Drones have become a part of our daily life. They are almost used in every genre of work, whether it’s for videography, photography, or playing. Buying a drone in the past few months was not as affordable and easy as it is now, as now the market is flooded with different drones at a cheap price. However, having so many choices makes it confusing to buy a good drone at a feasible rate. In this guide, we reviewed top rated drones under $200.
Drones at low prices do have some disadvantages, as they are not as advanced as the high-end drones you can get at a much higher rate. However, the drones on the list mentioned below are easy to fly and a great option for polishing your piloting skills.
In this article, we will discuss some top-rated drones under $200, which we think are the best in the market these days with some satisfying features.
SYMA X8G
Syma X8G is a drone that can be an amazing choice for beginners as it is easy to fly and it belongs to our list of top rated drones under $200. It can capture videos and pictures at an acceptable quality. Moreover, the drone has a weight of 3.4 pounds and is considered a light weighted drone, which makes it a travel-friendly drone.
SPECIFICATION
- Weight: 3.4 pounds
- Battery Life: 7minutes
- Camera: 5 MP HD camera
- Range: 100m
- Gimbal: No
- 6-Axis Gyro
FEATURES
The drone has an HD camera of 5 megapixels, which can take some appreciable shots as well as can record HD videos at 1080p and 720p. An external Go Pro camera can also work with it, so if you are a beginner then this camera quality will work great and will help you in polishing your skills. It has a range of 100m.
Syma X8G has a headless mode that enables you to fly the drone in the position of the transmitter’s face, no matter where the nose of the drone is facing. Furthermore, the transmitter also has a button that allows the drone to make a 360-degree flip in the air, which is a really fun thing to do and see.
The drone can have a stable flight in moderate wind, moreover, it has four LED lights that help in flying the drone at night without getting lost. Syma X8G is an impressive drone with some great features at a reasonable price and is easy to fly.
PERFORMANCE
The drone has a battery life of 7 minutes, which is a little disappointing as you can get more flight time in other drones at the same price. Charging the battery takes around 70 minutes and uses a USB cable for the purpose. Syma X8G package includes a battery, 8 propellers, 4 propeller protections, an SD card, a USB, a transmitter, an HD camera, 4 landing gears, and one USB card reader along with the drone itself.
FORCE1 UDI U818A HD+
Force1 UDI U818A HD+ is a lightweight drone having a weight of 2.4 pounds. The drone has a compact design that is easy to fly and has a very durable body that can survive several impacts as it has a very thin plastic body.
SPECIFICATION
- Weight: 2.4 pounds
- Battery Life: 9 minutes
- Camera: 720p camera
- Range: 100m
- Gimbal: No
- 6-Axis Gyro
FEATURES
UDI U818A HD+ has LED lights attached to it: blues at the front and reds at the backside of the drone. Additionally, the drone comes with several modes that make piloting the drone even easier. The features include headless mode, one-touch return, and 3D flip mode.
With the 3D flip button, the drone does a 360-degree flip, whereas the headless mode allows you to fly the drone in the direction of the face of the controller. The drone also has two flight-speed modes, low and high, which help to control the speed of the drone. This is an amazing drone, especially for kids and even for adults.
PERFORMANCE
UDI U818A HD+ has a range of 100m and a flight time of approximately 9 minutes. The battery takes about 2 hours to get charged completely using a USB cable. It has a built-in 720p camera of good quality, although it weighs around 0.2 Oz. It is a small camera so you can’t expect a lot from it. Still the pictures and video quality is satisfactory, especially in bright light you will get full HD pictures and videos of a good quality.
All the pictures and videos recorded by the camera are saved directly on the SD card. A 4GB SD card comes with the drone along with an extra set of propellers, a power bank, 2 batteries, a USB charger, and the controller. It takes a very safe flight and can stand abuse. Moreover, it is easy and fun to fly with a durable body and some good features.
HOLYSTONE F181C RC
Holystone F181c has a weight of 0.8 pounds and is preferable for beginners or intermediates. The drone is easy to fly and has some amazing features which can help you learn more about piloting the drone.
SPECIFICATION
- Weight: 0.8 pounds
- Battery Life: 10 minutes
- Camera: 720P HD camera
- Range: 50-100m
- Gimbal: No
- 360-degree 4 ways flip
FEATURES
The reason behind trusting Holy Stone F181C RC as one of the top rated drones under $200 is its amazing features. The features of this drone include headless mode, altitude hold mode, 4 ways flip, and one key return mode.
Altitude mode allows the drone to hover in the air so that, you can focus on taking the pictures and videos without worrying about controlling it. Furthermore, the one key return permits the drone to come back to the launching position, which is an ideal feature for beginners, especially as it will prevent them from losing the drone.
Everyone loves watching drone stunts as they are fun to do and watch. The 4 ways flip features enable the drone to make a 360-degree flip in any direction you want, which if you ask me is an impressive feature. Some LED lights come attached to the drone, which makes it easy to fly especially at night. The motor and the camera mount of the drone are detachable. Therefore, replacing and upgrading them is really easy for this drone.
PERFORMANCE
The drone has a sturdy body that can withstand several crashes and impacts. The propeller protection protects the propellers which makes them even more long-lasting. It has a range of around 50-100m and a 720p camera which can take fine quality pictures and videos, especially in a good light.
The battery life of this drone is somewhat 10 minutes, although the battery takes around 2 hours to get completely charged by utilizing a USB charging cable. Some stuff comes along with the drone, including the charging cable, the transmitter, 2 USB chargers, 2 batteries, 4 propeller protections, an additional set of propellers, and 2 landing slides.
Even in wind power of around 10 miles per hour, the drone can have a stable flight due to its strong motors. The drone is overall an ideal choice for beginners as well as others. It is easy to fly with some amazing features, which make it even more fun and interesting to pilot.
POTENSIC D80
Potensic D80 has a solid body, a decent design, a weight of 3 pounds, as well as can withstand several impacts. It uses brushless motors, which make it quiet and fast compared to other drones as it can reach a speed of up to 25mph.
SPECIFICATION
- Weight: 3 pounds
- Battery Life: 16 minutes
- Camera: 1080p camera
- Gimbal: No
- FPV Range: 300m
- Built-in GPS
FEATURES
D80 has a built-in 1080p camera. Moreover, the drone has a built-in GPS and an FPV feature, which allows you to see the live videos of the drone on your smartphone screen. The range for FPV is around 300m, which is impressive. The drone comes with some amazing features which make flying the drone easy like headless mode, follow me mode, one-touch landing/takeoff/return, point of interest, and route planning.
Headless mode allows you to move the drone in the direction of the nose of the transmitter. Whereas the one-touch landing, takeoff, and return features allow you to control the drone with only one touch. It is a very useful feature, especially for beginners who have no idea how to land a drone. In the point of interest feature, the drone focuses on the chosen subject and takes its pictures and videos.
Furthermore, the route planning feature allows you to pre-plan a route for your drone and then enables the drone to fly according to it. Hence, you will not have to worry about controlling the drone all the way, as well as you can take your desired pictures and videos effortlessly during the flight.
PERFORMANCE
The battery life of the drone is somewhere around 16 minutes, which is better than most drones at this price point. Charging the battery completely takes approximately 5 hours, although the battery is removable therefore, you can always keep an extra battery with you to increase the flight time. It has LED lights at the bottom, which makes piloting the drone easy at night.
The drone comes back to its launching position when the battery is about to die, which again is a top-notch feature for beginners. You can’t lose your drone due to the built-in GPS. This drone has some amazing features due to which it became a candidate for our top rated drones under $200 list.
Potensic D80 is a fast drone and is easy to pilot even for beginners. So if you are looking for a drone that can give you a great flying experience then Potensic D80 is a fine option to look at.
ALTAIR 818 HORNET
ALTAIR 818 Hornet is a medium-size drone made up of plastic having a weight of 2.9 pounds, which needs to be arranged together after taking it out of the box.
SPECIFICATION
- Weight: 2.9 pounds
- Battery Life: 15 minutes
- Camera: 720p 2MP camera
- Gimbal: No
- Range: 60m
- FPV supported
FEATURES
818 Hornet is FPV supported so you can watch the live video streaming on your smartphone screen or with FPV goggles. The drone has a range of 60m, moreover, it comes with three-speed modes including some other fantastic features.
The features include altitude hold mode, one-touch landing/take-off, headless mode, and emergency landing mode. The altitude mode allows the drone to hover in the air so you can focus on capturing the view without worrying about flying the drone.
Whereas emergency landing enables the drone to land with a beeping sound and blinking LED lights to avoid crashing in case the battery runs low. This is a great feature for beginners who panics by seeing that battery is about to die, this mode prevents any damage and lands the drone safely.
PERFORMANCE
It has LED lights attached at the bottom which make it easy to fly in the nighttime. Moreover, the included feature makes it even easier to fly. The drone has a 2megapixel 720p camera with a 120-degree wide-angle lens. The wide-angle lens allows you to capture great pictures and videos from the drone.
The drone has four circular propeller guards that give it a safe flight, which is a plus point for beginners. It has a battery life of 15 minutes, although it comes with an extra battery so the total battery time becomes 30 minutes, more or less.
This is a great drone that is aimed at beginners. It is really easy and safe to fly with the help of some simple yet fun modes. It is affordable, with some good features due to which it is present in the list of top rated drones under $200.