get started!
Main Material
Most DIY drone kit frames come in either carbon fiber or plastic. Carbon fiber frames are incredibly durable and strong, which is perfect for modifying or customizing larger drones. Plastic frames are usually inexpensive, lightweight, and perfect for beginner flyers.
Pieces
Depending on your experience or patience levels, drone building kits can come pre-assembled or completely unassembled. More pieces mean more time you have to invest in assembling, but it also means more opportunities to customize your kit with extra accessories!
Power
Motor power affects a couple aspects of flying your drone. The more powerful the motor, the further and higher your drone will go. It also affects battery life, so consider how long or far you want to fly when choosing!
Drone Weight
Lightweight drones are best for short flights or educational trips because you can easily carry several of them around for your students. Heavier drones are more cumbersome to travel with, but they can handle extra weight like cameras and batteries.
Drone Size
In addition to weight, size can be important for traveling with your drone. Smaller drones are great for travel or for flying in small indoor spaces. Larger drones are great for taking outside to a large, open park or field.
Motor Included
Some drone kits we reviewed have everything you need to fly – including a motor. Other kits are just the frame, which is perfect if you already have a motor or want to purchase a custom motor to suit your needs.
Top 10 Products
Now that you know more about what you need, let’s get into the DIY drone kit reviews! We found 10 kits that cover every level of expertise, from all-inclusive kits with motors and cameras to customizable frames. If you don’t have time to read about all 10, that’s okay! Check out our Top Pick and Budget Pick now, and come back later when you have time to read up about the other kits we reviewed. Now, time for the reviews!
LHI Quadcopter Frame Kit
- Main Material: Carbon Fiber
- Pieces: 14
- Power: 12 volts
- Drone Weight: 1.15 lbs
- Drone Size: 10 x 6.5 x 1.7″
- Motor Included: Yes
Our top pick for the best build your own quadcopter kit is this fully-stocked kit from LHI. It comes with everything you need to get started! The DIY drone kit has a lightweight carbon fiber frame with a rubber damper to reduce excess vibration, which keeps the frame from slowly falling apart in the air. It also has a high quality motor that has been balanced properly to keep your quadcopter stable and easy to fly. Another reason this was at the top of our list is the flight controller panel! You can program this panel to run on just about any type of drone, and it’s compatible with several commonly used software programs. This is great because you can swap out this control panel from this quadcopter to a fixed-wing drone. No need to buy extra panels! If you are looking for a durable, easy to build DIY quadcopter kit to get you started, this is a great option!
Maxxrace Racing Drone Kit
- Main Material: Plastic
- Pieces: 14
- Power: 2.4 GHz
- Drone Weight: 14.6 oz.
- Drone Size: 3.15 x 3.15 x 1.97
- Motor Included: Yes
Next up is our budget pick – a simple, easy to fly DIY racing drone kit from Maxxrace. This tiny drone is perfect for beginners, especially STEM students, to learn about how drones work before investing in an expensive kit of their own. We like that this kit includes everything you need, including a handheld controller, so you can get your drone up and running in no time. It’s also super easy to fly! You can move it in any direction you choose, including flips! We also like that it will land itself gently when it recognizes the battery is low, which is great for beginners to prevent crashes. With a full charge, it will fly for around 5 minutes straight with about a 50-meter range, which is good for such a small drone! If you want a longer flight time, you can easily upgrade batteries on your own. This is a great inexpensive kit for a gift or beginner flyer!
Sky Viper Drone Builder
- Main Material: Plastic
- Pieces: 44
- Power: 2.4 GHz
- Drone Weight: 2.6 oz.
- Drone Size: 6 x 6 x 1″
- Motor Included: Yes
Looking for the best DIY drone kit that’s also packed with educational lessons for your young flyers? Consider picking up this inexpensive drone kit from Sky Viper! It comes with everything you need to assemble and fly your drone, including the body, motor, handheld controller, and more. Our favorite thing about this kit is that it comes with an app that’s full of fun activities and information. The app shows you step-by-step animated directions to assemble the drone, information on how each part works and even tutorials on how to properly do flips and stunts! The drone itself is also durable and stable, with an auto launch and land feature to keep your drone in one piece! You can also adjust the sensitivity to your flight experience and needs, so you don’t have to worry about excess wobbling or accidents! If you want a drone that is both fun and educational, definitely check out this kit to get you started!
LHI Race Copter Kit
- Main Material: Carbon Fiber
- Pieces: 19
- Power: 2300 KV
- Drone Weight: 1.25 lbs.
- Drone Size: 4.2 x 2.6 x 1.5″
- Motor Included: Yes
Once you’ve gotten comfortable with flying drones, you may want to try out First Person View, or FPV drone flying. This is a “virtual” experience where you connect your drone to a camera that helps you fly your drone as though you’re riding on it. To do this, you will need a solid FPV drone kit, and this race copter kit from LHI is a great starting point. This kit has everything you need to build a solid, effective racing drone to use with FPV equipment. Since you assemble the drone from scratch, you can customize it to your liking, adding an FPV camera and using your own headset or controller. Made by the same company that makes our Top Pick, this drone will be strong, reliable, and well balanced to keep you up in the air longer. Whether you’re new to FPV drones, or you want a basic kit to customize, this is a solid set to get you started!
Top Race DIY Drone Kit
- Main Material: Plastic
- Pieces: 54
- Power: 2.4 GHz
- Drone Weight: 1.23 lbs
- Drone Size: 14.2 x 9.5 x 3.1″
- Motor Included: Yes
Do you have a teenager who grew up playing with Legos, and wants to get them a gift that will inspire them to keep building? Give them a Lego-style build a drone kit from Top Race! This 54-piece kit comes together easily like the kits they built growing up. The instructions not only tell them how to assemble the drone – it also teaches your child how each part works. It also flies incredibly well, with 360-degree capabilities and a stable motor to keep it in the air. We’re also big fans of the 1 key return button, which brings the drone back to the controller without you needing to do anything! The drone also has gyroscopes, so your child can fly it indoors or outdoors. We also like that this kit allows you to add whatever extras you want to it, including a camera, for extra fun! This kit will keep your teen busy and happy for a long time!
Crazepony Racing Drone Frame
- Main Material: Carbon Fiber
- Pieces: 20
- Power: 2000-4000 KV
- Drone Weight: 5.9 oz.
- Drone Size: 9.1 x 3.9 x 1.8″
- Motor Included: No
If you already know how to build a drone from scratch, you know how important a solid frame can be. This drone frame from Crazepony Racing is the best place to start your homemade drone kit process. This kit is just the frame, so you can add whatever propellers, motor, programming board, and other accessories you want. We like that this drone frame is easy to assemble, and it has plenty of space to add whatever you want without worrying about overloading or weighing it down. It’s compatible with several types of brushless motors, and you can add any 5” propellers you like. The lightweight, carbon fiber material is both flexible and well balanced to keep your drone steady – even with extra equipment strapped onto it or in windy conditions. We think this is a great frame for both beginners and experienced flyers to use if they want to add a camera or customize their drone to their own liking.
FPVDrone Frame Kit
- Main Material: Carbon Fiber
- Pieces: 9
- Power: 2206 KV
- Drone Weight: 3.56 oz.
- Drone Size: 8.7 x 8.6 x 0.9″
- Motor Included: No
If you want to build your own drone kit with camera for FPV racing, consider grabbing one of these frames from FPVDrone. This quadcopter kit comes with a lightweight carbon fiber frame that can hold everything you need while staying light enough to zip through the air quickly. The x-shaped body is built in one solid piece, making it easier to withstand collisions or impact without bending or breaking. Since FPV racing often requires multiple drones to fly around the same space, collisions are common and can be costly! We also like that this frame comes with a power distribution plate and battery strap, both of which help keep your drone steady and safe. Since that’s all it comes with, you can easily add your own motor, programming panel, propellers, and camera to customize your racing drone. This is a model that will not only hold all your equipment securely – it may also help you win your next race, too!
Go On 123 Drone Building Kit
- Main Material: Plastic
- Pieces: 19
- Power: 2.4 GHz
- Drone Weight: 1.26 oz.
- Drone Size: 4.72
- Motor Included: Yes
While we were hunting for a quality camera drone kit, we found this all-inclusive kit from Go On 123 that is perfect for young flyers! It has everything you need to build your drone frame, including a body, motor, batteries, and camera. You can assemble and fly this drone in about 30 minutes, which is perfect for teaching kids or STEM students in an afternoon! We also like that this drone kit comes with a handheld controller that attaches to your smartphone so you can program and fly it with ease! To make flying the drone super fun, it moves in any direction you want, including sharp turns and flips. It also has one-key takeoff and landing functions, which make flying much easier for newcomers! If you are looking for a small drone with camera to build with your child or to teach your STEM students, this is a great kit to get them started on their journey in flight!
DLFPV Quadcopter Frame Kit
- Main Material: Carbon Fiber
- Pieces: 47
- Power: 2400 KV
- Drone Weight: 4.3 oz.
- Drone Size: 8.7 x 5.1 x 1″
- Motor Included: No
Next up is another favorite to create the best quadcopter kit for both racing and recreational flying! This frame kit from DLFPV is lightweight, yet durable enough to handle whatever extra equipment you attach to it. The 210mm wheelbase is large enough that you can add racing equipment like extra batteries and a small camera without running out of space or weighing it down. It’s also only just over 4 oz., making it light enough to zip through the air with ease – even if it’s loaded up! We also like that the carbon fiber pieces are thick, giving this drone frame extra stability while flying in windy or rainy weather. The kit comes with all the parts you need to put the frame together quickly – no extra cutting or soldering required! If you want to upgrade your current drone frame, we think this is a great option that will give you the versatility you need to truly customize your drone!
Hobbypower DIY Quadcopter Kit
- Main Material: Carbon Fiber
- Pieces: 16
- Power: 2300 KV
- Drone Weight: N/A
- Drone Size: N/A
- Motor Included: Yes
Our final quadcopter kit comes to us from Hobbypower, and it’s a great mini-drone to get you or your child started. This is a good option for someone who already flies drones and wants to add a smaller one to their collection. It comes with just about everything you’ll need: a lightweight, carbon fiber body that’s easy to assemble, motor, speed controller, flight controller, and propellers. The extra parts bag includes a battery strap, zip ties, power plug adapters, and more! All you have to provide is a handheld controller to get your drone up in the air. This is a popular mini-drone kit for FPV racing because it’s lightweight, easy to assemble, and capable of being customized to your specific needs. If you are looking for a small drone to take FPV flying or a reliable drone you can easily put together in an afternoon and fly around your local park, we think you’ll love setting up this one!