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Best drones in Australia

We checked hundreds of customer reviews to find a range of the best drones on the market today.

Jack Baker
Jack Baker

Updated

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Asturias, Spain, young man driving a drone in a snowy mountains

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The best drones in Australia

How did we pick this list?

Finder's team looked through dozens of item listings and selected these top picks based on product information and reviews from customers online. For each category, we thoroughly analysed key features and determined which drones would be the most suitable for each use case.

Read more detail on our methodology below.

Best overall drone: DJI Mini 2

Pros

  • Lightweight and compact design makes it very portable
  • High-quality camera for great photos and videos

Cons

  • Lacks obstacle avoidance and object tracking
  • No HDR support

Price (RRP): $749

Buy at Amazon
Buy at Catch
Buy at Kogan

Why we chose it

With an impressive 4.8 out of 5 rating from Google reviews, the DJI Mini 2 is, overall, the best drone currently available on the market. At its $749 price-point, the compact flying machine hits the sweet spot between quality, price, performance and features.

The Mini 2 was designed for those who are always on the go. The drone's foldable design makes it easily packable. And, with DJI's small multirotor weighing in at just under 249 grams, it has the perfect footprint for travellers.

The Mini 2 lacks obstacle avoidance sensors, meaning you'll have to keep an even more watchful eye over the drone to ensure it doesn't slam into anything mid-flight. Since the drone sports none of these additional eyes, DJI's Active Track functionality is also absent. Unfortunately, this means automatic object tracking isn't an option.

Given its size, the DJI Mini 2 has an impressive camera. The 12MP sensor supports 4K video recording at up to 30 frames per second and touts four-times zoom, so you don't have to get dangerously close to your subject. DJI's QuickShots functionality allows you to capture video in pre-programmed patterns, making for great footage no matter if you're a beginner or a pro. Unfortunately, there's no HDR support on this model, so you might miss out on capturing those crisp colours.

Several customers online said the drone was easy to get the hang of and fly. Others stressed the importance of being gentle with the drone due to its lack of object avoidance and mentioned that grabbing a second battery wasn't the worst idea.

Best drone for beginners: Ryze Tello

Pros

  • Affordable price point
  • Swappable battery allows for extended flying time

Cons

  • Lacklustre battery life
  • Camera quality won't blow anyone away

Price (RRP): $169

Buy at Amazon
Buy at Catch

Why we chose it

Boasting a formidable 4.4 out of 5 rating from thousands of reviews on Google, the Ryze Tello is the perfect drone to pick up if you're learning the ropes of drone flight.

It's a good value pick up at the retail price of $169, but with sale prices and discounts sometimes bringing the price-point closer to $100, the drone packs a serious punch for the money. You can also rest assured knowing that your purchase was a good one as it's powered by technology from the world's leading civilian drone manufacturer, DJI.

For the price, you'd expect the Tello to have some short-comings, and it does. Ryze says the drone has just 13 minutes of flight time at most, and over time that will decline as the battery wears. Thankfully, the drone's design makes it swappable, so you can pick up spare batteries for added flight time, provided you change the batteries every quarter-hour or so. And, if they get bashed up a bit, those propellers are also replaceable.

The Tello sports an acceptable camera supporting 720p video and 5 MP photos. The drone's "EZ Shots" mode allows for coordinated videos in several social-media friendly modes such as circle and 360.

Several customers said that the Tello was great value for the money, and noted how easy it was to use. Still, other reviewers also mentioned that the camera quality of the drone was a little bit of a let-down and also mentioned how it struggles in windy environments because of its lightweight design.

Best drone under $300: Snaptain SP510

Pros

  • Foldable design makes it more compact
  • Auto return ensures the drone doesn't get lost or damaged

Cons

  • Customers experienced some issues with the controller and app
  • Some reviewers mention poor battery life

Price (RRP): $281.09

Buy at Amazon
Buy at eBay

Why we chose it

The Snaptain SP510, with a 4.5 of 5 star rating on Amazon, is the best drone money can buy for under $300. Its multi-platform app compatibility, ability to take photos in resolutions up to 4K and GPS tracking makes it the standout pick at this price-point.

The SP510 has a range of around 300 metres and with a built-in GPS that returns the drone when it runs into an issue like a dropped connection or low battery life, you don't have to worry about losing it.

Snaptain's second-most advanced drone features a quad-rotor design with a front-mounted camera, which is a relatively standard outfit. Clocking in at over 4.3 kilos, the SP510 is quite a hefty drone. Still, its foldable design means carrying it about shouldn't be too challenging.

The included controller is also foldable, making the whole package compact and easy to carry about. The controller isn't perfect, though. Some mentioned the remote didn't hold certain types of phones, such as the iPhone 11 Pro Max, so those with bigger phones might struggle.

Snaptain's SP510 has subject tracking functionality, allowing users to select objects in the app for the drone to keep a moving eye on. The SP510 also has "Follow Me" functionality, allowing the drone to maintain a constant distance between the user as they move. The inclusion of these features is impressive for the price point, given it's something some higher-end DJI drones, like the Mini 2, lack.

Many customers said that they experienced some issues with the SP510 but that Snaptain's support was generally helpful and was able to resolve problems as they arose. Others mentioned that the drone struggled to stay airborne in windy environments and that battery life averaged between 10 and 15 minutes.

Best drone under $100: HASAKEE Q8 FPV

Pros

  • The built-in camera supports both photo and video
  • Supports remote and app control

Cons

  • Reviews mentioned poor battery life
  • The bright design might be too tacky for some

Price (RRP): $92.19

Buy at Amazon
Buy at eBay

Why we chose it

With a 4.2 out of 5 star rating on Amazon, the HASAKEE Q8 FPV is the best drone you can pick up today for under $100.

HASAKEE's budget-friendly drone has a design aesthetic that means you definitely won't lose sight of the compact multirotor, especially with the illumination of the protective circle around it. Despite the enhanced visibility, the bright design won't be for everyone. Unfortunately for those looking for a more minimal design, those drones tend to cost significantly more.

The Q8 FPV can take videos and photos, which is a bonus at the sub-$100 price point. Better yet, the media is saved straight to your mobile device for convenience.

If you're looking for impressive battery life, the Q8 FPV is not the drone for you. HASAKEE's brightly-lit drone won't handle more than 10 minutes of flight time on its measly battery. Speaking of power, customers have said that it doesn't come with a charging brick, just the USB cable. They also say that the 4 AAA batteries necessary for the controller aren't included, either.

Even though the Q8 FPV's propellers are guarded by the light strip that wraps around the drone, replacements are provided in the box in case the originals are damaged mid-flight.

In reviews, several customers said the Q8 FPV was fun to play with and that for the price, it's quite capable. Other consumers recommended picking up a spare battery to get the most use out of the nimble drone.

Best drone for kids: Ryze Tello Edu

Logitech K780 Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard

Pros

  • Encourages kids to learn to program
  • Can easily be used in the same way as the non-Edu drone

Cons

  • More expensive than the non-Edu version
  • Features the same average camera as the standard Tello

Price (RRP): $219

Buy at eBay
Buy at Catch

Why we chose it

Built specifically for teaching your little ones about programming, Ryze's Tello Edu is a slightly modified version of the original. Despite its higher price, its additional learning-focused features make the drone the best drone for kids.

Ryze's education-focused drone keeps all of the stand-out features of the Tello, such as swappable parts, easy-to-use controls and a decent camera but adds a gamut of new features. The Tello Edu can be programmed more extensively, with an upgraded development kit allowing young engineers to move around and even perform acrobatics. You can also program up to four Tello Edu drones in a swarm, allowing for coordination from the one device. Ryze manages to do this all while keeping the price competitive with other options on the market.

Both Tello's main app and the Tello Edu app are compatible with the drone, giving your kids the freedom to choose between casually flying and learning. Users can't use both apps at once, and if you're switching from one to the other, the Tello Edu will need restarting.

If your kids aren't aspiring programmers, the standard version of the Ryze Tello is still an affordable and fun-filled option for kids. There's really no reason to grab the Edu version if you're not looking to use the upgraded programming functionality with the enhanced SDK or if you're not going to program a swarm of the little things.

Best drone with a camera: DJI Mavic Air 2

Pros

  • Strong battery life
  • 4K video at up to 60fps and HDR support

Cons

  • Expensive
  • Lacks top and side-mounted sensors

Price (RRP): $1,499

Buy at Amazon
Buy at The Good Guys
Buy at Catch

Why we chose it

With review scores consistently above 4 out of 5 on online stores across Australia and review sites, DJI's mid-range Mavic Air 2 is the best drone with a camera you can buy.

When it comes to media creation, the Mavic Air 2 doesn't disappoint. Its 48MP camera can take high-quality aerial images, and HDR support makes for more vibrant colours. Its ability to record 4K video at 60 frames per second is what sets the Mavic Air 2 apart from its competition, even within DJI's product line. At that resolution, most drones can typically only capture footage at 30 frames per second.

Another standout camera feature is the Mavic Air 2's ability to record 8K hyperlapse footage, making for ultra-sharp video with impressive effects. With DJI's QuickShots functionality also included, pre-programmed shots can be filmed to create easily shareable, good looking content.

The Mavic Air 2 sports the latest version of DJI's obstacle avoidance technology, APAS 3.0. The system uses several sensors to guide the drone out of the way of any obstacles while also allowing it to track and follow targets. Because those fancy object avoidance sensors aren't keeping an eye on the side or above the drone, you'll still have to be paying plenty of attention.

Customer reviews mentioned that the Mavic Air 2 handles high winds well, which is fitting given "air" is in the name. Some professional reviewers said that the drone's software has some limitations, such as that editing in the mobile app is limited to a resolution of 1080p.

Methodology

17
Brands considered
40+
Products compared
6
Best products chosen
  • We've compared more than 40 drones from 17 brands to find the picks to fit different users' needs.
  • We made our selections based on reviews left by real customers online (as of December 2020) as well as by looking into each drone's key features.
  • The products on this list are chosen by our editorial team and are not selected based on commercial relationships.

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