Drone Ranker is a participant in several affiliate marketing programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by linking to retailer websites. This page explains exactly how affiliate partnerships influence (and, more importantly, do not influence) our drone reviews, comparisons, and rankings.
1. Affiliate Programs We Participate In
Drone Ranker participates in affiliate programs operated by major drone and electronics retailers, including but not limited to:
- Amazon Associates — qualifying purchases made through Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de and other regional Amazon sites earn Drone Ranker a small referral fee.
- DJI Store affiliate program — purchases of DJI Mavic, Mini, Air, Avata, FPV, Inspire, Matrice and Agras lines through our DJI links may earn a commission.
- Skydio, Autel, Parrot, Yuneec manufacturer or authorized retailer programs.
- B&H Photo, Adorama, Best Buy, DroneNerds, GetFPV and other specialty drone retailers.
2. How Affiliate Links Are Marked
Editorial pages on Drone Ranker, including drone comparison pages, individual reviews, buying guides, and best-of roundups, may include outbound retailer links. These links are clearly identifiable as "Buy on Amazon", "Check Price on DJI", or similar call-to-action buttons. The page also carries a banner label such as "Affiliates may earn a commission" near the product block where applicable.
The link itself does not change the price you pay. In most cases, the retailer pays the commission from its own marketing budget.
3. Editorial Independence
This is the part we care about most. Our drone rankings, specification-based analyses, and side-by-side comparisons are produced independently of our affiliate partnerships:
- No implied product access. We do not routinely receive or purchase physical review units. Unless a page explicitly documents otherwise, our reviews and comparisons are based on official specifications, manuals, regulatory documentation, and clearly attributed public observations.
- Affiliate revenue never determines the winner of a comparison. A drone that pays us a 0% commission and a drone that pays us 8% are evaluated against the same methodology and the same data points.
- Sponsored content is always labeled. If we ever publish a piece paid for by a manufacturer, retailer, or PR agency, it is clearly marked as "Sponsored" at the top of the page. Sponsored pieces are excluded from our ranking scores.
- Writers do not see the affiliate revenue generated by their individual articles, removing any per-piece financial incentive.
4. Why We Use Affiliate Links
Reviewing manufacturer documentation, checking regulatory sources, operating comparison tools, and updating published analysis requires ongoing editorial and technical work. Affiliate commissions help cover those costs and allow us to keep our editorial content, drone comparisons, and ranking data freely accessible without a paywall.
5. FTC Compliance
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires that material connections between advertisers and endorsers be disclosed. The affiliate relationships described above constitute a "material connection". By using this website, you acknowledge that Drone Ranker may be compensated for recommending products that appear on our pages. Our full compliance framework is documented in our Editorial Policy.
6. Questions
If you have questions about a specific affiliate relationship, suspect a conflict of interest, or want to report a non-compliant link, please reach out via our Contact page. For the legal basis of how we handle your data when you click an affiliate link, see our Privacy Policy. For full terms of using this website, see our Terms of Use.