Quadcopter vs Hexacopter vs Octocopter: What’s Good and What’s Bad

Keep in mind that you are about to explore the advantages and disadvantages of these renowned models including Quadcopter Octocopter and Hexacopter. Also included in this post are the features and the top-of-the-line models alongside their fabulous videos.

Drones with multiple rotors have gained plenty of traction among consumers all over the world. You can discover these multicopters scattered both at online stores as well as in the shelves in brick and mortar stores. Moreover, their low prices have further exacerbated their desire in kids and adults alike and everyone seems to be including these amazing gadgets in their already exhaustive shopping lists. If you are looking to purchase a multicopter, remember that you will never fall short of choices and will have a heck of a lot to choose from.

We will employing some technical jargon such as quad, hexa, octo and plenty of other related stuff throughout the post. To know what they terminologies really stand for, let’s get going then!

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Quadcopter Characteristics

400;”>Quadcopters can be regarded as the most well known and popular multicopter drones available on the market. In addition to being super fast in speed, these are available at amazingly affordable prices and are being manufactured by a larger number of players in the drone world. By utilizing four propellers, these kinds of multicopters ensure that enough thrust is generated to lift the flying machine into the air. As far as the design is concerned, four propellers are located in the shape of either a square or a rectangle around the body of the drone.

The four propellers render it immensely easy from the entire structure to be able to lift itself into the air without any instability. This also means that you can add more weight or payload on such a machine because of its relative stability. Most of the drones prefer to employ this particular design because of its ability to handle more weight. The manufacturers do not have to raise the prices of these machines following the quadcopter configuration in a bid to enable them to carry more payloads.

Here are some of the advantages of these machines:

• Available at affordable prices that will blow your minds away
• Can be handled with tremendous ease
• Can carry payloads of greater weight so you can always add more and more accessories
• Can generate more thrust and power in contrast to tricopters

Let’s discuss some of the disadvantages of quadcopters:

• These are certainly not as powerful as a hexacopter or an octocopter

If you are a hobbyist drone who would like to spend quality time while flying these drones, a quadcopter seems to be the logical choice. These types of models can be found rather easily in the market, come at affordable prices and can be repaired a lot easily in case of crashes or accidents.

Hexacopter Characteristics

We move onto the next stage and the multicopter resident at this stage is a notch higher than the quadcopter. It is the hexacopter which comes with six motors and six propellers. An increase in the number of motors and propellers adds to the overall ability and strength of the machine and transforms it into a device that is heavily sought out by drone enthusiasts who love to have a fling with action cameras mounted onto drones. As far as the pros are concerned, they are similar than those of the quadcopter. However, a few more can also be attributed to such beasts.

• Since the two extra motors are able to generate more thrust and power, we should be expecting more speed from these machines
• In contrast to quadcopters, hexacopters can be taken to heights that would make your eyes pop out. They can achieve elevations much higher than quadcopters
• The six motors are located at angles of 120 degrees from each other. This means that if one of the motors stops functioning, the other two can always come to your rescue. Hence, even if one of your motors has been damaged, you can easily land your hexacopter on the ground with relative safety. Since, a quadcopter comes with two less motors, hence, expecting such a behavior from a quadcopter would be like living in fool’s paradise

Some of the dronies have become so adept at flying these beasts that even if they end up damaging a couple of their motors, they can manage to fly the machine and ensure that it lands safely. Bear in mind that it is the position of the motor that determines whether the pilot will be able to fly the drone and land it safely or the adventure will end up in a catastrophe.

Also keep in mind that these beasts also let you carry higher payloads and hence you can add more and more accessories as opposed to quadcopters. Let’s share with the advantages of these machines:

• Pilots get to enjoy massive increase in power, height and speed as opposed to Quadcopters
• Additional motors mean that you can easily fly your machine or even land it safely even if one or more motors get damaged
• You can add more payload and hence accessories to hexacopters
• Pilots can enjoy greater maneuverability and attain higher speeds

Here are some of the disadvantages associated with hexacopters:

• As compared to quadcopters, hexacopters are expensive in terms of price
• Owing to their bulky size, it becomes a headache to traverse nooks and corners and other tight spaces
• The spare parts for these machines are highly priced in contrast to their rivals

If you want to go for a compromise, then hexacopter is the ultimate choice for you as it quite intelligently provides just about the right mix of performance and price. It may cost more than a quadcopter, but it offers a splendid flying experience and certainly costs a lot lesser than an octocopter.

Octocopter characteristics

These are the leading multicopters to have made to our list. All of the exquisite features that can be associated with the hexacopters are present in octocopters. However, these machines have the capacity to generate an amazing amount of power and thrust. As the name would suggest, these devices boast eight motors coupled with eight propellers. With the presence of eight motors, more thrust is produced as compared to hexacopters.

• Octocopters tend to be a lot faster than their counterparts
• They offer magnificent maneuverability which is not greatly affected even by wind and rain
• Even if you end up damaging one or more of the motors, you can still fly this monster in the same way as the hexacopters. Besides, in addition to the payload mounted on the machine and the device’s positioning, you can ensure a safe landing even if two or three motors malfunction

Thinking of mounting a High Definition action camera worth $1,600 to your drone to get access to high-quality video footage and photographs? Go for no other multi copter than an octocopter to ensure the safety of your highly-priced equipment. Tremendous control and steadiness in flight are the key features that render these monsters a must have for professional drone enthusiasts.

Let’s have a look at the advantages that one can get this type of multicopter:

• They boast super high speed and are extremely agile and swift
• They can be taken to high altitudes with the minimum possible fuss
• They generate terrific amount of thrust and power owing to their eight motors
• They have the ability to carry heavy payloads with ease
• They are very safe to fly and offer great control and stability

Here are few of the drawbacks that can be associated with octocopters

• They boast very large sized structures
• They are highly priced as compared to hexacopters and quadcopters
• They provide very low flight duration due to small battery lifespan

As stated earlier, price and battery lifespan are a couple of areas that may detract you from purchasing octocopters. It is expected that the new versions of octocopters are likely to boast higher flight durations which will be an added value. Having said that, the first generation octocopters generally boast as little flight duration as 10 minutes while batteries take an eternity to get charged completely. The flight duration, as a matter of fact, is a function of the overall payload being carried by the drone, flight conditions such as speed, altitude, weather and the flight actions including aerial acrobatics that are being performed by the pilot.

If you are looking for a drone solution that has the ability to sustain strong gusty conditions and is also able to carry your heavy action cameras easily, the way to go will be octocopters and none other!

Final Word on Quadcopter: Which is the most ideal?

This is quite a complex question actually. Consider these points when purchasing a multicopter and you should end up with a drone of your choice:

• Quadcopters are available at affordable prices and are not long lasting. They are probably the ideal choice for novice and rookie dronies.
• The hexacopters are ideal machines for those drone enthusiasts who are semi-professionals and want to have some fun while flying drones. These devices can also carry heavier payloads.
• The octocopters are the best which offer high speeds, tremendous stability and mind-boggling power. However, they come at expensive prices. Professionals are enthralled by the advanced maneuverability and steadiness in flight that are key feature of octocopters.

We hope that the prices of hexacopters and octocopters will get lowered with every passing day. As soon as they come within your allocated budget, we suggest you not waste a single second and buy any one of them since they have a tangible edge over quadcopters on a number of counts.