Top Best 7 Drones Under $500 in December 2021

This was a replacement for one that I bought my husband last Christmas & the dog attacked/bent. My kids & him love it…. Easy for them to use & i LOVE that it came w extra parts plus THREE batteries!! That alone made it worth 5 stars! Its more expensive than the other (this one was $40 vs $20 for the others) but so far its been well worth it. It supposedly has a year warranty too so that only added to its appeal! Cant wait to take it out w the kids & him! :)

Very small but easy and fun to fly. We bought it for my 7 YO birthday. He has had a true blast flying it. Downside is the 7 minute batter. It is nice that there are three offered. Difficulty is replacing the battery. It’s difficult for small kids to replace.

Very affordable price. If you’ve ever wanted to try but was doubting because you can crash expensive thing. That’s definitely your choice ! 3 batteries included

Well worth the price, I got hours of enjoyment out of all the cool features!

My son is 5 and got his for Christmas. He loves it! Very easy to fly and it is really fast.

Really cool and easy to use my kids love it and like have 3 bateries.

Smart and easy to play! Good choice for kids gift.

Fun and easy to use. I bought this as a birthday gift for my boyfriend and he hasn't been able to put it down. It does take some finessing at first, but once you get the hang of it then it's all good. I do recommend looking up your local area's drone laws/rules just to make sure you fly in approved areas. Definitely lots of fun.

Love this thing. Price is pretty good, connecting my phone and using the controller was simple. Very easy to control, I never had a drone before so for first time user it was great. Highly recommended

My 11 y.o son loves to fly it. Easy to control.Great option for parents who want their kids spend more time outside

Its a fun and easy to use drone! You should know that, at this price point, this isn't a drone for professional photography. However, it is a fun and easy to use device that takes some good photo/video.

I bought this for my husband for his birthday and he absolutely loved it! Easy enough that our daughter can play with ut too!

Great drone! My 13 year old loves it -- it's affordable but has features that you'll find on much more expensive drones. Altitude holding feature to maintain steady hover makes it really easy to fly -- my 10 year old can manage with no problem. Fun for the family.

Get drone as a beginner, it flies well, has a good battery life and affordable. There really isn't any cons i. Could think of

No this drone doesn't compete with $600+ price drones on the market but it does hold its own for the price point. Good for learning on as others have said. Will sway when there's strong wind so you need to be mindful of conditions. You won't cry though if you get this stuck in a tree and can't get it down before a torrential downpour.

This drone is perfect if you are learning to use a drone. I love it

Great little drone for the price. It takes excellent quality pictures. The video is great too, but a little shaky because it has no gimbles. It bounces up and down a lot as you move forward. Set up is a little complicated, having to be calibrated before each use, but calibration becomes pretty routine after a few times. The reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is that the battery takes a long time to charge, and I cannot find a spare battery to purchase anywhere. I have searched the internet and have not found a compatible battery. Overall I am happy with my purchase.

I have had a Snaptain drone for a while and it has been a blast to use. Easy to get up and running and is simple to use. Ivwould recomend their drones for users of all skill levels.

I bought this drone to learn how to fly them, and it wasnt really too easy. If you are really good at flying drones than maybe it will be easy to control but it just feels like a cheap drone.

I purchased it a few months ago, this is my first drone and I've felt very comfortable using it since day one, it has very good wind ressistance and the fact that the remote does not require batteries is a plus.

We are newbies with this kind a stuff but I can say this one is easy to use, the instructions are very clear, we love the camera, the quality of the camera is really good.

We had flown the drone in different weather conditions and even when it’s windy flies well.

In my opinion best drone in this price range and better than some higher priced drones. Awesome control and response. Great pics and video.

The customer service for Snaptain is first class. As a new pilot, I had self-inflicted issues and Snaptain came through for me despite not needing to. The drone is easy to fly and pretty reliable.

We try to fly it three or four times a week.

Best drone for entry level. Best photography I’ve seen out of a cheaper drone. Video quality isn’t bad either.

If possible please don’t buy the SE, there are a lot of issues with this and my drone crashed after 2 minutes. PLEASE BE CAREFUL.

INVEST IN SOMETHING BETTER

Takes great videos and pictures goes far and high. Dose great in the wind. It’s also easy to convince a freind to get one after first flight.

Compact, yet mostly complete.

This DJI Mini SE does everything you need in a drone and is so lightweight, it doesn't have to be registered with the FAA. Only drawback is no 4K video recording. But at this price, it's tough to complain.

This was the perfect gift for my grandson, the DJI Mini SE drone is well worth the value. Blew me away with the quality of the video and ease of use. Highly recommend this drone for anyone looking to get into the Hobbie. Bestbuy shipped it fast and before my grandson's birthday.

Highly recommend!Anyone wanting to get into this hobby will not be disappointed with this drone. Easy set up and controls. Got awesome shots at the beach.

The drone is really easy to use. It is well balanced compared to low budget drone that I recently bought. It has a good camera, long battery, and is very stable.

After 3 MINI 2 SE, this is a dream to fly. Very stable in winds, responds well to controller and takes good video. Would buy again. Audio is only thing missing...

I actually gave this to my partner for Christmas, he said he likes it The only thing that he said was there was no instructions or remote and it was all through an app. Other than that he was pleased, and he's never flown one ever and it was easy for him

I’ve had several small drones and quadcopters all under$100 and they all were underwhelming. This Tello is the bomb! The program that operates it is highly developed and seems free of bugs. On takeoff it hovers like it’s on a pole, even in a breeze. The motors seem strong, are reliable and after hours of flying they are still working well and sounding normal. The craft, overall. Is well made, is high quality in assembly and design. Operating the craft on your phone is great and the system they’ve designed is good, intuitive, easy to understand and taking pics and working and saving pics using their system is easy. The picture quality is pretty good when the light is ample but grainy at dusk or in heavy shade. Videos are not shaky at all, really a nice feature. One of my only improvements might be to eliminate the maximum altitude setting which can’t be changed by the user. Max altitude is 9.9 meters. So, as I learn to fly a drone the Tello is a fine flying machine that is forgiving, well made, has great features, is priced right, is rugged and is great fun. I recommend this item!

Incredible beginner drone that will give even experienced drone users a thrill... give it full thrust and a full forward tilt with the wind at its back outdoors- you’ll be surprised!

The quality and the service was perfect and easy, I'm so happy

This is a fantastic drone if you're just starting out. It flies incredibly stable, even outdoors so long as the wind isn't too strong. The first night I got it I made the mistake of trying to fly it at dusk. I crashed it into the back of a house around two stories high and it crashed to the ground and I thought for sure it was done. Wrong! There wasn't a scratch on it and it still worked perfectly. I've been going to an open field near me since to get used to flying it. The camera on it is serviceable, nothing that's gonna blow you away but that's to be expected at this price point. I'll upload some shots I've taken with it. Overall, it's an outstanding drone for 99$. Just keep your expectations realsitic at that price and you'll really enjoy it.

I this got my son this drone he said he like it work for iPhone like my son have android

Smiling and flying within 15 minutes of having fully charged the battery.

DJI tech gives the Tello ultra stable flight characteristics, the drone is programable and customisable, andyour newer smartphone can be the controller, but I found the Gamesir T1d controller($35+/-) more sensitive to small inputs.

Best Buy and the Dji store have controllers for android and iphone.

I found a cool case for it and also use a Xiaomi Mi wifi extender($10+/-) with a small USB powerbank($10+/-) to get 100m or so of unobstructed range to extend my control which is otherwise limited to the range of your phone's wifi.

I liked mine enough to buy 2 more, 1 for my cousin, and another as a lender to friends so we can fly together :)

This drone is well made but very basic. It will get you into the hobby but has some limitations. The camera takes some good 5MP pictures but the video is only 720p and stutters at times. There is no onboard memory so your phone/tablet app is recording a stuttery video. There are some educational apps that you can download and allow you to program flights of the little Tello. No GPS but it keeps a steady position with DJI tech downward facing sensor. Great for indoor use, ok for outdoor use as long as the wind is not too strong.

I bought this drone because it appeared to be a good one to start with, without breaking the bank. I wanted something more than a toy that had a decent camera with the ability for both stills and video. I bought the version with extra batteries and an external charging dock so I could have more flight time - important when you're learning how to fly. So far I've been happy with my purchase. Excuse the picture of my roof, but it's something I couldn't do without this drone.

I bought the DJI stark but I realized that was to expensive and complicate to be my first drone, after I used for a couples of days I was afraid to crash a$500 drone .. so I took it back . And I got the Tello witch is the small version, I’m so excited.. I’m gonna used for while, then When I’m ready I’ll jump to next level; something bigger... JUST MAKE SURE U GET THE COMBO DEAL (charger hub and extra bater

I positively LOVE this little drone!!!! I wasn't sure how much I would use (play) with a drone, so rather than drop a few hundred dollars (or more), I figured I would ty a little one like this.

I WILL be buying a BIGGER, better one soon, but I will NEVER give up on my little Tello.

If you have any interest in trying a drone, BUY THIS!!!!!!

I watched a lot of Youtube videos before I decided to pull the trigger on the Tello. Most camera drones are large and intimidating and look like they could cause some havoc in the wrong hands (like mine) - but the Tello is super friendly (only 80 grams!) and super simple to use. I decided to buy the Tello by itself for $99 and buy the accessories separately; but the next day, the combo went on sale for $99, so I exchanged the Tello for the Tello Boost Combo.

The Combo comes with 3 batteries, replacement props, and the charging bay with a USB cable. At $99 the combo is hard to beat (at $149, it's a wash) so I bought two and gave one to my nephew (who also loves it). FWIW - Good enough quality to take the occasional pictures/video to share with friends is my expectation at this price point.

This is my first drone - I never wanted a large, complex drone with GPS - and thanks to the DJI software and sensors, it behaves just like I expected a large drone would right out of the box. It hovers very steady and is very responsive to control inputs. The photos are very good and the video is phone-quality. Range could be better, but battery life is excellent and there are simple aftermarket hacks to extend the Tello's range and height limits significantly, and improve the video performance with a wi-fi extender and .99 phone app. I recently purchased a Gamevice controller for my phone, and the joysticks make it a lot easier to maneuver quickly. The software is very good on the iPhone, I don't know about other brands.

The few things that could be improved on the Tello are the video quality (although it is very good for $99), the ability to swivel the camera up/down, and more exposure options in the software. Some of these gripes may be addressed in firmware, but I'm quite sure the next generation of Tello will have all that and much more. It is an amazing 'toy' for young and old!

With my Note 9, it takes great photos, but you cannot see the photo while taking. You can see clearly in video mode, but the videos are terrible. With my gfs iPhone it works perfect.

It can suddenly drop altitude when stopping/ turning, but can be countered with controls.

All in all, awesome!

If you have never had a drone before and want to start off, this is the drone for you. This drone can go up to 100 feet in the air and take a photo or video. I have some beautiful pics of the sunset. Very small drone, each battery has 15 min life (based on my experience).

Connects to your smartphone with a WiFi connection and you use your phone to control the drone using the Tello App.

Completely stable no drift quick and responsive, no lag in video. Great little machine...

Its small and compact and easy to fly. Battery last about 10 minutes.

Fun toy starter drone. Takes a while to get used to controlling it, just give it some time. Only giving four stars because cannot find replacement props anywhere, including Best Buy & Protocol websites!

You get what you pay for in drone flight. Perfect for introducing our 10 year old to drones but quickly bored given the flight time is roughly 10 minutes.

It only lasts for about 5 minutes before you have to recharge it again. It says it in the instructions but with Best Buy’s return policy of having to pay a restocking fees if it’s open that doesn’t leave you with much room to just take it back without having a loss any way. Kiddo still likes it but gets annoyed that he can’t play with it for long. For 80 bucks the battery should last at least 15 minutes right? Yeesh

Product was amazing at first but after about a week. I was flying and it fell out of the sky and hit the ground and will not fly anymore.

This drone may be a good buy but there are very poor directions for this drone. We have not been able to figure out speed and direction for the drone and it is not very user friendly.

great flying for my grandson it was easy to use and everybody came over to watch it go all over the yard

Listen one of the best mini dones I ever purchased the falls and doesn't actually break it's real good real phone anything one of the best toy dones everyone loves this toy