Flying FPV drones is a super fun hobby, but a very expensive hobby! When I started building and flying FPV drones five years ago, I made the mistake of buying the cheapest parts possible.
It can be really tempting to get the cheapest parts possible, but you can easily end up with extremely outdated and weak parts that don’t work well and will make your experience miserable.
Here at EasyDrone, we’ve used the cheapest, budget, and top-of-the-line parts, and actually use budget parts in all our builds.
Here are all the best cheap FPV drone parts from frames to batteries, and we’ve had personal experience with most of them!
How Much Does a FPV Drone Generally Cost in 2022?
Even though FPV is growing like crazy and there are more and more parts, manufacturers, and buyers than ever, prices aren’t going down, and 2022 has been an expensive year for drone electronics.
For example, I paid 42 bucks for a flight controller and ESC stack combo in 2021, and this year that same stack is selling for 85 bucks.
Skyrocketing prices are due to a chip shortage from the COVID-19 Pandemic. Thankfully, non-electronic parts like frames and batteries have remained about the same price.
However, with the increased electronic prices, a budget FPV build that would have cost $150 in 2021 now costs $220 in 2022.
Frames
The frame is one of the most important parts of an FPV drone because it holds and protects every part of your drone.
However, there are a lot of cheap frames that will fly terribly and not protect or even fit all your electronics.
With this in mind, it is important to pick a good frame for your build. Here’s two tried and tested frames that are inexpensive, and fly wonderfully.
TBS Source One
Our first frame is the TBS Source One. The TBS Source One is a pretty basic frame with plenty of room for all your electronics. It is also fairly durable and can be found at most FPV stores.
TBS Source Two
Our second frame recommendation is the TBS Source Two. Like the Source One, the Source Two is a pretty simple frame. The Source Two is set up in a more traditional racing frame setup. It has less room then the Source One and is a little less durable. That being said the Source Two is cheaper then the Source One at most stores.
Flight Controllers and ESC’s
Reliability is the #1 factor for your flight controller and ESC. Even an old flight controller/ESC is going to fly decently, with new ones just getting boosts in processing power, and connectivity capabilities.
F4 flight controllers are pretty standard for flight controllers, with F7s and H7s being the top-level upgrades.
The main difference between an F4 and an F7 is that an F7 will have more Uarts. Usually, for a freestyle drone build an F4 should be enough but if you are planning on having a GPS or anything extra an F7 might be the way to go.
Diatone knows what they are doing when they make electronics and their stacks are no exception. All three of the stacks we recommend are made by Diatone.
Diatone Mamba F405 Mk2 Stack/Combo
Diatone Mamba F405 Basic MK2 50A 3-6S
Diatone Mamba F722 3-6S 30×30 Stack/Combo
Motors
Even if you are building a budget build, you should still try to not buy the cheapest motors you can get.
Motors take a lot of beating in an FPV drone crash, and if the motors you buy are too cheaply made they will most likely break and bend easily, give bad vibrations, and not fly well.
However, if you go the other way and buy really expensive motors, you will most likely eventually break those as well and end up spending unnecessary money getting new ones.
Really expensive motors will perform really well, but in our opinion, there are cheaper motors that will perform well for a good price without being cheaply made.
Here is our list of the best budget motors for your drone build.
Emax Eco II
Ever since the the Eco II come out it has been a solid motor. For the price, it has amazing build quality.
Buy at Race Day Quads 2306: 2400kv/1900kv/1700kv, or 2207: 2400kv/1900kv/1700kv
Buy at Amazon 2306: 2400kv, or 2207: 1900kv
Buy at Pyrodrone 2306: 2400kv/1900kv/1700kv, or 2207: 2400kv/1900kv/1700kv
Xing-E/Xing-E Pro
The Xing-E/Pro has been around for a bit longer then the Eco II but it’s still a solid option.
Buy at GetFPV 2306, 2207 Pro, 2208, 2208 Pro
Buy at Race Day Quads 2306 Pro 1700kv/2450kv, or 2207 Pro 1800kv/2450kv/2750kv, 2208 Pro 1800kv
Buy at Amazon 2306 1700kv 4-Pack/2450kv 2-Pack/2450kv 4-Pack, or 2207 1800kv 4-Pack/2450kv 4-Pack/2750kv 4-Pack, 2208 1800kv 4-Pack/2450kv 4-Pack
Buy at Pyrodrone 2306 2450kv, 2306 Pro 1700kv/2450kv, 2207 Pro 1800kv/2450kv, 2208 Pro 1800kv/2450kv
Props
Pretty much any set of props released in the last couple of years work really well, but there are a couple of sets that have been proven in both their flight characteristics and their durability.
Buy unbreakable and tried Dalprop Cyclones at Amazon
Buy amazing and smooth Gemfan Hurricane props at Amazon
VTX (Video Transmitter)
Your VTX is arguably the most important part of your FPV drone, since it’s the eyes of the drone.
A cheap VTX is going to give bad range, get lots of interference, be underpowered, and get very hot. We’ve had lots of bad experiences getting the cheapest VTX possible and would highly recommend not getting one.
Here is our list of good budget VTXs for your budget build.
RDQ Mach 3
The RDQ Mach 3 is a solid VTX that I’ve personally never had a problem with.
Buy at RaceDayQuads
AKK FX3 Ultimate DVR 20×20 25-1000mW 5.8GHz VTX
This VTx is slightly cheaper then the Mach 3 and has a higher output power. That being said this little VTX performs ok for the price and has 20×20 mounting holes for your frame.
Buy at RaceDayQuads
Buy at Amazon
Antenna
Antennas are just as important as your VTX. If you have a bad antenna, it doesn’t matter how good your VTX is.
Durability is the most important factor when choosing an antenna since they take as much of a beating in a crash as motors.
Here’s some of the best antennas for reliable range and signal that have outstanding durability.
Emax/Foxeer Pagoda
The Emax Pagoda has been a cheap, solid antenna. It gets decent range and has a decent durability.
Buy at RaceDayQuads
Buy at Amazon
Foxeer Lollipop
The Foxeer lollipop is another solid, very durable antenna. It may not get the range of an Axii but it is usually cheaper and more indestructible.
Buy at RaceDayQuads
Xilo Axii
The Xilo Axii is perhaps the most premium antenna on this list. However, it has a similar price to the other antennas on this list. It probably has the best range of the antennas on this list as well. The one downside of this antenna is that you can only get it on GetFPV.
Buy at GetFPV
Camera
Even the cheapest cameras perform decently on any drone.
The two main factors in picking a camera are the resolution and the exposure settings to give a good image even in the dark.
Caddx Turbo F2
The Caddx turbo is a decent budget camera. Two downsides of it is that that the quality isn’t the greatest and you will have to either 3D print or buy an adapter to fit it in your quad.
Foxeer Razer
The Foxeer razer is a pretty solid camera that comes in multiple sizes. This is helpful because then you will not need an adapter like the Caddx turbo in order to fit in your frame.
Buy at RaceDayQuads
Buy at Amazon
Caddx Ant
The Caddx Ant is another nano camera with a fantastic image quality! It’s perfect for micro and ultralight builds, but might be a bit too small for a five inch freestyle quad.
Buy at Amazon
Batteries
Like cameras, you can get away flying with the cheapest battery.
However, the cheapest batteries have bad voltage sag and usually get worse flight times.
Getting a good battery will let you have longer flight times, pull out of dives, use lots of throttle, and have consistent power for your quad.
RDQ
Buy at RaceDayQuads
China Hobby Line
Battery Strap
Battery straps come with your batteries most of the time, so they’re the cheapest part on this list, completely free!
If you’re breaking your battery strap, getting a durable leather strap is a great idea, and one of the best purchases I’ve made.
You can buy a good leather strap pack here on Amazon
Final Thoughts
The saying “buy cheap buy twice” applies perfectly to FPV drones. If you buy the cheapest product, you’re just going to end up wasting money.
It’s better to save up money for a little longer and buy good budget parts than to buy the cheapest parts.
If you’re on a super tight budget, you can still get away with buying the cheapest camera, batteries, propellers, and even an older F3 flight controller even though it’s not recommended.
From our FPV racing, freestyle, and long-range experience, you just can’t get away with buying cheap frames, motors, VTX, and antennas.
Drop a comment down below and let us know what your favorite budget parts are. Happy flying!