Litchi vs Dronelink- Where does each shine?

[Skybuyer]

It wasn't long ago that I became familiar with Litchi and have been using it for a few weeks now. Until a few days ago I was unaware of the existence of Dronelink, which I understand is quite similar. What are the strengths of one over the other that one might elect to use, perhaps assuming that both apps were owned? I know that Litchi costs $23-$25, a very small amount for what it does. Not sure about Dronelink. While I'm a fan of Litchi, I'd like to know it is worth having Dronelink as well?

 

[brett8883]

It wasn't long ago that I became familiar with Litchi and have been using it for a few weeks now. Until a few days ago I was unaware of the existence of Dronelink, which I understand is quite similar. What are the strengths of one over the other that one might elect to use, perhaps assuming that both apps were owned? I know that Litchi costs $23-$25, a very small amount for what it does. Not sure about Dronelink. While I'm a fan of Litchi, I'd like to know it is worth having Dronelink as well?

In my opinion Litchi is a lot easier to use and more user friendly. I have both but use Litchi much more often because of how simple and quick it is to use.

Litchi’s interface is very simple to use, though, it has a dated appearance. Litchi also uses the built in waypoint function of the aircraft for waypoint missions which uploads the mission to the AC’s internal memory. This does give me an extra sense of security (note: this isn’t true of the Mavic Mini as the mini doesn’t have a native waypoint feature), though DroneLink would say that also limits the options available for mission planning, however, I have not had a real world mission that could not be accomplished with the tools Litchi provides.

Though waypoints is the premiere feature, Litchi can also be used as an alternative to DJI’s app for manual flight and other intelligent flight mode functions. It allows you to further customize the custom buttons on the RC with more functions than the DJI apps.

One of the things I don’t like about Litchi is the cluttered HUD in the live screen. I wish I could customize this or be able to swipe it away like on the DJI app so I could see only the live view from the drone and nothing else. Also the header in the Litchi app on the HUD cuts off the very top of the live view so this must be taken into account when composing photos and video. Having said that the widgets that show flight telemetry and camera settings are transparent so they don’t block as much of the live view as DroneLink.
DroneLink provides more options for complex mission planning and has a more modern looking interface. Instead of using the built in waypoint feature of the drone DroneLink controls the drone from the application itself giving real time commands to the aircraft. This allows nearly limitless possibilities and allows you to mix and match various intelligent flight modes. A feature I really like with DroneLink is “on the fly” functions that allow you to quickly set up complex moves while already airborne. To me this is the best part about DroneLink.

The major issue I have with DroneLink is the mission planning is done online instead of in the app so you have to have an internet connection to plan a mission and unless you download missions and save them for use offline the the missions require internet connection to run. I would rather just have everything stored locally and have the option to do them online like with Litchi. I find that when it come down to it the interface is a little more confusing than Litchi’s. I think DroneLink’s HUD is better looking than Litchi’s and I like the Attitude indicator on screen with the map but the widgets they chose to show the aircraft telemetry are huge and opaque and eat up way too much real estate on the screen with no way get rid of stuff. Nearly a third of the live view is blocked by widgets.


Both have their place and their use doesn’t need to be mutually exclusive but if I had to pick only one it would be Litchi for the simplicity and usefulness beyond automatic flight.

 

[gemniii]

In my opinion Litchi is a lot easier to use and more user friendly. I have both but use Litchi much more often because of how simple and quick it is to use.

Litchi’s interface is very simple to use, though, it has a dated appearance. Litchi also uses the built in waypoint function of the aircraft for waypoint missions which uploads the mission to the AC’s internal memory. This does give me an extra sense of security (note: this isn’t true of the Mavic Mini as the mini doesn’t have a native waypoint feature), though DroneLink would say that also limits the options available for mission planning, however, I have not had a real world mission that could not be accomplished with the tools Litchi provides.

Though waypoints is the premiere feature, Litchi can also be used as an alternative to DJI’s app for manual flight and other intelligent flight mode functions. It allows you to further customize the custom buttons on the RC with more functions than the DJI apps.
<snip>

Both have their place and their use doesn’t need to be mutually exclusive but if I had to pick only one it would be Litchi for the simplicity and usefulness beyond automatic flight.

Are there other apps that use waypoints that work with the Mini?
Waypoints are critical for one of my uses, monitoring roof tops.

 

[brett8883]

Are there other apps that use waypoints that work with the Mini?
Waypoints are critical for one of my uses, monitoring roof tops.

not that I’m aware of

I don’t have a mini but if I did I would use DroneLink.

Since the mini has no native waypoint feature it has to use the method DroneLink uses where the commands come straight from the app in real time. The developer for DroneLink has a lot more experience with that type of control method, in fact the Litchi version of this for the mini might still be in beta, I’m not sure about that.

 

[EyesWideShut]

Are there other apps that use waypoints that work with the Mini?
Waypoints are critical for one of my uses, monitoring roof tops.

Check out Red Waypoint. It's only an Android app (no iOS) and works well with waypoints for the mini.

Here's a link to the manual - Red Waypoint manual

 

[Skybuyer]

Am I mistaken that Dronelink has a subscrition and a cost per minute of flight time?

 

[brett8883]

Am I mistaken that Dronelink has a subscrition and a cost per minute of flight time?

Yes you are mistaken

Dronelink

app.dronelink.com

 

[maelstrom]

Am I mistaken that Dronelink has a subscrition and a cost per minute of flight time?

Only for the Pro or Team accounts. The Hobbyist account is a one-off payment but can only be used for recreational purposes.

 

[gemniii]

Check out Red Waypoint. It's only an Android app (no iOS) and works well with waypoints for the mini.

Here's a link to the manual - Red Waypoint manual

What's the cost of the upgrade? 5 waypoints is very limiting.

 

[Keule]

What's the cost of the upgrade?

RedWaypoint PRO for DJI drones - Apps on Google Play

Plan your flight, fly autonomously, focus on recording your videos

play.google.com

 

[Skybuyer]

Yes you are mistaken

Dronelink

app.dronelink.com

Actually I wasn't mistaken. When I googled Dronelink cost the information below popped up. It did not show the hobbiest category. One other advantage to Litchi that I can see is that it does provide email support. I've asked for assistance once or twice and have gotten prompt responses. With Dronelink you have to be in the pro category to get email support. Also note that the pro version limits up to 200 minutes per month for the $20 charging extra beyond that. But it's good to know that the hobbiest version only costs $20 flat. When I checked the app store for Dronelink it didn't have any price, it just said "get"... which led to my question.

 

[brett8883]

Actually I wasn't mistaken. When I googled Dronelink cost the information below popped up. It did not show the hobbiest category. One other advantage to Litchi that I can see is that it does provide email support. I've asked for assistance once or twice and have gotten prompt responses. With Dronelink you have to be in the pro category to get email support. Also note that the pro version limits up to 200 minutes per month for the $20 charging extra beyond that. But it's good to know that the hobbiest version only costs $20 flat. When I checked the app store for Dronelink it didn't have any price, it just said "get"... which led to my question.

View attachment 111631

I was wrong. Won’t be last time either. I guess I’m grandfathered in because I got it as part of the beta and I’ve never had to pay anything.

 

[Skybuyer]

I was wrong. Won’t be last time either. I guess I’m grandfathered in because I got it as part of the beta and I’ve never had to pay anything.

That's ok... You provide enough help that you deserve a mulligan once in awhile .
BTW.. I LOVE SLC. So many ski trips out there, mostly skiing Snowbird. Lodging at Little America. Haven't been for awhile, but will have to bring skis and drone next time.

 

[brett8883]

That's ok... You provide enough help that you deserve a mulligan once in awhile .
BTW.. I LOVE SLC. So many ski trips out there, mostly skiing Snowbird. Lodging at Little America. Haven't been for awhile, but will have to bring skis and drone next time.

Ha that’s my stomping ground right there, Alta/Snowbird. Best place on earth. I always tell people, some people go to church, some people go to temple, but I go Alta/Bird to be closer to MY god.

 

[Rmcolon]

Are there other apps that use waypoints that work with the Mini?
Waypoints are critical for one of my uses, monitoring roof tops.

I use Dronelink for my Mini. For my M2P I prefer Litchi.

 

[sarniac]

It wasn't long ago that I became familiar with Litchi and have been using it for a few weeks now. Until a few days ago I was unaware of the existence of Dronelink, which I understand is quite similar. What are the strengths of one over the other that one might elect to use, perhaps assuming that both apps were owned? I know that Litchi costs $23-$25, a very small amount for what it does. Not sure about Dronelink. While I'm a fan of Litchi, I'd like to know it is worth having Dronelink as well?

I’ve used Litchi for about a year now and never had a failure or problem. I started to learn Dronelink because it has a lot of capabilities that Litchi does not currently have. I purchased a Mavic Mini this month and plan to use Dronelink on it. For now, I’m using my Mavic Pro to test missions developed with Dronelink. No problems thus far. For me, Dronelink has a steeper learning curve than Litchi.

 

[Skybuyer]

I’ve used Litchi for about a year now and never had a failure or problem. I started to learn Dronelink because it has a lot of capabilities that Litchi does not currently have. I purchased a Mavic Mini this month and plan to use Dronelink on it. For now, I’m using my Mavic Pro to test missions developed with Dronelink. No problems thus far. For me, Dronelink has a steeper learning curve than Litchi.

I've only been using Litchi for a few weeks and like it a lot. I've found Litchi to be pretty easy to pick up and use. My real complaint is that the Litchi screen is a bit cluttered thus making the screen's buttons small and a little hard to manipulate on a small phone screen. I confess that since beginning with Litchi I haven't explored the advanced features of my M2P. I suppose I like the idea of planning shots before I get out in the field, and the quickshots in the DJI interface seems more seat-of-your-pants.

 

[maelstrom]

Actually I wasn't mistaken. When I googled Dronelink cost the information below popped up. It did not show the hobbiest category. One other advantage to Litchi that I can see is that it does provide email support. I've asked for assistance once or twice and have gotten prompt responses. With Dronelink you have to be in the pro category to get email support.

You are mistaken. Don’t rely on Google - it may not show the Hobbyist account but the Dronelink website (the definitive source) certainly does: Dronelink

Dronelink has an official support forum where subscribers from any of the accounts (including Hobbyist) can post and get support: Topics – Dronelink

 

[Skybuyer]

You are mistaken. Don’t rely on Google - it may not show the Hobbyist account but the Dronelink website (the definitive source) certainly does: Dronelink

Dronelink has an official support forum where subscribers from any of the accounts (including Hobbyist) can post and get support: Topics – Dronelink

I know... We covered this ground already.

 

[maelstrom]

I know... We covered this ground already.

My last post was prompted by your comment “Actually I wasn’t mistaken”.