The Best Drones Under $100
The Tello has a basic camera and is far and away the easiest drone to fly in the sub-$100 category. If the idea of racing drones at top speeds appeals to you, the Hubsan X4 H107C is an inexpensive way to get started. If you want to practice agility flying in the house, the Eachine E010 is fast and fun to fly but small enough it won’t break things. Fast and easy to set up, GreEco’s Pop Up Goals are what we always reach for when we want to create a drone obstacle course.
Not everyone wants or needs to spend hundreds of dollars on a drone. Some inexpensive drones are a rewarding gateway to aerial photography, and others are speed demons made to hone your adrenaline-fueled racing skills. After spending 60 hours researching and flying 21 drones under $100, we found that the DJI Tello is the best, most well-rounded drone for the majority of beginners, whether it's to try taking aerial snapshots, zip around an obstacle course, or practice before piloting a more expensive drone.
Our pick
DJI Tello
The best cheap drone for beginners
The DJI Tello makes it easy for beginners to start flying but also has enough extra features to make it satisfying for pilots with more experience. In addition to its ability to reliably hold position and its 13-minute battery life, the Tello can autonomously take photos and 720p videos of you from the air. Those features are normally reserved for more-expensive photography drones, making the Tello a fun pick for budding aerial photographers. Plus, the batteries and build quality of the Tello are beyond anything else available for the price. Because its top speed is slower than that of some competitors, the Tello isn’t the best choice if you’re primarily interested in race and agility piloting.
Also great
Hubsan X4 H107C
The best cheap racing drone
If you like the idea of whizzing around obstacles at high speeds while testing your reaction time as a pilot, the Hubsan X4 H107C is our favorite cheap racing drone. It’s among the fastest drones we tested while still being easy to handle (with some practice). It’s also simple to set up, small enough to keep in your back pocket, and cheap enough that you won’t feel bad crashing it over and over and over again. Unlike models from DJI and Snaptain, the low-resolution camera isn’t meant for photography, and the H107C doesn’t pack in extra autonomous features.
Also great
Eachine E010
An agile indoor drone
If you’re just looking for a toy drone that’s easy enough for kids to fly, you should consider something that can be flown indoors without the need to wait for clear days and calm winds. Flying indoors doesn’t have to involve smashed windows and strewn-about pillow feathers.
If your child is ready to handle a controller and start honing their piloting skills, the inexpensive Eachine E010 is the best choice. It’s so small and sturdy that it tends to bounce right off of walls and the floor, so you can keep flying instead of resetting after a crash. The E010 is tiny and comes with a bit of a learning curve, but it lets you practice quick piloting maneuvers indoors with less severe consequences than flying a larger drone through the kitchen.
Also great
GreEco Set of 2 Pop Up Goals
The best gate for racing
If you want to practice your piloting or race drones against friends, we think the GreEco Set of 2 Pop Up Goals is the best option for racing gates. The two half-circle gates spring open in seconds and stand up on their own whether you’re flying indoors or outdoors. We always reach for these instead of professional-style gates and flags that cost several times more because the GreEco setup is so much faster.
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