Simple, transparent pricing
Clients pay the agreed charter price. Pilots keep 90% after a flat platform fee. No monthly fees, no surprises. Here is exactly how the money flows.
For clients
You pay the agreed charter price and nothing more. No booking fee, no markup, no subscription.
- •The price you agree is the price you pay.
- •Your payment is held securely in escrow until the work is delivered.
- •Funds only release to the pilot after your review period passes.
For pilots
You receive the charter price after a flat 10% platform fee. Payment processing fees are deducted from your side at payout.
- •Keep 90% of the charter price before processing fees.
- •Payment processing fees (typically 1.5% to 3%, charged by the payment provider) come off the pilot side.
- •No monthly fees, listing fees, or subscription costs.
A worked example
Say a client agrees a £50.00 charter. Here is where every penny goes.
| Client pays | £50.00 |
| Platform fee (flat 10% of the charter price) | -£5.00 |
| Payment processing fee (varies; about £1.83 in this example) | -£1.83 |
| Pilot receives | £43.17 |
The platform fee is always exactly 10% of the charter price. Payment processing fees are charged by our payment provider and typically range from 1.5% to 3%, varying by card type and by where the client and pilot are located. The figures above are an illustration; your exact processing fee will differ.
How drone platforms charge
Platforms in this market charge in five ways. Knowing which one you are looking at makes any price list easier to judge.
Membership or directory
A fixed fee, usually yearly and usually paid up front. You get a listing, and enquiries come to you. You invoice the client yourself, set your own terms and chase your own payment. The fee falls due whether or not any work arrives.
Commission platformThis is Terasor
A percentage of what you actually earn, charged when a job completes. The platform handles the payment. Nothing is due when nothing happens. Terasor works this way: a flat 10% platform fee from the pilot, and no platform fee charged to the client. Payment processing fees also come off the pilot side, as the worked example above shows, so the platform fee is not the whole cost of taking a card payment.
Agency or reseller network
The client hires the company, not you. The company then subcontracts the work to a pilot from its network, usually at a day rate. Its margin is the difference between what the client pays and what you are paid, and that difference is not usually published, so from your side it can look as though there is no fee at all. There is one; it sits inside the price. It can still suit a pilot who wants to fly without having to find clients, because the company does the selling and you do the flying.
Per lead
You pay for each introduction, whether or not it turns into work. The cost tracks enquiries rather than earnings, so a busy inbox and a quiet diary can still add up to a bill.
Job board
The employer pays to advertise, and you apply as staff rather than as a contractor. That is a different working relationship, not a different price for the same one.
Some platforms combine these, most often a membership fee with a commission on top, so a price list that shows both is showing two of the five at once.
Which model costs you less depends on where you are. A fixed fee works out cheaper once you are putting enough steady work through it, so an established pilot with regular volume can genuinely do better on a membership. A commission works out cheaper while you are starting out, or while you do not yet know whether the work will come, because you pay nothing until you have earned. Where one overtakes the other depends on the fee, your volume and processing costs, so there is no single number that answers it for everyone.
Cancellations and refunds
Before a quote is accepted, a client can cancel at no cost. After a quote is accepted and payment is captured, the refund depends on how close the cancellation is to the scheduled flight, because pilots set aside preparation and travel time.
| When the client cancels | Client refund | Pilot receives |
|---|---|---|
| More than 72 hours before the flight | 90% | 10% |
| 48 to 72 hours before the flight | 75% | 25% |
| 24 to 48 hours before the flight | 50% | 50% |
| Less than 24 hours before the flight | 25% | 75% |
If a pilot cancels, the client receives a 100% refund and the pilot receives nothing. For full details on each charter type, see the FAQ.
Pricing questions
How much does it cost a client to use Terasor?
Clients pay the agreed charter price and nothing more. There is no booking fee, no markup, and no subscription. The price you agree with a pilot on a Quote-Based charter, or set yourself on a Fixed-Price charter, is the price you pay. Live-Stream charters are billed at a fixed per-minute rate: $50 for the first minute, then $10 per minute, up to 30 minutes. Your payment is held securely in escrow and only released to the pilot after the work is delivered and your review period passes.
What fee does Terasor charge pilots?
A flat 10% platform fee on the charter price. There are no monthly fees, listing fees, or subscription costs. You keep 90% of the charter price before payment processing fees, which are deducted at payout.
Who pays the payment processing fees?
Payment processing fees are charged by our payment provider (Stripe) and are deducted from the pilot side at payout. They typically range from 1.5% to 3% of the charter price and vary by card type and by where the client and pilot are located.
Are there any monthly or hidden fees?
No. Joining Terasor is free and staying a member costs nothing. Pilots only pay the flat 10% platform fee when they earn, plus the payment processing fees deducted at payout. Clients only ever pay the agreed charter price.
When do pilots get paid?
Payment is held in escrow while the charter is in progress. Once the client approves the work, or the review period passes without a dispute, the payment is released. Payouts arrive via Stripe, typically within 2 to 3 business days of release.
What happens to my money if a charter is cancelled?
Before a quote is accepted, a client can cancel at no cost. After a quote is accepted and payment is captured, the refund depends on how close the cancellation is to the scheduled flight: more than 72 hours before, the client receives 90% and the pilot 10%; 48 to 72 hours, 75% and 25%; 24 to 48 hours, 50% and 50%; less than 24 hours, 25% and 75%. If a pilot cancels, the client receives a 100% refund.