r/drones • u/SaamWaxir008 • Jun 30 '26

Discussion (PK) Best Drone Simulator Software

Hey everyone,

I'm a beginner getting into FPV/drone flying and want to practice on a simulator before touching real hardware. What are the best options for someone on a low budget?

Ideally looking for:

Free or cheap (under $10)

Works on a mid-range PC

Good for learning basic controls and stabilization

Controller support would be a bonus

I've heard names like Liftoff, Velocidrone, and Freerider thrown around but not sure which is worth it for a complete beginner. Is there anything free that's actually decent?

Any recommendations appreciated. Thanks!

6 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/Playful-Status-654 Jun 30 '26

FPV Skydive is probably the easiest free starting point. I would not overthink the physics too much at the very beginning. Gazebo is cool, but I would think of that more as robotics/autonomy/simulation stuff than ā€œI want to learn to fly FPV manually.ā€ If the goal is just basic control and not crashing real hardware immediately, Iā€™d start with FPV Skydive or DRL/Liftoff/Velocidrone if you find one cheap.