If you’re in the market for a drone, it makes sense that you’d look at DJI: in our experience, DJI makes the best drones you can buy at the best prices. Better yet, we’ve found something in its line-up for every kind of buyer, from first-time flyers to experienced pilots. Here’s the cool bit: we’ve flown pretty much every DJI drone, to help you decide which ones should be on your radar.
It’s not easy to pick the best DJI drone for everyone, because each model suits a different type of user. That said, if we had to choose a single DJI drone to recommend, it would be the DJI Mini 4 Pro. When we flew it in testing, we were impressed by the quality and stability of its footage. We also found that automated modes, obstacle avoidance sensors and subject-tracking made it easy to fly solo.
Because of the variety in the DJI drone range, though, there might be a better option for you in our round-up – whether that’s a lightweight folding model or a flagship flyer for professionals. We’ve flown each for hours and hours, testing everything from flight controls to shooting modes. The idea is to pinpoint the benefits and drawbacks of each model, to give you a clearer picture of which DJI drone will best tick your boxes.
Top 3 picks
If you don’t have time to read our full list of the best DJI drones, you can read the round-up below for a shortcut to the top options for your needs and budget. If you find one that takes your fancy, use the links to jump to our full write-up.
The best sub-250g DJI drone
Packing the abilities of a bigger drone into usefully compact packaging, we think the DJI Mini 4 Pro is the best sub-250g DJI drone you can buy.
The best DJI drone for beginners
Small, lightweight and more affordable than the Mini 3 Pro, the Mini 3 is the best value drone for beginners, if you're happy without collision avoidance.
The best DJI drone for aerial photography
DJI’s flagship is the first consumer drone with three cameras; a main micro-four-thirds sensor with 24mm lens, together with 3x and 7x zoom options.
Best by use-case
The best DJI drone all-rounder
Hitting the sweet spot between affordability and performance, the Air 3 is a dual-camera drone with intuitive controls and a generous feature set.
The best DJI drone to learn pilot skills
Easy to fly straight out of the box, the Avata 2 offers unrivalled FPV immersion, thanks to long flight times, top image quality and improved goggles.
The best DJI drone for pros
A heavy but seriously pro drone, the Inspire 3 offers excellent image quality, smooth and precise flights, with the flexibility of interchangeable lenses.
The best for selfies
Similar to the HoverAir X1 selfie drone, the Neo goes one step further with multi-control options, including controller-less, DJI's Fly app, FPV and remote.
Tim is TechRadar’s Cameras Editor. With more than 15 years’ experience as a photographer and tech journalist, Tim has an extensive practical knowledge of photography equipment. He’s flown many of the best drones over the last few years, including most of DJI’s drone family. Tim notes, “DJI has established a firm reputation as the leading drone manufacturer. At all levels of its line-up, DJI drones are known for their class-leading image stabilization and reliable, accessible controls. DJI drones are competitively priced, plus with such short lifecycles you can find value by looking at capable models from a few years ago.”
The best DJI drones 2024
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Below you'll find full write-ups for each of the best DJI drones in our list. We've tested each one extensively, so you can be sure that our recommendations can be trusted.
Best DJI drone overall
DJI Mini 4 Pro sample images
✅ You want DJI's best sub-250g drone: Excellent image quality and D-Log M color, obstacle avoidance, plus impressive flight features combine to great effect.
✅ You want consistent video quality: Video capture using D-Log M color profile makes matching your video output across drones much easier.
❌ You can live without obstacle avoidance: If you have no intention of flying in complex environments, you could opt for a cheaper alternative like in the Mini 3.
❌ You want the very best image quality: The Mavic 3 models boast a larger Four Thirds sensor Hasselblad camera with superior image quality.
The DJI Mini 4 Pro builds on the qualities of the Mini 3 Pro to become the new benchmark for what sub-250g drones can deliver. It isn't a radical upgrade: it looks remarkably similar, performs pretty much identically in flight, and even uses the same impressive 1/1.3-inch sensor. If you're already a Mini 3 Pro owner, the question is whether you should upgrade – a question we've tried to answer in our dedicated DJI Mini 4 Pro vs Mini 3 Pro article. The Mini 3 Pro remains a fantastic drone and many of the camera upgrades could realistically have been delivered as firmware updates.
For everyone else, the Mini 4 Pro is an excellent choice. Whether you’re a professional drone pilot using the Mini 4 Pro as a second drone who can benefit from the D-Log M video color consistency with your Mavic 3, or an enthusiast looking for something small and lightweight, the Mini 4 Pro is undoubtedly the best sub-250g drone available.
- Read our in-depth DJI Mini 4 Pro review
Best DJI drone for beginners
DJI Mini 3 sample images
✅ You’re a beginner drone photographer: The DJI Mini 3 is a great starting point if you’re new to drones, yet still delivers the same image quality as the Pro version.
✅ You’re on a budget: If you don’t have a huge amount to spend, the DJI Mini 3 is easily the best in its price bracket, offering a lot of value.
❌ Collision avoidance is needed: The Mini 3 doesn’t feature obstacle avoidance to keep you clear of trees, but the Mini 4 Pro does.
❌ You want to fly in strong wind: The Mini 3 can struggle and drift in strong winds whereas larger drones offer more stability.
If you don’t need the reassurance of collision avoidance, the Mini 3 is the best budget drone you can buy. Small, lightweight and more affordable than the Mini 3 Pro, it delivers identical image quality to its costlier sibling. Provided you’re confident to navigate in-flight obstacles without automated assistance, it’s a high-quality drone capable of capturing excellent JPEG and raw stills, as well as 4K video at up to 30fps. Helpfully, its 12MP sensor can also rotate to shoot in portrait.
A lack of Log profiles limits its appeal to professionals, while the absence of subject tracking marks another downgrade from the Pro version. That said, the Mini 3 still features Quickshots, which allow beginners to capture cinematic footage using automated flight paths. We found it an easy drone to pilot with the optional controller, with downward vision sensors and GPS to help with hovering. Stepping up to the Mavic 3 Classic would yield better image quality and increased stability in windy conditions, but with decent real-world flight times of 25 minutes, the Mini 3 ticks all the key boxes for budget buyers.
- Read our in-depth DJI Mini 3 review
Best DJI drone for aerial photography
DJI Mavic 3 Pro sample images
✅ You need telephoto zoom: Twin telephoto lenses give the Mavic 3 Pro excellent versatility, with 166mm and 70mm cameras.
✅ You like to fly safe: The Mavic 3 Pro offers a suite of safety features, including collision avoidance and advance return to home.
❌ You’re a complete novice: The Mavic 3 Pro is easy to fly, but the Mini 3 offers a lot for beginners at a lower price and weight.
❌ You’re on a tight budget: As one of the most expensive consumer drones on the market, the Mavic 3 Pro is a premium option.
DJI’s new flagship is the first consumer drone with three cameras. This is two more than most pilots need. But if you’re an aerial photographer or videographer in search of the most versatile drone on the market, the results of our testing suggest the Mavic 3 Pro is the premium pick for you.
In our review, we found the image quality of the main 24mm Four Thirds camera – the same one used by the Mavic 3 Classic – the best. It’s also the winner in terms of adjustable aperture, formats and frame rates. That said, both telephoto cameras produce excellent images, and the option to zoom in 3x and 7x is fantastically useful in a range of scenarios.
Despite being a pro drone, we found the Mavic 3 Pro incredibly easy to fly, aided by excellent safety features that make it accessible to all users. However, its pro-tier video modes, as well as its price tag, make it overkill for beginners. Its weight also puts it into the restrictive C2 European drone category. But if you want a top-spec drone that’s more portable and less expensive than the Inspire 3, the Mavic 3 Pro offers it all – plus two telephotos.
- Read our in-depth DJI Mavic 3 Pro review
Best DJI drone for all rounders
DJI Air 3 sample images
✅ You want a zoom lens: The Air 3 has two lenses, including a 3x telephoto that lets you get close to the action from a safe working distance.
✅ You fly in blustery conditions: In our tests, the Air 3 proved to have better wind resistance than the Mini 3 Pro, coping well with breezy situations.
❌ You want a starter drone: The DJI Air 3 is fine for beginners to fly, but novices might find the smaller and lighter Mini 3 more manageable.
❌ You want variable apertures: Both of the Air 3’s lenses have fixed apertures, which are particularly restrictive if you use ND filters.
With dual cameras and improved wind resistance, the DJI Air 3 represents a significant upgrade over the already capable Air 2S from 2021. A 720g take-off weight puts the Air 3 in Europe’s C1 category, meaning it’s subject to more restrictions than the sub-250g drones in this list. But you also get a lot of benefits for the extra baggage, including a generous 46-minute flight time.
In testing, we found image quality class-leading, as we’ve come to expect from DJI. Fixed apertures aren’t helpful for users of ND filters, but we found that the 3x zoom lens allows you to work at a safe and legal distance from subjects, a particularly useful feature if you’re recording wildlife. Because the DJI Air 3 is a big drone, many novices will find the Mini 3 more manageable. That said, we think beginners will have no issue piloting the Air 3, thanks to its easy interface and useful safety features. As a middle ground between the more affordable Mini 3 Pro and the highly capable Mavic 3 Pro, it makes a lot of sense.
- Read our in-depth DJI Air 3 review
