The Best Drones for 2025

Sat, July 5, 2025 at 12:00 PM UTC

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Whether you want to make your vlogs, home movies, or real estate content stand out, PCMag is here to help you suss out the top drone options for photography and video. I'm an FAA-certified Part 107 remote pilot and have reviewed 67 drones (and counting!) over the last decade with an eye toward camera quality, flight performance, and safety. My top recommendation for most people is the DJI Mini 4 Pro, which is compact and provides excellent image quality. However, all the models here are worth a look, so click through to the reviews of each for the full details. Make sure to also read past the list to learn everything you need to know before you start flying.

Will DJI Drones Be Banned?

It's easy to see which brand of drones we recommend most strongly. Time and time again, DJI's flying cameras have outclassed competitors in video quality, reliability, and safety. But at present, they are under intense scrutiny from the US government. The US Treasury has placed DJI on its Entity List for its alleged role in the Chinese government's suppression of the country's Uyghur ethnic minority. US customs temporarily blocked imports of the DJI Air 3S drone around similar concerns, though it is now available to buy stateside.

Recent legislation further threatens DJI's position in the US market. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2025 was signed into law without the proposed DJI ban included. However, the legislation requires the government to form a committee to disassemble and analyze DJI drones to determine if they pose a threat to national security within this calendar year, or else the brand will face a sales ban. President Trump signed an executive order in early June that set a 30-day deadline for the Federal Acquisition Security Council to perform the required audit. We may very well know the future of DJI drones in the US soon.

As it stands, DJI drones are still available in the US, though it looks like we may not be getting the newest releases. In May, DJI announced the Mavic 4 Pro, which is available in most regions but not in the US at this time. Reports indicate that a few US retailers got a handful for sale , but they've all sold out.

We'll continue to monitor the situation as it develops.

What Are the Rules for Owning a Drone?

With many tech products, you can just open the box and start using it. But that's not the case with drones. You need to learn the rules about flying, take an online test, and (depending on how much your drone weighs) register it with the FAA prior to your first flight. That may seem daunting to pilots just starting, but we walk you through the basics here. (For more details, read our complete guide to US drone regulations .)

First, if you're flying your drone for fun, you can operate under recreational rules. There are nuances to where and when you can fly your drone, so you should always use one of the FAA's B4UFLY apps or SkyVector's live temporary flight restriction (TFR) map to check if flights are legal. This is especially important now that DJI no longer enforces a geofence in restricted airspace.

Generally, you are OK if you:

Fly at or below 400 feet
Keep your drone within sight
Don't fly in restricted airspace
Don't fly near other aircraft, especially near airports
Don't fly over groups of people
Don't fly over stadiums or sporting events
Don't fly near emergency response efforts such as fires
Don't fly under the influence or within 8 hours of consuming alcohol

Pay extra attention to the warning about flying around wildfires. DJI made headlines in a very bad way during the recent LA wildfires when a private operator illegally flew a Mini 3 drone in an area that was under a TFR. The drone collided with the wing of a specialized firefighting plane, taking it out of commission at a critical time. Don't be like that idiot .

All pilots must take a free online knowledge test, called the Trust test , before their first flight. If you buy a lightweight (249g) drone, you can skip registration and get flying once you've passed the test. However, if your drone weighs 250g or more, you must go to the FAADroneZone website to register it; for recreational pilots, the cost is $5 per operator. Once you get your registration number here, you must label your drone with it (use a Sharpie or a printed label).

The rules and regulations are stricter if you plan on flying for money. If you have a monetized YouTube channel, take photos of properties for real estate listings, or offer drone snaps as part of your wedding package, you need to obtain a remote pilot certificate from the FAA. You need to pass a paid ($175) exam at a testing site and go through a background check to obtain this type of license. Commercial pilots have to follow the same basic rules as recreational flyers and must register each drone they own at a cost of $5 per aircraft. Additionally, all drones flown under commercial rules must support Remote ID broadcast for operation, so pro pilots will need to take extra care when choosing an aircraft.

Are Drones Safe to Fly?

The drones we recommend are both safe and easy to fly. All of our suggestions include four-rotor designs with GPS-assisted stabilization that let them hover perfectly in place. The GPS feature also supports automatic return to home and landing, making you less likely to lose your drone if communication between the aircraft and remote control is disrupted.

Obstacle detection isn't included on every drone, but it's becoming increasingly common. The mid-entry DJI Flip includes forward obstacle sensors, for instance, though the company reserves 360-degree detection and automated avoidance for upmarket entries like the Mini 4 Pro, which can autonomously alter course to avoid trees, fences, and other obstructions. It's an important feature to have if you're flying below the treetops, especially for beginners, and can help to avoid an accident.

Flyaways still happen, however—there are horror stories on various web forums—and there's always a chance you'll have to come in for an emergency landing and try and find your drone amongst the brush or unfamiliar territory. Recent DJI models have a Find My Drone feature that shows where your drone is on a map (and makes it beep loudly if it still has battery life). An extended warranty program (DJI Care Refresh) is available for pilots who are worried about damaging their drones.

What Are the Types of Drones?

Several products on the market sell as drones but don't quite fit that description. Remote-controlled aircraft have been around for ages, for instance. With the recent surge in popularity, companies are now tagging those products as drones. These don't include GPS stabilization, return-to-home functionality, and other automated flight modes that make a drone a drone.

Racing drones fall under this umbrella. Enthusiasts often build their own racing copters from kits or parts. Doing so requires some skill with a soldering iron and screwdriver, but it has become an aspect of the hobby itself. Those of us who aren't good at building rigs can look instead to a ready-to-fly racer. DJI has a couple in its catalog; its FPV Combo can move at a brisk 87mph, while the small Avata 2 goes as fast as 60mph. Both ship with a motion controller and a set of FPV goggles for flight control, a notable difference compared with most drones that rely on handheld remotes with touch screens.

Small drones aren't only for racing, either. Some people use tiny, homemade Cinewhoop drones for long, one-take video tours . DJI sells the O4 Air Unit Pro camera module for DIY drone builders who want the best video quality for these shots. Again, for pilots who don't want to build a Cinewhoop drone, the DJI Avata 2 and Neo support slower speeds and are small enough to work their way through tight spaces for one-shot videos.

Which Brand of Drones Is Best?

DJI models currently dominate our top picks, and there's a good reason. The company is simply a few steps ahead of the competition and offers products at various price levels. Its camera quality is unbeatable, with even basic models supporting 10-bit color sampling, 4K resolution, and Raw photography. It also wins out in aircraft design since its drones use higher-grade plastics than others we've tested, are perfectly stable in flight, and provide excellent battery life. Add a slick app interface that lets you use your phone or tablet to control the drone and its camera, and you've got a winning formula. As detailed earlier, there are some real concerns about DJI's future in the US, but for now, DJI is the standard we measure others against.

We've viewed Autel Robotics as DJI's major competitor in the past, but its recent focus is more on industrial and agriculture drones. Its most recent consumer models, the Nano+ and Lite+ from 2022, have faced stock issues in recent months, and no new models are on the horizon. Potensic is gaining traction as a quality alternative; its original Atom drone was well received, and I was impressed enough by the Atom 2 to award it a 4-star rating and include it among our recommended models. Autel and Potensic use lighter grade plastics than DJI, but have good cameras and perform reliably in testing.

Other companies that previously made consumer drones are now out of the game. Parrot, Skydio , and Yuneec now make only unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for use in agriculture, enterprise, and industry. GoPro and Sony tried their hands at drones with the Karma and Airpeak S1, respectively, but have both exited the space entirely. The Karma is long gone, and Airpeak sales ended in March 2025.

The Best Small Drones

Most consumer drones are small enough to carry in a backpack or camera sling. Folding airframe designs are the standard, even among drones that are heavy enough to require registration. So when someone is looking for a small drone, they are generally seeking out a light 249g flyer. These drones don't require registration in the US and are less regulated abroad as well.

The DJI Mini 4 Pro is the best 249g drone we've tested; it has a dual-aspect video camera and all-around obstacle sensors. The Flip is nearly as good for less money. Oddly enough, the Flip omits the vertical camera flip feature from the Mini 3 and the Mini 4 Pro, but it's the most affordable DJI drone you can get that has both prop guards and forward obstacle detection.

If you're on a stricter budget, the DJI Neo and the Mini 4K are good picks for recreational pilots. The Neo is tiny and launches from your hand. It is best used for quick selfie videos and includes a half dozen automated flight paths. The Mini 4K is better for manual control and pilots who want to snap pictures in addition to video. The Flip, the Neo, and the Mini 4K don't include Remote ID, so licensed pilots should avoid them.

The Best Drones for Professionals

DJI's Inspire 3 is its big, quad-rotor model for cinema production. The drone features a full-frame, 8K camera that can take DJI or Sony lenses and supports CinemaDNG and ProRes Raw recording. Its bottom-mounted camera and retractable landing gear are also advantages because they enable more complex camera and aircraft movements compared with drones that have nose-mounted cameras.

If you want a smaller drone with high-end video specs, think about a version of the Mavic 3, which starts at $1,279 for the Classic edition or $2,199 for the Pro. All versions of the Mavic 3 support 5.1K50 recording with a Four Thirds format camera in 10-bit HEVC. On the high end, the Mavic 3 Pro Cine ($4,799) sports a triple camera stack and adds support for ProRes 422 HQ with a 1TB SSD for onboard storage. The Pro Cine is a worthwhile splurge for serious cinematographers—the upgraded video toolkit and included Pro RC remote justify the cost.

DJI offers Matrice drones for industry and enterprise, and Agras drones for agriculture. As mentioned earlier, Sony's Airpeak S1 can carry big cameras but is smaller than the Inspire series, so it's just as good for location work. The Airpeak works with Sony mirrorless cameras . If you want one, you should get it now; Sony has ended S1 sales in March 2025, but it can still be found in stock .

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