For those of you looking to grab a new drone today and are able to walk into a Best Buy store, you’re in good shape. The Best Buy drones section is often well stocked, giving you many machines to choose from. You can shop in store or online.
Join us today for a quick list of some of the best drones that you can find at Best Buy. I can’t promise that they will be on the shelves, the last time I went to Best Buy they were nearly sold out of everything, but they still stock them, at least online.
Truth is, this list is going to be a simple and straightforward list of some of our favorite drones. Best Buy stocks a fair selection of machines in-store, then their online shopping experience offers most anything available for sale today. Basically, if you are not keen on shopping from Amazon or from a device manufacturer, Best Buy is a solid option for your retail drone shopping needs.
Jonathan FeistWhy trust Drone Rush?
I’ve been a fan of flight since a young age; while I’ve had few opportunities at the helm of manned aircraft, the hours on my fleet of drones continue to grow. I enjoy putting cameras into the sky, silky smooth aerial imagery makes me happy. My goal is to help all pilots enjoy flight legally and safely.
Best Buy drones
The DJI Air 2S is the best spiritual successor to the original Mavic Pro we’ve seen yet. Packing one of the best cameras in the sky, and a reliable, compact, folding design, the Air 2S is the kind of camera drone almost any pilot can be pleased with. 5.4K video recording, 7.5 mile connectivity range, and it’s easy to use.
Why we fly the DJI Air 2S
We love the Air 2S. When we first unboxed this drone, we liked the familiarity of it, a familiarity any Mavic pilot will appreciate. We quickly realized the Air 2S was a step above with the solid connection and the output of that camera. It’s one thing to recommend the Air 2S based on the specifications and price tag, but we’re telling you straight up, if we were only allowed to own one drone, this would be it. If you want a fun and reliable camera drone, like we do, you should buy the DJI Air 2S.
Pros
- Great camera
- Easy to fly
- Best flight range around
- 5.4K video recording
- Well priced
- Improved safety and flight features
Cons
- No display in the remote
- Limited obstacle avoidance sensors
- Great camera
- 5.4K video
- 8X zoom
- Compact and easy to use
- Fantastic range
The DJI Air 2S is easily the best camera drone for most uses. The 1-inch sensor produces fantastic images from the sky, and the compact, folding design of the quadcopter is familiar and reliable – it may not be in the name, but this is still a Mavic drone.
DJI FPV: Fast and fun camera racing drone
The DJI FPV is a blast to fly. This hybrid camera racing drone can fly like a Mavic drone, including a super stable auto-hover with stabilized 4K camera, or you can let loose with the full race mode. The DJI FPV can help you learn to fly a racing drone as well, with a hybrid-mode. While the camera only has two axis of rotation, the drone can get up to 87 MPH, a fun tradeoff.
Why we fly the DJI FPV
We think you’ll like the DJI FPV, we know we like it. For those looking to get into the hobby of drone racing, but still want a decent camera drone, the DJI FPV is a fantastic choice. Make no mistake, this is not the best camera drone, nor is it the best racing drone around, and it costs more than a typical drone in either of those segments, but it’s the most fun we’ve had flying a drone in a long while.
Pros
- Very fast
- Very fun
- New flight modes
- Built for FPV
- Optional new remote control
Cons
- Expensive if all you want is a camera drone
- Expensive if all you want is a racing drone
- 2-axis camera gimbal
- 4K camera
- Over 85mph!
- Versatile flight modes
- Very fun to fly
- Motion Controller is unique and fun
The DJI FPV is a fantastic hybrid drone. It takes the very best from both the racing drone scene and the camera drone experience, making for one of the most exciting flying machines around. Blending the two has compromises, including shorter flight times than camera drone pilots would like, and agility that may not keep up on a tougher race track.
DJI Mavic 3: Best consumer drone
The DJI Mavic 3 instantly took over as the best consumer drone on the market. It’s not the most affordable, but no other drone of this size has this good of a camera, this much flight time, or this much data storage space.
We enjoy the output from the Micro Four Thirds camera, and are really enjoying that extra battery life. If you’re lucky enough to live somewhere that allows BVLOS, the Mavic 3 offers over 9 miles of connectivity distance. If you are in the US, that means you can expect a rock solid connection for your flight.
Why we fly the DJI Mavic 3
In our skies with the Mavic 3, it was the most reliable and solid feeling drones we’ve ever flown. The media capture was obviously really good, pumping out 5.1K video and 20MP photos. Mostly, we reallly appreciate the 1TB SSD available in the Mavic 3 Cine model.
Pros
- Fast
- Reliable
- Great camera
- Huge flight range
- 46 minutes of flight time
- Optional 1TB SSD
Cons
- Price
- Fantastic camera
- 5.1K video
- Huge flight time
- Safe and capable drone
- Class-leading flight range
A 20MP Micro Four Thirds camera that shoots 5.1K video, and 46 minutes of flight time make the DJI Mavic 3 one of the best camera drones you can purchase today.
DJI Mini 2: Best budget 4K drone
The DJI Mini 2 is easily the best 4K camera drone for under $500. With its subtle improvements over the original Mavic Mini, it’s also our pick for the best drone under $500. This tiny drone is one of the best machines for any caliber of pilot. It’s the kind of drone you slip into your backpack when you hit the trail.
Should I buy the DJI Mini 2?
The DJI Mini 2 is the kind of drone we want in our fleet. It’s not our favorite camera drone, and it’s too expensive to be the drone we hand over to children in our life, but it’s super easy to fly and captures good enough media from the sky for hobby purposes. If you own a drone like the DJI Air 2S, you might not have use for the Mini 2.
Pros
- Best drone under $500
- Good 4K camera
- Under 250g
- Easy to fly
Cons
- Lacks features found in larger drones
- May be too simple for some pilots
- 4K camera
- Very portable
- Easy to fly
- 249 grams
The DJI Mini 2 is a superb update from the Mavic Mini, now offering a 4K camera, Ocusync 2.0 and more power.
Ryze Tello: Fun starter drone
The Ryze Tello is a superb starter drone. It’s fairly easy to fly, has decent flight features for the price, and offers some educational aspects for those looking to learn coding and flight logic. This is a high-end toy-class machine, please do not expect to take it into the sky to capture amazing drone photos and video.
Should I buy the Ryze Tello?
We like this drone. Despite its age, it remains a fun little drone for indoor pilots and those looking to learn more about unpiloted aircraft.
Pros
- Fun
- Educational
- Easy to operate
- Control by smartphone
Cons
- Just a toy
- Controller is an optional add-on
- Educational drone
- Safe for indoor flight
- Fun to fly
The Ryze Tello is one of the most capable and versatile mini drones around, enjoy different designs, code your own flight features, or just fly in your living room for fun.
Parrot Anafi: Consumer-class inspection drone
The Parrot Anafi has a camera gimbal that can point straight up. We’re not saying that this is all the drone can do, but it is certainly the feature that sets this drone apart from the rest. Capture 4K video from the sky, enjoy stable flight and keep up with most hobby drones around. When you’re done playing, the ability to look up is a powerful tool for inspection services.
Should I buy the Parrot Anafi
We believe the Parrot Anafi is a worthy drone for your money. Make no mistake, we believe that DJI drones at the same price point offer better cameras and more flight features for hobby pilots, but if you need to do any inspection work, particularly if you have to look upward, the Anafi is a winning choice.
Pros
- Easy to fly
- Upward facing gimbal
- Not-DJI (If that matters to you.)
Cons
- Not the best bang for the buck
- Camera can point straight up
- Versatile platform
The Parrot Anafi is one of few drones that looks up as well as it looks down. The 4K front mounted camera is on a long-travel articulating Gimbal, so you can look straight up all the way to straight down.
Toys
Let’s be fair, I usually try to talk people into buying more capable machines, but sometimes budget or the age of the pilot mean a toy-class machine is the right answer. We’ve got some Cheap drones listed on our site, and some machines for kids, but if Best Buy is your shopping preference, they’ve got a bunch to choose from themselves. The list of toy drones at Best Buy at least covers some of the cool Star Wars Propeller drones, we respect that.
As one of the largest physical electronics retailers in the country, Best Buy remains a solid destination to shop for drones. Their online marketplace greatly expands the offerings available. Primarily, we see consumer drones at Best Buy, for anyone looking to grab something like the DJI Inspire 2 or larger drone, be sure to check out one of the other great places to buy a drone.
More than just a drone
Best Buy does more than just sell drones, keep in mind that they have a decent selection of parts and accessories as well. I’m not trying to sell you on a trip to their store, I was just pleasantly surprised and impressed with the selection the last time I was there.
Editor’s note: The purchase buttons in this list go to the best possible purchasing solution we can find, please click the More Info buttons to see all purchasing options, including Best Buy. This article feels like a paid promotion, but it is not. We buy most of our drones from Amazon or from the drone manufacturers, we just thought it a good idea to explore another option for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Best Buy is an authorized dealer for a number of drone brands, as such, you will receive a standard warranty, usually 1 year, and the option to purchase an extended warranty program from each manufacturer. Best Buy themselves offer their Geek Squad program, which is more warranty coverage, plus some accident forgiveness.
Sadly, no, most Best Buy stores will not let you test a drone before you buy. They will have some display units that you can put your hands on, to see how the construction feels and get an idea of how they fold down and such, but you are unlikely to experience a powered up drone in the store. Please also be aware that return policies for drones are usually very restrictive, you may not be able to return to Best Buy after you’ve opened the box – so no testing on a live purchase.
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