Last reviewed: Specs from manufacturer pagesNo paid placements
Thermal drone spec comparison
Seven current thermal drones, every spec from the manufacturer’s own page, with a source link in each cell. Where a maker doesn’t publish a figure we say so instead of borrowing a reseller’s number.
| Drone | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DJI Matrice 4T | 640×512 (1280×1024 in Super Resolution mode)source | ≤50 mK @ f/1.0source | 30 Hzsource | 49 min (standard propellers, no wind)source | 1,219 gsource | Not published | 12 m/s (takeoff and landing)source | $3,000–$8,000 | 79 |
| DJI Matrice 4TD | 640×512source | ≤50 mK @ f/1.0source | 30 Hzsource | 54 min (windless lab)source | 2,090 gsource | IP55source | 12 m/ssource | $8,000+ | 77 |
| Autel EVO Lite 640T Enterprise | 640×512source | Not published | Not published | 40 minsource | 866 g not confirmed | IP43 not confirmed | Not published | $3,000–$8,000 | 77 |
| Autel EVO II Dual 640T V3 | 640×512source | Not published | 30 Hzsource | 38 minsource | Not published | IP43source | 12 m/ssource | $3,000–$8,000 | 73 |
| Autel EVO Max 4T V2 | 640×512source | Not published | Not published | 42 min (lab, no wind)source | Not published | IP43source | 12 m/s cruise, 10.7 m/s takeoff and landingsource | $3,000–$8,000 | 72 |
| Skydio X10 | 640×512source | <30 mKsource | Not published | 40 min (lab conditions)source | 2.11 kgsource | IP55source | 12.8 m/s gustssource | $8,000+ | 82 |
| Parrot ANAFI USA | 320×256 (photo); 1280×720 upscaled videosource | ≤60 mK (stated as thermal sensitivity)source | 9 fpssource | 32 minsource | 500 gsource | IP53source | 14.7 m/ssource | $3,000–$8,000 | 52 |
The discontinued DJI Mavic 3 Thermal is left out; its specs are on the Mavic 3 Thermal review. Spec score method: how we rank. Rankings by use: best thermal drones.
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Reading this table
- Thermal is native sensor resolution. More pixels means you can identify a target from further away.
- NETD is thermal sensitivity in millikelvin; lower is better. Autel doesn’t publish it for any model.
- IP rating: the first digit is dust, the second water. IP43 survives light rain; IP55 handles water jets.
- Price band is the band the drone sold in when we checked, not a live price.
Thermal sensor resolution, drawn to scale
Same scene width, same warm figure. Each square is one thermal pixel (grid lines hidden at 1280 so it stays legible). More pixels on a target means you can tell a deer from a hog, or a person from a rock, from higher up.
Grids are drawn at one-tenth scale: 32 columns stand for 320, and so on.
NETD (noise-equivalent temperature difference) is the smallest temperature step the sensor can separate from its own noise, in millikelvin (mK). 30 mK beats 50 mK. How thermal sensors work.