By Mike "Jabs" JaballahFounder and Director. CASA Licensed Drone Pilot.
Drone photography costs in Melbourne range from a couple of hundred dollars for a quick set of real estate stills to $3,500 or more for a large, multi-day job. Most of the difference comes down to location, permits and what you need delivered.
At Creative Kicks, there's no set-in-stone figure. Generally you're looking at anywhere from $500 to $3,500, sometimes more, depending on what you need, how long it'll take, and whether the location's straightforward or a bit of a pain. Permit fees are extra.
Drone photography prices by job type
Drone photography in Melbourne costs anywhere from around $250 for a basic real estate aerial set to $3,500 or more for a large site with multiple days and deliverables. The job type sets the bracket, then permits and post-production move you around inside it.
| Job type | Typical price | What you usually get |
|---|---|---|
| Real estate aerial stills | $250 to $450 | A set of edited aerial photos of the property and its position |
| Real estate stills plus video | $450 to $800 | Aerial stills plus a short edited aerial clip |
| Creative Kicks drone photography | $500 to $3,500, sometimes more | A quick job sits at the lower end. A large site with multiple days and deliverables sits at the higher end |
| Permit fees | At cost, on top | From around $100 for a suburban council to thousands for City of Melbourne and CASA permissions |
The real estate figures come from a 2026 Melbourne real estate drone pricing guide. For a national benchmark, one 2026 Australian pricing guide puts a standard commercial package of up to about four hours, with permits, insurance and a licensed operator, at around $1,500 ex GST. That sits inside our $500 to $3,500 range.
Why do drone photography prices vary so much?
Drone photography prices vary because four things change from job to job: how long it takes, how hard the site is to get approved, what gear it needs and how much post-production you want. A quick suburban shoot and a CBD campaign are barely the same job.
Time and complexity
Quick job? A few hundred bucks across the market. A large site with multiple days and deliverables? You'll be at the higher end.
Access and airspace
If the site is hard to get to, needs flight approvals or sits near controlled airspace in Melbourne, that's extra paperwork and time. That costs more.
Gear
Some operators fly $1,500 drones. Others fly rigs worth $15K. Newer drones give you crisper shots, smoother footage and better dynamic range. But yeah, that better gear isn't free.
Post-production
Don't forget editing. If you want files colour graded, labelled, trimmed or delivered in a specific format, that's more hours in front of a screen.
Do drone photographers charge by the hour or by the job?
Most drone photographers quote a fixed fee per job, because the flying is only part of the work. Hourly rates exist, but planning, approvals and editing usually take longer than the time in the air.
If you are quoted by the hour, a 2026 Australian benchmark puts aerial stills at around $150 to $350 an hour, and drone videography at $250 to $400 an hour, including GST. Video costs more because the editing is the expensive part, not the flying. We quote per job, so the planning and permits are in the number from the start.
How much does real estate drone photography cost?
Real estate drone photography in Melbourne typically costs $250 to $450 for an edited aerial stills package, and $450 to $800 with an aerial video added. Acreage, commercial sites and development parcels are usually quoted per job.
Honestly, for a standard residential listing, a specialist real estate photographer will usually be cheaper than us, and that's fine. Where we fit is property work with more moving parts: development sites, construction progress, controlled airspace, or content for a campaign rather than a single listing. Check one thing whoever you hire: whether the address is even flyable. Large parts of Melbourne sit inside controlled airspace around Moorabbin, Essendon, Melbourne and Avalon airports.
Why do licensed drone operators cost more?
Licensed drone operators cost more because they carry the licences, insurance, approvals and backup gear a cheap operator skips. You're paying for the shoot to actually happen, legally, on the day it's booked.
Here's the one we hear a lot: "I found this guy online who owns a drone and says he can do my shoot for $200." Maybe he can. But flying for money is commercial flying in Australia. Even under CASA's sub-2 kg excluded category, the operator needs an ARN, operator accreditation and a registered drone, and has to stay inside the standard drone safety rules. Plenty of jobs, like CBD sites, controlled airspace or flying near people, fall outside those rules altogether.
Ask any operator three questions before you book: are you licensed for this job, are you insured, and who's sorting the airspace and permits? We're CASA RePL and ReOC accredited, carry $20 million public liability, bring backup drones to every shoot, and sort the airspace before the day, not on it.
How much do drone permits cost in Melbourne?
Drone permits in Melbourne can cost anywhere from around $100 for a suburban council permit to thousands of dollars for City of Melbourne and CASA permissions. We charge permit fees at cost, on top of the shoot fee.
Permits also cost time. Some land managers need weeks of notice, and a shoot booked too late can't go ahead at any price. Our drone permits guide covers who you apply to and how long it takes.
Is professional drone photography worth the cost?
Professional drone photography is worth the cost when the shots do a job: tracking a build, winning a tender, or selling a site or event. It's money badly spent when a few phone photos would do.
For builders and developers, it's about site updates that make sense. Want to track progress over months? Drones give you a proper bird's-eye view of how the build is tracking, and cut down the "he said, she said" on site. It's also about proposals that win work. Everyone submits drawings. Aerial footage of the actual site makes yours the one people remember. Our guide to construction drone photography goes deeper on both.
If that's the kind of job you've got, our drone photography in Melbourne service handles it end to end, from airspace checks to graded files.
Questions we get asked
How much does a drone photographer charge per hour in Australia?
Around $150 to $350 an hour for aerial stills and $250 to $400 an hour for drone videography, including GST, based on a 2026 Australian benchmark. Most operators quote a fixed fee per job instead.
How much does Creative Kicks charge for drone photography?
Generally anywhere from $500 to $3,500, sometimes more. It depends on what you need, how long it'll take, and whether the location's straightforward or a bit of a pain. Permit fees are extra.
Why is drone video more expensive than drone photos?
Because editing is the expensive part, not flying. Video needs cutting, colour grading and formatting, which takes far longer than delivering a set of stills.
Do drone permit fees cost extra?
Usually, yes. Permit fees depend on the location and range from around $100 for a suburban council to thousands for City of Melbourne and CASA permissions. We charge them at cost on top of the shoot fee.
Can I get drone photos for $200?
Sometimes, for a simple real estate set. But check the operator is licensed for paid work, insured, and has checked the airspace at your address. If any of those are missing, the cheap quote can cost you the shoot.
Get a real number
Tell us the location, what you need captured and when. We'll check the airspace and permits, then come back with a quote.
