According to the FAA, hobby drones that weigh less than 250 grams, (0.55 lbs,) don’t need to be registered. This means that most micro and mini drones don’t need to be registered. If you’re a new drone pilot and you can’t be bothered with the registration process, then choose one of these drones that weighs less than 250 grams.
To help you out, I’ve taken some time to do the research for you, and I’ve found the best drones that you don’t need to register with the FAA. Here they are.Drone: Weight: Flight time: Range: Camera quality: Price: Purchase Link: 1. DJI Mavic Mini 249 grams 30min 13,123 feet or 2.4 miles 2.7K camera $399 VIEW 2. Holy Stone HS110D 145 grams 13min 950 feet 1080 HD camera $130 VIEW 3. Parrot Air-Borne Night 54 grams 7 minutes 65 feet VGA camera 480X640 pixels $122 VIEW 4. Parrot Mambo FLY Drone 63 grams 9 minutes 328 feet VGA 0.3-megapixel camera $110 VIEW 5. DROCON Drone X708W lower than 250 grams 8.5 minutes 262 feet HD camera 720P $55 VIEW 6. Supkiir Drone 226 grams 20 minutes 164 feet 4k camera $52 VIEW 7. Ryze Tech Tello Drone 80 grams 13 minutes 328 feet 5MP pictures and shoots video at HD720 $99 VIEW 8. DB Power UDI U842 Drone 181 grams 8 minutes 131 feet 720P HD camera $47.99 VIEW 9. ScharkSpark SS41 Beetle 118 grams 15 to 16 minutes 320 feet 1080P camera $69 VIEW 10. Hubsan X4 30 grams 9 minutes 328 feet 720p HD camere $25 VIEW 11. Dobby Blade Nano 16.5 grams 8 minutes 150 feet No camera $69 VIEW 12. Hover Camera Passport Drone 242 grams 9 minutes 65 feet 4k 13MP camera $359.99 VIEW 13. JJRC H6D FPV 50 grams 7 minutes 656 feet 2MP camera $90 VIEW 14. Eachine E10C Nano 15 grams 4 minutes 50 to 100 feet 2MP camera $49.99 VIEW 15. GoolRC T36 Drone 21 grams 5 minutes 89 feet No camera $21 VIEW 16. Zero-Tech Dobby 199 grams 9 minutes 960 feet 14MP camera $149 VIEW 17. Blade 200 QX 193 grams 9 to 12 minutes 1000 feet No camera Discontinued VIEW
01. DJI Mavic Mini
Weight. The Mavic mini is the first drone manufactured by DJI that doesn’t need to be registered with the FAA. The drone was designed to weigh only 249 grams, just 1 gram shy of the 250 gram weight limit. The sole purpose of this was to provide new hobby drone pilots the power of the DJI, without having to register it.
Flight time. The weight of the drone allows you to enjoy a long flight time of up to 30min, which is impressive compared to other drones that weigh under 250 grams.
Range. The drone can be flown out from the controller of up to 4km which is over 13000 feet! This is by far the furthest range achieved when compared to any other mini drone.
Camera quality. Unfortunately, DJI had to sacrifice a camera capable of shooting 4k video. The drone comes with a 2.7K camera that sits on a 3-axis gimbal. The Mavic Mini is also capable of recording HD video for up to 4km, (2.48 miles.)
Other features. The drone has similar features to other bigger DJI drones. It has GPS and flight sensors, however a few sensors had to be removed to save weight so this might make the drone more prone to crashing.
Price. At $399 it’s definitely the more expensive option when it comes to smaller hobby drones, however, the value for money, in my opinion, is more than worth it.
Best suited for. Since this drone is more advanced and expensive, it’s definitely best suited for adults.
02. Holy Stone HS110D
Currently Amazon’s best selling drone, this is definitely a drone that needed to be added to the list. However, after watching this video, it definitely made me second guess my decision about it.
Weight. The Holy Stone weighs in at just 145 grams, which puts it way under registration weight of 250 grams.
Flight time. Flight time is way below the DJI mini of just 13min, however, it’s still impressive when compared to some of the other drones in this category.
Range. The remote will give you a range of about 950 feet.
Camera quality. This is no DJI, however, it’s still better than drones that are similarly priced. The camera will give you a field of view of 110° and will shoot videos of 1080 HD.
Other features. The drone has a pretty cool flip button. If you press it, the drone will do an impressive little flip. It also comes with GPS which keeps the drone stable during hovering and flight.
What I didn’t like. The battery has to be in the drone for you to charge it. This means that you can’t have multiple batteries, the only way you would be able to charge all of them is if you have multiple drones.
Price. A reasonable price of around $130.
Best suited for. This drone is a lot more simple and should be used out as either training wheels for adults, or used by kids.
03. Parrot Air-Borne Night
Weight. The Air-borne Night only weighs in at 54 grams which makes it an extremely lightweight drone.
Flight time. Flight time for this mini drone is around 7 minutes, which is pretty impressive for a drone this small.
Range. The manufacturer says that the drone can fly up to 65 feet. However, don’t always trust this. This obviously also depends on wind speed amongst other factors.
Camera quality. Mini drones aren’t really built to get amazing camera footage from the air, however, the Airborn-Night has a built-in VGA camera that shoots at a resolution of 480X640 pixels.
Other features. The mini drone also comes with two powerful flashlights in the front that lets you also adjust the brightness. The drone also comes with propeller guards and the drone itself is shock resistant, which makes it a lot more durable during crashes.
Price. This mini drone will set you back around $122 on amazon.com.
Best suited for. Because the drone is cheap, durable, and has propeller guards, it makes a great drone for kids and beginner drone pilots.
04. Parrot Mambo FLY Drone
Weight. The Mambo FLY weighs in at around 63 grams without any accessories attached to it.
Flight time. The mambo will stay in the air for around 9 minutes, but remember, this isn’t always accurate. If you add more weight and if conditions are a bit windy, this will reduce drastically.
Range. The Parrot Fly can fly up to 328 feet or 100m which is pretty impressive for a mini drone. Most mini drones can only fly around 65 feet.
Camera quality. As with other mini drones, the camera quality is nothing to boast about. It has a VGA 0.3-megapixel camera that can only hold 1gb of internal memory.
Other features. The Parrot Mambo also lets you control it from your smartphone which is pretty useful.
What I didn’t like. I didn’t like that the drone can’t fly well even with light wind.
Price. Great value of money at around $110.
Best suited for. A great small drone that’s fun to fly for kids or adults that just want to mess around. Makes for a great first drone.
05. DROCON Drone X708W
Weight. Their website doesn’t really mention the actual weight, however, they do state that the drone weighs less than 0.5 pounds or 250 grams, so you won’t need to register this drone either.
Flight time. This drone can fly for around 8.5 minutes with its 550 mAh LiPo battery. However, you have the option of upgrading to a 720 mAh LiPo battery which will increase flight time to around 12 minutes.
Range. You can take this drone as far out as 262 feet or 80 meters. Which is further than average for mini drones.
Camera quality. This drone is packed with an HD camera capable of shooting video at 720P. The drone also comes with a first-person view, FPV, experience, which is why they needed to add a proper camera to the drone.
Other features. The drone is great at doing stunts automatically such as flips at a touch of the button. The drone also offers a unique FPV experience, which is rare for a mini drone.
Price. Really impressed with the price. The drone is packed with a better camera than most, offers a longer flight time and a unique FPV experience. You can get all this for just $55.
Best suited for. Beginner drone that can be used by kids or adults.
06. Supkiir Drone
Weight. Only around 226 which makes it easy to travel with.
Flight time. The Supkiir is packed with a powerful 1800mAh 3.7V Li-Po battery that guarantees around 20 minutes of flight time depending on the weather. Which is impressive for a drone that only weighs 226 grams.
Range. For a drone that can be in the air for so long, I’m a bit disappointed about the range. The drone can only fly out for around 164 feet or 50 meters which is lower than average.
Camera quality. This drone is actually packed with two cameras. The main 4k camera which is in the front has an adjustable wide view of 120 degrees. It captures videos in 2k and images in 4k. The second camera which is on the bottom for the drone has a resolution of 480. How they managed to fit two cameras on a drone that weighs less than 250 grams is beyond me.
Other features. This drone also comes with a 3d flip feature which is great if you want to impress some by-standers.
Price. The Supkiiris also well priced at only $52.
Best suited for. Another great beginner’s drone for adults or kids. The drone has a great camera, so if you want an entry-level drone that can also get some great footage, then look no further.
07. Ryze Tech Tello Drone
Weight. The Tech Tello is extremely light at only 80 grams. And this is with the propellers and battery installed!
Flight time. The Tello has an 1100 mAh battery that can keep it in the air for around 13 minutes.
Range. The Tello can fly as far as 328 feet or 100 meters, which is very impressive for a drone that only weighs 80 grams.
Camera quality. The drone camera definitely sets it apart, it can take 5MP pictures and shoots video at HD720.
Other features. The drone is also capable of offering a VR flying experience. It has DJI flight technology which makes it easy to fly, and it comes with propeller guards to keep it safe and durable.
Price. These drones brand new will set you back around $99. Which isn’t bad especially considering that it comes with a 5MP camera.
Best suited for. Beginner drone hobbyists that would like to have the freedom of getting some amazing drone videos and pictures.
08. DB Power UDI U842 Drone
Weight. Another light weight drone at only 181 grams.
Flight time. The DB Power has a 3.7V 700mAh LiPo cell battery which can keep it in the air for around 7 to 8 minutes depending on the weather and added weight.
Range. The controller’s transmission can let the drone fly out to around 131 feet or 40 meters.
Camera quality. Its camera shoots video at 30 frames per second with 720P HD footage.
Other features. It comes with advanced flight control which makes it easy to fly, and LED lights if you want to fly the drone during the night.
Price. Not a bad drone for $47.99.
Best suited for. Beginner drone pilots or kids.
09. ScharkSpark SS41 Beetle
Weight. The ScharkSpark drone weighs in at just 118 grams, far below the FAA’s 250-gram limit.
Flight time. The drone also comes with a Li-po 1000mAh 3.7V battery that gives it around 15 to 16 minutes of flight time.
Range. The remote controller’s transmission will reach to about 320 feet. Keep in mind that this heavily depends on the area you’re flying in. If you lose the line of sight of the drone, this might reduce this drastically.
Camera quality. The Beetle is fitted with an impressive built-in camera capable of shooting video in high definition at 1080P. It also has another 720P camera that can give the drone pilot multiple perspectives while flying.
Other features. The drone has gesture control which allows you to control is with just your hands. This is especially useful when you’re getting your drone to take pictures.
Price. The Beetle will cost you around $69
Best suited for. Great beginner drone for adults or for kids.
10. Hubsan X4 Drone
Weight. The Hubsan X4 is a tiny little drone that can fit on the palm of your drone and weighs only around 30 grams.
Flight time. The drone uses a tiny little 3.7V 240mAh Li-Po battery that takes 40 minutes to charge. This will give you 9 minutes of flight time which is very impressive compared to other mini drones. Most can only manage around 4 to 7 minutes of flight time.
Range. Some sources mention that the drone can be flown as far as 328 feet. However because the drone is so small and light, it’s very easily affected by the wind. So I wouldn’t advise that you try this on a windy day.
Camera quality. For such a tiny little drone, I’m pretty surprised that it comes with a built-in camera that supports 720p HD Video.
Price. This tiny little drone is only $25.
Best suited for. It has a low price, great camera and flight time which makes it ideal for beginners and kids.
11. Dobby Blade Nano
Weight. This drone lives up to its name as being Nano. At just tiny little 16.5 grams, it weighs as much as four grapes. Which is crazy if you think about it.
Flight time. It’s packed with a 3.7V 1S 150mAh 25C LiPo battery which will give it around 8 minutes of flight.
Range. The range of the controller is very limited at a maximum of 150 feet. Which isn’t a surprise for such a lightweight drone.
Camera quality. This mini drone does not have a camera which isn’t ideal, however, it makes the drone more durable when it crashes because there are fewer parts that can break.
Price. It costs around $69, which is actually pretty expensive for what you get.
Best suited for children and beginners who want a durable drone without a camera.
12. Hover Camera Drone
Weight. Just shy of the FAA weight limit, the drone weighs in at 242 grams.
Flight time. It comes with a 7.6V LiPo 2S 1360 mAh battery that will give the drone around 9 minutes of flight time.
Range. Just barely reaching 65 feet, the drone cant be flown far.
Camera quality. This is what the camera drone was designed for, to take high-quality images and video footage of objects close around you. With a camera that’s can shoot 4k video and 13MP photos, its definitely reached that goal.
Price. The Camera drone is extremely expensive at $359.99.
Best suited for. The camera done in a nutshell was designed to be a “flying selfie stick.” It can’t fly far, however, with its high-quality camera it can take amazing video and picture footage. That being said this drone is best suited for the traveler who would like that little bit of extra freedom to get beautiful footage.
13. JJRC H6D FPV
Weight. Another nano drone that weighs in at just 50 grams.
Flight time. It comes with a 3.7V 380mAh Battery that takes just 35 minutes to charge. This will give you around 7 minutes of flight time depending on added weight and the weather.
Range. The advertised range is around 200m or 656 feet which is EXTREMELY impressive for such a little drone. Because the drone is so tiny, you probably won’t be able to see it further than 50 meters so you’ll have to fly it on video.
Camera quality. The quadcopter has an impressive 2MP camera that can stream and record video at around 720p. It also has a micro SD slot that supports up to 4gb of memory.
Price. At $90 it’s not a bad deal. You get an impressive range with decent camera quality.
Best suited for beginner drone pilots and children.
14. Eachine E10C Nano
Weight. The quad-copter is almost microscopic at a weight of only 15 grams.
Flight time. The Eachine Nano will give you around 4 minutes of flight time with its 3.7V 150mAh battery. Just keep in mind that because this drone is so tiny and light, any slight breeze can reduce this by a lot.
Range. The controller frequency will let you fly the drone out between 50 to 100 feet, or 15 to 30 meters. Keep in mind the drone is so small, you probably won’t be able to see it after 15 meters.
Camera quality. The drone comes with an impressive 2MP camera that’s placed on a 6 axis gyro.
Other features. Comes with a 3D flip function. This gives the drone pilot the ability to do some stunts with at the push of a button.
Price. The nano drone is priced at $49.99 which is fair.
Best suited for beginners and children. Because the drone is so small and light, it makes it very durable.
15. GoolRC T36 Drone
Weight. This mini drone weighs in at 21 grams.
Flight time. This mini drone will give you around 5 minutes of flight time with its 3.7V 150mAh Li-Po battery after a 50min charge.
Range. The controller range to the drone will allow you to take it out as far as 89 feet or 27 meters.
Camera quality. This drone doesn’t come with a camera.
Price. The GoolRC T36 will set you back around $21 dollars which is actually pretty expensive for a drone without a camera.
Best suited for beginner drone pilots and children who don’t mind having a drone without a camera.
16. Zero-Tech Dobby Quadcopter
Weight. Around 199 grams.
Flight time. This quadcopter comes with a 970mAH LipPo battery that produces around 9 minutes of flight time.
Range. The controller can stay connected to the drone of up to 960 feet or 320 yards, which is pretty impressive.
Camera quality. Now this drone was created to have amazing camera quality above all else. Its packed with a 14MP camera that is also capable of shooting video with a quality of 1080 pixels at 30 frames per second. The camera is also well seated on a 3-axis gimbal which allows you to control it in all directions mid-flight.
Price. The price is pretty steep for a mini drone at $149, however keep in mind that drones that have a great quality camera are usually more expensive. So if this is a feature that you’re looking for, you’re going to have to pay a lot more.
Best suited for beginner drone pilots who want a mini drone with high quality camera footage.
17. Blade 200 QX Drone
Weight. The blade weighs in just under FAA registration weight at 193 grams.
Flight time. The quadcopter has a 2-cell 7.4V 800mAh LiPo battery which will keep it flying from 9 to 12 minutes.
Range. Controller can control the drone for up to 1000 feet which is really impressive for a mini drone.
Camera quality. There is no camera included with the purchase, however, you can buy it as an add on.
Price. The drone has been discontinued so there is no mention of price.