If you’re thinking about getting a drone, but you’re worried that you might make some unhappy neighbors with the noise they make, then keep reading.
Hobby or recreational drones can be extremely noisy. In fact, most small hobby drones produce 80dB of sound, which is similar to a loud vacuum cleaner. However, unlike the vacuum cleaner, the sound a small hobby drone makes is higher pitched and can travel further, and there are no walls to stop it.
To help you understand how loud recreational drones can be, let’s compare it to some other common sounds. We’ll also take a look at how noisy they are at different distances.
Exactly How Loud Are Drones?
In the graph below you’ll notice that the best household item that you can compare it to is a vacuum cleaner. However you need to keep in mind that a vacuum cleaner has a lower dull sound, on the other hand as drone propellers cut through the air, it creates a high pitched noise that can travel a lot further and can sound more annoying.
And because there are no walls between your drone and the neighbors, that sound will go straight into every home in the neighborhood.
How Far Can Drone Sounds Travel?
Will it reach my neighbors? If you get your drone flying high enough will it make the noise mare tolerable? Let’s take a look at this experiment that was done to measure the sound a drone makes at different distances. So let’s take a look at how the sound varies from different altitudes.
The two drones that were used in this experiment was the DJI Mavic Pro, and the DJI Inspire. The reason why he chose these two drones is that the Pro is known to be relatively quiet, and the Inspire is a drone that’s known to be extremely noisy. So this should give you an idea of what sound to expect at different distances.
DJI Mavic Pro Distance VS Sound Table.
| Distance: | Sound: | Sounds Like: |
| 0 feet | 70 decibels | Inside car at 60 miles per hour. |
| 25 feet | 56 decibels | Back ground music. |
| 50 feet | 52 decibels | Normal conversation. |
| 100 feet | 45.5 decibels | Average home noise. |
With the Mavic Pro, the sound drops significantly at 100 feet. So if you get a similar drone then you would be able to get the drone to a quiet distance fairly quickly. Just avoid flying at a low distance.
DJI Inspire Distance VS Sound Table.
| Distance: | Sound: | Sounds Like: |
| 0 feet | 83 decibels | power lawnmower. |
| 25 feet | 68 decibels | High pitched conversation. |
| 50 feet | 65.5 decibels | Loud background music. |
| 100 feet | 55.5 decibels | Normal background music. |
The DJI Inspire is a lot noisier at 100 feet, so you’re going to have to take it a bit higher up to keep your neighbors happy.
Just an important note, you also need to understand that some noises are more annoying than others. The noise that a drone makes is extremely high pitched, like the sound of a swarm of bees, which is a lot more annoying than some background music for example. So keep this in mind when judging how far you need to fly your drone. My guess is it’ll probably be a bit further than what the above table suggests.
Why Drones Are So Loud
The motors of the drone do create a bit of noise, but the main reason why they are so noisy is because of the propellers. That high pitched noise that you’ll hear coming from the drone comes from the propellers cutting through the air, and nothing else. Why do drones create this annoying high pitched reasons? Well, there are three reasons.
The shape of the blade.
The turbulence that a propeller or blade creates also adds to the noise it makes. The less aerodynamic the propellers blades, the more noise it will make. This is exactly why DJI has spent so much redesigning the shape of its propellers to make “low-noise propellers.” These propellers are a lot more aerodynamic, which makes produce less noise.
Pitch of the blade.
Another reason why a blade may create more noise is that it has a high pitch. The pitch is the angle of how the blade cuts through the air, which creates lift. The more pitch you have, the more the blade will create lift, however, this also creates more drag which will increase the noise.
The diameter or surface area of the blade.
This affects how much surface area the blade has. If the propeller has less surface area, the blades have to turn faster to create more lift, which creates more sound. The speed or frequency at which a blade turns is very closely connected to the sound it makes. The higher the frequency, the more high pitched the sound will be. If you have a lot of surface area on the blade, it doesn’t need to turn as fast to create that same lift. So because the blade turns slower, it will make less noise. This is why helicopters have that low thud sound, instead of high pitched noise.
Can Drones Be Quiet?
You can make a drone quieter by making some modifications, however, the difference we’re talking here is around 3 decibels, which really isn’t a lot compared to the 80 dB of sound your average recreational drone produces.
So if you think you’ll be able to buy a drone and make it quieter, think again. If a drone is too noisy to fly in your neighborhood, tweaking it isn’t going to make much of a difference at all. You’re better off trying to buy your neighbors some beer to keep them happy instead.
That being said, if you would like to make your drone as quiet as possible, I shared 12 ways you can make your drone quieter here.
The Quietest Drones On The Market
Ok so you’re in the market for a quiet drone so that you can keep your neighbours happy, great choice. MOST drone complaints are started because of the noise they make.
NOTE: I also included a noise chart above so that you can compare the sounds below to everyday items. [SOURCE]
Overall I found four drones that are probably the quietest on the market. Here they are:
| Drone: | Noise: | Sounds Like: | Flight Time: | Range: | Camera Quality: | Price: | |
| 1. | Funksy 913 | 68 Decibels | high pitched conversation | 15 minutes | 656 feet | 1080p camera | $130 |
| 2. | DJI Mavic Pro Platiunum | 70 Decibels | loud office | 30 minutes | 4.3 miles | 4k video, 12MP photos | $1,149 |
| 3. | DJI Mavic 2 | 72 Decibels | sitting in a car driving at 60 miles per hour | 30 minutes | 11 miles | 4K video, 20MP photos | $1449 |
| 4. | MJX B3 Bugs 3 | 74 Decibels | small vacuum cleaner | 18 to 20 minutes | 985 feet | HD 720P camera | $69.99 |
01. Funksy 913 Drone
Noise. This drone creates about 68 Decibels of noise which will sound like a high pitched conversation between a few people.
Weight. The Funksy drone weighs under 250 grams, which makes it ideal for beginners who don’t want to deal with the FAA drone registration process.
Flight time. Fitted with a 7.7V Li-Po battery that can keep it in the air for about 15 minutes.
Range. The remote control range is around 656 feet or 200 meters.
Camera quality. It’s fitted with a 1080p camera that is capable of offering a unique FPV, (first-person view,) experience.
Price. Reasonably prices at around $130, the Funksy drone is a great silent drone for beginners and children.
02. DJI Mavic Pro Platinum
Noise. The DJI Mavic Pro will produce around 70 Decibels of sound. You can compare this to the sound you hear in a loud office, or while sitting in a car driving at 60 miles per hour. This drone was specifically designed to be quiet, and they succeeded. The Pro Platinum has a 60% noise reduction when compared to the Mavic Pro.
Weight. With the batteries and propellers installed, the drone weighs around 1.62 pounds.
Flight time. The platinum version of Mavic allows you to fly this drone for up to 30 minutes with a fully charged 3,830mAh/11.4V LiPo smart battery.
Range. The flight time can take the drone as far as 4.3 miles, which is extremely impressive.
Camera quality. It comes with a camera that has a 78.8 degrees field of view that can shoot 4k video in 30 frames per second. And, it can take pictures in a quality of 12 Megapixels which is really impressive.
Price. The price is not bad at all at $1,149 especially considering that it’s a DJI drone and they are known for manufacturing high-quality drones.
03. DJI Mavic Pro 2
Noise. The Mavic Pro 2 produces a bit more sound than the Mavic Pro at 72 Decibels. You can relate this sound to sitting in a car that’s moving at 60 miles per hour.
Weight. This drone weighs in at around 31 ounces or 907 grams, which is lighter than the platinum.
Flight time. The Mavic 2 will stay in the air for around 30 minutes, but keep in mind that this can be lower if you fly in windy conditions.
Range. If the weather is clear, the maximum ditance that you can fly this drone is around 18km.
Camera quality. The Mavic 2 camera can shoot 4K video at an impressive 30 frames per second, and it can take amazing quality pictures at 20MP.
Price. The Mavic Pro 2 is actually quite a bit more expensive than the Platinum at $1449. So I would recommend going for the Platinum if you want a quieter drone.
04. MJX B3 Bugs 3 Drone
Noise. The MJX Bugs 3 produces a sound of 74 Decibels which will will sound like a small vacuum cleaner, or the average sound of a radio.
Weight. The Bugs 3 weighs around 9.6 ounces or 272 grams.
Flight time. This drones 7.4V 1800mAh battery can keep it in the air flying for around 18 to 20 minutes. Remember that this depends on the wind speed, how you’re flying it and as well as the wind speed.
Range. The controller distance of the drone is around 985 feet or 300 meters. This depends on obstacles and terrain.
Camera quality. The drone is equipped with a first-person view HD 720P camera.
Price. It’s only $69.99, which makes it a great drone for beginners and children.
The Noisiest Drones To Stay Away From
If noise is what you’re worried about, then you’re definitely going to want to stay away from these drones. The DJI inspire below is actually the drone used in the video at the beginning of this article. It was noisy even at 100 feet away.
DJI Inspire 1 & 2
The Inspire drones are very noisy at 83 Decibels. You can relate this sound to a power lawnmower or a noisy restaurant. Sounds in this range are deemed harmful if you’re exposed to it for a long period of time.
DJI Phantom 4
Phantom 4 is also very noisy at 80 Decibels. This drone will sound like heavy traffic.
DJI Mavic Air
The Mavic Air is still considered to be a noisy drone at 76 Decibels. This sound would sound like a very loud radio.