DJI Spark Vs Tello – Which drone to buy

DJI Spark Vs Tello Drone

DJI Tello (a collaboration with Ryze Tech) is their cheapest most entry level drone offering some fun flight features for a very accessible price. DJI’s Spark drone exploded in to the market and excited people with its simple controls, exciting flight and tracking features along with its tiny portable size. But when it comes to specs, which is the right choice for you?

Size and Portability

The Spark and Tello are both tiny drones and small enough to fit in a pocket. Tello does have Spark beat in terms of size and portability though at nearly a third smaller. They are both excellent drones to just throw in a bag and have ready to use when you need them.

Video

The Spark drone can shoot 1080p full HD video and is stabilised by a 2-axis gimbal. Tello shoots 720p video using digital stabilisation instead of a gimbal to stabilise its footage. Spark features TapFly, Coordinate, Direction, Rocket, Dronie, Circle, and Helix. It also features the popular follow feature. Tello comes bundled with the Circle, 360, and Up & Away flight modes. Tello is really all about just capturing the moment and sharing it there and then, Spark whilst also very accessible is more akin to a DSLR with some workflow to work through with your shots.

Photo

The Spark drone has the ability to shoot 12 megapixel stills in the JPG format while the Tello can shoot 5 megapixel stills. The big difference between the two is that the Spark drone stabilises its images using a 2-axis gimbal while the Tello features no gimbal but instead uses digital image stabilisation.

Flying

Both drones are aimed at beginner flyers, but Spark’s built-in flight features are way more advanced than the Tello. It boasts facial recognition take off and obstacle avoidance bundled with incredible automated shooting modes, including object tracking. Tello does come with some fun flight features like throw and go, bounce mode and 8D flips. It also comes with collision detection and vision positioning sysyem which for the price is really impressive.

Both the Tello and Spark offer a 100 metre flight distance over Wi-Fi. With the optional remote control, the Spark drone can do up to 2km (1.2 miles) flight distance and thats impressive for its size. Most pilots will not test the full boundaries of the flight distances due to flying and safety laws. The optional controller on offer can be preferable for manual flying due to offering the addition of the tactile controls.

Tello packs in an impressive 13 minute flight time while Spark’s bigger battery gives it longer flight times of 16 minutes. Although Spark does have an added bonus of the Spark is that you can directly charge it over usb on the go.

In terms of speed the Spark comes out on top with speeds of up to 31mph (50kph) top speed in sports mode. Tello can reach speeds of up to 17.8mph (28.6kph).

Price

Price can be a big deciding factor between the two drones. Tello costs just £99 ($99) and comes included with a battery, props, prop guards and a prop removal tool.  Spark is £519 ($499) and £699 ($699) for the’Fly More’ bundle. But do take in to consideration that neither the Spark or Tello include a remote control. The Spark’s is included when  you go for the ‘Fly More’ bundle.

Wrap up

Tello is really is a selfie drone, it is super easy to use and comes with some fun flight features as well as some educational tools. This makes it a great starter drone for anybody looking to getting in drones, whether it be for photo, video, racing or just for the fun of flying.

The Spark offers more in terms of camera specs, flight features and obstacle avoidance. It really just packs in more tech in to a tiny little package but the price is quite a jump from the Tello.

This is really just scratching the surface of the two drones, you can see more in-depth specs as well as other DJI drones and competitors in our Drone Directory.