Abstract: The direct seeding of rice is a labor-saving and simplified planting method. Compared with transplanting rice, with leads to a high seeding density and uneven seeding, the direct seeding of rice leads to a poor canopy structure, easy occurrence of pests and diseases, lodging, and so on. There is a significant amount of research on the technique of mechanical precision hole direct seeding and drone-based disordered direct seeding of rice. However, there is no report on the method of uniform and orderly direct seeding of rice. This study conducted a two-year field experiment in 2022 and 2023 to compare the growth characteristics, economic benefits, and lodging resistance of rice (variety: Quanyouyuenongsimiao) under various sowing or transplanting methods, including drone-based uniform and orderly direct seeding, conventional direct seeding, and machine transplanting. The results showed that drone-based uniform and orderly direct seeding reduced the seed quantity by more than 50% compared with conventional seeding and machine transplanting, achieving a seed reduction of 787.5-1312.5 CNY ha^-1, and had the highest input–output ratio. Moreover, the lower number of tillers and biomass in the early stage of growth and development following drone-based uniform and orderly direct seeding resulted in a decrease in the panicle number per unit area compared with conventional seeding, but the yield was not significant. The main reason for this was the compensation achieved by increasing the number of grains per panicle. In addition, drone-based uniform and orderly direct seeding increased the extinction coefficient. It also improved the ventilation and light transmission ability of the canopy of directly seeded rice and significantly reduced the degree of damage from pests and diseases. Furthermore, there was significant reduction in the lodging index of the low internode, which was mainly attributed to an increase in internode diameter and stem wall thickness, as well as an increase in the structural carbohydrate content.