The best time of the year for some is right around the corner!



Christmas is a time when we share love and gifts amongst the people we care about most, and of course, the best part of the deal is clearly the gifts.



You may be thinking of getting someone (or maybe yourself!) a new drone as a gift for the upcoming holidays. Sifting through all the available options can get pretty overwhelming after all, and different kinds of drones are meant for different kinds of people.

I made this post to make your search for the best drones to buy this Christmas much easier. So let’s get right into it!

Best toy drones

In this category we got 3 different drones to choose from. But first of all, don’t forget to check out Banggood’s awesome store!



They have many great drones for a good bargain. Especially toy drones.

Our top 3 picks are definitely these three:

Snaptain H823H



The first is the Snaptain H823H, which is a tiny hand-sized drone meant for kids. If you got kids under the age of 10, and you’ve been thinking of getting them a drone, this might be the perfect one.

Despite the lower price, it’s actually got a really nice arrange of features: it comes with 3 batteries and it lasts 21 minutes in the air (similar to most professional drones), it has a Return-to-Home function and 3 different speed modes. And since it’s only 29$, even if your kids crash it, it won’t hurt your wallet that much. Click here to see the price.



Ryze Tello

Next up is the Ryze Tello, a drone made by DJI in collaboration with Intel. The Tello is one hell of a drone for its price, and a good option if you’re looking for something to give your tweens. It features a 5MP camera capable of recording at 720p with electronic image stabilization, a range of about 100 meters and a 13 minute flight time.

It’s got some other cool extras like VR headset compatibility, flight modes like Throw & Go or Bounce Mode, and coolest of all is the ability to program it with Scratch, a programming language for kids. Click here to see the price.



Hubsan H501SS

Lastly, there’s the Hubsan H501SS. It’s 50$ more than the Tello, but it’s also much more capable as well. It can record 1080p Full HD footage, which you can see live right from the 4.3inch LCD that is included in the remote controller. The H501SS’s motors are brushless, different from the Tello’s brushed motors, which in layman’s terms means the motors perform much better and have a longer life.

It’s got a range of up to 300 meters and can stay in the air for about 20 minutes, essentially double that of the Tello. Hardware-wise, it’s an all-around upgrade over the Tello, making it a great choice for any aspiring little pilots who want something more capable than their toy drones. Click here to see the price.

Best drone for beginners

DJI Mavic Mini



The Mavic Mini is DJI’s latest drone. Don’t get fooled by its name, because the Mini is a very capable drone, worthy of the Mavic name that its larger siblings share.



The Mini weighs only 249g, almost as light as most smartphones, and the reason this is important lies right in DJI’s slogan for the Mavic Mini, “Fly as You Are”. Drones that weigh less than 250 grams don’t need to be registered with the FAA before you can fly them, meaning you get to use it the moment it arrives at your door (perfect for gifts from under the Christmas tree!)



The feather lightness doesn’t make it a toy drone at all. It’s got a camera that can take shots at 4000x3000p resolution, and record at up to 2.7K. The camera itself sits on a 3-axis gimbal so your videos won’t turn out shaky. A 30 minute flight time will ensure you’ll have plenty of time to record and capture all the great moments you’ll share with your family and friends this Christmas.



DJI knows flying a drone isn’t easy, so it made the DJI Fly app specifically for the Mavic Mini and its aspiring pilots. Not only do you get an awesome “Flight Tutorial” for first-timers, but also features like the Creator Templates which allow you to make amazing videos with no editing experience needed, and QuickShots, which are motion presets that will let you make action videos so you can show them off to all your friends.



All in all, the Mavic Mini is the perfect gift for anyone looking to get their first drone, as it’s not only very portable and beginner-friendly, but also highly capable as well. Click here to see the price.



Best drone for most people

What if you’re looking for something a little more serious? Maybe the person you’re getting a gift for already has their own small drone and is looking for something more advanced.



In this case, there are two drones I can recommend to you: the old veteran DJI Mavic Pro and newer Parrot Anafi. Both are highly capable drones of the same advanced category with different prices, but with some key differences which I’ll point out as I compare them so you can decide for yourself which one you’d rather buy.



Parrot Anafi



The Anafi and the Mavic Pro are both foldable drones of comparably slim size, but the Anafi weighs 400 grams less than the Mavic Pro at 320g, making it easier to transport.



The Anafi has an effective transmission range of up to 4Km, while the Mavic Pro goes as far as 7Km. As for flight time, though the Anafi has a smaller 2700mAh battery versus the Mavic Pro’s 3830mAh, they have the same estimated flight time thanks to the Anafi’s lower weight.

This also results in a faster charging time, which by the way, the Anafi tackles through a standard USB Type-C port, while the Mavic Pro charges through a proprietary port instead.



Camera-wise, the Anafi has a higher resolution sensor at 21MP compared to the Mavic Pro’s 12MP. Both can record at 4K and 1080p, but the Mavic Pro allows you to record at 2.7K and 720p as well, with the option to go slo-mo at 120FPS. Click here to see the price.

DJI Mavic Pro﻿

Two big differences are that the Mavic Pro has a true 3-axis gimbal, while the Anafi has a 3-axis ‘hybrid’ gimbal, which really means its a 2-axis with the yaw being digitally processed. The Anafi, however, has the ability to record with a 100mbps bitrate, much higher than the Mavic Pro’s 60mbps, meaning things such as fast panning appear much more fluent and sharp.



To finish off this comparison, the Mavic Pro has a very complex 3D obstacle avoidance system which includes 4 cameras, dual-band satellite positioning system and 2 ultrasonic range finder sensors. The Anafi doesn’t have any of that. Click here to see the price.

For any experienced pilot though, this shouldn’t be a deal-breaker.



Both of these drones are excellent pieces of hardware, and whichever one you choose should definitely satisfy the lucky new pilot’s expectations.



Best drone over-all

DJI Mavic 2 Zoom



If what you’re looking to get is the best of the best (without getting into excessively expensive, Hollywood-quality drones) then your best option is the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom.



Tried and tested, this drone is so good that DJI based their enterprise platform on it (the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise series).



You’re basically getting a better everything compared to the previously mentioned drones.



Better range at 8Km, better flight time at 30 minutes, quieter propellers, a true 3-axis gimbal, best-in-class obstacle avoidance, and video transmission, even 8GB of internal storage for when you forget your SD card. And of course the reason for its name, a 12MP sensor with a lens that lets you do optical zoom, something that can completely change the way you shoot on your drone.



One amazing feature of the Zoom for photography is the Super-resolution mode. Essentially, the Zoom takes 9 photos: first, one at the wider 24mm focal length to serve as a reference, and then the other 8 at the zoomed-in 48mm. The result will be stitched together into one massively detailed 48MP image.



The Mavic 2 Zoom is the ultimate drone experience, used both by amateurs and professionals, and if you want to get a drone enthusiast a gift that will leave them speechless, this is the one to get. Click here to see the price.



Conclusion



What drone you end up choosing will depend on your budget and the experience of the soon-to-be drone pilot (even if that’s yourself), but now that you know which options are the best for a couple of price points and experience levels, this should make your decision much easier.

Although, I must say that if you are looking for a nice all-around drone but you can’t afford a $1000+ Mavic 2 Zoom, then a perfect drone for you would be the DJI Mavic Mini. You will be thrilled!

I hope this article helped you, and please remember to fly safe!

If you are wondering can you fly your drone on cold winter days or not, please check out our detailed guide on that topic!

