This 128-page research report pulls together our latest research on both the consumer and commercial markets to provide a holistic view of drone buyers, service providers, business and public agency users, and software service users, plus insights into the verticals that use drone services.
The report features 92 figures and 7 tables offering insight and analysis on:
Have more questions? Download a sample with the Table of Contents and Methodology.
(new) any purchase of this report includes access to a web app version of the report, which can be accessed through your browser.
This report is broken down into Key Insights, Understanding Segments & Verticals and Detailed Findings.
Key Insights reveals the 8 most critical findings from the report that unveil larger shifts in the market.
Understanding Segments & Verticals provides a holistic view to each of the reports four key areas of focus - drone purchases, service providers, business and agency users and software services.
Lastly, the Detailed Findings section breaks down answers to the survey questions and key areas of focus one-by-one for a complete understanding of the market.
This report is based on two different forms of research: a quantitative online survey and qualitative phone interviews.
Our quantitative online survey collected responses from over 1,800 drone industry stakeholders representing 39 industries and over 100 countries.
Respondents were mostly concentrated in North America (65% of responses), followed by Europe & Central Asia (17%).
Throughout the survey, we created several tests and loops to ensure that all counted respondents were at least one of the following: drone buyer, service provider, business and agency user or drone software user.
Our qualitative phone interviews were conducted across a 3-month span and focused on voices that were likely to be underrepresented in our survey - large enterprise drone programs and hardware/software vendors.
Figure 1: Respondents by Region
Figure 2: Respondents by Section(s) Answered
Figure 3: Respondents by Age
Figure 4: Respondents by Role(s)
Figure 5: Respondents by Seniority
Figure 6: Respondents by Decision Making Authority
Figure 7: Primary Sector of Purchase
Figure 8: Primary Use of Purchase
Figure 9: Changes in Professional Purchase Objective
Figure 10: Drone Aircraft Type Purchased
Figure 11: Drone Types by Sector
Figure 12: Drone Brand Market Share
Figure 13: Drone Brand Market Share by COO
Figure 14: Historical Country Market Share
Figure 15: Drone Brand Market Share by Sector
Figure 16: Drone Brand Market Share by Region
Figure 17: Most Expensive Drone Purchase
Figure 18: Most Expensive Drone Purchase by Sector
Figure 19: Use by Price
Figure 20: Where Drones Are Purchased
Figure 21: Changes in Place of Purchase
Figure 22: Purchase Channel by Sector
Figure 23: Camera and Sensor Integration Method
Figure 24: Sensor Type(s)
Figure 25: Sensor Type(s) by Sector
Figure 26: Sensor Brand Market Share
Figure 27: Add-on Payload Market Makeup
Figure 28: Other Mounted Accessories
Figure 29: Other Mounted Accessories by Sector
Figure 30: Primary Purchasing Factors
Figure 31: Primary Purchasing Factors by Sector
Figure 32: Necessary Security Features
Figure 33: Necessary Security Features by Sector
Figure 34: China Security Concerns
Figure 35: Chinese Product Concerns by Sector
Figure 36: Chinese Product Concerns by Region
Figure 37: Primary Sector of Business/Agency Users
Figure 38: Primary Mission of Drone Program
Figure 39: Business and Agency Organization Revenue
Figure 40: Seniority by Sector
Figure 41: Number of Years Using Drones
Figure 42: Number of Years Using Drones by Region
Figure 43: Phase of Drone Program Development
Figure 44: Drone Program Structure
Figure 45: Drone Program Structure by Sector
Figure 46: Business and Agency Historical Services Model
Figure 47: Services Model by Sector
Figure 48: Methods for Sourcing Pilots
Figure 49: Training Method(s) Used
Figure 50: Number of Staff Involved in the Program
Figure 51: Staff Involved by Sector
Figure 52: Quantity of Drones Owned or Leased
Figure 53: Fleet Size by Sector
Figure 54: Business and Agency Program Spend
Figure 55: Program Spend by Sector
Figure 56: Expected Spending Changes
Figure 57: Expected Spending Changes by Sector
Figure 58: Drone Program Challenges
Figure 59: Changes in Drone Program Challenges
Figure 60: Program Challenges by Sector
Figure 61: Business / Agency Adoption of Automation
Figure 62: Expected Impact of Autonomous Drones
Figure 63: Expected Impact of Autonomous Drones by Sector
Figure 64: Adoption of Other Robotics / Unmanned Products
Figure 65: Other Robotics / Unmanned Products by Sector
Figure 66: Sector of Services Offered
Figure 67: Primary Services Offered
Figure 68: Number of Years Providing Drone Services
Figure 69: Years Offering Services by Region
Figure 70: Revenues from Drone Services
Figure 71: Revenues from Drone Services by Years in Business
Figure 72: Number of Full and Part Time Employees
Figure 73: Participation in Drone Pilot Networks
Figure 74: Pilot Network Share by Sector
Figure 75: Pilot Network Share of Service Providers
Figure 76: Future Hiring Intentions
Figure 77: Issues Inhibiting Service Providers
Figure 78: Changes in Issues Inhibiting Service Providers
Figure 79: Software Type(s) Used
Figure 80: Most Critical Software Category
Figure 81: Overall Software Market Share
Figure 82: Software Consumption Preferences
Figure 83: Software Consumption Preferences by Sector
Figure 84: Stakeholders with Access to Drone Data
Figure 85: Insights / Analytics Software Market Share
Figure 86: Insights / Analytics Software Market Share by Sector
Figure 87: Insights / Analytics Software Category Maturity
Figure 88: Insights / Analytics Primary Purchasing Factors
Figure 89: Drone Operations Management Software Market Share
Figure 90: Drone Operations Management Software Market Share by Sector
Figure 91: Drone Operations Management Software Category Maturity
Figure 92: Drone Operations Management Software Primary Purchasing Factors
Table 1: Changes in Section(s) Answered Over Time
Table 2: Average and Median Drone Prices Over Time
Table 3: Top 5 Drone Services Outsourced by Business and Agency Users
Table 4: Changes in Reported Revenues Over Time
Table 5: Fleet Size and Revenues of Service Providers
Table 6: Software Attachment Rate by Respondent Type
Table 7: Software Attachment Rate for Different Business and Agency Users
This report covers a vast array of vendors and brands across the drone industry. Particularly, in our market share metrics we assessed the position of over 100 brands across the drone hardware, payload developer, service provider and software segments.
Just a few of the companies mentioned are listed below:
DroneAnalyst firmly believes that our annual market sector reports provide the best look at inter-market drone trends, position of vendors/stakeholders and near-term opportunities in the market. This is based on our approach in collecting large sample survey data, and relying on our historical data to unveil trends in the young industry.
This 2021 Report incorporates 1,800 survey responses and, following results for a worst-case 50-percent answer for a population of 15 million or greater, achieved a confidence level of 99% with a margin of error (MoE) ± 2.99.
DroneAnalyst has performed a similar data collection and analysis process since 2016, resulting in not just a more informed report, but a report that can capture critical historical trends in this young drone market. That can often be critical to understanding the position a particular stakeholder (or group of stakeholders) holds in the market.
Lastly, this year we have expanded our analysis to include a variety of by-sector visualisations of the data which offer unparalleled insights for stakeholders looking for more nuanced insights.
An Enterprise License authorizes the entire population of a business or public entity (employees, on-site contractors, off-site contractors) access to the purchased report for up to two years from the date of purchase. The Enterprise License does not authorize resale or redistribution of our reports.
Additionally, this includes access to both a PDF and web app version of the report.
DroneAnalyst is aware that research and insights can often be unaffordable for young companies. With that in mind, we do have discounts available.
To learn more about any discounts for your organization, email david@droneanalyst.com.
DroneAnalyst does not handle your purchase directly, but instead relies on a secure 3rd party (Gumroad) to both securely handle your payment information and deliver the report.
Gumroad secures all payments through TLS, a higher grade security than SSL, with 128-bit encryption and using SHA2 cyphers. Neither DroneAnalyst nor Gumroad ever actually store your payment details. You can learn more about how Gumroad secures your payment information here.
Once a purchase is made, you'll get an email that provides access to the report. The report can be downloaded, read or printed in an A4 and/or US Letter size format. Each report is digitally stamped to prevent actions that may void the report's license.
The platform will also send you a receipt and can generate an invoice if needed for corporate reimbursements.
Looking to pay through bank/wire transfer instead of through an online card? Email david@droneanalyst.com and we'll shoot an invoice over your way.
Have more questions about the report or looking to commission custom research based on our dataset? Email david@droneanalyst.com
