Drone Nerds franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Drone Nerds franchise takes $162,900 – $271,900 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $24,900. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 3% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 1%. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Drone Nerds franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $24,900 | $24,900 | $24,900 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $162,900 | $271,900 | $162,900 to $271,900 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $162,900 | $271,900 | $162,900 to $271,900 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means Drone Nerds's filings do not state this figure. We publish the gap instead of estimating it.
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 3% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 1% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 10 years |
See the full Drone Nerds cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Drone Nerds's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Drone Nerds's disclosed cost sits against the Retail category:
- Minimum startup cost of $162,900 — about in line with the Retail median of $165,000.
- Initial franchise fee of $24,900 — about 32% below the Retail median of $36,750.
Category medians are computed from the Retail brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Retail franchises
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How Drone Nerds's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2016–2016: began the window at 0 units; 1 units opened, 0 closed, ending at 1 units.
Not enough history to compute a survival figure — we need at least three years of unit data, and we don't extrapolate.
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Drone Nerds or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask Drone Nerds for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether Drone Nerds is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether Drone Nerds grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only Drone Nerds can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About the Drone Nerds franchise
Drone Nerds is a retail franchisor with 1 unit at the end of 2016 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2016 and 2016, it began the window at 0 units; its filings record 1 unit openings and 0 closures, ending at 1 units. Its parent company is Drone Nerds Franchising L.L.C..
No franchise-related lawsuits reported in the disclosure data we hold (FDD Item 3, as of 2026-05) — an absence in our sources, not a guarantee; confirm against the brand's current FDD.
From the franchisor's materials
The franchise offered is for the operation of a retail store selling a variety of Drone Products to customers, including a repair and parts facility for customers, providing a proprietary training program for flying drones to customers, providing a proprietary drone flying lessons to customers, and you will charge a fee for repairs, parts, training and drone flying lessons.
Drone Nerds franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Drone Nerds franchise cost?
- $162,900 – $271,900 all-in to open, per Drone Nerds's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Drone Nerds units are there?
- 1 unit at the end of 2016 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).