Top 8 Best Mini Drones for Beginners and Kids: The Ultimate Guide
The mini-drones are the epitome of the most popular quadcopters among beginners. They’re small, compact, lightweight, and perfect to fly around for fun. Even though so, you can do a lot of cool tricks and features with these mini drones. If you’re looking to find the best mini drones for beginners that you can wrap as a surprise gift. I think you’ll find my top 8 best mini drones for beginners and kids helpful.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration aerospace forecast report, they stated that the number of hobbyist drones will increase to 2.4 million units by 2022. More and more people are getting their hands on the drones and there’s no sign that they’ll stop growing. Mini-drones make a great choice for beginners who wants to start their quadcopter journey. Stick with us to find out the top 8 best mini drones for beginners and kids.
What is Mini Drones?
For those readers who are new to the world of drones. It’s common to get confused between mini and nano-sized quadcopters. A mini-sized drone usually is around the size of your palm hand. Whereas a nano quadcopter is approximately the size between your thumb and index finger. Often of the time, a mini-sized drone can be packed with a camera and sometimes has built-in intelligent flight modes.
Not to mention that the mini-drones can be flown outdoor easily since they still have strong propulsion force to withstand wind speed. In general, the mini-drones are incredibly popular because they’re easier to control and isn’t packed with powerful propulsion force. This makes these types of drones one of the safest quadcopters for beginners and kids. Plus, they’re so much fun to play around with during downtime and leisure!
Top 8 Best Mini Drones for Beginners & Kids
Mavic Air
Amazon.com | Price history for DJI Mavic Air Quadcopter with Remote Controller - Onyx Black | |
|---|---|
| Latest updates:
|
|
It’s one of the best mini drones for beginners and kids. It features foldable motor arms that you can easily fold the drone and store it inside your travel case. This quadcopter weighs around half a pound of its grand sibling, the Mavic Pro. Here’s why the Mavic Air makes to the top 8 best mini drones for beginners and kids. First of all, it comes with a smart 12MP camera mounted on 3-axis gimbal systems.
While it can deliver quality images and videos directly to your mobile devices, it has a video bitrate of 100 Mbps. Which means, it can produce the best video quality for a complete and immersive cinematic experience. Plus, the Mavic Air features enhanced Wi-Fi transmission systems that extend its remote control range up to 4,000 meters. Each intelligent flight battery provides 21 minutes of flight time. Finally, you can perform gesture mode and palm launch with this drone.
Specifications:
- Flight Time: 21 Minutes
- Remote Control Distance: 4,000 Meters
- Camera Quality: 12 Megapixels
- Image Resolution: 4K UHD
- Video Resolution: 4K UHD @ 30 FPS
- Video Bitrate: 100 Mbps
- Features: Gesture Mode, Palm Launch, Intelligent Flight Modes, Smart Return to Home, Flight Autonomy.
Spark
Amazon.com | Price history for DJI Spark, Fly More Combo, Alpine White | |
|---|---|
| Latest updates:
|
|
Another great drone that earns to be in the top 8 best mini drones for beginners and kids. Introducing the Spark drone, the world’s smallest smart drone packed with a lot of juicy features. This is the ultimate mini drone for beginners and kids who wants to start flying without having to spend hundreds of money on professional-grade camera drones. Weighing only three-quarters of what the Mavic Air is, this mini-sized drone is packed with powerful performance.
Featuring brushless motors that enhance its flight performance for speed, stability, and controls. In addition to that, the Spark drone is equipped with GPS / GLONASS systems. This allows the drone to obtain coordinate and helps to hover more accurately. Not only that, this quadcopter is built with obstacle avoidance detection systems that provide an additional layer of flight safety. Along with that, the Spark drone can do intelligent flight modes and simple functions that’ll keep you busy.
Specifications:
- Flight Time: 16 Minutes
- Remote Control Distance: 1,000 Meters
- Camera Quality: 12 Megapixels
- Image Resolution: 4K UHD
- Video Resolution: 1080P HD @ 30 FPS
- Video Bitrate: 24 Mbps
- Features: Gesture Mode, Palm Launch, Smart Return to Home, Flight Autonomy, Obstacle Avoidance, ActiveTrack
Parrot Mambo
Amazon.com Meet one of the funniest mini-sized quadcopter, the Parrot Mambo! This mini-sized drone is packed with a lot of cool features like cannon, grabber and even you can fly it around in first-person view mode. You’ll never stop being bored as there are so many things to do with the Parrot Mambo drone. This drone is equipped with high-tech sensors that offer smooth and optimal stability.
Furthermore, the Parrot Mambo can perform aerial tricks like flips and barrel rolls. Create your flying obstacle course and pilot around in first-person view mode. The Parrot Mambo drone is the perfect choice for beginners and kids who wants to learn how to fly. But also to keep themselves busy. Each flight battery provides around 10 minutes of flight time and has a maximum remote control distance of up to 65 meters.
Specifications:
- Flight Time: 10 Minutes
- Remote Control Distance: 65 Meters
- Image Quality: 720P HD
- Video Quality: 720P HD
- Features: Grabber Claw Module, Cannon Module, FPV Module, 360-Degree Flips, Automatic Takeoff / Landing
Tello
Amazon.com | Price history for Tello Quadcopter Drone | |
|---|---|
| Latest updates:
|
|
The DJI Ryze Tello drone is one of the most intelligent camera drones that you can get for less than $100. This quadcopter brings something completely different and new, giving you the ability to code and program custom flight paths. While the DJI Ryze Tello is crafted mainly for students who are majoring in STEM, adults and beginners also can learn how to code and program. Here’s why we chose the DJI Ryze Tello drone to be in the top 8 best mini drones for beginners and kids.
This mini-sized drone comes with an incredibly powerful camera that easily captures stills and videos at 720P HD resolution setting. Not to mention that the image quality from this drone is far superior to most of the other drones in this price range. In addition to that, the Tello drone is packed with a powerful battery that gives around 13 minutes of flight time. Beginners and kids will like this drone because it’s packed with a lot of cool features plus new aerial stunts.
Specifications:
- Flight Time: 13 Minutes
- Remote Control Distance: 100 Meters
- Camera Quality: 5 Megapixels
- Image Resolution: 720P HD
- Video Resolution: 720P HD @ 30 FPS
- Features: Proximity Sensors, Omnidirectional 360-Degree Flips, Programmable Flight Paths
KIZMO Portable Drone
Amazon.com Meet the world thinnest mini-sized drone, the KIZMO portable quadcopter. This drone is so thin enough that you can easily stuff it in your pants pocket. And, that doesn’t go without saying how features packed this drone is! The KIZMO portable drone is equipped with a 720P HD camera that offers real-time video transmission. Thus, you can capture every special moment from a bird-eye perspective.
And did I forget to mention that this drone is intelligent enough to perform on its own? That’s right, the KIZMO portable drone can follow you anywhere you go using face recognition. This way it gives you a complete hands-free experience to record your solo journey. In addition to that, this drone has built-in optical flow positioning that provides stability for smooth stills and the ability to operate with ease. Ultimately, we think the KIZMO portable drone is one of the top 8 best mini drones for beginners and kids.
Specifications:
- Flight Time: 5 Minutes
- Remote Control Distance: 50 Meters
- Camera Quality: 5 Megapixels
- Image Resolution: 720P HD
- Video Resolution: 720P HD @ 30 FPS
- Features: Follow Me Mode, Optical Flow Positioning, Altitude Hold, Headless Mode
HS150 Bolt Bee
Amazon.com | Price history for Holy Stone HS150 Bolt Bee Mini Racing Drone RC Quadcopter RTF 2.4GHz 6-Axis Gyro with 50KMH High Speed Headless Mode Wind Resistance Includes Bonus Battery | |
|---|---|
| Latest updates:
|
|
This is one of my favorite drone and a great choice for beginners and kids. The HS150 Bolt Bee does look a little similar to the popular DJI Ryze Tello drone. However, this drone is packed with superior flying speed. It has a maximum flying speed of 31 miles per hour. This makes this the fastest entry-level racing drone for beginners and kids. Here’s why we choose the HS150 Bolt Bee as one of the top 8 best mini drones for beginners.
This drone is built with thick ABS plastic which provides durability and resistance to impact. Furthermore, it can perform lighting fast aerial stunts like 360-degree flips. It even comes with a flexible speed that gives beginners a smooth learning curve to master piloting skills. And did I forget to mention that the HS150 Bolt Bee comes with a bonus battery which gives you a total flight time of 12 minutes?
Specifications:
- Flight Time: 6 Minutes
- Remote Control Distance: 70 Meters
- Features: Superior flying speed, 360-degree flip, altitude hold, return to home, automatic takeoff/landing.
HS210 Rogue
Amazon.com | Price history for Holy Stone HS210 Mini Drone RC Nano Quadcopter Best Drone for Kids and Beginners RC Helicopter Plane with Auto Hovering, 3D Flip, Headless Mode and Extra Batteries Toys for Boys and Girls | |
|---|---|
| Latest updates:
|
|
The HS210 Rogue earns its spot in the top 8 best mini drones for beginners and kids. If you are looking for something simple, yet high quality that will last for a long time. I want to introduce the HS210 Rogue drone to you. This is an improved version of the most common drone with better battery life and of course optical flow positioning. This is about the most affordable and easiest drone beginners can ever start with.
In the box, it comes with two bonus batteries that give you a total flight time of 21 minutes. In addition to that, the HS210 Rogue has built-in propeller guards that provide an additional layer of protection. Beginners and kids will grow to love this mini-sized drone because of how easy it is to fly. Thanks to an improved 6-axis gyroscope stabilizer and optical flow positioning, beginners can fly the drone right out of the box.
Specifications:
- Flight Time: 7 Minutes
- Remote Control Distance: 50 Meters
- Features: Optical Flow Positioning, 360-degree flip, Automatic Landing / Takeoff, Speed Mode, Headless Mode
DROCON DC-65
Amazon.com As we reached the last piece of the top 8 best mini drones for beginners and kids. We think the DROCON DC-65 drone is a great quality foldable quadcopter that’s worth checking out. This drone features foldable motor arms that you can store it inside the transmitter. Even the remote controller comes with a portable charging cord to recharge your drone on the go. With the drone mini fuselage, it offers great performance and flight characteristics.
Beginners and kids will like this drone a lot because it’s incredibly responsive and stable. Plus, it features a three-speed mode that offers a learning rope for beginners to master their flight skills. Not only that the DROCON DC-65 makes a great training drone, it introduces a 360-degree self-flying circle function that flies at high speed around the target. Which offers excitement and a lot of fun things to keep yourself busy!
Specifications:
- Flight Time: 7 Minutes
- Remote Control Distance: 50 Meters
- Features: High-Speed Self-Flying Circle, Foldable Motor Arms, 360-Degree Flips, Automatic Takeoff / Landing, Headless Mode
Is It Worth Buying Mini Drones?
Yes, buying mini drones is worth the money if you plan to fly it over multiple sessions. Generally, the most expensive mini drones will be the one that gets flown for a long time because they have so many applications and uses in the real world like photography and marketing. But, if you are a first-time flyer and have no prior flying experience. Checking out the top 8 best mini drones would be a great start, to begin with, because they are small and don’t possess that much power.
Depending on what your goals are with these mini drones. If you want to learn how to fly a drone or to capture aerial photography, you probably would be better off with either Mavic Air or Spark since they’re smart enough to do these on their own and provide you with the best image quality. Personally, my advice to you is to start with one of these mini drones. Once you’ve enough experience, you can upgrade to one of these professional-grade camera drones.
What Is Your Favorite Mini Drones?
If you were to ask me what’s my favorite mini drones, I have a lot to tell you. But personally, my top three favorite mini drones are HS150 Bolt Bee, DJI Spark, and HS210 Rogue. I think all of them are great and earns to be in the top 8 best mini drones for beginners and kids. However, you definitely should check out these other five mini-sized drones. Perhaps you’ve got a different taste than me.
Depending on what you want to get out of these drones. For me, I enjoy to fly these drones around and set my flying obstacle courses. Perhaps you prefer to have a drone-like Parrot Mambo and fire these little cannonballs at plastic cups. What drone you want to shop for is ultimately up to you. So, feel free to check out these top 8 best mini drones for beginners and kids!
More Drones Tips & Guides
Before I conclude my top 8 best mini drones for beginners and kids. I have a few drone tips and guides to share with you, which I think you’ll find helpful and insightful to your first drone. Feel free to check these guides out and be sure to bookmark them for future reference.
- 8 Quick and Important Flying Tips for New Drone Pilots
- Top 25 Best Reasons Why You Should Buy Drones for Beginners
- 10 Important Tips That Drone Photographers Should Know
- How to Interact With Curious People While Flying Your Drones
- How to Become Part 107 Remote Pilot Certified: Guide for Beginners
If you’re interested in learning more about drones or need other recommendations, check out our massive guides page. Again, I hope you found my guide about the top 8 best mini drones helpful. If you have any questions about these drones. Feel free to drop a comment in the comments section below. Happy flying and fly smart!
