If you've been shopping for an agricultural spray drone in Canada, you've seen the low airframe-only sticker prices — and then a quote for a working setup that's nearly double. Neither number is a lie. One is an airframe; the other is a system that sprays fields. Here's the honest math.

Why the advertised price isn't the real price

An airframe-only listing typically excludes most of what a spray day actually requires. A complete operational system means:

• The airframe itself
• The spray system (tank, pumps, nozzles)
• Multiple flight batteries — one battery does not run a spray operation; you rotate several
• An intelligent charger / power supply to turn batteries around fast
• A field generator, because most fields don't come with an outlet
• Optionally: a spreading system for granular product, and RTK for precision positioning

The all-in numbers

At True North Ag, complete DJI Agras T100 packages — airframe, spray system, batteries, charging, and up to generator, spreading and mist packages on the top configuration — run roughly $48,500 to $63,000 CAD depending on configuration. That's the number a working operation actually spends, and we'd rather show it to you up front than surprise you after a teaser price.

The compact DJI Agras T25P comes in well under the T100 — if you're covering smaller acreage or orchards, ask for a quote on a complete T25P package.

Two cost lines people forget: a second crew member (Canadian rules require the mixer/loader to be someone other than the pilot — see our guide to the 2026 legal changes), and pilot certification. We include training and Transport Canada certificate preparation with every purchase, so that line is covered.

When does it pay for itself?

The defensible math, not the marketing math: against typical custom-application rates, a spray drone breaks even at roughly 980 acres per year of use. For most operations that pencils out to a payback of one to three years, depending on your acres, crops, and how many passes a year you fly. Anyone who promises payback in a single season regardless of your operation is selling, not calculating. Run your own numbers in our ROI calculator.

Thinking of spraying for hire?

Custom application is where drones earn fastest — but a warning from the more mature U.S. market: as more capacity entered, average custom rates there fell from about US$21 to US$13 per acre in a single year. Today's rate is not next year's rate. The operators who win are the ones who build their customer base early, while capacity is still scarce.

Financing and next steps

Financing is available on all purchases. Drones and complete packages are in stock in Canada and ship from Canadian inventory, with parts support from our Canadian parts warehouse.

See the drones, run your numbers, or get an all-in quote for your operation — the real number, itemized.