These get compared constantly and they are barely the same category. Endurance against control.
Endurance: the balloon, by a mile
A tethered balloon holds a viewpoint for days on a single fill, losing about one percent of its gas a day. No battery, no power, no operator standing there.
A drone measures flight time in tens of minutes and needs somebody present. For a week-long site overview that difference is not incremental, it is the entire decision.
Control: the drone, by a mile
A drone goes where you send it, holds a frame, follows a path and repeats a survey exactly.
A balloon sits on its tether and drifts and rotates with the wind. Framing is approximate. If the shot has to be specific or repeatable, the balloon simply cannot do it.
Payload: both are limited, differently
A 13-foot blimp has about three pounds of net lift, and that is holding the tether taut before you hang anything on it. Light cameras only, or step up in size and gas cost.
Drones have their own payload limits but carry stabilised cameras properly. For image quality at a given cost, the drone wins.
Weather and rules
Both come down in wind; the balloon at about 25 mph. We fly at 120 feet, under the 150-foot line where the FAA becomes involved, and we call the tower within five miles of controlled airspace.
Drones carry their own pilot and registration requirements. And for either one, recording people is governed by state and local law rather than aviation rules. That is worth checking first regardless of which you pick.
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