7 Best Drones for Kids and Beginners, According to Testing

With more than 8,000 five-star Amazon reviews, this affordable, ultra-lightweight mini drone is popular for being easy to set up and fly indoors. The manufacturer says it is for ages 14 and up, but in our tests, we found that kids as young as 8 could fly it with some guidance. It features altitude hold, which keeps it stable in the air even if a child lets go of the controls. With practice, kids can even make it perform aerial flips! In headless mode, you don't have to worry about the drone facing any specific way, making it easier to fly.

There is no camera onboard, but this is a great first racing drone for kids who want to learn to control one. Robust propeller guards keep this protected against bumps into furniture, walls and the ceiling, plus it comes equipped with batteries. Many Amazon reviewers mention buying more than one so that siblings or families can race. Note that this tiny drone is not suitable for the outdoors, where it is likely to get lost in a tree or bushes.

While more expensive "real" drones may be sturdier and soar higher, once the price was factored in, this toy drone flew to the top of our list. Using hand gestures, instead of a typical remote, to make this drone zip around makes kids feel like magicians. They get it going by turning it on while holding the "trick stick" and gently tossing the drone into the air. Once the drone is floating, kids can learn to make it do tricks by keeping their hand under it and motioning up, down, left or right. It can work by moving a foot under it as well!

This a perfect indoor flying drone that gets kids ages 5, 6 and 7 — those tricky ages when they start to get sucked into more screentime — up and moving around, reaching high to make the drone fly higher and dipping low to make it descend. Just be sure to use it in an open area where kids are at least 3 feet away from furniture and objects so that the drone has room to move. It won't work outdoors, where it can't sense a ceiling. We named it one of our best gifts for 9-year-old boys, but younger kids of any gender are likely to love it as well.

Beginners who want to learn how to capture scenes from above need a drone with a camera. This model from Holy Stone has a beginner's 1080P HD camera with a 120-degree wide-angle lens for videos that can export straight to a smartphone or to an SD card (not included). You can also use your smartphone to control the drone once you download the app. The drone offers voice control, trajectory flight options and auto-hover.

Flying this takes practice, but that's the whole point; this is a great first drone to learn with. Like most drones with a camera, this is age-graded for teens 14 and up who presumably have their own smartphone, but younger kids could learn to use it with assistance from an adult. Note that there's a two-hour charging time, which requires kids to have lots of patience. In our tests, the batteries did not last the full 20 minutes the brand says is possible, but did go for up to 15 minutes.

This new-to-2023 flying toy drone is made for kids to use with their blaster guns as flying target practice. Our pros flew this in a backyard and were amazed at how well it hovered fairly low and automatically dodged side-to-side and up-and-down to give the kids a levitating flying saucer they could battle. In our trial, it never flew too high and it fell gracefully to the ground when it "lost." It's a satisfying way to have more fun with a blaster (such as a Nerf foam blaster or Faction gel blaster) and have more fun with a drone toy. "It almost seemed alive, the way it moved on its own," said one parent. "And the kids really got into chasing it around."

Because this one flies independently, this is not for a child who wants to learn how to control a drone. But it can be a great gift for a child who wants to chase a drone around and play with it without the need to learn controls. You can use this with the Faction Battle System app, enabling Bluetooth, to gamify it even more. Or you can just let kids chase it around screen-free.

The SYMA RC Helicopter combines the fun of a toy helicopter with the features of a racing drone. In our tests, we found it possible to use with kids as young as 8, though the official age grading recommends it for 14 and up. Designed for both indoor and outdoor play, it has propeller guards and a landing base to make it a more crash-proof drone. Reviewers love this model as you can keep learning new tricks — like 360-degree turns and hops in the air — as you play with it. Though there's no camera, this is a fantastic drone for learning to fly and practicing new stunts.

This is the heaviest drone on our list, and since it weighs over a pound, it falls under the FAA guidelines for drones that should be registered for recreational flying. (Some teens might think that is thrilling!) Registration is $5 and valid for 3 years. Check the FAA website for more info.

For drone enthusiasts who are starting to get serious, this quadcopter is the way to step up without paying the hundreds of dollars it would normally cost to get a high-quality camera drone. Its 5-megapixel camera is much sharper than most others for under $100. If your tween or teen has flown and mastered other drones before, this one will be a no-brainer to learn. It can be fun to make it perform tricks and flips.

Just note that, online, Android users report being unhappy with the app, and because the photos from the camera can only go straight to a smartphone, that can be a problem. We recommend this for users with an iOS device.

Here's a racing quadcopter that's also a notable stunt drone designed with lights so you can track it in the dark. Users can learn to make it tilt and flip forward or backward. It also flies impressively high — up to 150 feet — so families can have fun making this soar outdoors, even above their home. Practice lowering the drone first to ensure you can get it back down safely on its four landing pegs.

Online reviewers note that this 5-inch drone is surprisingly powerful — it makes some noise and might sting if it hits you while going at top speed. On the plus side, it's a very stable flying drone, and users find it easy to learn to lift it gracefully off the ground to start a flight. This one also has a long charging time of about 2 hours, so get it powered up well ahead of time.