5 Highly Rated Dashcam Picks For Any Budget

Sometimes, it feels like owning a vehicle is just a never-ending series of bills, whether it's for mechanical work, yearly inspections, tune-ups, car washes, or countless kinds of accessories for your car. Some accessories, however, can be smart investments that may save you money in the long run. That includes a dashcam, which can be vitally important for post-accident insurance claims and other use cases. They can also be used in other ways, including as passive security systems that monitor your car when it's parked and out of sight.

There are several things to consider when buying a dashcam, and whenever you make any purchase for your vehicle, you want to ensure you're getting the right product. Dashcams have a wide range of prices, so you'll also need to factor in how much you're willing to spend. If you want to go by the wisdom of the crowd (more on that below), here are five highly-rated dashcams — with an average user rating of four out of five or higher on Amazon — at various price points.

If you've got the budget for a premium dashcam, a good choice is the Nextbase 322GW Dashcam, which has a 4.1 out of five average rating from nearly 2,400 Amazon user reviews. The set includes both front and rear cameras, as well as a 2.5-inch display with touchscreen controls. The dashcam is capable of recording 60 frames per second, with a full HD 1080p front-view angle and 720p in the rear camera. Strong magnets conveniently let you attach the unit's power source.

The cameras record on a continuous loop, and the touchscreen controls make playback a cinch. An intelligent parking mode also lets the unit know when the car is parked and can instantly record bumps and other physical movements when the car is unattended. At the same time, an Emergency SOS system can be life-saving by contacting first responders and sharing your pre-saved data (like allergies, blood type, etc.) with them. It may be one of the pricier dashcams on the market, but that doesn't necessarily make it perfect. After testing the product, Gizmodo noted that the camera suffered from "some lens flaring issues at night" in an otherwise very positive review. You can purchase the Nextbase 322GW Dashcam for $300 from Amazon.

If you're expecting to go on road trips or spend a lot of time traveling, the Nexar Pro is a highly-rated dashcam that might be right for you. That's because it comes with a lot of storage and can hold a lot of footage. The base model comes with 32 GB of internal memory, but there are also options for 64, 128, and 256 GB. With two cameras — one forward and one of your car's interior — the latter can hold a full day of backup video.

The unit pairs with a smartphone app that has several useful features, including emergency SOS alerts and impact/break-in sensors that will start recording while your car is parked. It can also instantly generate an accident report using its recorded data, so you can easily file an insurance claim after an accident. The dashcam will also save your parking location and allow you to quickly find your vehicle by asking Siri.

The Nexar Pro isn't the most expensive dashcam on the market, but it's not cheap. That makes it especially disappointing that it doesn't come with a built-in screen. In our hands-on testing of the product, SlashGear gave it a solid seven out of 10 score but also noted that it can drain your phone's battery fairly quickly. But, in general, users seem satisfied with the product — the Nexar Pro has an overall 4.2 out of five rating on Amazon, where it can be purchased for $215.

The Garmin Dashcam Mini 2 is a popular and highly-rated dashcam that is a great choice if you're looking for a mid-budget option. Part of what makes the no-frills product so affordable is its simplicity — it has a compact size that takes up little space and has a fairly straightforward setup. You can also use voice commands for an intuitive, hands-free way to save video, start and stop audio recording, and take still pictures, among other functions. Two physical buttons are also included.

The camera itself is also solid, recording in full high-definition at 30 frames per second with a 140-degree viewing angle. Other perks include a Parking Guard feature, remote Live View monitoring, and the ability to automatically upload saved videos via Wi-Fi. The Dashcam Mini 2 is Garmin's cheapest camera, and there are several things that don't come with it, like a display, battery, memory card, or hardwiring kit — something noted by TechRadar in its hands-on review. It also lacks GPS. But, if you're looking for a mid-budget product and don't need a ton of bells and whistles, the Garmin Dashcam Mini 2 is available for $130 on Amazon, where it has a 4.2 out of five average rating from nearly 5,000 user reviews.

The Vantrue E1 Lite is popular with Amazon shoppers and has an average rating of 4.3 out of five from over 1,700 users. It's also available for under $100, which is good news for anyone with a smaller budget. Despite not being terribly expensive, the dashcam records in 1080p+ with a 160-degree viewing angle and is equipped with HDR. Its F1.8 wide aperture and low-light capabilities allow it to record license plate numbers and other small details even when driving in the dark. Also included is a 1.54-inch LCD screen and USB-C compatibility, making for easy charging and data transfers. A magnetic mount lets you quickly attach and remove the unit from its mount.

The dashcam is equipped with 2.4G Wi-Fi and pairs with a smartphone app. If you're the type of person who likes to share everything online, you can even directly share footage straight to major social media accounts. Other features include parking surveillance, collision detection, and built-in GPS tracking. One odd quirk to the Vantrue E1 Lite is that the dark gray option is $60 more expensive than the black option. If you're looking for a relatively inexpensive dashcam, you'll want to opt for the black model, which is $90 on Amazon.

There are several popular dashcam models made by auto electronics company 70mai, including the Omni and the M300, which have a four out of five overall rating from over 9,300 user reviews on Amazon. The M300 has better-than-1080p resolution (1296p) and a 3-megapixel camera that can produce crisp, clear images. Its 140-degree viewing angle is enough to cover three standard lanes of traffic, and it uses a time-lapse function to record one frame per second during parking mode, compressing 30 minutes of video into just one, which saves storage and makes playback easier to navigate.

Other features include loop recording and 24/7 parking surveillance. Unlike many other dashcams, the M300 also has a stylish look to it and comes in three color options: dark gray, navy, and rose gold. One drawback to the M300 is its lack of a microphone — you'll only be able to record video with this product, not audio. Its "Night Owl Vision" video can also produce a lot of graininess in low-light conditions, which is something to be mindful of before purchasing. Amazon sells the 70mai Dashcam M300 for $60, though you can often find it discounted for even less — making it one of the most affordable quality dashcams on the market.

As mentioned earlier, the five dash cams recommended in this article all have average user ratings on Amazon of four out of five or higher, making them some of the highest-rated options on the market. While the thought-out critiques of professional reviewers who've had hands-on experience with a product are always a great way to discern which products are worth your money, overall user ratings can give you a general idea of when there are glaring flaws in something like a dash cam that many drivers will find out about the hard way over time. Of course, not all user reviews and ratings can be trusted, which is why the dash cams above were selected from scores that averaged at least 1,000 — if not many more — user ratings, weeding out and watering down any bad faith ratings. 

Additionally, dash cams were chosen based on cost so that a high-rated product is listed for a wide range of budgets. Other dash cam with similar user ratings may have been left off this list because they were too close in price to one that had already been recommended. The list prices used were those offered by Amazon, a retailer known to fluctuate the prices of the products it sells, often lowering them during the holidays — so given a big enough discount, you may find one dash cam on this to be cheaper than another one that is typically more affordable.