Top cheap drones

One of the top pieces of advice I always give to people starting out flying drones: always start on a cheap practice drone.

The Evening Standard's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. In a buzzing nutshell: weight, camera quality, battery flight time, ease of use and range. At the cheaper end of the price spectrum, many drones operate straight from a smartphone app using the delicate touch of your fingertip to manoeuvre, but others come sporting smart-trumpet-connecting controllers that give you thumbsticks for utter ease of aeronautics. This is pretty much all you need to know, other than which budget models are best to bung your bread at so far in

Top cheap drones

The list in brief 2. Best overall 3. Best budget 4. B est all-round 5. B est premium 6. Best value for photographers 8. Best cheap drone for novices 9. Best FPV drone Best compact DJI alternative Best FPV for beginners How to choose How we test.

But, it should provide you with a pretty fun experience nonetheless. Its 12MP sensor also rotate to shoot in portrait — handy for social.

Finding the best cheap drone — one that delivers a rewarding flying experience without costing you a fortune — isn't easy, but we're here to help you make the right choice. Drone technology has advanced massively in recent years, so buying a cheap drone doesn't mean getting lumbered with something that's almost impossible to fly with a battery that dies after a few minutes of flopping around haphazardly in the air. Rather, today's budget drones are friendly to use and pack in features that you might expect to be reserved for more expensive models, such as smart flight control, camera stabilisation, GPS locking and even 4K video. Consequently, the best cheap drones available right now are a brilliant way for beginners to learn all the basics of drone flying, including how to capture video and still images, before investing in a more advanced model. In this guide we'll be focusing on drones that provide plenty of features for not much money, and if that's not quite right for your needs we have other guides that may be more suitable: our best beginner drone guide looks at newbie-friendly models at higher price points, while if you're after something for younger wannabe pilots, take a look at our best kids drone guide. Finally, if you're not entirely sure what you're after, general best drone guide covers a wide range of options, from beginners' models through to all-singing, all-dancing high-end models. That said, if you're set on finding the best cheap drone, simply read on.

The list in brief 2. Best overall 3. Best budget 4. B est all-round 5. B est premium 6. Best value for photographers 8. Best cheap drone for novices 9. Best FPV drone Best compact DJI alternative

Top cheap drones

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. They are, however, a really great time. In the past decade, drones have become widely accessible and have pretty much taken the place of toy airplanes or toy helicopters. Today, drones have become a favorite among photographers, videographers, kids, and anyone who just wants to fly a cool toy. Purchasing the best drones can be pretty expensive. Luckily, there are lots of great budget options to choose from. While they might not be as fancy and frilly as their more expensive counterparts, there are several options that are stable, easy to use, and offer a great user experience. For this article, we started with a wide list of drones that sit above the pure toy category but below the serious enthusiast category. We relied on a mixture of personal experience, professional reviews, user impressions, and spec comparisons to choose crafts that would provide a safe, fun experience on a very low budget. With the jargon out of the way, here are our individual picks.

250 pounds in dollars

Want a m transmission range for your UHD video? The T36 is a fun drone to fly, with a decent amount of speed and maneuverability. The drone is also suitable for use with VR or first-person view goggles. Intuitive controller: Most drone controllers have two joysticks for controlling flight and a smattering of buttons for specific tasks, as well as a spot for mounting a smartphone to deliver the video feed and allow the pilot to use various smart flight modes. We'd say think of the very cheap as toys, and then think more about what you want. However, the large rotor blades are somewhat noisy in flight. Type: Camera drone. Turtle Mode means it can right itself remotely, while three speed settings and three flight modes offer flexibility for learners to improve. Reasons to avoid - Learning curve. Type: stunt drone. What to look forward to.

Finding the best cheap drone — one that delivers a rewarding flying experience without costing you a fortune — isn't easy, but we're here to help you make the right choice. Drone technology has advanced massively in recent years, so buying a cheap drone doesn't mean getting lumbered with something that's almost impossible to fly with a battery that dies after a few minutes of flopping around haphazardly in the air. Rather, today's budget drones are friendly to use and pack in features that you might expect to be reserved for more expensive models, such as smart flight control, camera stabilisation, GPS locking and even 4K video.

We also like that the company includes two batteries, so your downtime isn't too great. For frustration-free flight, the Potensic A20W has a built-in barometer to lock it to a set altitude, enabling your kids to concentrate on flying without having to constantly adjust the power stick to keep the drone at the same height. Robert says:. The no-frills A31 lacks a camera, but it's fast and maneuverable. The Air 3 can detect obstacles as they approach—from any direction—and then make flight path adjustments to avoid them. Best budget. Those tests tells us the reasonable limits of the drone's camera. The first Hubsan X4 was arguably the micro-drone that changed everything, and a good few iterations later the X4 Hss is still an impressive piece of kit. It also has a serious case of rolling shutter, where video looks wobbly. This cheap camera drone is an awesome gift idea for the budding photographer wanting to get airborne. But it lacks the obstacle-avoidance sensors of more expensive models.