Dashboard cameras, or dash cams, are more than just a geeky car accessory – they’re an essential part of keeping yourself, your vehicle, and your insurance, protected. If you do find yourself in the unfortunate position of having been involved in an accident, the footage from a windshield-mounted camera can provide vital evidence to support your car insuranceclaim.
We don’t think you should have to break the bank to get the peace of mind a dash cam delivers, driving a car is expensive enough as it is. With this in mind, we’ve taken to the internet and discovered the best dash cams at an affordable price.
There are options if you’re comfortable spending a little more on a dash cam, and if you ride a motorcycle well there are choices there too.
There are a lot of cheap dash cams out there from obscure brands boasting impressive stats and promising the world – unfortunately, most of them are making very misleading claims. We’ve stuck to reviewing only products from reputable and trusted brands.
Related: The best Bluetooth receiver 2021
If you want to know a little more about the features, terminology and law surrounding dash cams, be sure to check out our jargon buster at the bottom of the page.
The best affordable dash cams shortlist:
The best affordable dash cam:
What's the best dash cam under £100?
1 of 7Apeman Dual Dash Cam
Ticking all the boxes for a premium dash cam, this compact offering from Apeman is a seriously impressive budget option. The 170-degree wide-angle lens will record almost everything visible from your front windscreen without distorting the image. Great night vision recording alongside motion detection, loop-recording and a g-sensor make it an excellent budget dash cam. And despite only being the size of an egg, it even includes a tiny screen to make sure you've angled the lens correctly. This pack also comes with a waterproof rear facing camera with a 720p resolution with a 130-degree field of view.
2 of 7Garmin Mini Dash Camera
Around the same size as a car key, the Garmin Mini Dash Camera sits discreetly on your windscreen and records away, letting you drive with uninterrupted confidence. The wide-angle lens captures 140-degrees of 1080p footage on to a microSDHC card (sold separately), and the footage captured is accessible via the smartphone app which communicates with the camera via both WiFi and Bluetooth. A g-sensor and park mode is also included. Some may find the lack of inbuilt screen an issue, however the discretion earned by its absence may make it a worthy sacrifice. When taking into consideration the price point (including a memory card), size and quality of this dash cam, and Garmin's reputation, you really are hard pressed to find something to beat it.
£119.99
3 of 7Nextbase 322GW Dash Cam
The Nextbase 322GW is loaded with an array of impressive features – if this sits at the very top end of your budget, seriously consider this unit. The 322GW captures footage at 60FPS 1080p over a 140-degree angle, and footage can be accessed via a direct WiFi or a Bluetooth connection with a smartphone or via the 2.5-inch touchscreen. The inbuilt GPS pins footage with a geotag, providing an indisputable record of an incident's location. A huge safety feature is Emergency SOS, which will automatically alert emergency services to your location in the event of a major incident, and the Incident Alert feature can be set up to send GPS information and footage straight to your insurer. And, of course, it's got g-sensors and park mode. Another impressive feature of this camera is its modular expansion capability. Additional camera modules are available and can be easily connected up to the 322GW to increase your video coverage. You can choose between a rear view or cabin view camera, which attached directly to the 322GW via USB, or the rear window camera which can be situated on your rear window to cover the road behind you.
£124.99
4 of 7Nextbase 222 Dash Cam
The Nextbase 222 is, unsurprisingly, the 122's big sister. The 222 films 140-degrees of 1080p HD footage and 30FPS and is loaded with a 2.5-inch screen, high precision g-sensor, and park mode. Again, you'll need to purchase a microSD card separately.
£96.70
5 of 7Toguard Rear View Mirror Dash Cam
The Togaurd Rear View Dash Cam provides a compelling alternative to the more traditional dash cam setups. The unit replaces your stock rearview mirror, replacing it with a 12inch touchscreen which displays the rear-view camera footage, whilst simultaneously capturing 720p, 170-degree front facing and 1080p, 140-degree rear facing footage. The rear camera is loaded with Analogue High Definition technology, which enhances night vision while reducing glare from lights, giving you a clear image both on the display and on the captured footage. You'll also need to purchase a microSD card separately.
6 of 7Nextbase 122 Dash Cam
The Nextbase 122 is a neat and extremely affordable entry-level dash-cam. With it, you'll get high quality, 30FPS reliable road recording covering an angle of 120-degrees. The 122 is also loaded with a 2-inch screen for instant playback, an accurate g-sensor and park mode, but you'll need to get the microSD memory card separately. Due to the price point, recording quality has been slightly compromised – it stands at 720p, which is still HD but is certainly the lowest you'll want to go.
£58.00
7 of 7Claoner Dash Cam
This offering from Cloaener is a great entry-level dash cam. Including a 3" screen with a real-time display function, it's one of the larger options but still can be mounted so it's unobtrusive. Offering a 170-degree lens and full HD 60fps recording it's seriously good value for money. It even has an optional sound recording function.
FAQs
What quality footage do I need and why?
You'll need a minimum of 720p.
The quality of captured footage is of huge importance. The image quality needs to be high enough to show an incident in great detail – if you’re making a claim, you’ll need to be able to show number plates - and potentially driver’s faces - in as much detail as possible. You’ll need a camera that catches at least 720p footage, which is the low end of the high-definition standard. 1080p is preferable where possible, as the greater detail makes zooming in on images much clearer.
What is FPS and why does it matter?
Think of video footage is a collection of ordered photographs. If a camera captures footage at 30 FPS (Frames Per Second), it is taking 30 pictures in one second, at 60FPS it’ll be taking 60 pictures per second. Why does this matter? Because the more frames you can capture, the smoother the footage will be. Low frame rates result in jolting, and unclear images. If you're making a claim and you need to slow down footage, having more frames will make this process much easier and much clearer, helping you gather the evidence you need. 30FPS is the minimum you need but aim for 60 if possible.
What is a g-sensor and why is it important?
A g-sensor is an inbuilt feature which detects vehicle impacts. When an impact is detected, a dash cam will often automatically take the footage the impact and the moments leading to it and store them in a protected folder, making it easier for you to find and to prevent the footage from being overwritten or lost. Each camera works slightly differently, so check with your manufacturer for specific details.
What is park mode?
Park mode is a feature which takes advantage of a dash cam’s g-sensor to activate and record any impacts to your vehicle while you’re away. So, if someone collides with your car while it is parked and leaves the scene, the camera will have switched on to hopefully catch the offending vehicles number plate – allowing you to make a police report and an insurance claim with sufficient evidence.
Where’s the best position for my dash cam?
Central and high. The best position for your dash cam is on that is central and not obstructing your view. Ideally, you should be able to forget about your camera until you need it. A really good place is tucked up behind the rearview mirror.
The dash cam cannot obstruct your view – the wrong position may be deemed illegal. If your camera is obstructing your view, this is a safety hazard for yourself and other road users. The Highway Code states that any obstructions must not be more than 40mm into the area swept by the windshield wiper blades - failure to follow this guideline may result in a fine. The same goes for sat-navs and mobile phones.
The central position is key to capturing good quality, useable footage. From a central and high position, the camera can survey the road a capture exactly what is happening without obstruction.
William Lobley is a Content Writer for WhatsTheBest, specialising in technology, gaming and outdoors. He also writes for Empire Online.