Litchi alternative for DJI Mini 5 Pro and the DJI RC 2
If you have flown older DJI drones, you probably know Litchi for automated missions. With the Mini 5 Pro and the DJI RC 2 that no longer works the same way. Third-party flight apps talk to the drone through DJI’s Mobile SDK, and as of November 2026 DJI has not released one for the Mini 5 Pro.
What does work is planning the mission somewhere else, saving it as a KMZ file and flying it with DJI Fly’s own waypoint mode. This guide sorts out what Litchi, Litchi Hub and Dronelink can and can’t do with these drones, and where Mini5Planner fits.
Why Litchi Pilot can’t fly the Mini 5 Pro
Litchi Pilot is Litchi’s app for newer DJI drones. It runs on Android and controls the drone through DJI’s Mobile SDK. Litchi’s own beta announcement (last edited 28 October 2026) lists the Mini 4 Pro among the supported drones, and lists the Mini 5, Air 3, Mavic 3 and Mavic 4 as unsupported because DJI has no SDK for them yet. It also says apps can’t be installed on DJI controllers with a built-in screen, which includes the DJI RC 2, and that iPhone and iPad aren’t supported by DJI’s latest SDK.
So with a Mini 5 Pro and a DJI RC 2, no third-party app can take control of the drone. That applies to Dronelink too: its KMZ article says the Dronelink app will not connect to “onboard only” drones such as the Air 3, Mavic 4 Pro and Mini 5 Pro.
| Drone | SDK for third-party apps | How to fly an automated mission |
|---|---|---|
| DJI Mini 5 Pro | No | DJI Fly waypoints from a KMZ file |
| DJI Air 3 and Air 3S | No | DJI Fly waypoints from a KMZ file |
| DJI Mavic 3, 3 Classic and 3 Pro | No | DJI Fly waypoints from a KMZ file |
| DJI Mavic 4 Pro | No | DJI Fly waypoints from a KMZ file |
| DJI Mini 4 Pro | Yes, Android with the RC-N2 and a phone | Litchi Pilot and other SDK apps, or DJI Fly waypoints from a KMZ file |
Sources: Litchi Pilot beta announcement, Litchi Utilities waypoint table and DroneDJ, 21 March 2025. When DJI added SDK support for the Mini 4 Pro in March 2025, it covered the RC-N2 with a phone, not the DJI RC 2.
The route that works: DJI Fly waypoints from a KMZ file
On these drones DJI Fly has its own waypoint mode. DJI’s support article lists the Mini 5 Pro, Air 3, Air 3S, the Mavic 3 family and the Mavic 4 Pro among the drones that have it. The mission is saved in DJI Fly and flown by DJI Fly itself, so no third-party app has to connect to the drone.
DJI Fly has no grid tool, though, and DJI says it does not support importing KML routes. In practice every planner in this guide works the same way: you create a placeholder mission in DJI Fly, then replace its KMZ file on the controller with one made on a computer. With the DJI RC 2 that means a USB-C cable, either copying the file by hand or letting a helper app do it.
What Litchi Hub can do
Litchi Hub is Litchi’s mission planner in the web browser, in open beta since May 2025. It plans waypoint missions with a 3D preview, and its Area Mapping tool generates a mapping grid with adjustable overlap and gimbal angle.
- It exports DJI KMZ files for DJI Fly. Litchi’s DJI Fly guide covers the Mini 5 Pro, Air 3 and 3S, the Mavic 3 series and the Mavic 4 Pro.
- Litchi Hub Bridge, a companion app for Mac and Windows, moves flights between Hub and DJI Fly. You can also replace the KMZ by hand.
- A large survey can be split into several flights on export, according to an answer on Litchi’s forum from July 2026.
- We found no price for Hub on Litchi’s pages during the beta.
What Dronelink can do
Dronelink is a web planner with iOS and Android apps. For drones like the Mini 5 Pro, you convert a plan to DJI waypoints in the web planner, export a KMZ and swap it in over a temporary mission in DJI Fly, as described in Dronelink’s KMZ article.
- Mapping and waypoint missions are among the supported mission types. Linear maps and vertical facades are listed as not fully supported, and Dronelink notes that the converted path can differ slightly from the original.
- KMZ export is included in the Elite plan ($119.99 one-time) and the professional plans from Starter ($24 a month) upward. Basic and Premium don’t include it (see Dronelink’s pricing).
Where Mini5Planner fits
Mini5Planner does one job: grid mapping missions for DJI Fly, planned on a Mac or Windows computer. We built it around the Mini 5 Pro, and that profile is measured in the field. A 50 MP photo takes the Mini 5 Pro about 5 seconds to save, and Mini5Planner caps the speed so the camera keeps up. A route that ignores this loses photos without any warning.
- Single grid or double grid (crosshatch), with templates for typical jobs.
- GSD, number of photos, flight time and battery use as you adjust the plan.
- A KMZ for DJI Fly, and a step-by-step transfer guide for the DJI RC 2. You copy the file yourself, with File Explorer on Windows or OpenMTP on a Mac.
- After the flight, Calibrate / check flight reads the photos’ metadata and shows the front overlap and the weakest spots on the map.
- Free, also for commercial use. Pro is a one-time purchase that adds terrain following (Kartverket’s 1 m model in Norway, Copernicus GLO-30 elsewhere) and battery split.
Mini5Planner doesn’t fly the drone and doesn’t process the photos. If you need other kinds of missions than mapping grids, Litchi Hub and Dronelink offer many more.
Which one to pick
- Litchi Hub suits you if you want a browser planner with a 3D preview and many waypoint tools beyond mapping, and maybe also fly Litchi Pilot on a drone with an SDK.
- Dronelink suits you if you already use it, or need its professional features on drones with an SDK as well. KMZ export for the Mini 5 Pro needs Elite or a professional plan.
- Mini5Planner suits you if you map with a Mini 5 Pro and want a desktop app that sets the speed for the camera and checks the overlap afterwards.
- A Mini 4 Pro with the RC-N2 and an Android phone can still use Litchi Pilot and other SDK apps directly. With the DJI RC 2 it can’t, because apps can’t be installed on it.
More tools make KMZ files for DJI Fly. We compare seven planners, our own included, in DJI grid mapping planners compared, and the full transfer steps are in our grid mission guide.
All third-party facts were checked on the linked pages on 10 November 2026. Tools change quickly. If something here is out of date, email torstein@anleggtech.no and we’ll correct it.