My 7 Best Indoor Drones Compared in 2023
In this section we’ll take a look at how these drones compared between each other in terms of specs, as well as details for each one and their respective use cases.
So you’re looking for the best indoor drones to see what fits in your budget and what type would be best for you.
This is exactly what this article will provide, the best drones for using in your house, each specific for a certain use as well as links to the best prices you can find online.
I also made a video on the topic (that I update each year), but the drones recommended there might differ a bit since I update the articles more frequently.
Let’s cover a bit what some indoor drone uses might be and what to look for.
Comfort is the biggest factor when choosing a home drone, as you don’t have to check the weather or stay in cold just to fly your drone.
Indoor drones are also much safer for other people (as long as they respect some principles) and can only damage your property in the worst-case scenario.
No flyaways, since even if a drone misbehaves it has walls and a literal ceiling to limit it from going nuts.
Prop Guards - Probably the biggest factor that can stop accidents, having prop guards or a protective cage can allow for much more mistakes and even hitting the walls with no consequences.
Size - Size is an obvious one, but the smaller a drone is, the more space it has to move around and therefore the easier it is for you to adjust the trajectory and have more fun (even do flips).
Battery life - The smaller the drone, the less battery life it has, so keep in mind that the drones I’ll recommend might come with 5min battery life and that’s as much as you can get for the respective size. There are exceptions for drones like the DJI MIni 2 that can Fly for 31min or the DJI Tello that can fly for 12, but these are slightly larger too.
ALSO READ:
To fly a drone indoors you need to learn the basics of flight first and how to use the sticks of the controller. Here’s the standard mode of operation:
Before flying indoors make sure there are no expensive electronics around to damage and follow this tip for emergencies.
Whenever you feel like losing control, make sure to put the left stick all the way down, and that will cut the power from the motors.
In this section we’ll take a look at how these drones compared between each other in terms of specs, as well as details for each one and their respective use cases.
| Eachine E010 | TELLO | Potensic A20 | Mini 2 | Tinyhawk 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 6 min | 12 min | 6 min | 31 min | 6 min |
 | 60 m | 100 m | 60 m | 10 km | 100 m |
 | No | 720p | Optional | 4k | FPV |
 | Durable | IMG Stabilzed | durable | GPS | Goggles |
| $ | $$ | $ | $$$ | $$ | |
 | Check Price | Check Price | Check Price | Check Price | Check Price |
ALSO READ:
No cam
6 min
60 m
durable
The DJI Ryze Tello is very unique as it’s both cheap and small yet it comes with features we see in more expensive drones like EIS (electronic image stabilization) and bottom sensors for stability.
This makes it a great indoor drone with altitude hold that you can pilot with your phone (or a Bluetooth controller) and at the same time it can keep its position and altitude if you do nothing, making it safe to use.
The Tello comes with an HD camera that’s image-stabilized and a few flight modes including circle around and some tricks. For safety, it also comes with a prop guard that’s very suitable indoors. A great thing is that this can also be flown outdoors very successfully.
A D V A N T A G E S
D I S A D V A N T A G E S
720p
12 min
100m
Image Stabilization
The eachine E010 is a legendary first flyer beginner drone and for a few good reasons.
First of all it's a very inexpensive indoor drone, which makes it perfect for beginners who are going to crash it. Second of all, it has replaceable batteries (yes, some drones at this size come with batteries that you can’t remove) and this helps extend the total flight time to how many batteries you have.
This drone also comes with some great prop guards and is virtually indestructible by crashing. You can pretty much destroy it only by stepping on it.
A D V A N T A G E S
D I S A D V A N T A G E S
No Cam
6 min
60 m
Durable
This might just be the best all around beginner drone, as the Potensic A20 is made both for indoors as well as outdoors flight as long as there’s no strong wind.
The package usually comes with 2 or 3 batteries for a really cheap price that can give you close to 20 minute in total of flight time. It’s ready to be bought on Amazon for quite a great deal and what’s best is that some versions also come with a camera.
A D V A N T A G E S
D I S A D V A N T A G E S
4k
120 min
100 m
with lights
This might actually be the most impressive drone on this list, and not in terms of specs, but of sheer size. The Hubsan H111c made it in my top nano drones list and for a good reason: despite its size, it also has a camera. It’s in fact one of the smallest drones in the world that also comes with a 0.3mp camera (with a surprisingly clear image on the phone).
It can also do flips and rolls by pressing a button and comes with a headless mode for ease of use.
Buy this if you want to impress your friends and want a lot of portability.
A D V A N T A G E S
D I S A D V A N T A G E S
4k
31 min
10 km
GPS
This is definitely the best drone on this list, period. However, I wouldn’t rank it so high in terms of indoor drones, as the Mini 2 from DJI is in fact made especially for outdoor flight, and considering its price you don’t want to learn how to fly indoors with it and risk crashing.
It comes with an amazing 4k camera, stabilized by a 3 axis gimbal and a 31 minute flight time, all under 250 grams to make it legal to fly outdoors without the need for registration.
It comes with prop guards, so it can be quite safe to fly indoors, but since it’s a pretty powerful brushless indoor drone I would be very careful when flying in tight spaces.
Oh, and did I tell you that it can fly for 10km outdoors?
Overall the DJI Mini 2 can indeed be flown indoors in a larger room, thanks to its bottom sensors that keep it steady but do this only to learn the very basics of flight or test the motors before going outdoors, in its natural habitat.
A D V A N T A G E S
D I S A D V A N T A G E S
None
10 min
30 m
Sensors
The force Scoot is probably the best drone for smaller kids who just want to have fun with a very safe drone without having to learn the controls. It has sensors all around and whenever you get your hands close to it, it flies in the opposite direction, making it a great toy drone for your kids to play with your friends.
It’s a great gimmick even for some adult parties if you ask me, but let’s pretend for now that it’s made only for kids.
A D V A N T A G E S
D I S A D V A N T A G E S
Optional camera
8 min
100m
Bottom Sensors
The Parrot Mambo is a very high-quality drone made by the leading drone manufacturer in the US and comes with a variety of accessories that makes it one of the most fun experiences you can have. I personally got the package with the claw and the ball throwing cannon that I also reviewed on youtube. It’s so much fun to send notes with the claw and drop them around the house or simply shoot your cat with the included gun (that’s in fact harmless).
And even more, it comes with bottom-facing sensors that allow it to hover steady and maintain its altitude quite well. Oh and there’s also a camera accessory you can get for it to fly in FPV.
A D V A N T A G E S
D I S A D V A N T A G E S
FPV
6 min
100m
with goggles
If you want to get started into FPV flying and want a good brushless FPV indoor flyer like a tiny whoop, the Tinyhawk 2 is as good as it gets. It’s also powerful enough for flying outside and comes with Acro mode which makes it great for the entire journey as an FPV pilot, even as you get more experienced.
It has 3 flight modes and the beginner ones are perfect to learn FPV on. It comes with Included goggles in the package and also a pretty solid controller. The goggles can be used with any 5.8ghz FPV drone in the future. The FPV quad supports 1s and 2s batteries and also works with advanced software like Betalfight if you want to set it up yourself.
A D V A N T A G E S
D I S A D V A N T A G E S
In this section we're taking a look at some specific questions that people ask me, which might also be useful to you.
What can go wrong if I try to fly a big drone inside?
Flying a big drone indoors can result in the propellers hitting objects or walls and the drone crashing or hitting someone. It is preferred to have a large area of flight indoors relative to the drone size to allow for more movement in any direction.
Why Fly a Drone Indoors?
You can fly a drone indoors for a lot of reasons. A few of them being the fact that it’s easier to learn how to fly on a small drone in the comfort of your home. The weather and especially cold can make it harder to fly outside and therefore indoors flight becomes a more comfortable alternative. Wind is a big factor when flying a smaller drone, and if you’re a beginner, you certainly want a smaller quad.
Is it legal to fly a drone indoors?
It is indeed legal to fly a drone indoors, but make sure it’s safe and small enough not to hurt anyone as that might get you into legal problems by itself.
Can you fly a drone indoors?
Yes, you can fly a drone indoors as long as it is the right size and preferably has some stabilization feature that keeps it from flying into the walls. Having prop guards is also a must have for indoors flight.
Are there indoor drones for adults?
As a beginner, every drone is for adults too, as it can help you understand the basics of flight. There are more serious indoor drones for adults interested in FPV or with more capable cameras like the DJI MIni 2.
Do indoor drones have “follow me” function?
No, indoor drones don’t have the follow me function as it would be too dangerous to follow a person in such a confined space. Also, as most follow me drones work with GPS, it won’t be able to follow you since indoors there’s barely any GPS signal.
Whatever drone you choose from this list as your first indoor quadcopter make sure to read the instructions properly and learn how to fly. Also make sure you don’t spend too much money if what you’re looking for is just learning, as crashing it is inevitable. I suggest you look into my best beginner drones article before you decide.
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