Cheap Chinese Drones on AliExpress : the Ultimate Guide [2017]
Are you looking for the best drones on AliExpress ? You’d like to read a buyer’s guide in order to help you finding a cheap drone made by a Chinese supplier ?
In response to the large number of mails I’ve received from the followers of AliAddict, I’ve decided to offer you a complete guide that will help you finding a Chinese drone.
Do you remember the time when had your first remote controlled car ? This feeling that you could experience by seeing your little machine run on the ground ?
Today, you can experience this feeling again but in an enhanced way, with a drone !
You’re thinking : “this is a good idea, but it might be expensive. I’m not sure I’ve got enough money to spend on that”. You should know that those machines are way cheaper that some people think.
And when you buy them on Chinese sites (for instance on AliExpress), you could buy you first drone for a really cheap price.
What you need to know, is if the machine you’re going to order could fit perfectly into what you’re looking for : the size, the type of steering (remote control or smartphone), the flight controller, the autonomy, the quality of the embedded camera…
Why you should buy your first drone on AliExpress
Maybe this is the first time you’re surfing on AliAddict. You don’t know that you can save a lot of money by buying on AliExpress.
This marketplace, which is owned by the group Alibaba, not only helps you buying at really cheap prices, but also allows you to order quality products.
And when you want to buy a drone, even if it’s in a local shop, you know for a fact that most of them are coming from China.
So why not buying it directly from the supplier ?
Il est possible que vous atterrissiez pour la première fois sur AliAddict, et que vous ignoriez toutes les économies que l’on peut réaliser sur AliExpress.
Cette plateforme, qui appartient au groupe Alibaba, vous permet non seulement de profiter de prix défiant toute concurrence, mais vous propose surtout des produits qui sont pour la plupart de qualité.
Et quant il s’agit d’acheter un drone, même dans une boutique française, vous vous doutez bien que la plupart proviennent de Chine.
Alors pourquoi ne pas réaliser des économies en commandant directement auprès du fournisseur ?
A wide offer of drones
You should know that AliExpress, as well as Amazon, is a generalist web store. You could find a wide range of products, in every niche you could think of.
On the contrary to other Chinese sites like FastTech or GearBest, AliExpress is a marketplace. That means that the site helps connecting suppliers, mostly based in China, with customers that live all over the world.
This is why the product range is so huge on AliExpress.
You just have to look at the number of drones that are sold on the marketplace :
Yes, at the time i’m writing this post, you can find almost 46 000 different drones (including accessories and parts).
Free shipping
One of the biggest advantages of AliExpress is the free shipping that is offer on 99% of the products that you can order.
Free shipping ? But the products are being sent from China… How is this possible ?
Yes, this can look strange, especially because we know that most local e-commerce sites ask you to pay for the shipping costs, even though the product you’re ordering is sometimes only a few miles away from your home.
Be careful though, because it can take a little time : you may have to wait from 2 to 5 weeks in order to receive your products.
If you can’t wait, you can choose to use a paid delivery, where you ask a western carrier like DHL or Fedex. However, be careful : if you do so, you should take in account the potential custom fees you may have to pay.
Finding a reliable seller
You should know that AliExpress is uncompromising with bad sellers.
This is way the marketplace only pay the sellers when the customer has effectively received the products he has ordered in their store. This is a way for AliExpress to ensure a good service, and to prevent scammers looking to deceive you.
How to find the best Chinese drones on AliExpress ?
If you’re not looking for a particular item, and you still don’t know exactly what kind of drone you would like to buy, you can use the search termes below in order to find a product that could suit you.
My advice : try to order the search results by the number of orders, and exclude products that haven’t received at least a 4 star rating.
I’ve added those options to the links you can see below, so that it will be more convenient for you to find a good Chinese drone on AliExpress.
You just have to click on the type of drone that you would like to order, and then you can browse the different items that are offered on AliExpress :
As soon as you’ve found an item that suits you, i strongly suggest you to :
–carefully read details of the item, so that you’ll know its exact specifications
–watch the ratings that have been given to the product. If you see a rating below 4, i’d strongly suggest to watch for other items…
–look at the feedback that has been given to the seller of this item :
The many criteria to watch for
When you’re looking at the different features of drones, it’s sometimes hard to know what to search for. Some of them are sold with a remote control, others without; some items come with a flight controller; autonomy is very different between the drones,…
In order to assist you in your choice, here are the main criteria that you have to watch for in order to find the drone that would suits your need.
The autonomy
You should know that most of the drones come embedded with a removable battery : as a consquence, you can buy many of them, in order to be able to use your drone for a longer period.
This is because most drones just have a weak autonomy (about 10 to 20 minutes).
An embedded camera
Some items come with an embedded camera : you’ll be able to film movies instantaneously, without having to buy anything else.
Other drones come with a frame, in which you can put your GoPro.
A remote control
Some types of drones can be controlled directly from your smartphone, whereas other are shipped with a remote control.
I do prefer when my drone has a “real” remote control, since i find this solution more ergonomic.
Certains modèles peuvent être commandés directement depuis un smartphone, tandis que d’autres sont livrés avec une télécommande. Tout dépend de vos préférences !
The best Chinese drones : here’s my list
I’ve selected for you the 3 most interesting drones on AliExpress. T
The quadcopter MJX X101, the best-selling drone on AliExpress
You won’t be wrong if you opt for this drone : it has already been ordered more than 2000 times, and has received more than 1000 ratings from its buyers.
Thanks to his GoPro frame, you’ll be able to add your own camera in order to film great stuff.
This is to me the perfect model if you don’t know anything about drones, and you want to buy a reliable one.
Moreover, the price is really cheap : between 60$ and 104$.
- Dimensions : 50 * 50 * 16 cm
- Remote distance : 100 mètres
- Comes with a remote control
<<<<<—– More on this drone on AliExpress —–>>>>>
The quadcopter YiZhan Tarantula X6 : a real monster
This drone made by YiZhan is a quadcopter, with 4 propellers that give them the look of an insect.
- Dimensions : 47 * 25 * 15 cm
- Remote distance : 300 mètres
- Comes with a remote control
- Comes with a 1080P camera on some variations
The reviews are generally great, with an average rating of 4,4/5.
The price will vary, depending on the color you choose. Indeed, the Yizhan Tarantula X6 costs 63 dollars in white, but its price can go up to 107 dollars if you want to buy it in orange.
This is for one simple reason : the orange one comes with a 1080P camera, contrary to the white one. Feel free to look its listing on AliExpress for more information.
<<<<<—– More on this drone on AliExpress —–>>>>>
The H20 made by JJRC : a mini drone for a mini price
You don’t want to spend more than 50 euros buying a drone, and however you’d like to become a pilot on a budget ?
No problem, you can find a lot of mini drones on AliExpress.
Here’s the H20, which is the best-selling mini drone on the greatest chinese marketplace.
<<<<<—– See this drone on AliExpress —–>>>>>
Other items you can find :
- Lily Drone
- Phantom Drone
- Parrot Bebop Drone
- Syma X5C
- Drone Dj Phantom
The drone’s shops i recommand
When you’re buying a drone on AliExpress, you should carefully look for the history of its seller.
- HQ Toys : a chinese seller active on AliExpress since 2013, with 2 diamonds. He’s specialized in drones and remote controlled cars, and also sells dolls and games for kids.
- HongVans Toys : a relatively new shop (open on July of 2015). Even though it has still not a lot of feedback, that should change really fast. Indeed, this is the shop selling the quadcopte MJX-X101, which is the best selling drone on aliexpress.
- GoPra Hong Kong Electronics : two diamonds for this seller that offer products on AliExpress since 2014. If you’re looking for quality mini-drones, you should go to his shop.
Buying your first drone on AliExpress seems to be a great idea if you want to buy this item for a very good price-quality ratio.
I hope this post is gonna help you finding a cheap chinese drone on AliExpress. If you have any question or suggestion, feel free to use the comment section.
