Dash cams record while you drive and can capture unexpected incidents. It’s good to have one facing forward, but even better if you have both front and rear cameras.
There’s no need to buy two separate dash cams: there are lots of bundles which include a rear camera that connects to the front one, while some manufacturers, such as Nextbase, offer optional add-on rear cameras that you can buy separately.
Some dash cams will continue to record while you car is parked and can give you video evidence if something happens in view of the camera(s). To use parking mode, you usually need to ‘hard wire’ the dash cam. This means connecting it to your car’s fusebox instead of the 12V accessory socket. Nextbase’s Series 2 range don’t require hard wiring to capture parking incidents.
Dash cams record video a microSD cards, but they often have companion apps for your phone that let you download video clips which you could then share with your insurer or the police. In many cases the excess that you have to pay for an insurance claim is more than most dash cams cost, so they can pay for themselves very quickly if the video proves you are not at fault.
The big question is which dash cam to buy. And that’s why you’re here. Below you’ll find our top recommendations for dash cams at all budgets.
What to look for in a dash cam
Ultimately, high-quality video is what you need from a dash cam. But specifications alone can’t tell you if one is better than another, and quality varies a lot. That’s why you should read our reviews and see examples of the quality you can expect at day and night.
Don’t be swayed by a wider-angle lens: the higher the number, the smaller everything is in the centre of the image. We prefer a lens with a 140° field of view, or less.
Similarly, a higher resolution doesn’t automatically mean better quality.
Manufacturers often talk of ‘night modes’ but this can be just as misleading as resolution. Again, refer to our reviews to find out whether a dash cam is any good at recording at night.
Extras features such as GPS are worth it as this will record your precise location and speed, so you can prove where you were, which direction you were driving and that you weren’t speeding.
Wi-Fi, on the other hand, is generally not that useful as it’s typically quicker to removing the microSD card and copy the video files you need straight to your PC or laptop.
We’ve found safety features such as lane-departure warning or forward-movement alerts aren’t always useful as they don’t always work reliably. However, any dash cam that can warn you of safety camera locations is useful.
Finally, leave room in your budget for a microSD card as most dash cams don’t come with one. Here are the best microSD cards to buy.
Best Dash Cams 2021: Ranked & Reviewed
Viofo A129 Duo – Best-value Front + Rear Dash Cam
- Pros
- Good quality video
- Compact, unobtrisuve design
- Cons
- Parking mode requires hard-wiring
- Thick cable to rear camera
This front and rear dash cam dispenses with the frills and concentrates on what’s important: recording good-quality video. This means it’s cheaper than most rival ‘dual-channel’ dash cams, but do watch out as some bundles don’t include the GPS mount and the polarising filter.
Both are worth having so you can prove where the video is recorded and to remove reflections from the windscreen in the video.
The front camera is well designed if you’re after something that will hide out of the way behind your rear-view mirror, but the rear camera, although small, has a very thick cable which can be hard to hide away neatly.
Read our full Viofo A129 Duo review
Viofo A119 v3 – Best Parking Mode
- Pros
- Good-quality video
- No unnecessary frills
- Cons
- Requires hard-wiring kit for parking mode
- GPS mount costs extra
Viofo understands what people want from a dash cam: good quality video recording, plus recording options when your car is parked.
There are no extra features such as lane-departure, speed camera: even GPS is optional, so you can pay less if you don’t want it. This keeps the price down while still offering great quality.
There are three parking modes to choose between, but you will need to buy and fit the hardwire kit to use them.
Read our full Viofo A119 v3 with GPS review
Viofo A129 Pro Duo – Best-value 4K dash cam
- Pros
- Good 4K video + 1080p rear
- Compact design
- Cons
- Parking mode requires hard-wiring
The A129 Pro Duo is easy to confuse with the non-Pro version. We rate is highly because it is manages to strike a great balance between price and quality.
Put simply, if you want the extra detail that comes with 4K recording, the A129 Pro Duo is a good choice. It’s a shame the rear camera is still 1080p, but as a package it’s impressive overall.
Just note that the parking modes are only truly usable when using the optional hardwire kit, which you may feel you can’t install yourself.
Read our full Viofo A129 Pro Duo review
Nextbase 622GW – Best 4K Dash Cam
- Pros
- Great 4K video
- Built-in Alexa
- Cons
The 622GW is the all-singing, all-dancing flagship from Nextbase. It may be expensive, but it has all the features you can think of, and even more than you can’t.
Core video quality is very good, partly thanks to the stabilisation which helps to sharpen details. At night, it’s still impressive, but don’t expect to be able to read registration plates.
Alexa could be handy if you stream music while driving, and the Emergency SOS and what3words integration is a nice extra (though it is a subscription service).
If you don’t want a rear camera, you might be able to justify spending this much on a front-facing camera, but there isn’t a huge trade-off in quality if you step down to the 522GW.
Read our full Nextbase 622GW review
Nextbase 422GW – Best-value dash cam with Alexa
- Pros
- Alexa built-in
- Good safety features
- Cons
The lowest-priced model in Nextbase’s new Series 2 range to have Alexa and Emergency Response, the 422GW also supports the range of rear cameras, records at 1440p and cost the same as the older 412GW did.
If you don’t need all the new features, then you can save money by opting for the 322GW.
Read our full Nextbase 422GW review
Thinkware F200 – Best screen-less dash cam
- Pros
- Hides away behind rear-view mirror
- Compact
- Cons
- Mediocre video quality
- GPS not included as standard
The F200 is a cut-down version of the F800. If you want the rear camera, you’ll need to pay more – and more again if you also want GPS.
We’re fans of screen-less dash cams which stick unobtrusively behind your rear-view mirror, but with power, GPS and rear camera attached, wires get a bit messy with the F200.
Also, the included power cable has to be connected to the car’s fuse box, but this is necessary to use the parking mode which records when motion is detected (such as another car hitting yours while parked). Via the app you can choose a minimum voltage level to prevent your battery draining.
If you opt for the GPS module, you can download and install new firmware which includes a database of speed cameras, and you’ll get audible warning when approaching one. This wasn’t documented (at the time of review) so it’s not obvious how to get the warnings.
Image quality is mediocre. Although the F200 records at 1080p, the bit-rate is quite low and details are lacking. This makes it tricky to make out registration plates even in daylight. And the 720p rear camera is markedly worse, so is good only for showing generally what happened in an incident.
If you can afford more, you’ll get better quality from the F800 Pro, but the Viofo A129 Duo is a better-value option.
Nextbase 112 – Best budget dash cam
- Pros
- Very affordable
- Magnetic quick-release
- Cons
The 112 is a very low-cost dash cam which uses the same handy magnetic quick-release mount as the 312GW, so it’s really convenient to remove from the car to transfer video files or even take a few photos on battery power if you’re in a collision.
It’s the only dash cam here which records at a lowly 1280×720 pixels, and there is certainly less detail. However, the 120-degree lens means it is much easier to read number plates of oncoming cars as they’re physically larger in the resulting video. Quality is acceptable during the day, with most registrations visible when you pause the video.
Like most dash cams, even those costing five times as much, it can’t often capture registrations at night as detail levels really drop off. However, you should still be able to prove what happened if an incident happens in front of you.
There are no frills, such as Wi-Fi or GPS, nor can you review any footage or photos on the 2in screen. But the 112 is nice and compact and has easy-to-use buttons and menus.
We’d recommend paying more for a 1080p dash cam, but if you have a very limited budget, this is a good choice.
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