As the term suggests, the best drones are the best that money can buy. Prices can vary and this impressive category includes all types of drones including single-camera drones, multi-camera drones, sub-250 g drones, FPV drones and specialist professional models. It's arguably the most varied category, but the one where high performance is always delivered.
With such a wide variety of drones, there are many considerations to make when selecting one of these models. Camera features and performance, size, weight, flight performance and unique features will always weigh in on the equation. Not to mention, the way the drone flies can be important: are you looking for a camera drone or an FPV model?
This may make choosing the best option for you seem a little daunting, but it's not the case because navigating the intricacies of different drones is simple. Plus, they're all excellent so it's difficult to go too far wrong and our recommendations will undoubtedly point you in the right direction.
If you're looking for something more specific or would like to get an idea of what's available in the wider drone market, check out our other comprehensive buying guides. In these, we take a look at the best camera drones, best beginner drones and best FPV drones.
The Quick list
Best drone overall
The DJI Mavic 3 Pro is the world's first consumer drone to offer three cameras, and offers the best image quality available in a consumer model, alongside professional features.
Best mid-size drone
The DJI Air 3 is an impressive dual-camera drone with advanced features and functionality. This includes a 24mm equivalent camera with a 1-inch sensor and a 70mm equivalent medium telephoto camera.
Best single-camera drone
If you're simply looking for the best drone with a single camera, look no further than the DJI Mavic 3 Classic with its impressive Four Thirds Hasselblad camera.
Best non-DJI alternative
The Autel EVO Lite+ is a powerful drone with a 1-inch sensor and professional features that's much less expensive than the DJI Mavic 3 series drones.
Best dual camera drone
The DJI Air 3 is an impressive dual camera drone offering a range of advanced features to provide impressive all-round performance in all areas.
Best portable camera drone
The DJI Mavic Air 2S is a medium size consumer drone offering a 1-inch sensor and excellent image quality alongside a wide range of useful features.
Best drone for beginners
The DJI Mavic Mini 3 is a small and lightweight beginner drone offering excellent image quality alongside ease of use and DJI reliability at an affordable price.
Best FPV Drone
The DJI Avata 2 is incredibly easy to fly and offers excellent 4K video capture. Whether you're an FPV beginner or an experienced pilot, the DJI Avata 2 is a fantastic FPV drone.
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Best entry-level drone
The DJI Mini 4K is the least expensive model in the DJI line-up, offering beginners solid performance alongside impressive image quality for a drone of this level.
Best FPV drone kit
The Emax Tinyhawk III Plus Freestyle RTF Kit is the best traditional FPV drone kit we've tested with excellent performance and an HD VTX for a clear FPV feed to the goggles.
Best premium FPV drone
The DJI FPV may be a few years old now, but it remains an excellent choice for speed and 4K video capture alongside the ease of use you expect from DJI drones.
Best for children
Inexpensive, lightweight and easy to use, the DJI Ryze Tello is an option worth considering for beginners, children and safe indoor flights.
Best drones we recommend in 2024
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Best drone overall
✅ You're looking for versatility: The three cameras on offer on this drone give you the ability to shoot different perspectives and different focal lengths at the same time, which can help produce more creative content.
✅ You want to shoot high-quality slow-mo: With this drone, you don't have to choose between quality and frame rates. You can shoot 5.1K up to 75fps, 4K up to 120fps and FHD up to 200fps.
❌ You're on a budget: With all the features on offer, this is quite an expensive drone and may be overkill for casual hobbyists.
🔎 DJI Mavic 3 Pro One of the best foldable drones on the market, this allows you to get stunning videos and offers great flexibility with three cameras that can film at the same time. The only real downside is the price, but we think beginners and pros would be pleased with this purchase. ★★★★★
If you'd like the best all-rounder with features, functionality and camera performance that will suit the requirements of most pilots, the DJI Mavic 3 Pro could be the drone for you. With three cameras, you're spoilt for creative choice and although this is a prosumer drone, it's a great option for beginners, too. Check out our DJI Mavic 3 Pro review where you can discover more about this impressive model.
It features a 24mm Four Thirds Hasselblad camera which captures images at 20MP. Its aperture is adjustable from f/2.8 and f/11, suitable for a wide range of situations and photographic effects, and you can also record video up to 5.1K. On either side of the Hasselblad, you'll find a 70mm medium telephoto camera and a 166mm telephoto, having a wide range of zoom lengths covered.
It features the hallmark Mavic folding design, and like the other models, we found it could provide around 30 minutes of flight time. It also comes with two different smart controller options, both featuring 5.5-inch touchscreens, so there's no need to hook up your smartphone.
The Mavic 3 Pro is very intuitive and easy to fly for a drone of this class since it comes with a number of flight and safety features such as Advanced Return to Home, AirSense ADS-B to detect aircraft, GEO 2.0 geofencing, obstacle sensing and automated flight patterns for video.
This is a high-end drone with many possible applications for both professional and enthusiasts. It's certainly not an inexpensive drone, but you're paying for the best available and it's priced similarly to older models at launch which is fair. So, if you're looking for a powerful and feature packed drone with fantastic cameras, the DJI Mavic 3 Pro is the one for you.
- Read our full DJi Mavic 3 Pro review.
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Three cameras and two smart controllers |
| Functionality | Easy to fly, with obstacle sensing technology |
| Performance | Excellent image quality and videos up to 5.1K |
Best mid-size drone
✅ You desire excellent image quality: The image quality produced by the two cameras is excellent, and the main wide-angle camera with the 1-inch sensor is impressive.
✅ You require advanced collision avoidance: Collision avoidance is an incredibly useful feature when flying in complex environments. This also assists with advanced Return to Home and subject tracking.
❌ You'd prefer a regulator-friendly drone: With the weight of the Air 3S it's more regulated in the US, UK and other regions so for simplicity, a sub-250 g model may be more suitable for you.
🔎 The DJI Air 3S is a dual-camera drone providing excellent image quality across wide-angle and telephoto focal lengths. It also offers impressive features including advanced collision avoidance, advanced Return to Home and impressive subject tracking performance. ★★★★½
The DJI Air 3S is a folding medium-sized drone that sits between the sub-250 g DJI Mini 4 Pro and DJI Mavic 3 Pro in terms of price and camera functionality, but also manages to overtake the higher-end model with some useful new features. It's a fantastic drone overall and it's fair to say that it's one of the best available thanks to its features and impressive dual camera.
The Air 3S features a 50MP 1-inch CMOS in the 24mm equivalent main camera, while the 70mm equivalent medium telephoto uses a 48MP 1/1.3-inch CMOS. These provide a huge amount of versatility and image quality is excellent overall with the larger sensor naturally being the most impressive of the two.
Video can be captured in flat color profiles for color grading and a larger dynamic range, as well as the standard profile for straight-out-of-camera footage. Video can be captured up to 4K 120 FPS, 1080p up to 240 FPS and 2.7 vertical video up to 60 FPS. Photos can be captured in Raw and JPEG at 12MP and the full resolution of each sensor.
The Air 3S also features advanced collision avoidance including forward-facing LiDAR for night flying, impressive subject tracking, Off-state Quick Transfer and it can be connected to 4G using the DJI Cellular Dongle 2 and a SIM card for more secure and reliable connectivity in complex environments.
- Our full DJI Air 3S review is coming soon.
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Two impressive cameras and a folding design. |
| Functionality | Excellent all round features. |
| Performance | Image quality from both cameras is fantastic. |
Best single camera drone
✅ You want excellent image quality at a more affordable price: This drone contains the same impressive Hasselblad 20MP camera as the other DJI Mavic 3 models, but keeps the price down by doing away with the additional cameras.
✅ You want something easy to fly: With two different controller options and an Advanced Return to Home feature, you should be able to get the hang of this drone quite quickly.
❌ You're after an affordable beginner drone: While this is more affordable than the other DJI Mavic 3 drones, it's still quite pricey and there are several other cheaper options on the market for beginners.
🔎 DJI Mavic 3 Classic This is a great option for people who want the image quality of the DJI Mavic 3 drones without paying extra for additional cameras that they don't have need for. Although it's still not cheap, it's easy to fly and would make a good investment for keen beginners. ★★★★½
The DJI Mavic 3 Classic features only the impressive 24mm equivalent lens, adjustable aperture and Four Thirds sensor to offer excellent image quality for photos and videos. Many drone pilots only require a wide-angle camera, so the Mavic 3 Classic meets this need while delivering flagship performance for a lower cost.
The camera on here in the excellent 24mm Hasselblad camera, capable of capturing 20MP stills or 5.1K video, so you're getting the best-of-the-best in terms of image quality. You can shoot in either JPEG or Raw, adjust the aperture between f/2.8 and f/11 and make use of a 3x digital zoom.
There are two controller options with this drone, depending on your budget. You can opt for a controller with a retractable phone holder or pay a bit more to get a smart controller with a 5.5-inch touchscreen, which in our DJI Mavic 3 Classic review, we found improved the overall user experience. This drone has the typical foldable design of the Mavic range and flight time was around 30 minutes during our testing.
Even beginners will be able to get the hang of flying this drone quickly thanks to all the on-board flight assistance. The Mavic 3 Classic features Advanced Return to Home, obstacle avoidance using multiple vision sensors and the highly effective ActiveTrack 5.0 for subject tracking. The High-Speed Quick Transfer feature also makes it super easy to share your results with clients or on social media since you can transfer files to your smartphone over WiFi at a rate of 80MB/s.
If you don't need a second or third camera, you can make a decent saving on this drone in comparison to the other Mavic 3 drones without losing many of their other great features and functionality. What's more, the camera on offer is the best available on any consumer drone.
- Read our full DJI Mavic 3 Classic review.
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Single Hasselblad 20MP camera and controller options |
| Functionality | Easy to fly, with good safety features |
| Performance | Fantastic image quality with 12.8 stops of dynamic range |
Best non-DJI alternative
✅ You're looking for top-quality video: This drone shoots up to an impressive 5.4K, which easily gives the DJI drones a run for their money.
✅ You want photographic flexibility: The adjustable aperture on this drone is very handy for experienced photographers set on capturing the perfect shot.
❌ You don't like using an app: The controller doesn't come with a built-in screen and relies on the AutelSky app on your smartphone to work.
❌ You want something ultra-portable: Even when folded, this drone measures 210×123×95mm and weighs 835g, so it's not the easiest to carry around with you.
🔎 Autel Evo Lite+ This drone offers extremely good image and video quality at a very competitive price, making it a good alternative to the DJI drone range. Whilst it's not the smallest or lightest drone out there, it comes with a relatively long battery life and good wind resistance, helping you to make the most of your aerial adventures. ★★★★½
The Autel EVO Lite+ may be a few years old now, but it's still available to purchase and remains a more than competent performer in terms of flight performance and image quality. The features on offer are excellent and the Lite+ remains one of the best DJI alternatives available.
Not everyone wants a DJI drone, and that can be for many reasons including cost. And while there are many mid-range alternatives available, none are close to the performance of the Autel EVO Lite+. Thanks to an excellent camera, impressive collision avoidance and advanced features, the EVO Lite+ is the best DJI Mavic 3 alternative available.
The camera on the EVO Lite+ offers a 20MP resolution alongside a 1-inch sensor with an equivalent focal length of 29mm. Its aperture can be adjusted between f/2.8 and f/11, which is fantastic for adjusting video exposure, and it can shoot video up to 5.4K, with 4K at 60fps.
Shooting in both Raw and JPEG is possible for still images, and the camera offers an impressive ISO range of 100-6400, which is similar to many entry-level DSLR and mirrorless cameras.
It comes with a controller that looks similar to gaming controllers and attaches to your smartphone to be used with the AutelSky app. The folding design makes it easy to transport, and you can choose from a range of colors including Classic Orange, Deep Space Gray and Arctic White. The high-capacity 6175mAh battery kept this 835g drone in flight for just over 30 minutes during our testing.
Other features include a very sensitive collision avoidance system which came in handy a few times during our Autel EVO Lite+ review, 38mph wind resistance, QuickShots automated flight patterns and Dynamic Track to enable the drone to track moving subjects. We think this drone offers excellent value for money, especially if you buy the Premium Bundle, which comes with additional batteries, spare propellers, a set of ND filters and a shoulder bag.
- Read our full Autel Evo Lite+ review
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | High-quality folding design with 20MP 1-inch sensor |
| Functionality | Level 7 wind resistance, subject tracking and collision avoidance |
| Performance | Excellent image quality with up to 5.4K video |
Best professional mini drone
✅ You want a regulator-friendly drone: Sun-250g drones are subject to fewer restrictions than larger drones, which means they’re able to be flown with less fuss.
✅ You need a fully featured sub-250g drone: The DJI Mini 4 Pro offers features comparable to the flagship DJI Mavic 3 prosumer models making it the best sub-250g drone by far.
❌ You need higher wind resistance: The Mini 4 Pro can handle reasonably strong wind, but the larger and more powerful DJI Air 3 and Mavic 3 models are much more adept in stronger winds.
❌ You need dual cameras: The Mini 4 Pro has one excellent camera offering an equivalent focal length of 24mm, but the DJI Air 3 offers dual 24mm and 70mm cameras for added versatility.
🔎 The DJI Mini 4 Pro is the best sub-250g drone to date, offering advanced pro-spec features and excellent image quality. Plus, not only is it perfect for professionals, it’s a great option for beginners, too.★★★★½
Sub-250 g drones are incredibly popular due to their small size and light weight, not to mention they're regulator-friendly in most regions. And with the DJI Mini 4 Pro, you get some seriously impressive features and functionality that's more commonly seen on DJI's flagship models. We were hugely impressed in our hands-on DJI Mini 4 Pro review, where this small but fully featured drone is a firm favourite.
Advanced features include Omnidirectional Obstacle Avoidance, improved subject tracking, Advanced Return to Home, and several video upgrades. The drone is easy to set up and fly, which is great for beginners and experienced pilots, while the Mini 4 Pro is a smooth and responsive flier. The image sensor and camera are the same as the Mini 3 / Mini 3 Pro, so image quality is similar, although image processing is claimed to have been improved.
Image quality produced by the 48MP 1/1.3-inch sensor is fantastic given the small size of the sensor, and high ISO handling is outstanding. The lens produces an equivalent focal length of 24mm and the fixed f/1.7 aperture is fantastic for low light shooting but still captures a large depth-of-field. One of the most useful aspects of the camera is that it can be rotated 90 degrees to allow users to switch between landscape and portrait-oriented photos and video.
Photos can be captured in both Raw and JPEG formats, while with video, you can capture in both standard and flat color profiles, and if you're shooting slow motion you can shoot up to 4K. Overall, we think this is an excellent drone for users who don't quite want to pay top prices, but want a seriously compact piece of equipment with pro-spec features.
- Read our full DJI Mini 4 Pro review