The best dash cam is crucial for added safety and making sure you have proof in case something happens. In today’s car accessory market, there is a diverse range of dash cams catering to different needs and budgets. These vary from basic to advanced models, spanning a spectrum of prices. Whether you’re seeking a permanently installed dashcam or a portable option for use across multiple vehicles, there’s a broad selection offering excellent features. After thorough research and testing, we’ve curated a list of the best dash cams available, ensuring you can safeguard your journeys effectively. Explore our recommendations to make an informed choice for your vehicle’s safety.
The best dash cams combine advanced technology, reliability, and user-friendly features to enhance overall driving safety and provide valuable evidence in case of accidents or incidents. These devices are crucial for capturing high-quality footage of road events, contributing to a safer driving experience. The most effective dash cams typically come equipped with features such as high-resolution video recording, wide-angle lenses for comprehensive coverage, built-in GPS for accurate location tracking, and G-sensors to automatically save footage during sudden acceleration or deceleration. Some models also offer advanced driver assistance systems, like lane departure warnings and collision alerts. Dash cams play a pivotal role in settling insurance claims and legal disputes by providing an objective record of events. Pricing varies based on the features offered, with budget-friendly options providing basic functionality, while premium models with advanced features may come at a higher cost. Ultimately, the best dash cams strike a balance between affordability and cutting-edge technology, making them an indispensable tool for modern drivers concerned with safety and accountability.
You may need to read: Types Of Dash Cams
Top 11 best dash cams for cars in 2024
| 1 | Thinkware U1000 Dash Cam – The best premium dash cam |
| 2 | Waylins Secure360 Wi-Fi Dash Cam – Best 360-degree dash cam |
| 3 | Garmin Speak Plus Dash Cam – Best dashcam with voice control |
| 4 | Vava Dash Cam – Best adjustable dash cam |
| 5 | Nextbase 422GW Dash Cam – Affordable dash cam with emergency SOS |
| 6 | Kenwood DRV-830 – Dashcam with class-leading video storage |
| 7 | Garmin Dash Cam 66W – Compact dash cam with LCD screen |
| 8 | Garmin Dash Cam Mini – Best hidden dash cam |
| 9 | Rexing V1 Basic Dash Cam – Affordable dash cam with GPS |
| 10 | APEMAN Mini Dash Cam – Budget dash cam with LCD screen |
| 11 | Azdome UHD 2160p Dash Cam – Best cheap dash cam |
Also read: Advantages And Disadvantages Of Dash Cams
The Best Dash Cam – Reviews
1. Thinkware U1000 Dash Cam
- Resolution: 4K (3840x2160p)
- Power source: Capacitor powered
- Memory storage: 128GB
- GPS: Yes
- Night vision: Yes
Thinkware U1000 comes with a recording resolution of 4K at 30 frames per second, but if you want to record in 2K, it gets 60 frames per second, giving you clear images of license plate numbers at high speeds. Its wide viewing angle of 150 degrees covers every detail of the car’s interior and its surroundings if set at the right angle. It is equipped with the Sony Exmor R Starvis image sensor with an excellent high resolution of 8MP that allows you to record clear visible videos at high and low lights, giving you perfect recording with night vision.
It doesn’t come with an LCD screen, so you’ll have to install its Thinkware app on your smartphone to set it up. Furthermore, you can download videos from the dashcam to your smartphone and view the live video feed easily. The Thinkware brand offers an optional radar module for the Thinkware U1000 dashcam. This radar module is used in parking mode to reduce power consumption. It enables the dash cam to automatically record the clip if it detects an impact and discards it if nothing is detected.
Its built-in Wi-Fi feature allows you to connect to the internet or hotspot, and you can view live video feeds and check the location of your car. Moreover, its lane departure and collision warning features are reliable. It also sends you notifications in case of shock, impact, and any accident. The bit rate in 4K is usually 28mbps, which is quite reasonable considering the high-efficiency video and the rear cam has 14 Mbps. It’s the best dash cam with advanced technology and impressive features, and a lot to offer.
Thinkware U1000 dash cam is typically sold as a dual cam, but you can also only buy the front cam at a lower price, or purchase the rear camera separately. The rear camera comes with a 2K resolution at a bit rate of 14MBps and 156 degrees viewing angle.
Also read: Best Front And Rear Dash Cam
2. Waylens Secure360 Wi-Fi-Dash Camera
- Resolution: 1080p
- Power source: Capacitor powered
- Memory storage: 256GB
- GPS: Yes
- Night vision: Yes
This breakthrough in automobile security cameras with a single lens captures a genuinely seamless 360-degree view in and around your vehicle, all the time, even when the car is parked. Its high-performance Ambarella Camera processor with Advanced sensor function and motion artifact reduction provides sharp and crystal clear video. Furthermore, Its InfraRed LEDs help the dash cam to see in low light conditions and perform well even on pitch night.
Moreover, its advanced Fusion of Radar, 3-axis Accelerometer, and GPS provide intelligent event detection for your vehicle. With these sweet and low-power sensors, it keeps track of your vehicle’s surroundings and when a motion of impact is detected will securely record the incident in a MicroSD card. Its high-speed 4G delivers real-time alerts, and fast 4G data delivers live streaming through a secure 360 App. It automatically uploads the story to the cloud, and hence the video is secured even when the car and cameras are stolen. With its smart and advanced power and thermal management Features, it protects an unattended vehicle for up to 360 hours or 15 days without getting overheated. WAYLENS SECURE360° WI-FI DASH CAMERA is certainly the best dash cam choice if you are interested in 360-degree dash cameras.
Also read: Best 360 Degree Dash Cam
3. Garmin Speak Plus Dash Cam
- Resolution: 1080p
- Power source: Capacitor powered
- Memory storage: 64GB
- GPS: Yes
- Night vision: Yes
Garmin Speak Plus is an affordable dash camera of the Garmin brand with impressive features. With Amazon Alexa, you can give Alexa a voice command to play music from SiriusXM, iHeartRadio, Pandora, and Amazon Music. And if you are an Amazon Prime member, you can stream more than 2 million songs. It will look up your queries from the web and give you weather updates, news briefings, and traffic updates. It has additional features like Spotify and voice-command navigation. You can create a to-do list, mark your calendar, play interactive games, and control smart devices at home.
Garmin Speak Plus has a Garmin Drive App, which is compatible with a cellular data connection. This Garmin interactive dash cam functions with your vehicle audio system and provides you with high-quality sound through a car stereo system. It will also record your driving footage and save it whenever any incident happens so that you can have the details of when and where the incident took place.
Other than Amazon Alexa, the Garmin Speak Plus dash cam provides you with in-vehicle Alexa Voice Services with GPS navigation. It alerts you when it detects any collision or impact. It alerts you with forward-collision warnings when you are driving close to the vehicle ahead of you. And gives you lane departure warnings when you cross lanes in running traffic or drift off the road. When you are stuck, or your vehicle stops in traffic, it alerts you with a ‘Go’ notification, which means that the traffic is moving again.
You can remotely control devices with smart home connectivity including locks, thermostats, lights, etc., that have smart technology with Wi-Fi function. It has a small size and compact design, so you can easily mount it on your windshield. With this advanced technology and range of extraordinary features and functions, it has a very reasonable and affordable price. Garmin Speak Plus is the best dash cam with voice control and is highly recommended.
4. Vava Dash Cam
- Resolution: Front 1080p at 60 fps/ 4K at 25 fps
- Power source: Battery powered
- Memory storage: 128 GB
- Night vision: Yes
- GPS: Yes
- WIFI: Yes
Vava Dash cam shoots sharp 1080p videos at 60 fps that capture license plates with crystal clear details during fast driving on the road. And if money is not an issue, then this dash cam is also available in 4K. But keep in mind that it can support a max 128 GB memory card, and its memory card with an adopter will cost you more.
Its 155°lens can record up to 5 car lanes to reduce blind spots and give you a full view of the road. Moreover, it utilizes a Sony IMX291 sensor and f/2.0 aperture which ensures flawless video footage even in low light conditions. Its discreet design allows it to go unnoticed and it remains a well-hidden witness to back you in any mishaps. Its 360°Swivel mount allows you to manually swivel and adjust the camera up to 360 degrees to capture the outside and inside of the car giving you more control over the angles. Moreover, with its snapshot button, you can manually snap the unexpected quickly as it occurs.
It automatically enters REC Mode as soon as you start your car and automatically captures unexpected accidents and collisions. And at the same time, its built-in GPS automatically saves the speed, location, and coordinates details of your car allowing you to share your travel logs via the App, ensuring that your safety and legal rights are always under protection. The VAVA dash cam uses built-in WiFi signals to connect to its App and live-streams the videos to the VAVA Dash APP allowing you to download the footage and snapshot videos directly to your cell phone. You can easily share them on social media or watch them on TV/Laptop. The only downside to the dash camera is that it is battery-powered rather than capacitor-powered. But leave its battery unplugged for a month and it will still chirp which is quite excellent for a battery.
When you are looking for the best dashcam you can’t go wrong with the VAVA dash cam. But if you are interested in dual dash cams then you must go for the VAVA Dual Dash Cam. VAVA dual dash cam will cost you more but will provide you with a rear dash cam along with the front cam that is worth considering.
5. Nextbase 422GW Dash Cam
- Resolution: 1440p at 30fps and 1080p at 60fps
- Power source: Capacitor powered
- Memory storage: 256GB
- GPS: Yes
- Night vision: Yes
Nextbase 422GW has super amazing image quality and gives you clear footage. It has a resolution of 1440p at 30 frames per second and a resolution of 1080p at 60 frames per second, offering you incredibly clear footage. Nextbase 422GW is the camera that has built-in Alexa functionality allowing you more to explore. It has a voice control system so that you can control it with your voice command. It functions through voice commands from recording any incident to playing your favorite music and showing you directions.
This dash cam also supports emergency SOS. It can detect accidents and collisions; in that case, it sends your vehicle’s whereabouts to emergency services if you are not responsive. It is a life-saving feature, and it has more to offer, making the Nextbase 422GW dash cam hard to beat.
6. Kenwood DRV-830
- Resolution: 1440p
- Power source: Capacitor powered
- Memory storage: 256GB
- GPS: Yes
- Night vision: Yes
Kenwood is a brand that has a decent line of dash cams with cutting-edge technology and amazing features to offer. Kenwood DRV-830 has a 3-inch large full-colored TFT display. The footage has vibrant and sharp colors. Its large display helps you review and save the clips more easily. It gives you footage with a high resolution of 1440p, is clear, and has good quality. It also functions in low light conditions and captures perfect footage even at nighttime.
Kenwood DRV-830 has a wide angle of 144 degrees, which shoots the area around your vehicle, covering every tiny detail. It has a collision detection mode that warns you when it detects any collision. The advanced assisting system guides your lane departures, and you can turn this setting off whenever you want. It comes with an automatic parking surveillance mode, which keeps an eye on your car when parked. This dash cam has a 3-axis G-force detection hardware that automatically captures the footage and saves the new files by overwriting the old files when the memory is full. It has two SDHC microcard slots, so it has a large storage capacity of 256GB. Kenwood DRV-830 offers impressive features and is highly recommended.
7. Garmin Dash Cam 66W
- Resolution: 1440p
- Power source: Battery powered
- Memory storage: 64GB
- GPS: Yes
- Night vision: Yes
Garmin dash cam 66W, the upgraded model of Garmin 55, retains its old compact size and ease of usage. The dash cam has a stealthy appearance. And at the same time, its broad field of view of 180 degrees provides you full coverage around your vehicle. With it, you get a broader view of the front road and car interior if set at a proper angle. It has a high dynamic range HDR video recording that allows you to record the footage details in high-contrast lighting and vibrant colors. With the Garmin Drive app, you can connect your Garmin Dash Cam 66W to your smartphone through a Wi-Fi connection. Moreover, you can connect up to four cameras simultaneously and synchronize the video.
Without connecting it to your car battery, its built-in battery will work for up to 30 minutes. But when the camera is connected to the car battery, it stays on and records if someone bumps into your car when it is parked. With its GPS function and Wi-Fi connectivity, it provides you with all the details of your car’s location on maps. Furthermore, it can record at night, although it lacks lighting details.
You may like: Best Hidden Car Camera
8. Garmin Dash Cam Mini
- Resolution: 1080p
- Power source: Capacitor powered
- Memory storage: 64GB
- GPS: No
- Night vision: Yes
Garmin dash cam mini comes in a small size, roughly the size of your car key, and is measured as 3.1 x 5.3 x 2.9 cm only. But this mini dash cam has fantastic features to offer. It records the video at a resolution of 1080p full HD. With the 140-degree lens, it has a wide field of view. It can be mounted behind your car windshield mirror neatly without even being detected because of its mall size. Once it is set up and plugged in the socket or into your car’s fuse box, it boots up when you power on your engine and starts recording when it detects a collision.
With its parking mode, it sends you a notification whenever someone drives too close to your car. It has no display screen and no internal battery; it is capacitor-powered and has a compact design. You can connect the Garmin dash cam mini to your smartphone through the Garmin Drive App and download footage and live stream video whenever you want. It has the best delivery of functions, and if you are looking for the best dash cam with a smaller size, it is worth your consideration.
9. Rexing V1 Basic Dash Cam
- Resolution: 1080p
- Power source: Battery powered
- Memory storage: 64GB
- GPS: Yes
- Night vision: Yes
Rexing V1 Basic Dash Cam is considered one of the best car security dash cams. It has a high-quality video resolution of 1080p at 30fps. It comes with a 2.7-inch screen. Its wide dynamic range allows it to perform optimally in different lighting situations. Its high-temperature resistance prevents the dash from overheating and has a gravity sensor. It has an ultra-wide view angle lens of 170 degrees that gives full coverage of your vehicle’s surroundings and the vehicle interior if set properly. It covers the view from different angles not leaving any blind spots and makes it easier for you to collect evidence from the footage if any incident happens.
Its G-sensor technology can detect any shake or collision and saves the footage from being overwritten in loop recording. Its discreet design makes it sit low-profile on your windscreen. Moreover, It is battery-powered with 110 mAh battery AR0330 sensors. And with its night vision and parking mode, it monitors your car 24/7 the day and night. With its built-in GPS, you can navigate directions and see your location history on the map. Rexing V1 Basic Dash Cam is an affordable dash cam with many excellent features.
10. APEMAN Mini Dash Cam
- Resolution: 1080p
- Power source: Capacitor powered
- Memory storage: 64GB
- GPS: No
- Night vision: Yes
Apeman Mini dash cam is a cost-effective, stylish, and reliable dash cam. It has a large 3.1-inch LCD screen where you can watch your footage and replay the critical moment at high speed. It has a high-resolution 1080p FHD lens and a wide angle of 170 degrees that gives you full coverage and captures more details. Apeman dash cam has a built-in G-sensor that detects shock and collisions and locks the footage to prevent it from overwriting so that it can be used for evidence.
It has a large aperture F1.8 that gives clear images in low light conditions and at nighttime and enhances night vision. It has different shooting modes, including seamless recording mode, motion detection mode, parking mode, etc. All these functions monitor your vehicle.
Apeman Dash Cam uses a PC cam and is rotatable at an angle of 360 degrees. It has a lock button so you can lock and unlock the video. It is temperature resistant at the lowest -10 degrees centigrade and highest at 60 degrees centigrade. Apeman Mini Dash Cam is a nice affordable camera with much more to offer, so we recommend it to you if you are looking for the best dash cam at a cheap price.
11. Azdome UHD 2160p Dash Cam
- Camera resolution: 2160p HD
- Power source: Capacitor powered
- Memory storage: 64GB
- GPS: Yes
- Night vision: Yes
The Azdome UHD 2160p dash cam has a resolution of 2160p HD at the frame rate of 30 frames per second that gives you clear details of objects like license plate numbers and road signs etc. It has a wide-angle lens of 170 degrees covering the surroundings giving maximum coverage, and its F1.9 size-layers glass lens deals with outstanding image quality day and nighttime. It delivers expanded shooting coverage with little distortion edge to edge. If you want you can get an optional rear camera of 2160p to cover the back view of your car. The built-in GPS records your location, speed, and route details. With its built-in Wi-Fi, you can track your driving routes on Google Maps.
Its WDR/HDR technology enables you to capture greater details in nighttime and pitch-dark conditions with smooth highlights. The HDR technology delivers more light on the sensor and makes your footage sharp and vibrant. It has multiple exposures that have an optimal night vision effect on the recordings. It’s super big aperture and wide dynamic range deliver clear images in a low environment. It has a loop recording mode and collision detection mode; if any collision, impact, or motion near your car is detected, it auto-records and locks the video files and saves your important evidence for insurance claims.
Buyers Guide: Things to look for when buying the best dash cam
Dash cams come with many basic and advanced features that you need to know about before making your buying decision.
Video resolution
Several dashcams now shoot in 4K, providing you with much clearer footage possible. But the higher resolutions also produce much bigger video files. Consequently, you’ll have to consider purchasing a larger memory card that your dash cam accepts if you are interested in 4K resolution. Otherwise, 1080p works great for a dash cam. The ideal choice would be, to buy cams that can dial down higher resolution 4K and record in 1080p.
Audio recording
Dash cams do come with audio recording capability. But you must ensure that the law within your state allows it because eavesdropping is a punishable act. And 12 states within the US require dual consent between the driver and the passenger in order to record the audio. So, it is advisable especially for Uber and rideshare drivers to better abide by the law before getting into trouble.
Screen
You should consider whether you want a dashcam with a screen or without a screen. One without a screen is harder to set up, but once set up, forget about it and drive. In comparison, cams with a screen are easier to set up and can provide Instant access to videos but can be distracting and intrusive because they are more visible. Sometimes a more hidden car camera that spies in disguise will do the job better by staying out of sight.
Coverage
Normally a dash cam can provide you with a 120 to 180-degree field of view. Some models would even use multiple-channel dashcams to provide you with more coverage. In some cases, dash cams can achieve an incredible complete 360-degree coverage as the case with 360-degree dash cams. More coverage usually comes with more cost. But it is important that you make sure your dash cam provides you the coverage that is useful for you.
Night vision
Night vision is essential because we all have to drive at night every now and then. And bad incidents usually happen in the dark. This feature is also helpful because sometimes even in the daytime bad weather can limit your visibility. And if you have this feature on your dash cam you can have the footage if something bad happened.
Impact and motion detection
Dash cams use G-sensors or accelerometers to detect an impact or collision. Ideally, every dash cam should have an impact and collision detection feature. When this feature is triggered your dashcam will record event videos and tag them to be viewed and used in court if needed.
Parking mode
Cams with this feature will alert you by detecting any movement around your parked car. And will record any vandalism attempts and bumps and bangs to your car while being parked. The advanced one will even send alerts to your smartphone.
Connectivity
Most cams come with a Wi-Fi connection, which is useful for viewing or transferring footage. Others also have Bluetooth to connect and sync with mobile phones. In some cases, pairing via Bluetooth comes with the benefit that you can make and receive calls and listen to text messages.
GPS
Some dash cams work as GPS navigation devices and allow you to record your vehicle’s speed and assist in directions. Others use GPS to pinpoint where a video took place as a piece of additional evidence in an insurance case.
Power supply
Some dashcams include built-in batteries that can be charged by plugging them into your car’s USB port. Although convenient, these batteries may not last long. You can also hardwire the dashcam into your car’s power socket. But that again can leave exposed and untidy cabling. So, the best alternative is to get your dash cam professionally installed and leave your accessory sockets free and wires hidden.
Storage
Generally, an 8GB SD card is enough in a 1080p dash cam for a driver who drives for 3-4 hours a day. But if your dash cam comes with parking mode, then you’ll definitely need more storage capacity and you’d better opt for 64 GB instead. But with rideshare and Uber drivers, the requirement increases up to 128 GB, to stay on the safer side. Normally a loop recording feature can save you from investing in bigger SD cards. But in the case of rideshares and Uber drivers, you may not want your previous recording to be overwritten because issues can arise with previous customers. In that case, cloud storage can help you, but that again comes with an extra expense. So, choose wisely.
Other Driver Assist features
High-tech dash cams also offer you driver-assist features like lane departure warnings, forward-backward collision alerts, radar detection, emergency calls, and handy features like voice control that integrates Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for voice commands. These are potentially exciting inclusions but could be mere gimmicks and shouldn’t sway you unless you’re buying a well-reputed brand.
Final Thoughts
Now, Which dash cam to buy?
It’s always preferred to go for the dash cams with the most advanced features because of all the benefits they offer. But again, it also depends on your requirements and resources. You can buy the best dash cam with all the advanced features, or you can go for a cheap dash cam that only fulfills your needs, it all depends on your budget. All the dashcams that we have reviewed for you are the best in their respective category, so you can choose any option that fits your bill.
Related Articles:
