Propeller Aero pricing at a glance
The figures below come from Propeller's online store and its help center as checked in September 2026. Propeller can change them at any time, so confirm the numbers with them before you order, and ask for any software quote in writing.
| Item | Published price | What you get | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| AeroPoint, single unit | $1,000 | 1 AeroPoint 2, 1 charger, 1 AeroStencil | Propeller store |
| AeroPoints 5-pack | $5,000 | 5 AeroPoints | Propeller store |
| Propeller PPK upgrade | $2,200 | PPK geotagging workflow for supported drones | Propeller store |
| AeroPoints processing subscription | First 12 months included, then $999 per year per AeroPoint group | Corrections and processing of AeroPoint positions, dashboard, 24/7 chat support | Propeller help center |
| Propeller Platform (processing, measuring, sharing) | Not published, quoted by sales | Full processing of drone imagery, 3D site model and measurement tools | Propeller sales |
The store page for a single AeroPoint rounds the standalone subscription to $1,000 a year. The help center gives the exact figure of $999 and says a group is capped at 20 units unless you are a Propeller software customer.
How much does Propeller Aero cost?
A small earthworks setup with 5 AeroPoints costs $5,000 in hardware, with the first year of AeroPoints processing included. From year two the standalone subscription is $999 a year for that group. None of that processes your drone photos into a surface: that is the Propeller Platform, which Propeller prices per customer and does not publish. Your real yearly cost is hardware, plus the renewal, plus the Platform quote.
What the AeroPoints subscription covers, and what it does not
Propeller's help center is clear about the split. The yearly AeroPoints subscription covers the ground control side: uploading AeroPoint data from the field, processing their positions against the known point method, CORS or your own RINEX file, the AeroPoints dashboard with battery health, hosting, sharing and chat support.
It does not include processing full image sets into 3D models, PPK tagging of images, or the Propeller Platform's measurement tools. Those come with a software license. If your Platform or PPK license is active, the AeroPoints subscription is bundled in and you do not pay the $999 separately.
What happens if you stop paying
This is the line most buyers miss. According to Propeller's help center, AeroPoints still collect and upload data after the subscription lapses, but you cannot process or download that new data until you renew. Data you uploaded before the lapse stays safe and downloadable.
In practice that means the $1,000 per unit buys the hardware, and the yearly fee keeps it useful. Budget the renewal as a running cost, not an optional extra.
AeroPoints accuracy and what it means for your volumes
Propeller lists AeroPoint accuracy at 10 mm plus 1 ppm horizontal and 20 mm plus 1 ppm vertical, with a 16 Wh battery that logs for about 100 hours. For a stockpile or a cut and fill job, vertical accuracy of the control is what moves the volume, so this spec is good enough for most earthworks and aggregates work.
Control is only half of accuracy, though. The other half is the processing: how many checkpoints you hold back, and whether the software reports the error at those checkpoints. Ask any vendor, Propeller included, for a report that shows RMSE in X, Y and Z on independent checkpoints, not only on the points used for control. Our ground control points guide explains how many to set and where.
Worked example: an earthworks contractor with 2 active sites
Take a civil contractor running 2 active sites. The team flies each site weekly, about 700 images a flight, so roughly 5,600 images a month. Three people need to measure: the survey lead, the estimator and a superintendent. The owner's rep wants a link, not a file.
| Cost line | Propeller setup | GNSS rover plus Dronemapping Team |
|---|---|---|
| Ground control hardware | 5-pack of AeroPoints, $5,000 | Targets you already own, set with your existing GNSS rover |
| Control processing, year 2 onward | $999 per year standalone, or bundled with a Platform license | Not needed, you enter the rover coordinates as GCPs |
| Drone photo processing and measuring | Propeller Platform, quoted | $2,490 per year, or $249 per month |
| Seats and client links | Per the Platform quote | 10 seats, view links for the client on every plan |
The honest comparison is not hardware against software. AeroPoints save field time, because nobody walks a rover to every target, and that time has real value on a big site. If you already own a GNSS rover and the crew to run it, you can skip the AeroPoints spend and put the money into processing. If you keep AeroPoints, you can still export their corrected coordinates while your subscription is active and use them as control points in any processing software, ours included.
How to get a fair Propeller quote
Walk into the sales call with numbers:
- Number of active sites, flights per site per month and images per flight
- How many people need to measure and how many only need to look, including clients
- Whether you already own GNSS equipment, or need AeroPoints for control
- Must-have features: cut and fill against design, haul road checks, stockpile reports, contours for CAD
- Contract length, what the price covers per site or per drone, and what happens to processing if you do not renew
If you would rather hire out the flying than buy hardware, ask each drone service provider for a current certificate of insurance before they set foot on site, and write down who owns the photos. You can still process their flights in your own account.
When Propeller is worth the price
Propeller is built for earthworks, mining and aggregates, and it shows. If your crew wants AeroPoints on the ground, a platform built around haul roads, design surfaces and progress for heavy civil, and one vendor for control and processing, the quoted plan buys a well-integrated system. Large contractors with many active sites often stay for exactly that reason.
If your work is maps, surfaces, volumes and contours, and you already have a way to set control, compare it with a platform that prints its price. Our construction drone software page shows cut and fill and weekly progress, the stockpile measurement page covers month-end inventory, and the best drone mapping software guide gives you a checklist to test any tool on your own data.