Best Budget Drones Under $100 – 2024 Update

Summary: Buying an affordable beginner drone no longer means losing out on all the latest features and performance. During our testing we found the Raptor 8K was able to keep up and even exceed the performance of the expensive ‘big brand’ name drones.

Raptor 8K is currently on a limited-time 56% Off Sale in stores and online.

Flying drones has been a passion of mine for over 10 years. I first started flying RC helicopters as a hobby in 2012, progressing to micro drones and all other newer models as the technology advanced.

Eventually, I was lucky enough to try even the highest-end drones such as the Shotover U1 ( used to film the action scenes in the new James Bond film), so I’m confident that I have experienced the full range of products available on the market right now.

And while these high-end drones can be incredibly fun to fly, they are also hard to control and VERY expensive.

Imagine crashing a $1000 drone as a beginner on your first go. It would be heartbreaking!

The problem with more affordable drones, however, is that while they can be easy to use – their camera quality usually sucks!

So when I was assigned to review Raptor 8K and saw that it only cost $199 ($99 with discount), I figured it was going to be another junk drone with poor performance and quality…however, after testing it for a couple of days, I realized that I could not have been more wrong!

Raptor 8K turned out to be a top-class drone packed with amazing features suitable for beginners and even enthusiasts like me.

My package arrived within 2 days of ordering which already put me in a good mood. There’s nothing worse than buying something new online and having to wait for weeks in anticipation for it to arrive so I was happy with this company’s delivery process so far.

Upon opening the package, I picked up Raptor 8K in my hand and immediately felt confused. The drone I was holding FELT like a $500 drone. The material, the sturdiness, the build quality all reminded me of the high-end drone models that I’ve tested before.

We’ve all experienced the difference of a cheap or brittle product and a high quality one, whether its sunglasses, clothes or shoes… well drones are no different and this one felt and looked amazing.

The big problem with all the ”budget” drones that I’ve tested before is that they aren’t actually built for speed or durability. Sure, you can fly them at low altitudes under perfect weather conditions, but as soon as you go beyond 200 feet, they will lose their signal and drop.

When I closely inspected the build quality of Raptor 8K, I was immediately impressed with the rotor and arm strength and stability. The drone was very compact, and I was able to fold it easily meaning I could take it anywhere with me without much hassle.

I started to read more about the drone in the manual and my jaw dropped when I saw that the the transmission distance was 3000 feet!

Did this company really manage to design a drone with such a long transmission distance?

If this was true that would be on par with some of the expensive big brand models. I was still a little bit sceptical and resumed my investigation.

The controller felt really comfortable in my hands. It was ergonomic; I could do a long flight session without any trouble. The buttons were springy and easy to press.

The joysticks felt similar to a gaming controller with adequate resistance and precision. The controller also has a retractable phone holder and foldable antennas.

Together with the foldable drone design, I could tell the creators wanted to make this drone convenient to transport and use anywhere. I saw this as a huge plus as I’ve often found myself thinking, ‘Wow, if only I had my drone right now’.

Raptor 8K even has a phone app that allows you to control the drone with a remote. I thought there were no excuses not to have the drone with me now.

I messed around with the drone controls a bit more and found some pretty cool features. One is the ability to steer the drone by tilting your phone, making it super intuitive and beginner-friendly. It’s really as easy as playing a mobile game.

Some other features that stood out were the pre-programmed 360 camera moves, slow motion recording, automatic take-off, and 1-button landing.

Finally it was time to test what this drone was capable of. The previous features I outlined are all great but don’t mean much if the drone can’t perform as promised.

The 3 most important features of a high tier drone are the camera quality, transmission distance and responsiveness to controls so this is what my testing focused on.

After charging the drone, I headed to the nearest park, connected my phone, and pushed the automatic take-off button.

The drone flew straight up and just steadily hovered above me.

I consider this test to be really important, especially for beginners. I remembered when I flew my first drone many years ago and just how easy it was to lose control of it.

This test showed that even a beginner could get this drone up in the air stress-free. Perfect.

In my next test, I flew a bit higher and tested taking some sharp turns to see just how responsive the drone was to my control. Some cheaper drones I’ve tested before had a lot of trouble with this input delay and unresponsiveness, but not Raptor 8K.

It really felt very similar to the $500~ models that I’ve tested, the only tiny difference being in advanced rolling maneuvers. So far, so good.

To my surprise, even the transmission distance worked as promised! I was able to fly 3000 Feet out without losing the signal. It was so far that I lost track of where the drone was, so it’s definitely far enough!

Oh and in case you actually are worried about losing the drone, there’s a nifty little feature that returns it back to you with the press of 1 button!

That paired with the anti-collision sensors will allow you to use the drone for a very long time without any problems.

The camera quality on this drone easily rivals the big expensive brand names. I was able to take both beautiful photos and videos during my tests. The footage comes out very stable and clear, unlike other less expensive drones.

Amazingly after all my testing I checked the battery and it was still on 30%! I got over 20 Minutes of intense fly time and footage and still had some juice left in the tank.

So far, Raptor 8K has sold millions of units directly to consumers. It has been selling out every time they re-stock; it’s become THAT popular.

All of the success can be attributed to word-of-mouth referrals. People like you, and I love it so much that they post about it on social media. Here are some posts that I managed to find online.

It’s clear that this drone is developing a cult-like following in the drone community!

After a few days of testing this drone and all of it’s features, I can confidently say that you cannot compare it with anything in it’s price class. This drone truly rivals the quality and performance of big brand names that cost $500+. Here’s some reasons why  is superior:

 4K Camera and Filming Features: The 4K Ultra HD camera is incredible on it’s own, but coupled with the pre-programmed camera modes you will be able to capture every moment with ease. With just a press of a button, the drone can take slow motion footage or do a full 360 capture of it’s environment.

 Battery Life: Nothing worse than setting up to get some footage just to have your drone run out of battery quickly. Raptor 8K drone is lightweight with superior battery capacity which means you can fly twice as long as the competition.

 High-Tech Anti Collision Software: The in built sensors can detect when the drone is too close to the ground or any other obstacle and change flying course automatically to avoid a crash. You wouldn’t want to accidently break your drone, and this safety feature makes sure it stays safe.

 Mobile and Durable: The drone is very compact and portable while having incredibly sturdy design and top tier build quality. Bring the drone anywhere and always be ready to take some amazing footage.

 Silent Motor: Thanks to the very efficient engine and aerodynamic design Raptor 8K drone is able to achieve high speeds while keeping noise levels low.

The big name brands spend billions on fancy advertising (e.g. $6.5 Million for a 30 sec SuperBowl Ad). Guess who’s paying for that in the end? The customer!

Instead, Raptor 8K doesn’t run many ads and instead relies on word-of-mouth referral sales from their customers. That and selling mostly through their online store allowed them to keep costs lower than the competition.

I have to say that I was honestly very pleasantly surprised after reviewing and testing this drone. Never thought I’d say this but I would highly recommend this drone, especially while its on sale for $99.

It seems like modern technology has advanced to such a level where an ambitious start up company can design a high tier drone for a fraction of the price of traditional big brand companies.

So whether you are a beginner or a drone enthusiast looking for a new drone that has a crystal clear & stable camera, long battery life, great transmission range and many other incredible features, you should seriously consider picking up Raptor 8K.

If you’re still on the fence, Raptor 8K has a 30-day money-back guarantee (no questions asked), meaning that you could always buy one and return if you don’t like it.

BEWARE of copycats — they DO NOT use the same Camera and Anti-Collision features as the genuine Raptor 8K! Only buy Raptor 8K from the official site listed below!