Best Drones under $100 in 2020 (table and charts comparison)
In this article you'll se my top drones under $100 ranked until the best one I would recommend (at the end).
If you're in a hurry, check out the winner right here.
It's quite hard to decide between most cheap drones these days. This is why I bought and tested dozens of drones on my youtube channel too.
This way I can give you some great and honest feedback.
If you're simply searching for a cheap beginner drone, I recommend you take a look at my top drones under $50 too.
Table of Contents
My winner:MJX Bugs 3
In a hurry? Just pick my best recommended drone in this price category and you can't really go wrong!
- Powerful brushless motors
- Good range
- Great battery life
- Can carry a lot of weight
- Can put a gimbal on it
- Works with any action camera
My top camera drones under $100 (table comparison)
I have sorted my top drones you saw in the table bellow, from my least recommended to my most recommended. However, keep in mind that this order isn't necessarily right and I don't think these drones differ so much between each other.
They each have different unique traits that might benefit some people in particular.
| MJX Bugs 3 | DJI Tello | WingGod | SG900 | EMax EZ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |  |  |
 | Action Cam | 720p | 1080p | 1080p | FPV |
 | 15min | 12min | 15min | 16min | 8min |
 | 200m | 100m | 400m | 200m | 200m |
 | Gimbal can be mounted | Electronic Stab. | No Stab. | No stab | No stab. |
 | Check Price | Check price | Check price | Check price | Check price |
My video with details about these drones
FREE: Perfect pre-flight drone checklist
Use this checklist to get in the habit of always being prepared with everything you need when going to film with a drone (especially if you're doing it for clients).
My final drone ranking (in detail)
This is a more in depth view on each of the drones we looked at before and my personal experience with them. Have a look at all of them, as each is great in it's own way.
Specs alone aren't enough to tell a story, testing a drone and seeing how it actually shoots video is what's more important.
All these quadcopters are super high quality and you can’t really go wrong. It’s up to you to decide!
1.MJX Bugs 3 (My favorite cheap GoPro Drone)
Action Camera
15min
300m
Can carry a gimbal
The MJX Bugs 3 is definitely my favorite drone under $100 when it comes to having an action camera attached.
It's a very simple quadcopter, but it hits the main sweet spots of what you should look for at this price range(check every price range in my cheap drones article).
It comes with brushless motors that are more powerful and durable compared to brushed ones, which are usually the standard in this price range.
When it comes to build quality overall, it's one of the best I have seen under $200 even. And it cal also do flips!
Oh and here's my full review on the Mjx Bugs 3 btw.
Advantages
- Powerful Brushless Motors
- Good range
- Great battery Life
- Can carry a lot of weight
- Can put a gimbal on it
DISAdvantages
- There's an annoying beeping even before is getting low
2.DJI Tello ( Best Selfie Drone under $100)
720p
12min
100m
1km
Electronically stabilized
No image stabilization
The Tello is probably the drone that impressed me the most lately, considering how stable it flies and that the quality of the photos is amazing.
Not only that, but it also has an electronically stabilized camera (the only one on this list) and an optical flow sensor underneath that keeps it flying very steadily.
You also have the option to fly it with a Bluetooth transmitter that you can buy from the internet.
If you want a capable selfie drone, that can even extend the range up to 200m with the help of a wifi range extender like the Xiaomi Repeater the tello is the perfect drone for that.
Advantages
- Great battery life
- Multiple flight modes
- Stabilized video
- Amazing Photos
- Can Use separate controller
DISAdvantages
- Video Can be glitchy
3.WLtoys XK X1( best camera drone under $200)
1080p
15 min
400m
1km
No gimbal
No image stabilization
This drone not only comes with GPS, but also a camera at the bottom for optical stabilization so it flies more steady when close to the ground.
You can use a micro SD card so the footage will not be recorded in poor quality on your phone.
Speaking about footage, this camera records video in 2k resolution and takes 4k photos. Don't expect them to be too great, as the camera quality itself matters more than the resolution, but these are not bad either.
Another great feat that you won't find on other drones on this list is the ability to change the camera angle from the transmitter, which is super useful, albeit the controller does make a weird sound when doing so.
Advantages
- Camera angle can be changed
- Foldable
- Stable
DISAdvantages
- Camera quality not as good as advertised
4.SG900 best battery life drone under $100
1080p
16 min
200m
No stabilization
Advantages
- Great flight stability
- Long battery life
- Spare batteries
- Foldable design
DISAdvantages
- Not a very fast drone
5. Emax EZ Pilot (best FPV drone under $100)
FPV
8 min battery
100m
No gimbal
The EZ Pilot is an all in one FPV package from Emax that's oriented towards beginners in the FPV hobby as well as pretty much anyone who wants to experience FPV drone flying indoors.
I love it especially in these times of isolation because I can fly a drone using goggles indoors, though the bathoroom, kitches and even annoy my roommates.
There are a few levels of speed and intensity of flying that will allow even beginners to safely fly it. And even if you crash,. you're safe thanks to the prop guards. Hit a wall? Don't worry, the drone will keep flying as the propellers won't be affected.
The goggles are 5.8ghz fpv and work great. You can even use them with any 5.8 ghz fpv drone or camera so you can upgrade the drone in the future yet still use these.
Advantages
- Complete package
- No lag camera
- Good fpv goggles
- Great indoors flying
- Multiple speed modes
DISAdvantages
- Battery life isn't that amazing
What to look for in a drone under $100 (and FAQ)
There is no reason why you should expect much from a drone under $100. However the ones on my list all have pretty impressive features and are some of the ones I'd personally recommend to a close friend.
The criteria bellow is something you should really look for in any drone of this price range. I left out features found in more expensive drones like “camera gimbal” or “flight modes”.
Battery life and Range
Usually drones don't fly for more than 10 minutes in this price range, however, there are a few over that, up to 15 minutes.
Another thing you should consider is the drone’s range, as it depends on what you plan to do with the drone.
I have also compiled my ultimate list with long range drones, if you want to focus more on this specific trait.
The range of a drone can greatly vary depending on the wifi interference, whether you bought it from Europe (CE mode has lower range usually) or USA(typically the best range).
Drone Return to home (and GPS)
The return to home feature usually comes with any GPS drone (which all on this list are).
It's helpful in many situations, however, the most prevalent ones are:
- return to home on loss of signal
- return to home on low battery power
The “home” point is nothing else but the spot where you first launched your drone from.
I also made a list with my favorite Return To Home Drones, and they are sorted by price, so you can pick the best one for your budget.
In this price range you'll find both indoor beginner drones as well as gopro drones, so decide what you're looking for in the first place.
Image Stabilization
Camera won't be well stabilized, but you can definitely make a good action cam setup with the drone on my first spot.
You'll find all of them on this list.
As a sidenote, if you want to learn more about what drones are, check out my article on the types of drones out there .
"Before you fly" Drone checklist (FREE)
If you find yourself often in the situation where you are unprepared for a flight and regret it after (I know I do), this checklist is perfect for creating the right habits for that!
