Mini drones are the perfect choice for beginners in the drone game. In the past couple of years, they’ve evolved to the point where there are so many features to choose from that it can be easy to get overwhelmed and end up making the wrong choice. To make the process of selecting the perfect mini drone for yourself easier, we’ve compiled a helpful guide containing the most important things you should look for when making your purchase. Learn how to find a great mini drone in 2022 below:

Some mini drones come with powerful cameras attached to them. These can capture high-resolution pictures and are even capable of recording HD videos, which makes them ideal for aerial or covert photography due to their size.

Since mini drones are great for those who are new to flying drones, they can make great gifts for children and those who want to gradually learn to fly larger drones.

Mini drones are great for surveillance. Their small blades make little noise and their unassuming size makes them largely undetectable and inconspicuous.

Mini drones can serve the security sector pretty well. Ones with cameras can be used for aerial surveillance over high-security areas and provide important evidence and information to armed forces and law enforcement officers.

If you’re interested in buying a mini drone for photography, then you’re definitely going to want one with a built-in camera. The camera should come with a three-axis gimbal motion stabilizer and 4K resolution if you want crisp, clear pictures and videos.

This will determine how far and high you can fly your mini drone. The most basic mini drones have a range of anywhere between 100 and 130 feet, while premium ones may offer a range of up to a couple of miles. You should pick your mini drone based on how you’re going to be using it. If you’re buying a mini drone for a child, a shorter control range is ideal to ensure that they don’t lose it by flying it out of range.

An internal gyroscope is essential for stabilization, especially if you’re using your mini drone for photography.

Most mini drones will have a battery life of 8 to 10 minutes, while more premium models can offer up to 30 minutes. When flying a rechargeable mini drone, keep some extra batteries and the USB cable with you to boost the flying time.

Mini drones usually aren’t strong enough to withstand the wind because of their size and lightweight design. If you’re going to be using the drone outdoors, make sure that it’s a brushless motor drone.

Mini drones are prone to crashes, whether that’s due to amateur handling, strong gusts of wind, or crashing into other flying objects. All of these are reasons why mini drones should come with propeller guards to keep them safe and help them last as long as possible.

If you’re just starting out flying mini drones, you should go for a cheaper model that’s easier to operate and won’t hurt your wallet too much if you damage it. You can invest in more advanced models once you’ve gained some experience flying mini drones.

The whole point of mini drones is that they’re compact and portable, so size and weight are essential factors that you should check before buying one. Go for a mini drone that’s small, lightweight, and easy to carry around in your backpack.

Additional accessories like carrying cases, extra propellers, propeller guards, additional batteries, and more are factors you should consider when shopping around. Even though they won’t really affect the performance of your drone, they can make the flying experience more enjoyable and better overall.

Additional features like auto-hover and one-touch flight, however, will elevate flying performance, especially if you’re going to be using your mini drone for specific purposes.

This small, compact, and futuristic-looking quadcopter mini drone from DEERC is super lightweight, weighing around 0.55 pounds. This means that it doesn’t need to be registered with the FAA, and each of its motor arms is foldable, making it easy to store this mini drone inside your backpack or even your pocket.

This mini drone comes with a 720p HD camera attached to the front to provide the user with a clear aerial view, but this camera isn’t remote-powered, so you’ll have to adjust it manually. The batteries are situated in the back of the drone and provide approximately 20 minutes of flight time, and smart features like voice control and waypoint destinations can make it more fun to fly. Thanks to its compact, user-friendly design, this mini drone is our top pick.

The Potensic A20 Mini Drone is easy to set up and use and can be a ton of fun to play with, especially for younger kids. It comes with a remote that has simple controls, making it great for beginners with little to no prior experience flying mini drones.

This mini drone’s battery is located inside a plastic casing that‘s safe to touch, and all you need to do to charge it is place the battery in a USB charger and plug it into an electric socket for around half an hour. Even the propellers of this mini drone are guarded, not only to protect the drone itself from external damage, but also to protect anyone within its flying range from accidents or injuries.

This sophisticated-looking DoDoeleph Mini Drone is great for indoor as well as outdoor use. It can fit perfectly in the palm of your hand, is super lightweight, and can perform various cool tricks. The built-in battery of this mini drone offers a flight time of approximately five minutes before it needs to be charged via USB cable for around 50-60 minutes.

This mini drone comes with propeller protectors to keep the blades safe in case of crashes and also to protect users and anyone else within flying range. Another safety feature is its LED light, which makes it easier to fly this mini drone around in the dark, and it also contains a six-axis gyro for smooth flying and wind-resistant control for outside use. This mini drone also features altitude hold and headless mode, both of which can be controlled by a transmitter from a range of up to 66 feet.

The Holy Stone HS210 Mini Drone offers a smooth and relatively simple flying experience, making it a great pick for kids. This nano-quadcopter is a kind of mini drone that’s ideal for indoor usage, and it comes with some interesting features like altitude hold and headless mode.

This mini drone is pretty lightweight and features propellers with guards to protect the toy as well as the user from accidents. Its 3D flips feature lets users perform various tricks with it, which can make flying this mini drone extra fun for younger children, and it also has three different speed modes that users can choose from, a simple Start/Stop button, and a low-battery alarm. This mini drone comes with three batteries, each of which lasts up to seven minutes and must be charged for around 40-60 minutes.

This compact, 250g DJI Mini Drone boasts a maximum speed of around 29 mph and a 30-minute battery life, making it a great choice for beginners and hobbyists alike. While it may not have any built-in obstacle avoidance sensors, this mini drone does have a pair of vision positioning sensors that allow it to hover in place and safely be flown indoors.

This mini drone features a camera with a 24mm lens that can capture photos and videos up to 1080p and 30fps. It utilizes a three-axis gimbal to stabilize and reduce distortion while snapping flicks, and there’s an SD card slot included to store all your captures. This mini drone even lets you stream live video footage from the device onto your smartphone, which can make flying it even more of a breathtaking experience.

Ideally, children under the age of 14 should not be handling mini drones. If you want a drone for younger children, a nano or hand-controlled drone should be preferred over a mini one.

Yes! You should, however, check the mini drone’s size as well as the size of the indoor space you want to fly it in before going ahead and taking flight.

Yes. Unless your mini drone weighs less than 0.55 pounds, you’re going to have to follow the FAA’s laws for drone flight (in the US) and register your drone before you can fly it outside.