PID tuning is the art of making your quad fly exactly how you want. Properly tuned PIDs give you locked-in, responsive flight with no oscillations or sluggishness. This guide covers what PIDs do, how to tune them, and the critical role of filters.
PID stands for Proportional, Integral, Derivative — a feedback control loop that keeps your quad stable. Every axis (Roll, Pitch, Yaw) has its own PID values. The FC reads the gyro, compares actual rotation to desired rotation (from your sticks), and adjusts motor speeds thousands of times per second.
Imagine driving a car toward a lane center. P (Proportional) steers harder the further from center you are. I (Integral) builds up correction if you keep drifting. D (Derivative) slows steering as you approach center to prevent overshoot. Your quad does this on 3 axes simultaneously, 8,000 times per second.
Betaflight ships with reasonable defaults. These work for most builds out of the box. Tune from here only if needed.
| Axis | Roll P | Roll I | Roll D | Pitch P | Pitch I | Pitch D | Yaw P | Yaw I |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BF 4.4+ Defaults | 42 | 85 | 30 | 46 | 90 | 32 | 42 | 85 |
| 5" Freestyle | 45 | 90 | 28 | 50 | 95 | 30 | 45 | 90 |
| 5" Racing | 55 | 100 | 32 | 58 | 105 | 35 | 50 | 95 |
| Cinematic (smooth) | 38 | 80 | 25 | 42 | 85 | 28 | 40 | 80 |
| 3" Toothpick | 50 | 90 | 26 | 55 | 95 | 28 | 45 | 85 |
P responds to the current error. Higher P = more aggressive correction. Too high and the quad oscillates rapidly (high-frequency buzz). Too low and it feels sloppy, drifting on turns.
I accumulates error over time. It corrects for sustained drift (like wind or unbalanced props). Higher I holds angle better but can cause slow "wobbles" or drift in hover.
D responds to the rate of change of error. It dampens oscillations by counteracting fast changes. Think of it as a shock absorber.
If defaults fly well, DON'T TUNE. Many pilots spend hours chasing a "perfect tune" on an already good setup. Save your time for flying! Only tune when you notice a specific problem.
Filters clean up gyro noise before the PID loop processes it. Noisy gyro = bad flight performance regardless of PID values. Betaflight has several filter types working together.
Lowpass filters remove high-frequency noise above a cutoff frequency. Lower cutoff = smoother but adds latency. Higher cutoff = more responsive but noisier.
| Filter | Default Cutoff | Recommended | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gyro Lowpass 1 | 250 Hz | 200-250 Hz | Removes motor/prop noise |
| Gyro Lowpass 2 | 500 Hz | 400-500 Hz | Secondary noise filtering |
| DTerm Lowpass 1 | 150 Hz | 120-150 Hz | Cleans D-term noise |
| DTerm Lowpass 2 | 250 Hz | 200-250 Hz | Additional D filtering |
Notch filters cut a specific frequency band — like surgical noise removal. Use them to target known noise sources.
The dynamic notch automatically tracks and filters the loudest noise frequency. This is incredibly effective for varying motor/prop noise across RPM ranges.
Rates control how fast your quad rotates per stick input. They don't affect PID stability — only the feel of the sticks.
| Rate Type | Description | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Betaflight (default) | RC Rate + Super Rate + Expo | Most pilots, good balance |
| Raceflight | Rate + Acro + Expo | Racers, very linear center |
| KISS | Rate + RC Curve + Expo | Smooth cinematic feel |
| Actual | Max deg/s at full stick | Easy to understand, direct |
A common freestyle starting point: RC Rate 1.0, Super Rate 0.7, Expo 0.2 on all axes. This gives ~670°/s max rotation with a soft center stick feel.
Betaflight's Blackbox recorder captures gyro data, PID outputs, and motor signals. Analyzing this data is the most accurate way to tune.
| Signal | Healthy | Problem |
|---|---|---|
| Gyro trace | Smooth, follows setpoint | Noisy / oscillating |
| Setpoint vs Gyro | Gyro tracks setpoint closely | Large gap = weak P or I |
| DTerm trace | Clean, slight noise | Very noisy = lower D or add filtering |
| Motor outputs | Smooth, synchronized | Erratic = over-filtered or bad PIDs |
Blackbox Explorer has an FFT (frequency spectrum) view. Use it to identify dominant noise frequencies — these are your targets for notch filters. Sharp peaks in FFT = exact frequencies to notch out.
Betaflight supports 3 PID profiles and 3 rate profiles. Use them for different flying styles:
Switch profiles via stick commands or assigned switches on your radio.