If you’re looking to buy the ultimate toy for your inner child (just kidding), you’ve landed in the right place, because today’s article is about the best drone for kids. Drones are the future of mankind, or so we’re told, but all jokes aside, drones are going to become an intrinsic part of our lives in the near future, as they’re currently in use almost everywhere.

If you think we’re exaggerating, you should know that the police and the military are already using them all over the place. The private sector does it too, just look at Amazon via-drone delivery and all that. Hence training your kids to become drone operators, how to fly them/land them safely and have massive fun in the process would be a great idea for any responsible parent, so keep reading.

Top Picks

How to Choose the Best Drone for Kids

If you have kids, you already know that the best drone is one that still works after you crash it a couple hundred times. Seriously speaking, kiddie drones often come in the form and shape of a mini drone, i.e. a small quadcopter which is also relatively cheap, yet full of cool features. Since we’re talking tech stuff, here are the essential features to look after:

Built-in stabilization and Altitude Hold

Built-in stabilization, which inspires confidence and works well for steadier flights, and then there’s the Altitude Hold mode, which is similar to an auto-pilot that keeps the drone flying even if you release the controls.

Wide-angle Camera

Having a wide-angle camera installed on your drone would be a nice addition if you’re into perfecting your kid’s aerial photography skills, but we’re already reaching.

Outdoor or Indoor

The next issue to address is outdoors or indoors? If you’re looking for an outdoor drone, you’ll have to go for a more powerful (as in bigger) drone that can withstand a gust of wind, that opposed to an indoor drone which can be smaller and not-so-feature-rich (also way cheaper).

And since we’re talking about outdoor drones, besides Altitude Hold and built-in stabilization, look for auto take-off and auto-landing functions, plus gyroscopic stabilization.

Price

Obviously, the more cash you’re ready to spend on a drone, the more features you’ll get, things like laser-equipped battle drones, racing drones, awesome design (think Millennium Falcon), crash-proof construction, live-stream view directly to your smartphone via the drone’s onboard camera, better “mileage” (as in more up-time) and the list goes on and on.

However, if you’re on a tight budget, don’t worry, as you won’t have to spend a fortune on a high-end drone to make your kid happy. Just buy the one you can afford, and trust us, a drone under 100 dollars is more than enough to boost your kid’s learning curve in terms of robotics, aviation, mechanics, programming, photography, and electronics.

Bottom line: before you go on a buying spree, make sure that the drone of choice is durable and lightweight (also look for spare parts availability), ready to fly out of the box, comes with a decent controller (some are controlled via a smartphone app by the way), and if it’s small/big enough to fit your specific needs (indoors/outdoors use). With all these in mind, check out our top picks from Amazon, right after a short commercial break.

9 Best Drones for Kids

SNAPTAIN S5C

The Best Drone with Camera for Kids

Let’s begin with one of Amazon’s best-selling drones, the Snaptain S5C drone respectively, which to no one’s surprise, retails for well under $100, yet it offers a lot of features for the money asked, plus an excellent design, especially for kids. Why is this immensely popular, you asked?

Well, besides its affordability, the Snaptain S5C comes with 2 3.7V 550 mAh Lithium Polymer batteries included in the package, and we know, that’s not much, but take a load of this: you also get a 720p camera, voice control, gesture control, the aforementioned “must-have” Altitude Hold feature, a gravity sensor which allows you to control the drone with your smartphone via a specially designed app (works on both iOS and Android), and, very important for unexperienced airmen, RTF One Key Take Off/Landing.

Basically, this cheap drone comes with all the bells and whistles one could wish for, including video-transmission for up to 80 yards directly to your smartphone from the air-borne camera, and everything can be instantly uploaded on Facebook, Instagram or wherever from your iPhone/iPad or whatever. The videos are also saved automatically to an SD card, so this baby is excellent for both kids and adults who want to experiment with aerial pictures and videos.

Autonomy wise, you’ll get something like 10 minutes flight-time, and a range of 80 meters; the drone comes equipped with blue and red LEDs, which look awesome at night and make the drone easily trackable. Also, the drone’s controller is well designed and easy to use, and finally, we must mention the Trajectory flight mode, which allows you to program a flight path on your smartphone, and the Snaptain S5C will fly through it automatically.

Pros:

• Amazing value for money, has all the cool features
• Good design&build quality, smart voice control
• Comes with HD camera on-board, VR headset compatibility
• 1- Button Takeoff, Landing and Return Home
• Can live-stream video straight into your smartphone

Cons:

• None we can think of

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Holy Stone HS190

The Best Mini Drone for Kids

If you’re looking for a foldable nano-drone (nano as in petite), take a look at the Holy Stone HS190, which is incredibly small, light and cheap. This mini-drone can be easily transported in the glove box compartment in your car, and it can even fit inside your pocket, yet it still makes for a true-blue pocket-rocket with Altitude Hold, one-key return, Headless Mode (doesn’t matter which end is what) and 3D flips capability, also known as aerial acrobatics.

Considering its size and price, the Holy Stone HS190 would make for the perfect gift for your kid, as it’s beginner-friendly, compact, cheap (read disposable/replaceable) and still perfectly capable of doing all the neat stuff to keep your little one happy and smiling. The Holy Stone HS190 can actually perform a 360 spin while flying, a cool trick that is not available even in more expensive models.

Speaking of size, this drone is highly versatile, i.e. it can be used both outdoors and indoors (yes, size matters), but despite its “smallness”, you will be surprised by its build quality and sturdiness. Flight time is limited to 5-7 minutes, which is to be expected from such a small drone, and interestingly enough, the battery is not replaceable, being built-in and easy to charge via a USB port. For night-fun, the Holy Stone HS190 comes with a few built-in LEDs, to make things more interesting, and the Altitude Hold feature along with the Headless mode makes it exceptionally easy to use.

Pros:

• Compact foldable design perfect for both indoors and (limited) outdoors use
• Feels sturdy and reliable
• Comes with Altitude Hold, 360-degree Rotation, One Key Take Off/Landing, Headless Mode
• Charges via USB, up to 7 minutes autonomy
• The retail box contains replacement parts (extra-propeller blades, screws)

Cons:

• Lacks built-in camera, which is to be expected from such a cheap drone
• The battery is difficult to replace
• Not so feature-rich as others

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Potensic Upgraded A20 Mini Drone

The Best Cheap Drone for Kids

The “new and improved” A20 mini drone from Potensic retails for well under $50, but rest assured, as the upgraded A20 punches way above its weight. To begin with, we must mention the protected propeller-blades, i.e. the drone is very safe to use even for first-fliers, including little ones. Secondly, this cheap drone comes with the “must-have” features we told you about in the preamble of the article: altitude-hold, auto-take-off at a press of a button, as well as a cool 3-speed setting and led lights at the front and end, to make it easy to differentiate between front and back.

Autonomy-wise, the A20 comes with a non-removable battery, which can be easily recharged via USB in 30-40 minutes, and gives the drone between 5 to 7 minutes of “air-time”. Another great advantage of the A20, especially given its affordable price, is the build quality, as the drone is crafted from a tough durable plastic which seems almost unbreakable.

As we already told you, the propellers are “finger-proofed” and you can pull them off easily if you require maintenance/replacing or whatever. The controller is tiny but well-designed/built and it requires 3 AAA batteries to operate (not included). Bottom line, if you’re on a tight budget, the A20 from Potensic is one of the best mini-drones on Amazon, playing in the best bang for the buck category in the super-small bracket, provided you don’t expect fancy features and an on-board camera in a $30-ish drone.

Pros:

• Small, light, cheap and well designed
• Very safe for kids (protected propellers)
• Above-average build quality
• Decent autonomy (7 minutes outdoors)
• Nice controller, easy to assemble components

Cons:

• Gets in trouble at the slightest breeze
• Can’t perform tricks (flips)

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Force1 Scoot LED Hand Drone for Kids

The Best Drone for Young Kids

Next in line, we have the Force1 Scoot, another Amazon best-seller, a mini-drone of sorts that features a rather interesting “flying-ball” design and an attractive price. Some describe the Force1 Scoot as the perfect toy for both kids and adults due to its UFO-like appearance at night. This baby drone comes with a ring of LED lights that shine beautifully and give it the appearance of a flying saucer, but this is just where the fun begins.

Besides cool lights and out-of-the-box design, the Force1 Scoot is perfect for younger kids, as it comes with built-in motion sensors, so kids can control it by using their hands. The same sensor technology allows the drone to fly autonomously indoors and avoid obstacles, hence there’s no immediate danger of crashing and causing damage, i.e. this drone is perfectly safe for indoor use.

Another strong selling point of this mini-drone is that it’s tough as nails and affordable, the built-in battery recharges in under an hour and is available in 3 colorways. Anyway, given its small dimensions, the Force1 Scoot is not really built for outdoor use, as it will go astray at the slightest breeze and doesn’t come with remote control. But, if you’re looking for a remote-free mini drone that’s safe to use even for 5-year-olds, the Force1 Scoot is the definition of simplicity.

Pros:

• Well-built and safe for kids
• Motion sensor control
• Can fly autonomously avoiding obstacles
• Great for indoor use, looks awesome at night
• Excellent starter-drone

Cons:

• Forget about outdoor use
• Lacks basic features

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Altair Aerial AA300

The Best Drone for Rich Kids

Altair is the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila, and the Aerial AA300 stands true to its name, as it makes for a great done for children (and grownups) passionate about photography. Yes indeed, the Aerial AA300 comes with a full HD camera on-board plus a GPS sensor, which means you can use it via GPS flight-mode, but we’ll get back to that in a second.

Since this is a more expensive drone compared to the previous 2, it comes with all the cool features one would expect from a more serious gizmo: three return-to-home functions, Altitude Hold, Follow Me mode, one-touch take-off and landing, a range of up to 100 meters and up to 15 minutes of autonomy on a single charge. The GPS flight mode is very important if you want to use the drone for taking pictures/videos as it can accurately position itself and hover in the air over your desired “target” (hover position and altitude hold), and can also stabilize itself.

Moreover, the Aerial AA300 can be controlled via its gesture-mode, but what’s really nice is the return-to-home function, that will automatically kick-in when the drone loses signal or the battery is weak, and yes, the drone is perfectly capable to land itself if something unexpected happens, even in the harshest winds.

Pros:

• 12-15 minutes autonomy, comes with full HD 1080p camera onboard
• Can stream live footage in 1st person view plus high-resolution photos with barometer altitude hold
• Compact size and lightweight makes it great for traveling
• Highly advanced yet budget-friendly
• Great for beginners and experienced “pilots” alike

Cons:

• Not fully-assembled out-of-the-boxx

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SNAPTAIN H823H Mini Drone for Kids

The Best Beginner Drone for Kids

Here we have another mini drone from Snaptain, the H823H this time, which makes for an awesome cheap gadget that is perfectly capable of delivering tons of fun for under $50, and by tons of fun me mean: one key return, 3D flips, speed-adjustment, headless mode, and Altitude Hold. Yes indeed, this cheap and funny looking pocket-sized drone has it all, and it won’t break the piggy bank in the process either.

The design is pretty sleek, and the H823H is incredibly easy to maneuver, not to mention that it comes with propeller guards, a clear indication that this gizmo is aimed at kids first and foremost. Also, the remote control is well designed and very sensitive, while the LED lights on the front and back of the mini-drone allow you to fly it in the dark, but the Altitude Hold function is clearly the SNAPTAIN H823H’s forte, as it allows it to hover in midair like a tiny Harrier jet.

This palm-sized drone runs on a Lithium-Polymer battery which allows it approximately 8 minutes of flight time, and the retail box comes with 4 spare propellers, which is a nice touch from Snaptain. The good news is that the batteries are easy to remove and replace, and the recharging process takes approximately one hour.

Pros:

• Cheap yet well-built and solid
• Very safe even for children
• Features headless mode, auto return, and auto takeoff
• Easy to maneuver
• Amazing value for money

Cons:

• You have to calibrate the drone before using it
• It’s too tiny for outdoors use

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DBPOWER X400W FPV RC

The Best Starter Drone for Kids

The DBPOWER X400W FPV RC is another inexpensive yet feature-rich drone for kids. The X400W FPV is pretty unique in its price-bracket as it offers an onboard video-camera that’s capable of real-time video feed, as well as decent features, including a Headless Mode, 3D Split Screen display which works with 3D VR HEADSET on MJX FPV APP, FPV Real Time Transmission (connects to your smartphone for direct live feed on your screen), 1-key 3D roll for cool acrobatics, a high capacity battery, a solid remote control (over 100-meter range), and the obligatory Altitude Hold.

Design-wise, the X400W FPV looks very nice and rather unique, especially for Star Wars aficionados, and comes with LED lights which are awesome when using the drone in night-mode. The landing gear is well designed to protect the drone’s lower parts during landing (especially the camera), and speaking about the onboard eye in the sky, this is a recreational drone, not a professional version, so don’t expect miracles, as this baby wasn’t designed for aerial photography, i.e. this is a fixed-focus 720p HD camera with medium resolution, and provides relatively grainy images, but it’s a nice feature to have in a $50-ish drone for kids.

The drone shines in the stability department, that if you’re dealing with a calm/wind-free environment, and we must mention the fact that the X400W FPV lacks signal-lag which is quite ubiquitous in most mini-drones. That means the drone is highly responsive, sends images at fast speeds and shots impressive videos considering the camera’s tech capabilities.

Pros:

• Excellent flight performance (very agile, capable of instantaneous 3D spins)
• 100 meters effective range, 5 MPH max-speed, 9 minutes flight time
• Feature-rich, very stable, on-board camera
• Real-time video feed
• Beginner-friendly, good value for the money

Cons:

• Video/photo quality is not great
• Some assembly required

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Jasonwell Hand Operated Drone for Kids

The Best Hand-operated Drone For Kids

As the title reads, what we’re dealing here with is a hand-operated drone for kids, suitable for boys and girls from 6 to 10 years old. Speaking of affordable technology, it doesn’t get simpler and more efficient than this: the Jasonwell drone doesn’t have a remote control, and it’s simple and safe to fly, being excellent for indoor use.

All your kid has to do is to toss it lightly in the air, and the drone will hover safely on its own. However, the Jasonwell is capable of avoiding obstacles by itself due to its high-tech infrared motion sensors, which is a nice feature to have, especially if there’s a big-screen TV in the same room your kids are having fun with their new toy.

Due to its lightweight and simplicity, this toy drone can fly up to 40 minutes on a single charge, and it’s built from tough and flexible ABS plastic, i.e. this tiny thing will survive any number of bumps in your expensive stuff. Seriously speaking, this cool gadget flies very nicely, and it appears like it almost defies gravity, making for the ideal drone for beginners (read kids), and will provide massive fun at birthday parties.

Pros:

• Very affordable
• Solidly built
• Easy to operate
• Safe
• Obstacle avoidance sensors
• Compact, 2 speeds

Cons:

• None really at this price

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Air Hogs Star Trek U.S.S Enterprise

The Best Drone for Trekkies

Last but not least, we have the perfect drone for Star Trek enthusiasts. Enter the Air Hogs, which is built and designed to resemble, well, you already know: the USS Enterprise from the Star Trek series, and yes, this would make for the ideal birthday gift for your kid (or husband, same thing), provided he’s into Gene Roddenberry’s universe. To make a long story short, if you want to pilot a mini-version of the Starship Enterprise, complete with 10 authentic sounds and lights, this is the drone for you.

If you don’t have high expectations from a basic drone, which is nothing more than what it’s sold as, i.e. a realistic copy of the USS Enterprise, you won’t be disappointed. If you’re looking for performance, maneuverability, cool features, on-board cameras with live-streaming and all sorts of technological bells and whistles, well, this is not the drone you’re looking for.

Truth be told, this is a slow and clumsy flying drone, yet it looks pretty damn’ good while flying. However, if you’re a Trekkie, performance doesn’t really matter, right? Just go for it and have fun. Oh, we almost forgot: yes, this thing is very sturdy, especially with the “Shields: On”. Engage!

Pros:

• Looks the part if you’re a Star Trek fan
• Actually flies (seriously)
• Sturdy and well built, can take a photon torpedo or maybe two
• Comes with protection for fan blades (1-up for kids)
• Can fly for 7 minutes on a single charge

Cons:

• Khan not included
• Doesn’t do well outside

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