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. |
