Drone Simulators: A Complete Guide [Updated for 2024]

Here are our picks for the all around best drone simulators on the market.

You can use the list below to jump around or scroll down to see each simulator on the list.

DJI Drone Simulator

DJI - Introducing DJI Flight Simulator

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The DJI drone simulator is one of the top simulators on the market.

And with good reason. DJI is by far the biggest drone company in the world, and it makes sense that it would want to help its customers learn how to fly its drones—or even have the virtual experience of flying them before they ever own one.

The DJI drone simulator comes with multiple POVs, three flight modes, and what DJI calls a “comprehensive physics engine” to replicate the feeling of real flight.

DJI’s drone flight simulator has a robust set of flight scenarios, allowing pilots to practice flying in different commercial situations, such as while conducting a powerline inspection.

The DJI simulator also lets you practice flying several different models of its drones—see the ‘Customizable Drone’ entry below for a full list.

Overview

• Devices: Windows PC
• Customizable Environment: Yes
• Customizable Drone Type: Yes (Mavic Series, Spark Series, Phantom Series, Inspire Series, Matrice 200 Series)
• Price: $$$*

*Note: Pricing for both the Enterprise Version and Energy Version of DJI drone flight simulator is not publicly listed on the DJI site, so we are providing our best educated guess about the price range here.

Specs & Details

• High-quality visuals
• Multipe POVs
• Realistic flight experience—wind effects, ground effects, and simulated crashes
• Three types of training modules—skills training, free flight, and application training
• Three versions—free trial, enterprise version, and energy version

Supported Controllers

• Mavic Air
• DJI Smart Controller
• Phantom 4
• Phantom 4 Advanced
• Phantom 4 Pro
• Phantom 4 Pro V2.0
• Matrice 100
• Matrice 600
• Matrice 600 Pro
• Inspire 1 Series
• Lightbridge 2

Learn more about the DJI drone flight simulator here.

If you’d like to download a more limited free trial of DJI’s simulator, here is the link.

Zephyr Drone Flight Simulator

Zephyr Drone Simulator Official Trailer 2

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The Zephyr drone simulator was purposefully designed around drone pilot education and training.

This means that it comes with built-in classroom management and student progress tracking tools, which allow educators to track the progress that their students make while they use the simulator. An instructor can leverage these tools to see how often a student crashes their drone, and to track student progress in order to know whether students have improved over time or if they need more instruction.

The Zephyr drone flight simulator also comes with a constantly expanding library of both training modules and drone platforms, each carefully created with accurate flight characteristics.

Overview

• Devices: Windows PC or Mac
• Customizable Environment: Yes
• Customizable Drone Type: Yes (DJI Phantom 3, DJI Inspire 1, 3DR Solo, Syma X5C, Autel X-Star, Parrot Bebop 2, DJI Mavic Pro)
• Price: $$$

Specs & Details

• Comes with a Learning Management System, making it perfect for educators teaching students how to fly drones in a classroom environment
• Accurate physics, carefully created to reflect the real experience of flying
  Both FPV and VLOS flight modes are available
• Different modes and styles of flying available
• Controller/transmitter can be set to any configuration
• Includes FAA regulations in flying, so pilots are warned for regulation violations while training on the simulator

Supported Controllers

• Orqa FPV.Ctrl
• Popular game controllers, including XBox 360, XBox One, and Playstation controllers
• Hobby King 6-CH RC Flight Simulator Controller
• Interlink Elite by Futaba

And a few others—see the full list here

Learn more about the Zephyr Drone Simulator or sign up for a free 30 day trial.

SimPro Drone Flight Simulator

A highlight of the droneSimPro simulator is its custom-built flight engine, which allows the simulator to replicate the real-world physics of drone flight.

droneSimPro also comes with customizable environments and the ability to choose between three drone models, the Phantom 2, the Phantom 3, or the Phantom 4.

A highlight of this drone sim is that it has commercial drone scenarios to help you train for specific types of flying, including:

• Public safety—fires, car accidents, technical rescues, crowd control, and several others
• Utilities—power line and tower inspections
• Cinematography—high value scenes and event planning

Overview

• Devices: Windows PC or Mac
• Customizable Environment: Yes
• Customizable Drone Type: Yes (Phantom 2 and Phantom 3)
• Price: $

Specs & Details

• Realistic lighting conditions/scenarios, including real geological features and terrain
• Accurate physics and flight models
• Realistic game and SIM scenarios
• Software supports USB controllers, including with Xbox and Playstation controllers
• Drone and pilot views
• Warnings for loss of VLOS and altitude restrictions

Supported Controllers

• Xbox One
• Xbox 360
• Xbox 360 (Gamestop brand)
• Playstation 3

Note: The above list is only of those controllers that have already been tested but other controllers may also work. To learn more about controllers for the droneSimPro drone flight simulator visit this page on the droneSimPro website.

Learn more about the SimPro Drone Flight Simulator.