Drones are very popular nowadays. They are useful in capturing superb quality aerial photos & videos.
Moreover, flying a drone is one of the fastest-growing hobbies in 2024.
People are buying drones to enjoy flying and capture cool-looking photos. If this sounds cool to you then this article is for you.
But choosing a perfect drone for you is a daunting task because most of the drones at this price range have identical features and functionalities at this price range.
So for making your life easy, I have rounded up the list of best drones under $200 in this article.
List of Best Drones under 200
- Holy Stone HS100 – Best Overall
- Potensic T25
- Altair 818 Hornet Beginner – Best for Beginner’s
- Holy Stone HS700D
- Holy Stone HS270
- Holy Stone HS165
Now let us jump in to the details without any further ado,
1. Holy Stone HS100
The Holy Stone HS100 is our top pick on this list because it packs highly competitive features compared to the rivals at the same price.
Discussion about budget-friendly drones is incomplete without mentioning the brand Holy Stone.
The HS100 drone from Holy Stone equips a GPS to ensure stable flight performance and an impressive 2K (2048×1152 pixel) Camera with a 120° wide-angle lens.
To experience the thrilling live video (FPV) transmission you need to download and install the official Holy Stone Drone App.
Specifications
- Flying Time: 18 Minutes
- Flying Range: 600 meters
- FPV Transmission Range: 350 meters
- Image Stabilization: Altitude Hold
- RTH: Yes
- Battery: 7.4V, 3500mAh
Additionally, it comes with brushed motors, one-key take-off/landing, follow me mode, a few LED lights underneath rotor arms, etc.
Holy Stone HS100 has a robust construction and decent performance.
Benefits
- Easy to learn
- FPV compatible
- Good flying time
- RTH (Return-to-Home)
- 2K Camera
- GPS
Drawbacks
- Long charging time
- Brushed motors
2. Potensic T25
The Potensic T25 is perfect for beginners.
The design and look of this drone are very identical to that of the DJI Phantom 4 Pro.
T25 captures excellent quality images and videos with a 1080p camera featuring a 120° wide-angle lens. The 3 Speed Mode allows you to operate this drone as a beginner, intermediate, and advanced pilot.
It is compact and made from high-quality plastic.
Specifications
- Flying Time: 10 Minutes
- Flying Range: 300 meters
- FPV Transmission Range: 100-150 meters
- Image Stabilization: 9-Axis Gyroscope
- RTH: Yes
- Battery: 3.7V, 1000mAh
The 9-Axis Gyroscope is the selling point of this drone. It helps in stabilizing the drone camera to capture excellent images.
The Waypoint mode allows you to draw a custom path in the mobile app that the drone will follow flawlessly. Additional feature includes the dual battery, low battery indicator, headless mode, follow me function, FPV, etc.
Benefits
- Easy to learn
- FPV compatible
- Comes with an extra battery
- Brushless motors
- RTH (Return-to-Home)
- 1080p camera
- GPS
Drawbacks
- Long charging time
- Low flying time
3. Altair 818 Hornet Beginner
This cute-looking drone from Altair is designed for beginners and kids.
The 818 Hornet equips a sturdy frame to survive hard landings and collisions. The drone is ready for both indoor as well as outdoor flying.
It comes with 3 Control Settings. Once you get hang of flying on lower settings, just increase your skill level in settings and unlock more speed and maneuverability!
Specifications
- Flying Time: 15 Minutes
- Flying Range: 150 meters
- FPV Transmission Range: 60 meters
- Image Stabilization: Altitude Hold
- RTH: No
- Battery: 7.4V
Newbies should not fly this drone so high with super-sonic speed because it doesn’t have a RTH feature.
It comes with a decent camera of 720p resolution with a 120° wide-angle lens. One can enjoy live video transmission (FPV) through their smartphone or VR Goggles.
Benefits
- Beginner-friendly
- Easy to learn
- Brushless motors
- Good flying time
- FPV compatible
- 720p camera
Drawbacks
- Long charging time
- Lack of RTH (Return-to-Home)
4. Holy Stone HS700D
It is a value for money deal!
The HS700D from Holy Stone comes with a 1-Axis Gimbal for image stabilization.
It packs high-quality 1500KV brushless motors for agile movements. An impressive 2K HD Camera offers an exceptional level of FPV experience.
The above features makes HS700D popular under this category of drones.
Specifications
- Flying Time: 22 Minutes
- Flying Range: 1000 meters
- FPV Transmission Range: 500-800 meters
- Image Stabilization: 1-Axis Gimbal
- RTH: Yes
- Battery: 2800 mAh
Other feature includes One Key Return, Waypoint Mode, Follow Me, Intelligent Geofence, Headless Mode, and more.
It is also one of our highly recommended drones for photography.
Benefits
- Compact
- Excellent flying time
- 1-Axis Gimbal
- FPV Compatible
- Brushless motors
- RTH (Return-to-Home)
- 2K camera
- GPS
Drawbacks
- Long charging time
5. Holy Stone HS270
When it comes to compact and foldable drones the Holy Stone HS270 is our top choice on this list of drones under $200.
It is lightweight and perfectly portable. So, this drone is for people who are always on the move.
It equips a 2.7K (3840×2160 resolution) camera with a 120° wide-angle lens.
The Holy Stone HS270 drone offers an impressive FPV Transmission range of 400 meters, which is not common in foldable drones at this price range.
Specifications
- Flying Time: 18 Minutes
- Flying Range: 600 meters
- FPV Transmission Range: 400 meters
- Image Stabilization: Altitude Hold
- RTH: Yes
- Battery: 7.4V, 350mAh
This drone’s additional features include Waypoint mode, Orbit Mode, Follow me, voice-recording feature, etc.
Benefits
- Light-weight and compact
- FPV compatible
- Good flying time
- RTH (Return-to-Home)
- 2.7K camera
- GPS
Drawbacks
- Long charging time
- Brushed motors
6. Holy Stone HS165
The HS165 from Holy Stone packs a big punch at the price of $119 only!
This compact and foldable drone is the best fit for people on the go.
It offers a flying time of 15 minutes. To increase this time, the Holy Stone is selling this drone with an extra battery at the price of $129.
Click here to check!
It has a camera of 2K HD resolution with a 90° wide-angle lens. It captures high-quality images without blurry and jello effect.
Specifications
- Flying Time: 15 Minutes
- Flying Range: 300-400 meters
- FPV Transmission Range: 180-250 meters
- Image Stabilization: Altitude Hold
- RTH: Yes
- Battery: 7.4V, 880mAh
This drone is packed with additional features like Follow Me mode, Waypoint Mode, Circle Fly, 2-Speed Mode, One Key take-off and landing function, etc.
Benefits
- Light-weight and compact
- FPV compatible
- RTH (Return-to-Home)
- Comes with an extra battery
- Good flying time
- 2K camera
- Dual GPS
Drawbacks
- Long charging time
- Brushed motors
- Can be a bit unresponsive
Things to know before buying a Drone
- FAA Regulations
- Flying Time
- Flying Range
- Image Stabilization
- Camera Quality
- FPV (First-Person-View)
- RTH (Return-to-Home)
- Extra Features (Gesture Control, Follow-me, One-key handling, etc.)
Let’s discuss them briefly,
#1 – FAA Regulations
The FAA stands for Federal Aviation Administrations. It is responsible for the regulation and implementation of aviation aspects.
You can’t fly your drone anywhere without the permission from US Government. Yes! You heard it right!
In the case of drones weighing more than 55 pounds (250 gm), registration with FAA is compulsory.
Few areas are drone-restricted. This B4UFLY app by FAA will help you identify those areas.
For detailed information about FAA Regulations, check this website.
#2 – Flying Time – is the key
The total time for which a drone stays in the air is known as Flying Time.
At this price range, drones have a flying time of 10 to 20 minutes.
It depends on the battery capacity of the drone. Generally, people purchase an extra battery to double the flying time.
#3 – Flying Range
Flying Range is the maximum distance up to which a drone can safely fly (without getting lost).
The fact is, the further it goes, the more fun you will experience!
The drone flying range at this price is going to be 400 to 1000 meters.
Note that the communication between a drone’s transmitter and receiver is based on radio waves. So, sometimes due to the interference, drones will fail to travel the distance specified by the manufacturer.
Ex. This can happen in the case of a drone flying near a cell phone tower.
#4 – Image Stabilization
This feature is particularly useful for people planning to capture aerial photos and videos.
Excellent stabilization is a must for drones to capture sharp and clear images. Your drone camera should hover with superb stabilization regardless of the motion and tilt of the drone.
The image stabilization feature avoids shakiness and jello effect in photos.
It can be achieved through,
- Gimbal
- Altitude Hold
- Digital Stabilization
Gimbal offers maximum image stabilization.
If you are a pilot and not a photographer then you may need not emphasize this feature. But for a drone photographer, it is a must!
#5 – Camera Quality
Drones at this price range will have a camera of 1080p, 2.7k, or 4k resolution.
Along with the resolution, you need to look at the frame rate, FOV (Field of View), shutter speed, and aperture of the camera.
If you plan to mount an external camera to the drone, consider the effect of additional weight on flying time.
#6 – FPV – First Person View
FPV is one of the vital drone features.
Using a set of VR Goggles, you can view real-time footage captured by the drone camera and start feeling like sitting in the aeroplane’s cockpit and flying like a superhero.
Yup! It exactly feels as it sounds.
#7 – RTH – Return-to-Home
This feature allows your drone to return to the Start Point when it senses low battery or signal loss.
Due to our beginner-level flying skills, we have lost two drones after exceeding the maximum flying range during the initial days of drone-ing!
Sometimes people fail to notice that the drone’s battery is running out of charge.
In such a case, if there wouldn’t be an RTH function, then the drone might fly away forever.
Almost every drone on this list has an RTH feature.
#8 – Additional Features
Even at the price of $200, a drone is packed with a variety of features. It depends upon the brand.
- Intelligent Geofence: With this feature, you can define the area within which your drone should fly. This avoids too high or too far traveling of the drone.
- Follow Me: It allows drones to follow you by tracking a smartphone or remote controller in your hands.
- Waypoint Mode: It will let you point to a location on your smartphone where the drone will travel by itself.
- One-key Take-off and Landing: This feature would prevent you from destroying your drone due to your beginner-level landing.
Okay! So that was all about the drone basics.
Conclusion
For aerial photography, we suggest you go with Holy Stone HS700D or Eachine Ex4. They both are awesome!
An affordable drone like Holy Stone HS165 also offers excellent performance at its price.
If you are buying a drone for your kids then look no further and go for the cute little flying machine, Altair 818 Hornet.
Finally, if you feel like I am missing any fantastic drone under $200 then don’t forget to comment below. I will look forward to adding them to this list.
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