People with no drone flying experience often assume they’re high tech, expensive machines. However, while there are many high-end drones that cost thousands of dollars, there are actually far more you can pick up for under 100 bucks. But how do you know what are the best drones for under $100?
You have to be extra careful when purchasing a cheap drone. Most expensive ones are provided by big, well known brands, so you have that sense of security. With drones for under $100, however, there are loads to choose from, so you need to look carefully to make sure you buy the best drone possible.
After all, the last thing you want is to pick up a flimsy drone that doesn’t fly well or is useless after one crash. Similarly, if you’re looking to take pictures and videos, you want to make sure you’re getting good value for money with a decent camera and good stabilization.
That’s where we come in. We’ve done extensive research to find the best drones under $100 that are worth the money. Each drone in our list offers intelligent, beginner-friendly flying features, a decent battery life and good durability.
Whether you’re an adult looking for the best drones under $100 with a camera, or if you’re looking for a toy drone for kids, our list of the best drones under $100 has got you covered.
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Inkpot Mini Drone for Kids – Cheap Kids Drone for Under $100
- Price: $34.99 — Available on Amazon here
If you’re looking for a super cheap drone to gift a child, the Inkpot Mini Drone is a top rated drone for under $100 on Amazon with 4.5 stars.
The best thing about this drone is that there are three level modes, so you can slowly move up the levels as you develop your experience.
Level 1 has one-key take off and landing, altitude hold and emergency stop. This means you can start flying and land the drone with just one button, and with altitude hold the drone hovers at a certain height when you release the throttle stick.
Level 2 adds speed switching between three settings, and level 3 adds headless mode and 360 degree flips and rolls. Headless mode means you can fly the drone in any direction without worrying about which side is front-facing. You can easily switch between the levels by clicking a button on the remote controller.
This drone has 360 degree protection with enclosed propellers so it’s very safe for kids to use. It also has a low battery alarm to alert you when the power is running out to help avoid crashes.
Finally, this is a super small and lightweight drone that can fit in the palm of your hand, so it’s suitable for flying indoors. All this for under $35 makes this a fantastic cheap drone overall.
Tomzon Mini Drone for Kids – Best Drone Under $100 for Kids
- Price: $44.99 — Available on Amazon here
The Tomzon Mini Drone for Kids is a cheap and fun drone that’s sure to provide children of all ages with hours of entertainment.
It has four colorful LED lights positioned on the propeller which look really cool when flying — especially during low light. Kids will love performing 360 degree flips in all directions with this under $100 drone.
Importantly, the propellers are protected by safety guards to make them safe for kids to use. The drone also has one-key emergency stop and one-key return features so you don’t need to worry about losing control.
We also have a ranking of the best mini drones
It’s super easy to use, with headless mode and altitude hold features making it easy to get the hang of right away. You don’t even need to know which side is the front of the drone when flying – simply control it using the remote.
It also has three speed settings so that you can easily adjust the speed without losing control, and the controller is ideal for children or gamers as it’s designed to feel like and resemble a games console controller.
This drone offers 15 minutes of flight time, which is actually really long for such a cheap drone.
Finally, the Tomzon Mini Drone for Kids has a 4.5 star rating on Amazon from over 140 reviews, which shows it’s one of the best drones under 100 bucks for kids.
Spacekey DROCON Drone – Decent FPV Drone for Under $100
- Price: $59.99 — Available on Amazon here
The Spacekey DROCON drone is a cool looking drone that’s a good choice for new fliers as well as those with a little more experience.
We also have a ranking of the best drones for beginners
For starters, it has a 1080p camera that takes high-res images and videos. The camera has a 120-degree wide-angle lens for capturing panoramic perspectives from the sky.
You can stream FPV video in real time from up to 50m away, and you can then share your footage instantly via the Spacekey app so your friends can marvel at your drone skills.
This drone has numerous beginner-friendly functions. For example, features like altitude hold headless mode, and one key return make it very easy to use, even for kids and beginners. With trajectory flight, you can create flight paths by simply drawing with your finger on the Spacekey app!
However, it also has some more advanced features. For example, more experienced users can make use of the 3D flip function, gravity control and faster speed settings while shooting recordings.
Finally, the DROCON is designed with safety in mind, with four propeller guards to help prevent injury. It also has a low battery alarm so you can safely return the drone before it runs out of power, as well as LED lights to help you keep track of it in the dark.
Allcaca Mini Drone – Best Drone Under $100 with Dual Cameras
- Price: $51 — Available on Amazon here
The Allcaca Mini Drone really sticks out from the crowd as the best small drone under $100 as it has two 4K HD cameras.
Like most drones it has a front-facing camera, but the Allcaca Mini Drone also has a down-view camera. This provides a wide range for capturing images and videos, and it also allows you to shoot videos from different perspectives. The drone also has an optical flow position function to help you capture stable images during flight.
As you’d expect from a drone under $100, this model has some smart flight features which make it easy to control and suitable for beginners. For example, you can take off and land by clicking just one key on the remote control.
We also like that you can use the Allcaca app to plan flying routes by drawing dots in the built-in app. GPS positioning will then give you the precise location of the drone. You can control the drone from up to 100m away using the remote, and it has an 80m video transmission distance.
You can also perform some cool tricks thanks to the 360-degree roll function, which allows you to perform front, back, left and right rolls with the drone. It has a built-in six-axis gyroscope which helps the drone keep stable while performing tricks.
As this is a mini drone, it’s very portable and you can fly it without a license in most areas, unlike with larger drones. However, while it may be small, the anti-impact design around the propellers help protect it from damage in case you ever crash it.
Potensic P7 Mini Drone – Best Battle Drone Under $100
- Price: $67.99 — Available on Amazon here
If you’re looking for a fun toy drone that lets you battle out it with your friends, the Potensic P7 Mini Drone is one of the top drones for under $100 we’ve come across.
You can control two or more drones to fight against each other, using infrared waves sent from the drone’s nose to its opponent to defeat it and make it land. Three hits and you’re the winner!
The P7 has headless mode functionality which makes it easier to fly during battles. There are also three different speed settings so you can ramp up the intensity!
With 2.4G real time WiFi FPV transmission, you can control the drone via the Potensic App to record and share high resolution images.
Using the app, you can draw custom flight paths and use the gravity sensor control, so that the drone moves as you tilt your smartphone. You can perform 360 degree flips to dodge attacks, and you can also control the camera using hand gestures.
The drone can fly up to 20 minutes at a time and has two rechargeable batteries. Propeller guards help you battle safely, and the emergency stop button means you’re always in control.
Sanrock 1080p Camera Drone – Good Drone for Aerial Photography
- Price: $79.99 — Available on Amazon here
If you’re looking for one of the best outdoors drones under $100 for photography, the Sanrock 1080p Camera Drone is certainly worth checking out.
This drone’s built-in camera has a 90 degree adjustable angle for capturing wider footage and FPV real time transmission up to 50m away, so you can view the world through your drone. It’s also compatible with VR goggles to get an even more immersive perspective, although you’ll need to purchase those separately.
It’s super simple to use thanks to the intelligent flight features. For example, the altitude hold mode keeps the drone still in the air so you can focus on capturing footage. This is done with the help of air pressure control to accurately lock the height and location of the drone.
As well as auto hovering, the drone also has a headless mode and an emergency stop function for safer flying. If you want to perform stunts, it can perform cool 3D flips which look even better at night thanks to the LED lighting.
This drone has a high-performance battery which offers 17 minutes of flight time, and it has a range of up to 100m.
You can control it using the remote controller of the Sanrock app. If you’re using the app, you can use the gravity control feature to get the drone to follow the direction you move your smartphone. The Tap Fly technology also means you can easily draw routes using the app for the drone to follow.
Zuhafa T5 – Best Drone Under $100 for GPS & Optical Flow Positioning
- Price: $99 — Available on Amazon here
The Zuhafa T5 has some interesting features which make it stand out from some of the other best drones for under $100.
For starters, it has a 4K camera with anti-shake functionality which helps you capture particularly clear images and video, even in more challenging weather conditions.
Video can be recorded with 1080p at 60fps or 4K at 30fps, and the 60 degree adjustable lens provides more recording options. We really like that the 5Ghs FPV transmission guarantees smooth image transmission up to 300m.
Another impressive aspect of this drone is the upgraded 1800mAh intelligent battery that provides up to 20 minutes of flight time – you’ll be hard pushed to find a similar price drone that offers longer. It even comes with an extra battery that you can easily swap out so you can fly longer between charges.
The Zuhafa T5 has a GPS mode and an optical flow positioning mode which it intelligently switches between depending on whether you’re flying indoors or outdoors. When indoors, it uses optical positioning to steadily hover and rotate 360 degrees, while outside it will switch to GPS for precise positioning. You can click one button to automatically return home when out of range or low on power using GPS mode.
It also has all the other features of other drones, like headless mode, one-key take off and tap fly, which make it super easy to use even for beginners. With gesture photography you can control the camera by simply using hand signals, while the Follow Me mode ensures the drone follows the app signal of your mobile.
Ryze Tech Tello – Overall Best Drone Under $100 with Camera
- Price: $99.99 — Available on Amazon here
If you’re looking for the highest quality drone under $100, you can’t really go wrong with the Ryze Tech Tello. This drone is developed in partnership between Ryze and DJI, which is the leading maker of high end drones, so it’s a very reliable model for the price and is our pick for the best drone with a live camera under $100.
The Tech Tello is particularly good if you’re serious about drone photography but are working on a budget. The HD camera can capture 5MP images and HD720 video, and the advanced Intel-14 core processor ensures footage comes out in stunning detail.
There are also some really useful features for aerial photography and videography. We particularly like the EZ shots function, which helps you capture professional grade footage and instantly share it on social media.
This drone also has some fantastic smart flight features. You can take off by simply lifting it into the air from your hand, and you can even control the camera with hand gestures!
You can fly the Tech Tello for up to 13 minutes at a time, which is a good level for a drone in this price range. It’s very small and light, making it easy to transport, while the propeller guards and smart design give it good durability.
One of the most unique things about this drone is that it’s compatible with Tello Edu, a mobile programming app that supports Scratch. This means you can control it by dragging coding blocks on the app, so it’s the best quadcopter for $100 for students developing programming skills.
