DRONE IMAGERY PRICES IN FINLAND: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE

September 22, 2023

Written by Maciej Sójka, Founder & Drone Operator at NUVU

Yup, it can be frustrating when you don’t know what price you should expect for a service. It’s also very natural to worry that you might overpay.

So if you’re here because you’ve typed something like ‘aerial imagery price’ into Google, then you’ve knocked on the right door. We’ve done tonnes of desk research, looked at offers from 50+ service providers and spoken to people from the industry, and as a result we are bringing you this:

A guide that summarises the prices of drone imagery services in Finland and provides all the information you need to comfortably decide if the fees you are asked to pay are in line with the market. Read on!

(however, if you don’t feel like reading through the full article, then scroll down to the second graphic where we’ve whipped up a quick summary of the key prices or simply contact us for some free insights)

Why use aerial imagery at all?

Let’s start with a different question though: why bother with drone photography or videography in the first place? Why would you pay any price for this?

It’s all about perspective and what you want to achieve.

Do you have real estate for sale and would like potential clients to see stunning visuals of the property’s exterior inclining them to consider a purchase?
Do you rent out a summer house on Airbnb or a similar platform and want to show tourists its beautiful surroundings so that they pick your place instead of another one?
Are you holding an important event and need stunning visuals that will impress your friends on Facebook or paint a desired image on your business’s social media?
Do you need to inspect an industrial object and require a method that doesn’t involve ladders or extensive roof-hopping?

If the answer to any of these or similar questions is ‘yes’, then rest assured – drone imagery is one of the best solutions out there and investing in a professional service is in all likelihood the right way to go.

Factors influencing the price of drone imagery services

So let’s talk about money. It might seem like a fairly straightforward service, but the truth is that drone imagery providers need to factor a lot of costs into their business.

Here are just some of the things that need to be taken into account when calculating the price:

The equipment itself, which is by no means cheap
Battery lifetime, which is relatively short and replacements are not on the cost-friendly side either
Damages – even the most experienced of operators will crash into something once in a while
At least 2 different types of insurance
Memory cards, filters and other parts
Software for post-production
Editing, which often takes waaaay more time than the shooting itself

So when you’re paying for a professional to give your business a boost with stunning visuals, you’re actually paying for much more than just a person with a joystick. Actually – spoiler, beware! – given these costs AND the benefits of drone-generated images or videos, one could even argue that the price of this service is a steal 😉

The price of standard aerial imagery services in Finland

OK, let’s now go straight to the point of this article: what is a typical price for drone imagery services in Finland?

How much should you expect to pay and – equipped with this knowledge – not only avoid spending far above the market, but also investing in a suspiciously price-friendly service that might translate into dubious quality?

Let’s dive in!

First of all, in order to factor out unwanted noise, we took a number of assumptions.

The idea was to find out the fees for typical drone services and charged in a typical way, not to cover all the different options and drone applications one can find in the market:

The level of required drone capabilities and the drone operator’s skill is equivalent to that needed for showcasing real estate for sale or rent, documenting events such as weddings or company parties or carrying out an inspection of simple industrial items
The service is charged per session of these characteristics: for drone photography, a standard session takes around 60 minutes and the output is 5-10 images; for drone videos, a standard session takes around 60 minutes and the output is 60 seconds of footage
Editing at a standard level is included in the price
Typical access rights apply to both parties (so legal matters have no significant influence on the price)

And here’s what we found out:

For a standard 60-minute drone photography session that produces 5-10 edited aerial photos you will be charged a price of approx. €100-300 + VAT on average
If you request more photos than are included in the standard package, you can expect to be charged an additional €25-50 + VAT per extra photo
A standard 60-minute drone videography session that will usually result in an edited 1-minute drone video (or 2 videos of 30 seconds) will set you back approx. €75-250 + VAT (note: if you hire someone to shoot an event that takes half a day or more, then you can obviously expect an hourly fee that belongs to the lower end of this scale)

What’s more, many drone operators will travel for free only within a limited area and charge an extra fee of €0.5 per each kilometre when they need to drive beyond it.

Let’s ponder an example.

You bought a summer cottage in Porkkala, a picturesque peninsula around 40km from the borders of the Helsinki metropolitan area. Your intention is to rent it out on Airbnb to families or groups of friends willing to spend a peaceful weekend or short holiday surrounded by nature.

For this reason, two things are very important to you:

that everyone can see that the cottage is relatively spacious and well-equipped
that everyone can take a sneak peek at the peaceful and beautiful surroundings

If you achieve both goals, you know that your Airbnb listing will both impress and provide all the crucial information that potential customers need to make an immediate booking, thus securing a great occupancy rate for your newly launched business.

As you know that you need a professional to ensure the images translate into more customers, you search the area but find out that the closest service provider is in Helsinki.

Let’s assume that for your marketing purposes you need:

a set of 10 photos of the interior
a set of 8 drone shots of the exterior
a 1-minute drone video capturing the spectacular surroundings

and that your provider of choice charges perfectly average prices.

Here is what you would be charged in this ideally average scenario:

€140 for the 10 interior shots (we borrowed this estimate from another mini-research project we’re working on)
€201 for a package of 7 drone shots of the cottage from the outside
€37 for the 8th photo (our service provider offers packages of 7 photos and €37 per each additional shot)
€154 for the 1-minute video
€0.5 x 40 km = €20 for the travel cost

Total price for all of the drone imagery: €552

Note: in reality you might get a slightly better deal as our photographer and drone operator from Helsinki will probably offer you a discount given you’re ordering multiple services at once.

Is this a lot? Well, here’s some good news: we’re already preparing an article on how to calculate the return on your investment if you’re considering drone visuals, so make sure to watch this space!

(spoiler: no, it’s not a lot, you will break even with your first client and the imagery will serve you “for free” from that point on 😊)

Why are the price brackets for drone photography so broad and what to do about it?

In the calculations above, we assumed an ideally average provider price-wise, but as we’ve already found out the price ranges for aerial imagery are rather broad.

So what is the reason for this? Why do you sometimes pay €100 and on other occasions €300 for what seems to be the same thing?

This can be due to a number of factors, not necessarily the intent of an aerial photographer to rip customers off.

First of all, it’s a fairly common occurrence that drone videos or pictures are packaged with a traditional photography service such as interior shots of a property or regular pictures taken during an event. This for obvious reasons makes the drone part of the package a bit less expensive than as a stand-alone product.

It can also be down to the structure of the service. Perhaps the photographer is doing the editing by themselves? A photographer’s time will usually be more expensive than that of someone trained to do editing. If that is factored into the total price of a drone imagery service, then you get a higher amount than you would get from a business that outsources this activity to a well-prepared, but less expensive resource.

Finally, prices of drone photography will differ depending on the location of the session. For example, our research has shown that while €29 is the average price for a drone shot in Finland, sessions in Helsinki or Tampere tend to be more expensive (€34 per photo on average) than those that take place elsewhere in the country (€23 per photo on average).

Either way, here’s the simple thing you need to do: ask.

It’s absolutely fine to say that you feel the price is at the upper end of the range you are aware of in regard to such services and you would like to understand the extra value you are getting for the premium. Explain that you are more than happy to pay more, but only if it makes sense for you. And then listen, but do not get brushed aside by generic statements like “oh, but we offer very high quality”.

Ask your interlocuter to explain what that high quality means for you as a customer. In what way exactly will you benefit from that and then assess if this truly is a value-adding benefit for you.

If your interlocutor is not able to explain this well or you feel you’re being sold something that does not justify the extra investment, then simply look for a provider whose aerial imagery prices are closer to the middle of the discussed range.

But how come I’ve seen much lower/higher prices for drone imagery than what you say?

To make things more complicated, you might also see prices of drone photography and videography that are outside of even this relatively wide spectrum.

You will find drone operators out there who will do the job for less than even €75 (and guess what: it might not even be a bad idea to hire them!). If you need the pics or footage for purposes that don’t require the images to fulfill basic quality standards, then there is no reason to overpay.

Just ask yourself this question: what do I want to gain?

If your potential gain is an increased interest in what you have to offer or a stronger image for your business, then chances are you should invest.

As for the other end of the spectrum – prices for aerial photography and videos may go well beyond €300 and even reach quadruple figures for reasons such as:

The objects filmed are not easily accessible, e.g. large communication masts
The drones require specialised equipment, e.g. thermal cameras
The editing requires the addition of extras, e.g. visual effects

In summary, if your needs fall within fairly typical dimensions of solid quality, but no extraordinary challenges or add-ons required, then you should neither occupy yourself with targeting an ultra-cheap service, nor worry that you will need to fork out an amount exceeding €300.

Need more info about the price of aerial imagery? Here’s an idea!

We hope we’ve given you an indication on what price you can expect when buying drone imagery services. If however that is not the case, then here’s a suggestion: give us a call at +358 44 947 7915 or drop us an email at jay@nuvu.fi.

We’re more than happy to answer all the questions you might have on the issue. For free, of course, no strings attached!

Finally, we’ll be posting many more articles on practical considerations anyone buying drone photography services may have.

So, if you’re wondering how to select a good service provider, what tangible benefits you might expect if you invest in a professional or how to showcase your imagery to make it drive your business, then watch this space and follow our socials. You’re also invited to browse our real estate photography portfolio, showcasing – among others – drone shots we’ve captured for our clients.

We’ll be publishing all sorts of practical content that you really don’t want to miss out on!