What's Included in the Price
Most security pricing hides the true cost in add-ons. SkyGuard is the opposite: one flat monthly rate covers the entire operation. There's no hardware purchase, no pilot salaries, and no surprise maintenance bills.
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Drone hardware, dock, and replacement coverage — if a unit goes down, we swap it
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FAA Part 107-certified remote pilots and BVLOS waiver management
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Autonomous patrols, alarm response, and live thermal/HD video
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24/7 monitoring from our Global Security Operations Center
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Installation, training, software updates, and preventative maintenance
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Daily and monthly reporting suitable for compliance and executive review
Drone Security vs. Security Guard Costs
Unarmed guard services typically bill $28–$42 per hour, and armed coverage runs $45+. That sounds manageable until you do the 24/7 math: staffing a single round-the-clock post means three 8-hour shifts, every day. At even the low end of $28/hour, one continuous post costs over $240,000 per year — before accounting for turnover, training, and no-shows.
A Real Example
One 24/7 guard post at $28/hour — the low end of industry rates — costs over $20,000 per month and nearly 8,800 staffed hours per year. A single SkyGuard system covers the same site around the clock for a fraction of that, typically cutting security coverage costs by well over half — while patrolling far more ground than a static post ever could. For most sites, the savings run into six figures annually.
What Drives Drone Security Pricing
Your exact price depends on a handful of factors — all of which you control:
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Coverage hours — 8, 16, or 24 hours per day of operational coverage
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Number of systems and sites — volume pricing applies to multi-location rollouts
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System type — Free Fly, Tethered, or Long Range platforms fit different sites and budgets
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Contract term — 3-year and 5-year commitments earn discounted rates
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Multi-system sites — significant savings when one location runs multiple systems
The Costs Guards Add That Drones Don't
The hourly bill rate is only part of what traditional guarding costs you. Industry guard turnover runs 100–300% per year, which means constant recruiting, onboarding, and coverage gaps. Drones don't call in sick, don't quit mid-shift, and don't lose focus in hour three of a patrol. Every flight is logged with timestamped video, so compliance reporting takes minutes instead of weeks — and scaling to a new site takes weeks, not months of hiring.
Calculate Your Drone Security Savings
Our free ROI calculator compares your real guard rates, shift structure, and site count against SkyGuard pricing — the numbers update live as you configure your scenario. If you'd rather see it with your actual site data, our team can build a site-specific proposal with patrol coverage maps and a pilot timeline within 48 hours.
Drone Security Cost FAQs
