9 Best Beginner Drones in 2021

The DJI Mini 2 is an aerial game-changer; it comes with strong battery life, great footage, and accessible controls. This model is very similar to its predecessor, but it features a few upgrades that make it a better beginner drone.

It is small enough that it can fit into your pockets; it is also easier to fly thanks to its upgraded controller. It is also under 250g, which is the specified pilot registration in China and the USA. It also features a GPS return home function and a share-friendly QuickShots.

It is fun to operate this drone with its maximum range of 10km. The hardware is similar, but it features improved motors, wind resistance, and stabilization to provide you with rock steady footage even in the windiest of conditions while providing you with a flight time of about 30 minutes.

Even though the sensor resolution is the same as its predecessor, the Mini 2 is able to capture smooth footage with its sharp 4K at 30fps camera. The camera allows you to select different effects such as panorama, manual exposure, Raw, exposure bracketing, and other features. This drone can be used indoors thanks to its sonar distance sensing systems and downward-facing visual, which helps it hover even though it doesn’t have the GPS function. For safety, this drone comes with optional propeller guards that prevent the propellers from getting damaged while flying close to obstacles.

However, this drone does not come with the obstacle avoidance function, but nonetheless, it is still a great beginner drone.

The Mavic Mini was launched in 2019 and was made to avoid the 250g registration limit. It is a great drone for any beginner. This drone features a steady mechanical gimbal camera that captures great-looking 2.7K video footage and clear 12MP photos that are stored in its MicroSD card, which is suitable for Instagrammers and YouTubers. It also has a flight time of 30 minutes per charge with a 4km range.

As a beginner, the QuickShot function provides you with different striking and dramatic shots while you’re still learning how to properly fly the drone. However, the extended WiFi radio system means that you could lose the signal in bad conditions as the drone’s motors can only handle the force of 4 crosswinds, but you could use your drone indoors on bad days. It comes with a variety of safety features that include the return to home function, tutorial, hover, and geofencing that prevents you from getting into trouble when you fly close to an airport.

However, this drone doesn’t come with the anti-collision tech of the other DJI drones, and while the footages it takes are stable and beautiful, it isn’t 4K resolution. If you are not interested in taking 4K resolution footages and taking raw still photos, this drone will offer you better value for your money than the more expensive options.

The Parrot Anafi has been a well-known brand that has been able to mix fun and functionality into their drones. The Anafi drone is a professional drone that features a 4K camera that has the ability to zoom in video mode and a gimbal-stabilized camera. Some people choose this drone of the DJI models because it can tilt its camera up and down to make 3D models or mere mortals; it also provides you with some great angles for action shots.

It features First Person View goggles that allow you to fly it from the cockpit. The goggles are included in the FPV kit. When they first came out, they were the only goggles supported, but now a software update allows you to use other VR headsets.

The app has different features that are great for settings-obsessed photographers or Arcade mode racing. The only feature missing from this drone is a collision sensing system, but this drone is quite sturdy, especially the FPV that features improved legs. It is compatible with Pix4D tools, which offers you an interesting path into 2D and 3D survey jobs that if you want to offer your services on a commercial level.

The Ryze Tello drone is designed in partnership with DJI. This drone is a lightweight and compact drone that is great for learning the basics of drone flying.

You can control this drone through your phone by running the Tello app and WiFi, you could also use a Bluetooth gaming controller, but that has a shorter range. Tello is a lively and responsive drone that will teach you the ups and downs of flying a quadcopter. It also comes with stability sensors that reduce drifting when the drone is meant to be static. It has a battery life of 13 minutes which is quite alright for a beginner drone.

However, not every aspect of this drone is perfect. It has a limited range of 30 meters, and the slightest breeze can make the drone drift off in whatever direction the breeze is blowing. It has a 720p video camera that isn’t great either, and it has no local storage, it sends all the pictures and videos you make straight to your mobile phone, and this causes choppy videos because of the WiFi dip in and out. However, as a beginner, this drone is quite suitable for your needs, and it has a better build than other budget models.

The E520S is Eachine’s top model drone that greatly resembles the DJI Mavic Pro but doesn’t compare to their features. It is constructed out of cheap plastic, and its camera abilities and flight range can not be compared with DJI Mavic Mini. It has a weight of 280 grams, so it has to be registered with the authorities.

However, it performs quite decent for its price. It has a battery life of 15 to 17 minutes which is quite alright for a drone; its size and price, its control range is up to 200 meters to 300 meters which is generous. It has GPS, making it easier to fly in tricky weather conditions, which makes it better than GPS-free drones. At least your drone won’t drift off with the wind.

Its camera provides you with 2K video clips and 4K resolution photos. However, there is no form of stabilization for the camera, so the videos tend to be shaky and distorted due to the wide angle lens. Because of the distortion, you’ll be able to see the front propellers in your shots. But it is better than the other cameras, which have lower resolutions camera, so you get clean and more detailed shots. It also features a microSD card slot that allows you to add local storage for photos and videos.

This beginner drone introduces its user to a great flying experience and the basic features of a serious videography or photography drone at a cheaper price. This drone includes a GPS positioning system, and it is controlled through a great phone app; your mobile phone will connect to the radio controller and serve as the screen for maneuvering the drone.

Thanks to its app, you get high-end features such as the ‘follow me’ feature, which makes the drone follow the position of your phone as well as make the drone easy to operate. If you let go of the controls, the drone will hover, maintaining the same altitude even when a breeze blows. It also has the ability to return to its launch point at the tap of a button.

This drone’s design is inspired by DJI’s Phantom, even up to its 4-light intelligent battery. It also has a Micro USB port built into the drone for easy charging, that one feature DJI doesn’t have yet.

This drone-like other drone has its downsides; for one, it doesn’t have a gimbal system for stabilization. Because of this, the drone’s vibrations can be seen in the videos it makes and it sends its signal through WiFi, which tends to cut off after reaching 100 meters. But don’t worry, clean videos are saved in the SD card, which is on the drone. It also features some nice touches, such as its propeller guards, extra landing legs, and stylish pilots manual notebook.

Even though this drone’s name is the Dreamer 4K, it doesn’t record 4K videos. Its photos might be taken at 4K resolution, but its videos ate restricted to 2688 * 1512 or 2.7K. It’s a smart way to attract people, but it also has features that make it great to use.

It has a great build quality, GPS system, high capacity battery, phone holding twin-stick controller, and a well-packaged 4K look that gives it the feel of a serious drone. In real life, it a beginner drone with fancy covering. It doesn’t have a gimbal system, so the camera makes shaky and unstable videos, and the controller has a range of only 50 meters before the video feed becomes choppy.

It has a battery life of 25 minutes per charge, and the drone flies responsively and smoothly over WiFi connection, so it still has its pros. This drone might look like a serious flier, but its abilities do not match its looks; but nonetheless, it’s a good beginner drone.

This drone is a great beginner’s drone. However, they keep adding 4K to their marketing material when in fact, the camera can record 4K video but only at 16 frames per second. It is also available in 2.7K at 25fps, but that is rarely advertised.

This Holy Stone drone is a sturdy and compact folding drone that doesn’t offer you with professional video quality but provides you with landing and manual tilting of your camera angle, as well as GPS system functions such as orbiting at a point of interest or the return to home function which it still performs even if it has lost connection.

However, this drone is too large to be used indoors, but it still features an optical flow sensor which is a visual light sensor that points the drone downwards so the drone can maintain its hover position even if a wall blocks the GPS signal. It comes with a 32GB SD card that is great, and this drone can use this drone even in bad weather. It comes with all these features while still being affordable.

This drone has a lower price point than DJI’s Mini, and it comes with its compromises, but it doesn’t miss out on some important features like other budget drones. It features a mechanical gimbal system and a class10 SD card slot. The gimbal system provides you with stabilized video, and the videos are saved straight to the SD card, so you don’t have to depend on a radio connection.

When you have seen an unstabilized video, you will know why it is important to have a gimbal system, but getting one in a drone this cheap is quite rare, and even in a foldable drone is rarer. This drone also comes with features such as a GPS system, and the return to home function, which makes it safe to fly the drone.

The footage is not as clear as a regular 4K camera, and its setup could be better, but it’s nearly the same as other expensive options. It is a more affordable option, but it still has a lot of useful features.