Beginner Drones

Best beginner drone

• Mavic Pro on Amazon 
• Mavic Pro at the DJI store

It is just too darn difficult to beat the Mavic Pro. This well-rounded drone is arguably the best DJI has made to date. With a 27 minute flight time, a max speed of 40 mph and a camera that is capable of capturing 4k video, this foldable drone has a lot going for it.

You may be wondering why I don't recommend the Spark as my top pick for the beginner, seeing as how it's DJI's most inexpensive drone (aside from the Tello, which isn't actually made by DJI). The Spark is a great little drone, but it's also easy to grow out of. The Mavic Pro outshines the Spark in every area, and by quite a bit in some cases.

Sure, DJI's other drones have capabilities that the Mavic Pro doesn't. The Phantom 4 Pro has a better camera, the Mavic Air is faster and smaller, and the Spark is a lot cheaper; but in my opinion, the Mavic Pro is the most balanced DJI drone for the price. The fact that the Mavic Pro 2 is right around the corner means that there are deals on the Mavic Pro pretty much every day.

If I was buying my first drone in 2018, I would buy the Mavic Pro and throw the Mavic Pro Platinum props on it. No need to spend a couple hundred bucks more on the Platinum model when you can buy the Platinum's noise reduction props for a fraction of the price to throw on your regular Mavic Pro.