If you have typed 'drone roof survey cost' into Google recently, you have probably noticed that most answers are written by companies who would rather you phoned them. This guide gives you the actual numbers for Scotland in 2026, compares the three realistic ways to get a roof inspected, and explains what genuinely moves the price up or down.
The short answer
- Drone roof survey, residential: £99–£180 across central Scotland (AyeInspect: £99 flat).
- Drone roof survey, commercial: £149–£400 depending on roof size (AyeInspect: £149 flat).
- Ladder-based inspection by a roofer: £60–£150, often waived if you proceed with repairs.
- Scaffold or cherry-picker access for a survey: £250–£800 before anyone has inspected anything.
- Traditional written surveyor's roof report: £300–£600, usually requiring access equipment on top.
Drone vs ladder vs scaffold — what you get for the money
A ladder inspection is cheap but limited to what one person can see from the gutter line. Valleys, the rear pitch of a terrace, chimney heads and flat roofs above head height are usually invisible. It also comes with an awkward incentive: the person inspecting the roof is often the person hoping to repair it.
Scaffolding shows everything but costs more than many of the repairs it uncovers — and on a semi-detached or terraced property you are paying for your neighbours' scaffolding time as much as your own roof.
A drone survey photographs every pitch, ridge, hip, valley, chimney and gutter from directly above. The defects are circled on the photographs, described in plain English and graded for severity. Because AyeInspect never quotes for repair work, the findings stay impartial — you take the report to any roofer you choose.
What actually affects a drone survey quote
- Roof size and complexity: a flat-roofed bungalow is quicker than a five-storey tenement with hips and valleys.
- Access and surroundings: close trees, overhead cables and busy roads all need more flight planning.
- Location: travel time matters outside the main population centres — inside Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Edinburgh it is usually built into a fixed price.
- Report depth: a photographic condition report with graded defects costs more than a handful of emailed photos.
The cost nobody budgets for: the repair you miss
AyeInspect surveys are £99 for residential property and £149 for commercial, across Glasgow (G), Lanarkshire (ML), Edinburgh (EH), Falkirk (FK), Stirling and Paisley (PA). The annotated report is back within 24 hours, and you can pay by card, PayPal, Pay by Bank, Google Pay or Klarna.