Introduction

Efficiency and cost savings are key to success in modern agriculture. One of the most innovative technologies revolutionizing the industry is agricultural sprayer drones. Farmers and spraying businesses looking to maximize their return on investment (ROI) must consider the financial and operational benefits of sprayer drones like the DJI Agras series and the Talos T60X. In this blog, we will discuss the cost-benefit ratio of using these advanced UAVs in agriculture, exploring their initial investment, maintenance costs, and potential savings. 

Background

After the COVID-19 pandemic 2021, many farmers had to shut down their farms due to the lack of profits and labor. This sparked a surge in the need for more autonomous operations and a spike in the growth of the precision agricultural industry. Agricultural sprayer drones have become a vastly growing market in North America. Although, they are still relatively new to the American market. Worldwide these sprayer drones have existed for over a decade and are dominantly in Asian countries with the first multi-rotor sprayer drone being developed in China in 2009 and China continues to be home to the top leading sprayer drone companies in both quality and availability. 

Sprayer drones are having a major impact on the farming industry. They are cutting farming costs and improving crop wellness and growth accuracy through automation and surveillance. According to Forbes Business Insights, in 2023, the United States placed second in the agricultural drone market with a market share of 1.5 billion USD. Globally, the agricultural drone market was valued at 4.98 billion in 2023 and is forecasted to reach 23.78 billion in 2030.

Understanding the Initial Investment

The upfront cost of acquiring an agricultural sprayer drone can range from $20,000 to $60,000 depending on the model and capabilities. For instance, the DJI Agras T50 and T40, along with the newly launched Talos T60X, offer cutting-edge features such as precision spraying, AI-powered flight planning, and large payload capacities.

In addition to the drone itself, operators must also consider costs such as:

• Batteries and charging stations- Essential for continuous operations, adding to initial expenditures.
• Spray tanks and nozzles - Necessary for different crop applications. 
• Software and training - Ensuring compliance with local regulations and efficient operation. 
• Licensing & permits - Depending on the region, these may be required for commercial drone use. 
• External Equipment Costs - Such as mixing and refilling equipment.

Maintenance and Operating Costs

Once a drone is deployed, there are recurring costs associated with keeping it in peak working condition. Regular maintenance ensures longevity and efficiency, and the main costs include: 

• Battery replacements - Typically required after 15000 charge cycles or 1 year of use. 
• Generator Upkeep - Fuel costs, cleaning, and maintenance. 
• Travel Costs - Fuel costs for travel and staying mobile in the field. 
  
• Cleaning Products - For maintaining your drone and accessories for ideal operating conditions. 

Assumptions and Averages 

Due to spraying conditions varying from farm depending on the crop, location, and conditions, providing a general ROI that will be accurate to every spray service provider will be extremely difficult. To get the best general measurement for the ROI, we must make assumptions and averages based on the most common conditions found across the nation. These estimates include:

• Standard/Recommended Flight Spray Settings.

• 2 gal/acre.

• 7 minute flight time.

• 5-minute battery swap and refill time (generous estimate as it usually is shorter).

• Price of 87 Octane Rated Gas Per Gallon (03/04/2025).

• National Average of $3.0999 per gallon 

• Drone Operator Pay and Number of Operators.

• Average of $20 an hour (ZipRecruiter).

• 1 Drone operator employee

• Equipment, Maintenance Tools, and Licensing Costs

• Rough estimate of $12,000.

• Working Time

• 8 Hour Days

• 5 Days a Week

• Spray Service Cost

• $15 per acre (Most Common Pricing)

• Spraying Chemicals/Product Are Provided by The Farmer

ROI Results

T50 ROI

As of Match 12 2025, to compensate for the drastically increased tariffs placed by President Trump, the Agras T50 Ready to Fly Bundle that includes 3 DB1560 Batteries and a D12000iE generator is priced at $36,821 USD. Including the $12,000 investment in external equipment and licensing, this totals up to an initial cost of $48,821 USD.

With the 5-minute refill and battery swap time included in the 7-minute flight time, a T50 can cover approximately 26.25 acres within 1 hour.

For operations costs a D12000iE generator can hold up to 30L of fuel or 7.925 gallons which comes out to $24.56 for a full tank. A DB1560 battery alone costs $2,999 with a 1500-charge cycle lifespan or about $2 per charge. With all of these metrics considered, we broke each factor down to the costs per acre in the operations details table. Total Operations Cost Per Acre is a combination of generator and battery use per acre and amounts to $0.48 per acre. When we combine the total operations cost and labor cost per acre, we get $1.24 of the overall price per acre. 

Based on the operation details table, we found the ROI of the Agras T50 Drone to be approximately 17 days or about 3 and a half weeks. For spray service companies that already have their own drones and experience with this service, we’ve also included the ROI of just the Ready to Fly Bundle and just the Drone and RC itself if the company wishes to upgrade or add drones to their inventory.

Please take note that this does not consider the transportation fuel costs to travel between farms or customers. Transportation costs can vary drastically depending on the make and model of the vehicle, its fuel consumption, and the weight of the equipment being transported. This cost may be negligible for some farms, but most plots of land span hundreds of acres requiring travel time and cost so this estimate will be slightly increased.

T60X ROI

As of March 12, 2025, to compensate for the drastically increased tariffs placed by President Trump, the Talos T60X Ready to Fly Bundle that includes 3 T60X Batteries and a D14000iE generator is priced at $39,833 USD. Including the $12,000 investment in external equipment and licensing, this totals up to an initial cost of $51,833 USD.

With the 5-minute refill and battery swap time included with the 7-minute flight time, a T60X can cover approximately 33.00 acres within 1 hour. 

Again, breaking down operations costs to the amount per acre, a D14000iE generator can hold up to 30L of field or 7.925 gallons which comes out to $24.56 for a full tank. A T60X battery alone costs $2,970 with a 1500-charge cycle lifespan or about $1.98 per charge. Total Operations Cost Per Acre is a combination of generator and battery use per acre and amounts to $0.37 per acre. When we combine the total operations cost and labor cost per acre, we get $0.98 of the overall price per acre.

Based on the operation details table, we found the ROI of the Talos T60X Drone to be approximately 14.07 days or almost 3 full weeks. For spray service companies that already have their own drones and experience with this service, we’ve also included the ROI of just the Ready to Fly Bundle and just the Drone and RC itself if the company wishes to upgrade or add drone to their inventory. 

Please take note that this does not consider the transportation fuel costs to travel between farms or customers. Transportation costs can vary drastically depending on the make and model of the vehicle, its fuel consumption, and the weight of the equipment being transported. This cost may be negligible for some farms, but most plots of land span hundreds of acres requiring travel time and cost so this estimate will be slightly increased.

How We Calculated ROI

Most spraying Services in the United States charger around an average of $15 per acre. To simplify and provide more clarity and conciseness to our ROI calculation, our measurements were based on this rate and converted to “____ per acre” to allow for more concise measurements and understandability. This can also allow for easy plug-and-play for custom rates and acreage of job locations.

Constants 

These are details that we know for certain such as pricing and drone specifications. With these known metrics, we can make calculations to determine specific qualifications such as the number of acres covered in an hour, the acres covered in one tank, the cost of battery per acre, etc.

T50 Capabilities and Accessories Specifications

T60X Capabilities and Accessories Specifications

Calculations 

With these specs and the known pricing estimates, we can begin calculating and converting the costs to the amount per acre. We first break down how many acres the drones can cover in one hour. Since every product has a time variable correlated, this creates a relationship between all the products allowing us to convert both specifications and price to acreage covered. The blue highlighted rows are the primary values used in the ROI calculations.

T50 Calculations 

T60X Calculations 

ROI Determination 

Lastly, tying these calculations together, we use the common service pricing of $15 per acre as our base. We use the sum of our prior calculations to subtract the calculated costs from the service revenue to find the profit per acre. This is then converted to daily profit to compare and ratio with the total expenses of the initial cost price, operations cost in a day, and labor cost in a day to find the number of days it would take to recoup the expenses after repeated service. Once this is found, we can easily convert days to weeks and months.

T50 ROI

T60X ROI

Conclusion

Agricultural spray drones like the DJI Agras T50 and Talos T60X offer fast ROI, cutting costs, and boosting efficiency. With automation and precision, they're are smart investment for modern farming and spraying businesses.

FAQ

Q: Why isn't the acreage on a farm considered in your calculations?

A: Farm acreage plays an important role in the overall profit calculations, however, if we are focusing on the machine, every device whether it drone, tractor, etc. has its limitations due to things such as payload capacity, fuel capacity, battery life, and other mechanical factors. Calculations done by acre remove the necessity of needing the farm size and go based on the machine's maximum capabilities only. It does not matter if the farm is 100 acres or 1000 acres, the T60X for example can cover 33 of those acres maximum in an hour (with our recommended settings and 5-minute pit stop estimate).

Q: Why are you only using the recommended spray settings for your calculations?

A: We do not have accurate measurements on other spray settings and the Agras T50 and the Talos T60X were optimized for these recommended settings as the standard since they are the most commonly used rates and it is the most uniform. Adjusting the spray rate alone affects the number of refills, battery swaps, and the speed at which the drone operates and is a farm-specific measurement. This drastically changes the acreage covered and in conjunction affects the ROI. 

Let's say, for example, a service uses a T50 on a farm that needs to spray 10 gallons per acre. The T50’s max payload is 10.5 gallons. This means that the drone will be flying at a much slower speed vs. the speed at 2 gallons per acre and will need a payload refill before the battery is low making the battery swap and refill times disproportionate.

Although not every user will indeed be spraying at the recommended settings, the optimized spray settings are easiest to base our calculations on due to the uniformity of its operations. To have more accurate measurements on other spray settings, testing will need to be done to find the most reliable measurements.

Q: Why do you use estimates in your calculations?

A: Finding direct measurements and averaging calculations depending on the subject is a time-consuming task meant for a more analytical research project where exact numbers are important for determining the outcome. Especially in an industry as small as the agricultural sprayer drone industry where research data is significantly harder to find compared to other markets. Finding or creating a database with a sample size large enough to compensate for outliers may take weeks or months of research to gather enough data. This ROI calculation is not intended to be directly accurate for every scenario that the user can use as a formula for their operations, it is meant for a more general use so the user can have an idea of the initial investment and time needed before making a purchase.