Mapping boulders in rivers is commonly done manually with direct measurements, marking the location and size of each boulder in the field. This method is precise but time consuming and in study areas that are inaccessible by foot or has to turbulent water the danger or expense can prohibit measurements. Using Uncrewed Aerial vehicles (UAV) could prove an effective alternative method, however how accurate UAVs are for mapping boulders in rivers is yet to be determined since the ability to map submerged boulders is limited. The aim of this study is to compare boulder data derived from UAV orthophotos to in-situ field data. Additionally, I investigate if the error between the two methods is controlled by catchment- and reach- scale characteristics. Instream boulders were manually digitized from UAV orthophotos of 8 river reaches in Northern Sweden. Fewer boulders with smaller area were found for UAV, and the error between the two methods correlated with bankfull depth, water level and sediment size distribution. This highlights the importance of water level during UAV flights, since higher water levels resulted in more boulders partially or fully submerged below the water surface decreasing the amount and area of boulders found. Similar correlations between reach-scale channel characteristics were for the UAV data as for the field data showing that data derived from UAV images can be used to better understand boulder- bed rivers. Through mapping and understanding boulder distribution in pre-disturbance reference sites, UAVs can help guide river restoration in a safe, cost and time efficient way.