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How much should you charge for real estate photography?

Most US real estate photographers charge $150 to $300 for a standard listing shoot in 2026, and PropPhoto's August 2026 count of 684 published packages puts the typical price at $200. Scale the price with the size of the home (PropPhoto's January 2026 guide gives $175–$275 under 2,000 sq ft, $300–$450 for 2,000–4,000 sq ft and $550 and up above that) and sell drone, video, twilight, floor plans and 3D tours as add-ons.

By Emil Thomsen, Founder of October · Updated October 27, 2026

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What real estate photographers charge in 2026

These are published prices and survey averages, which is what an agent compares you against before they call.

Source	What it measures	Price
PropPhoto (Aug 2026)	684 packages published by 333 photographers	Typical standard package $200; middle half $150–$300; median lowest advertised rate $150; 25–50 edited photos, 24–48 hour delivery
PropPhoto (Jan 2026)	Session prices by home size	Most photographers $110–$300 for a standard photo package
PhotoUp	10–25 photos, 1,500–3,000 sq ft home, by city	National average $230; Phoenix $208 to Los Angeles $318
Snappr	Independent photographers and studios	$150–$500 per listing; about $150 an hour on average
Open Homes Photography (Bay Area, Apr 2026)	One studio's published structure	From $300, plus $50 per additional 1,000 sq ft

Location moves the number more than anything else. PropPhoto's typical package is $250 in California and $150 in Arizona; PhotoUp's city averages run from $208 in Phoenix to $318 in Los Angeles. Price against the photographers who serve the same agents you do, not against a national average.

Three ways to structure your price

PropPhoto says photographers set prices by square footage or photo count, and PhotoUp lists hourly, per-day, per-photo-count, flat-fee and property-size pricing as the common models. Most working rate cards combine two of them.

Model	How it works	Published examples	Good for
By square footage	A base price for a size band, more for each larger band	PropPhoto: $175–$275 under 2,000 sq ft, $300–$450 for 2,000–4,000, $550+ over 4,000. Open Homes: from $300 plus $50 per extra 1,000 sq ft	Residential listings; agents know the square footage when they book
By photo count	Packages of 10, 25, 50 photos	PropPhoto's bands: 20–25 photos under 2,000 sq ft, 35–45 at 2,000–4,000, 50+ above. HomeJab's order page offers 15, 30 or 50 photos	Condos and rentals where size says little about the work
By the hour or day	Time on site and editing	Snappr: about $150 an hour on average for independents. PhotoUp: $200–$400 an hour for basic property photography; $1,500–$15,000 a day	Commercial, hospitality and large estates

Square-footage bands are the easiest for agents to understand and the hardest to argue with, because a bigger home really is more rooms and more time. Write the band limits on the rate card and say what happens at the edge (a 2,050 sq ft home is in the larger band, or it is not).

Add-on prices: drone, video, twilight, floor plans, 3D

Add-ons are where a $200 shoot becomes a $600 invoice. PropPhoto notes that photographers usually charge less for an add-on than for the same service booked on its own, because they are already on site.

Service	Published price	Source
Video walkthrough	$195 (standalone median)	PropPhoto
Drone photography	$125 (typical standalone price); aerial photography $150	PropPhoto
2D floor plan	$205 (standalone median)	PropPhoto
HDR photos	$175 (standalone median)	PropPhoto
Twilight photo set	$200–$750, against $200–$400 for a daytime set	PhotoUp
Virtual dusk (edited)	$25 a photo	HomeJab
Virtual staging	$25 a photo	HomeJab
3D tour, under 1,000 sq ft	$350–$500	The Future 3D
3D tour, 1,000–2,500 sq ft	$450–$750	The Future 3D
3D tour, 2,500–5,000 sq ft	$750–$1,000	The Future 3D

Two costs sit behind these numbers. Drone work needs an FAA Remote Pilot Certificate: the FAA requires you to be at least 16, pass the initial aeronautical knowledge exam and complete online recurrent training every 24 calendar months. And 3D tours carry hosting: The Future 3D lists Matterport's plans at $9.99 (Starter), $69 (Professional) and $309 (Business) a month.

A simple rate card to start from

This is our example, not a survey result: each price sits inside the published ranges above, near their middle. Move it up or down to match the photographers in your market.

Item	Photos	Example price	Based on
Under 2,000 sq ft	20–25	$225	PropPhoto $175–$275
2,000–4,000 sq ft	35–45	$375	PropPhoto $300–$450
Over 4,000 sq ft	50+	From $550	PropPhoto $550+
Drone add-on	—	$125	PropPhoto typical standalone price $125
Video walkthrough add-on	—	$195	PropPhoto standalone median $195
2D floor plan add-on	—	$150–$205	PropPhoto standalone median $205, less as an add-on
Twilight set	—	From $250	PhotoUp $200–$750
Virtual dusk	Per photo	$25–$40	HomeJab $25
3D tour, 1,000–2,500 sq ft	—	$450–$750	The Future 3D

Put three things on the card besides prices: delivery time (PropPhoto finds 24–48 hours is normal, so next-day is a selling point), what a rush or same-day delivery costs, and your travel area. PropPhoto notes same-day delivery often carries a rush fee.

What lets you charge more

Experience and a portfolio agents recognize. PropPhoto's January 2026 guide puts luxury shoots at $300 minimum for homes over $1 million, often $500 and up.
Bundles. Open Homes says packaging services saves its clients $150 to $750, which is the point: agents buy the bundle, and your average invoice rises.
Speed. Next-day or same-day delivery is worth a fee when the norm is 24–48 hours.
Licensed drone work. It needs a Part 107 certificate and recurrent training every 24 months, which is part of what the add-on price pays for.
Commercial and hospitality. Hourly or day rates fit better than square-footage bands, and PhotoUp's published day rates start at $1,500.

And the agent's side of the sum: PropPhoto points out that on a $400,000 sale, a 3% commission is $12,000, so a $200 package is under 2% of it. For what agents and owners see when they shop, read our real estate photography cost guide; it is the other half of this page.

Apps are changing the low end

Be honest with yourself about the bottom of the market. Agents with a modest condo or a rental can now get usable photos without booking anyone. October is one of these: the agent walks the home with the October app on an iPhone 12 or newer, and an AI image model draws the finished photos from that capture, with an AI walkthrough video, usually within a few hours, at $49 a place (up to 6 rooms) for photos, $99 with a walkthrough and $199 with 4K, first place free. The model is told to keep walls, floors, windows, fittings and the view as captured, but the photos are AI-generated and need an AI-altered label where the MLS requires.

October doesn't fly drones, shoot real twilight, draw floor plans or build 3D tours, and it doesn't replace a photographer's eye on a luxury listing. The photographers this hurts are the ones who compete only on the cheapest standard package. The ones it doesn't are the ones selling add-ons, speed and the high end. See pricing and our October vs a real estate photographer guide.

Questions

How much should I charge for real estate photography as a beginner?

Near the low end of the published range: PropPhoto's January 2026 guide says most photographers charge $110–$300 for a standard photo package, and its August 2026 survey puts the median lowest advertised rate at $150. Raise it as your portfolio and repeat agents grow.

Should I charge by square footage or by photo count?

Square footage suits most homes because the work grows with the size; PropPhoto's bands are $175–$275 under 2,000 sq ft, $300–$450 for 2,000–4,000 and $550+ above. Photo-count packages suit condos and rentals. Many photographers use size bands with a photo count stated for each.

How much should I charge for drone photos?

PropPhoto's typical standalone price is $125 for drone photography and $150 for aerial photography, and add-on prices usually run lower than standalone ones. You need an FAA Remote Pilot Certificate under Part 107 to fly commercially.

How much should I charge for twilight photos?

PhotoUp puts a set of twilight stills at $200–$750, against $200–$400 for a daytime set. An edited virtual dusk photo is listed at $25 a photo on HomeJab's pricing page.

How much should I charge for a real estate video walkthrough?

PropPhoto's standalone median for a video walkthrough is $195. As an add-on to a photo shoot, price it below that.

What is the average hourly rate for real estate photography?

Snappr says independent photographers and studios charge about $150 an hour on average; PhotoUp gives $200–$400 an hour for basic property photography. Most residential work is sold as packages rather than by the hour.

Will apps like October replace real estate photographers?

At the low end, partly: an agent can get AI-generated photos and a walkthrough of a smaller home from one iPhone walk with October for $49–$199 a place. October doesn't do drone, real twilight, floor plans or 3D tours, so add-ons, speed and high-end work stay with photographers.