The “drones under $300” price category was quite empty for a long time now, as there really weren't any good ones I could recommend. Things have changed. And my number one drone on this list is one of the best cheap drones with very impressive specs.
At this price level you can already start expecting things like:
In a hurry? Just pick my best recommended drone in this price category and you can't really go wrong!
At this price, every dollar counts in getting yourself a better or worse drone and the differences can be significant.
I'm going to cover the main features of basic camera drones, not FPV or otherwise niche quadcopters.
The table I made bellow has my top 3 drones under $300, but even bellow that you'll be able to find details for each of these so you can go more in-depth about the details you want to check for and maybe compare them side by side.
I suggest you go and check out my article with drones under $500 if you want to get more serious about this, or maybe check the Drone laws Map with the worldwide laws (took some time to get this done).
| Hubsan Zino | Xiaomi Fimi A3 | JJRC X12 |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
| 4k | 1080p | 1080p |
| 20min | 20min | 22min |
| 1km | 1km | 1km |
| 3 axis | 2 axis + eis | 3 axis |
Check Price | Check price | Check price |
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.
4k
20 min
1 km
3 axis gimbal
Although there are reasons you might want to choose the Xiaomi fimi A3 for example like the better transmitter, If you're looking for the best image quality and features, the Hubsan Zino is by far the best drone on the market, don't even look further.
It's quite well under $300, and you can get it both from amazon or banggood, usually, banggood.com is even cheaper.
The zino comes with a 3 axis gimbal and a really good one that's on par with high-end DJI drones in my opinion.
The Flight modes it comes with are also really capable and well made, from Waypoints, circle me function to course lock and it even returns back home on low battery.
PROS
CONS
1080p
20 min
1 km
2 axis gimbal
The Xiaomi Fimi A3 is a really well-built drone, solid with an extremely capable transmitter. It records in 1080p and has a 2 axis gimbal. The disadvantage of this drone is that it doesn't fold down, so it's a bit bigger than the others, but it still has a slim profile and can easily fit in a backpack.
What I'm most excited about in this drone is the FPV option, as it has 5.8ghz transmission and you can connect a cheap pair of goggles to it.
Besides that, the huge 1km range, the super-stable video, and long battery life make it a great choice in my opinion for this budget.
PROS
CONS
1080p
22 min
1 km
3 axis gimbal
Although not as good as the other two on the list, the JJRC X12, also found as Eachine Ex4 is a really capable drone and at a very good price!
The build quality of this drone is stellar, comparable even to some of DJIs products, but I would say the controller is inferior to the Fimi A3 one we've mentioned previously.
It resembles the Mavic Air a lot, and it does come with some impressive tech, like a 3 axis gimbal, great range and an impressive flight time.
The main reason the JJRC X12 is not higher on this list is that even though the camera is stabilized and the build quality is great, the camera quality itself is not extraordinary, still a great drone for exploration, especially since i tested its range and I got to 1km, albeit with interferences after 800m, but still a great cheap drone for exploring.
PROS
CONS
As mentioned above, at this price level you should already be looking for good image stabilization and definitely solid GPS.
A new trend you should take note of is the appearance of cheap foldable drones that can be great for trips or vlogging.
It's really a hard choice picking drones on a tight budget, but there's a really short answer to this question.
The best drone under $300 is the original Hubsan Zino foldable quadcopter. It comes with a 4k stabilized camera, 3 axis gimbal, 1km range and a foldable design.
Everyone wants a good drone signal and to be able to fly as far as possible, but how far can these cheaper drones fly?
Drones under $300 can usually fly around 1 km at most, as they usa a 5.8ghz wifi technology and need to connect to your phone via 5g wifi, making it impossible to reach longer FPV ranges.
We all want the best resolution in our drones, but can we afford it for this price?
You can find drones that film in 4k for the price of under $300, with the likes of Hubsan Zino being one of them. Although the most frequently found resolution is still 1080p at this price.
In the price category of under $300, a drone that flies under 15 minutes is not that great, so expect to find drones that fly even over 20 min.
Checking a drone’s battery life will help you make calculated decisions when and where to operate it. The last thing you’d want is to see your drone crashing in the sea because you were not aware of how long its battery could last.
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.
Proper image stabilization in a camera drone is probably the most important factor you should look for, if you want to take great photos and videos that are not shaky.
The best drones under $300 aren't those who can fly fastest or have 4k footage (that can be misleading sometimes), as it's uselles if the image is not stabilized.
You should expect at least a 2 axis gimbal in this price category, and a good one at that. The 3 drones on this list all have great gimbal stabilization.
When it comes to cameras, resolution isn't all that matters, you should look for dynamic range, frames per second and compare the samples.
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