FPV (First Person View) drones have taken the world by storm. It bit me back in 2015 when I first found out what a Tiny Whoop was by browsing YouTube and seeing these tiny drones with happy faces of people that looked like they had the MOST FUN EVER! From adrenaline-pumping freestyle tricks to cinematic footage that rivals Hollywood, the possibilities are endless with FPV. But getting started can feel overwhelming—so many kits, components, and terms you may not yet understand.
This guide simplifies everything. Whether you’re looking for an all-in-one kit, a DIY project, or a ready-to-fly drone, you’ll find the perfect beginner option here.
What Is an FPV Drone Kit?
An FPV drone kit is your gateway into the world of immersive flying. These kits typically include:
- A frame to hold everything together.
- Motors and propellers to provide thrust.
- A flight stack (flight controller and ESC) to control movement.
- Optional extras like goggles, radios, or cameras.
Kits come in two main types:
- DIY kits: For those who want to build and understand every part of their drone.
- Ready-to-fly (RTF) kits: Pre-assembled drones for beginners who want to start flying immediately.
Why Start with a Beginner Kit?
Starting with the right kit sets you up for success. Here’s why:
- Learn the Basics: Building or assembling a drone teaches you how it works, making future repairs easier.
- Save Money: Bundled kits reduce costs compared to buying individual parts—and they ensure compatibility.
- Customize Your Experience: Kits grow with you as you learn to tweak and upgrade components.
Best FPV Drone Kits for Beginners
These are kits that don’t involve any technical skills to get in the air. I also discuss beginner kits you can build yourself, and also pre-built larger quads as well. The downside is these are tricky to fix and hard to find parts for, but on the flip side since they’re lightweight, they tend not to break as easily.
Pros and Cons of Whoop Kits
Pros:
- All-in-one package gets you in the air FAST 💨
- Comes with everything needed to get in the air
- Relatively inexpensive
- Reasonable durability
- Tons of fun
Cons:
- Hard to fix
- Difficult to find parts
- Lower quality radio
- Lower quality goggles
- Not very customizable
As mentioned in the pros and cons, these kits come with lower-quality radios and goggles that may or may not be compatible with other drones. So, if you intend to get into the hobby with a kit, be sure you understand the type of video it uses (generally analog, HD Zero, and DJI are fine). However, some kits use different radio protocols than standard, so you might need to buy a new radio when you move onto other drones.
That’s why it’s good to know what your intent is! It might make more sense to get a non-kit radio and goggle and start with a cheaper drone—because then you’re just worrying about the drone you’re flying.
I highly recommend the EMax Tiny Hawk III Bundle. It’s a well-known kit, parts are available, and it’s easy to troubleshoot. It also comes with everything needed to get started.
1. EMAX EZ Pilot Pro Beginner FPV Drone RTF Kit
- Description: This Ready-To-Fly (RTF) kit includes the EZ Pilot Pro drone, Transporter 2 FPV goggles, and the E8 transmitter. It’s designed for ease of use, making it ideal for beginners.
- Features:
- Improved frame for durability.
- 200mW VTX capabilities for better video transmission.
- Solid pin PH2.0 connector for reliable power delivery.
- Price: $239.99
2. BETAFPV RTF Cetus Beginner FPV Kit
- Description: This kit comes with the Cetus brushed whoop quadcopter, LiteRadio2 SE transmitter, and VR02 FPV goggles, providing everything needed to start flying.
- Features:
- Self-protection function for auto-landing during low battery or signal loss.
- Turtle mode to flip the drone upright after a crash.
- Price: $159.99
3. Beginner DIY FPV Drone Kit – QAV-S 2 Joshua Bardwell SE 5” – HD Ready
- Description: This DIY kit includes components necessary to build a 5-inch FPV drone, compatible with DJI O3 or Walksnail systems (FPV system sold separately).
- Features:
- Upgraded QAV-S 2 frame with X-Lock Arm Mechanism.
- Xilo Stax V2 45A BLHeli_32 ESC and F4 Flight Controller.
- Stealth 2207 6S 1800KV motors.
- Price: $299.99
4. HGLRC Draknight 2″ 2S Beginner RTF Kit
- Description: A compact, fully assembled kit suitable for both indoor and outdoor use, powered by 2S LiPo batteries.
- Features:
- Stable flight controller for smooth flying experience.
- Durable build to withstand minor crashes.
- Price: $199.99
If you’re more interested in higher-end beginner FPV drones, please read on. I’ll discuss the drone I would start with, radio, goggle, charger, batteries, tools, and more…
But What About DIY Building an FPV Drone?
The best part about pre-made kits is it’s an easy onramp into the hobby, and they also make for awesome gifts!
But if you’re more interested in building a drone, and getting deeper into the hobby — it usually takes some skills in being able to repair things because you will crash a lot.
Pros and Cons of a Ready to Fly
Pros
- Easier than building
- Fixable (if you know how)
- Tons of parts available
- Customizable
Cons
- Expensive
- You’re hoping the person who built it did a good job
Build A Drone (With Guidance)
Joshua Bardwell has a build-it kit that gives you everything you need to build one for yourself. I think this is by far the best way into the hobby because it makes it simple to get rolling. It comes with almost everything you need to get started, and he has some excellent videos on how to build the drone.
That’s why I highly recommend looking at the Joshua Bardwell FPV drone kit (which comes in a few flavors) because it’s a solid blueprint for getting started in the hobby with a beginner drone. It is essentially a drone in a box, with a video that shows every step needed to get it flying. It doesn’t get much closer than that — having the man himself holding your hand and walking you through all the steps in the videos is going to make for the best build experience.
Bardwell Drone Kit Comes With:
- Frame
- Motors
- Flight stack (flight controller & ESC)
- Props
- Video guidance for building
What You Need To Fly:
- HD Camera & VTX
In my opinion, that’s the best way to go because once you learn the basics… building, fixing, and upgrading becomes second nature…
And if you’re just getting started, even if you’ve spent 495 days in a simulator, you’re going to crash a lot, and it will break, and you will need to fix it. I guarantee it!
Other FPV Drone Kit Options
I can’t speak for the other kits on the market, but the Apex Evo Mr. Steele edition from GetFPV is essentially what I fly the most. The frame is unparalleled, incredibly durable, easy to maintain, and replacement parts are readily available. The camera and video system uses the rock solid DJI O3 system, and Steele’s motors are powerful enough & efficient enough to run with.
This is a ready-built drone, so it’s not the same experience as building it yourself. While it’s great to get a drone ready to fly, it’s still very important to understand how they work and how to repair them… so if this is your first drone ever, I would still recommend the Bardwell drone kit over this bind and fly.
The Mr Steele bind and fly is a great option if you already know how to build and fix a drone.
Building an FPV Drone From a YouTuber
It was early 2018 when I started to graduate from smaller whoops to building a 5 inch mini quad, and StingerSwarm (if you don’t know him, look him up!) was my favorite pilot who also had an affordable build on his page. It was using the Stingy frame from a company called XHover, and he had a build video that showed exactly what to do.
If you have a favorite YouTuber that also happens to have a build — by all means go for it. The value of a video showing exactly what to do is immense, even though most channels don’t offer it (mine included).
This is in my opinion the best way to get into the hobby because you will learn how to source parts, how it all works together, while getting guidance from someone you trust to build your quad.
These days I gravitate towards Mr. Steele’s build (the Alien & now the Apex) because his build is the right balance of durability, quality & price for the money — especially relating to the analog builds which can be quite tricky to get clean video with!
But analog has for the most part been abandoned for DJI, and development on the specialty OSD / PDB boards to clean up analog video has all but ceased… So I recommend starting with DJI, because all you need to worry about is a frame, motors, and a flight controller stack choice.
If you’re unsure what Beginner FPV Kit get, search below, and it’ll show you beginner kits.
Start FPV Small or Go Big?
If you’re looking to get started in the hobby there are a few ways to go about it. Either you want something that’s pre-built so you can get right into flying, or you want to build a drone for yourself so you can understand how to fix it, customize it, and grow as an FPV pilot. If you’re more interested in long-range FPV, click here.
But should you buy a small beginner drone kit, a larger drone, a DJI drone, or build one yourself? — These are common themes on places like Reddit, and there is no right answer.
It’s really whatever you’re up for and interested in, but for those on the fence, I always recommend building a drone for yourself by modeling after a build that already exists. You’ll know the parts fit together, and usually, there’s a video on YouTube that shows all the steps to turning it into a flying quadcopter.
The best part about building something yourself is that you’ll know how to fix things, and that is ultimately going to help keep you in the hobby. Nobody wants to fix other people’s drones!
Starting FPV on a Budget Whoop Drone Kit
Click here to see my favorite beginner drone kits
If you’re unsure if FPV is the hobby for you and want or need to save a bunch of money before you go all in, then I recommend getting a smaller whoop fly kit. These are excellent beginner FPV drones because they’re small, generally inexpensive, and, at the very least, a lot of fun.
DJI Avata 2 Drone Kit
DJI has made massive inroads into the FPV community with their Air Unit and Ocusync digital FPV video systems, and their FPV drone, and the Avata series. They pride themselves in making drones that are not so much repairable but that have a lot of built-in safety features to prevent a crash in the first place. Not only that, but some people want or need a simple drone they can easily get into the hobby with. You might be a realtor looking for a good drone for filming real estate, or you might be a cinematographer that needs something that’s safe to fly near people with — and that is where the Avata 2 comes in. It comes as a kit with DJI Goggles 3, and the new motion controller — and if you spend a little extra money on the fly more package you get 3 batteries (which I highly recommend!).
You might want to check out my video on what I think about it with the motion controller. It was surprising to say the least.