You never know when that piece of dash cam footage will come in handy. It could be for an insurance claim, to prove your innocence in accident, catch a hit-and-run perpetrator, or just to share some fond memories with your family and friends.
But which dash cam is the best?
Of course, there’s no simple answer to this question; each driver’s preferences and budget will be different. This article shows you the best and most reliable dash cams of 2019. We’ve roughly ordered them starting with the more high-end models, and working our way towards the cheaper ones. There’s a good chance you’ll find the perfect dash cam for your car on this list.
Click the model names below to jump to a short description, with links to vendors and to our in-depth reviews:
- Street Guardian SG9663DC — Best overall front and rear video, great customer support
- Thinkware F800 Pro — Most versatile parking protection
- BlackVue DR750S — Best cloud connectivity, live view over internet, good parking mode
- Street Guardian SGGCX2PRO — Best single-channel video, optional rear camera
- Vantrue N2 Pro Uber — Best taxi cam (records passenger cabin and road ahead)
- Mini 0906 — Cheapest reliable dual cam
- Viofo A129 Pro — More pricey than the Mini 0906, but better video and more reliable
- Viofo A119 v2 — Best video quality below $100
- Yi Dash Cam — Cheapest reliable dash cam
While the Yi dash cam is available for less than $50, the more advanced cameras on this list can cost you upwards of $500 if you go for a cutting-edge front-and-rear camera with a high capacity SD card. Speaking of which: Make sure to always use a high-endurance memory card with your dash cam (here’s why).
Criteria For Selecting The Best Dash Cams For 2019
At dashboardcamerareviews.com, we’ve been independently reviewing car cameras since 2013, so we have a pretty good idea what to watch out for when you decide to buy. The first and foremost quality criteria for any dash cam is reliability.
Imagine getting a shiny new dash cam that records awesome, high-resolution video — if you can’t rely on it to work continuously and without interruption whenever you’re driving, it’s not much good. You don’t want to be in a situation where you need the evidence from your dashboard camera, just to find out that it decided to take the day off!
Another important criteria is video quality. Over the years, we’ve analyzed hundreds of dash cams, in order to assess which devices record the best footage. There’s always some subjectivity when evaluating video quality, so apart from clarity and general color fidelity, we decided to base our evaluations on the readability of other cars’ license plates. While you may not actually need those very often (except in cases of road rage or a hit-and-runs), it’s a good and objective way to compare the footage of many different cameras.
Customer satisfaction is also high on our list. We get a lot of feedback from users telling us their experiences with all sorts of cameras. We also measure the return rates over extended periods of time (ideally, returns should be below 10%; 5% or less is excellent), and take into account each camera’s user ratings on various sales platforms such as Amazon. (Yes, these can be faked, and we do sometimes see this happening — however after over 5 years of reviewing dash cams, we have a pretty good idea of which reviews are dodgy, and which can be trusted.)
Another feature we value is discreetness. Many of the best cameras in 2019 are wedge-shaped, a growing trend this year that allows for clean and stealthy installation.
Other important factors include: Ease of use, good post-sales support, and any unique features the camera might have.
Our Selection Of The 9 Best Dash Cams Of 2019
We’ve included links to various vendors with each review. Make sure to click each vendor for your country to find the best price when buying online.
1. Street Guardian SG9663DC: Best Front And Rear Video
Price: Amazon US / CA / UK – eBay US / CA / UK / AU
Resolution: 1920×1080 (front and rear)
Overall video quality: Very Good
Reliability: Excellent
Memory capacity: 400GB (over 29 hours)
Max operating temp.: 70°C / 158°F
Pros: Best dual video, great customer support, CPL filter and external GPS antenna included, capacitor, 2″ screen, time-lapse parking mode with hard-wiring kit (not included)
Cons: No Wi-Fi
The Australian company Street Guardian got two dash cams on our best-of list this year: The dual channel SG9663DC (full review) which records both front and rear, and the single channel SGGCX2PRO (see below).
The SG9663DC records better quality footage than any other dual channel dash cam. While the SG9663DC doesn’t have Wi-Fi and only supports a basic time-lapse parking mode, its outstanding video quality and excellent reliability make up for that fact.
Also, its sturdy wedge-shaped casing allows for a clean, discreet installation. A 2″ screen lets you play back video on the spot, and makes configuring the camera a breeze.
A hard-wiring kit (called SGDCHW) is available for around $30 and allows you to have the SG9663DC record time-lapse video while your car is parked. You can specify a cut-off voltage in the camera’s settings, to prevent your car’s battery from becoming depleted.
Of all dash cam manufacturers, Street Guardian are maybe the most trustworthy. Over the years, they consistently receive the highest customer ratings. This is due to their great attention to detail, as well as their excellent pre- and post-sales support.
2. Thinkware F800 Pro: Best Dash Cam For Parking Protection
Price: Amazon US / CA / UK – eBay US / CA / UK / AU – vendors for Europe
Resolution: 1920×1080 (front and rear)
Overall video quality: Very Good
Reliability: Good
Memory capacity: 128GB (over 14 hours)
Max operating temp.: 60°C / 140°F
Pros: 3 different parking modes, cloud alerts to phone, Wi-Fi, internal GPS, low-voltage cutoff, overheat protection. Single lens version available.
Cons: No screen, no CPL filter
The Thinkware F800 Pro (full review) has been designed for optimum parking protection. With three different types of parking mode to choose from, this is the most versatile camera to keep your car safe while you’re gone. You can choose between buffered parking mode (recommended), time-lapse recording, and energy-saving (non-buffered) parking mode.
A GPS sensor is built in to track your location and speed.
If it ever becomes too hot in your car, the camera will shut itself down if a critical temperature is detected (overheat protection).
Of course you’ll have to hard-wire the F800 Pro to the car’s battery for parking mode to work. The camera will power off automatically if the voltage drops below a specified level, so you don’t run the risk of accidentally draining the car’s main battery.
Alternatively, you can connect the dash cam to an external power bank, however these are a bit more expensive.
If you have a Wi-Fi hotspot in your car, you can make use of Thinkware’s cloud alert system. While it won’t let you view video remotely (only BlackVue cameras currently have this capability), the Thinkware cloud allows you to track a car’s location via GPS, or even to monitor a fleet of vehicles. You can also enable a feature called geo-fencing that will notify you if your car leaves a pre-determined area.
In the event of a collision or an accident detected by the G-sensor, the camera can send a notification with the exact GPS coordinates of the event. You can then contact the driver and make sure they are okay, or send help if necessary.
The Thinkware F800 Pro is available as dual channel and single channel version.
3. BlackVue DR750S: Best Cloud Connectivity
Price: Amazon US / CA / UK – eBay US / CA / UK / AU – vendors for Europe
Resolution: 1920×1080 (front and rear)
Overall video quality: Good
Reliability: Very Good
Memory capacity: 128GB (over 12 hours)
Max operating temp.: 70°C / 158°F
Pros: Cloud viewing (watch live feed over the internet), internal GPS, Wi-Fi, overheat protection, buffered parking mode, cloud alerts, capacitor. Single lens version available.
Cons: No screen, no CPL filter
The BlackVue DR750S-1CH and -2CH (full review) dash cams support buffered parking mode when hard-wired to the car’s fuse box. In this mode, the camera records continuously, but will only save the footage if an impact or event is detected.
As of today, BlackVue cameras are the only ones that allow you to live-stream their video feed over the internet. Combined with a Wi-Fi hot spot in your car, you can connect your camera to BlackVue’s cloud service. Their free account allow you to view 10 minutes of live-stream video from your car per day. If you want more, you’ll need to get a paid subscription.
Business owners can use the cloud to manage their vehicle fleet, track locations, and communicate with drivers in real time using the camera’s integrated microphone and speaker.
A fun feature was only recently added: BlackVue’s Cloud now also allows you to stream your dash cam’s video to Youtube or Facebook, so you can share your trip in real time with your friends, family, and followers!
The DR750S has built-in GPS, Wi-Fi, overheat protection, and many other features. It is available with or without a rear camera.
4. Street Guardian SGGCX2PRO: Best Single-Channel Video
Price: Amazon US / CA / UK – eBay US / CA / UK / AU – vendors for Europe
Resolution: 1920×1080 @60fps (30 fps with rear cam)
Overall video quality: Excellent
Reliability: Excellent
Memory capacity: 400GB (over 49 hours)
Max Operating Temp.: 70°C / 158°F
Pros: Best video quality, CPL filter & external GPS antenna included, fits vertical windows, great customer support, capacitor, 1.5″ screen. Optional rear camera, optional time-lapse parking mode
Cons: No Wi-Fi
Street Guardian’s SGGCX2PRO (full review) is the single-channel dash cam with the best video quality of 2019, hands down. It can be upgraded to dual-channel by adding a rear camera. So if you’re looking for a great dual channel camera but can’t afford one right now, you can get the main unit now and order the rear camera at a later time, when your finances will allow it.
The hinge of the lens has been redesigned so you can now swing it a full 90 degrees up and down. This makes the SGGCX2PRO one of the few wedge-shaped dash cams that you can actually install on vertical windows, like in a bus or a truck.
When you order this camera, you will find an impressive amount of accessories in the package, including an external GPS antenna, a CPL filter, tools for mounting and removing the camera, and more. With other dash cams, GPS and a CPL will often cost you extra.
The SGGCX2PRO can record in time-lapse parking mode if you power it with Street Guardian’s hard-wiring kit SGDCHW (not included). The kit will cost you around $30 extra.
Finally, as we mentioned before, Street Guardian offer excellent customer support, and have been getting the highest user ratings of all dash cam vendors over several years now.
5. Vantrue N2 Pro Uber: Best Dash Cam For Taxi And Uber Drivers
Price: Amazon US / CA / UK – eBay US / CA / UK / AU – AliExpress – vendors for Europe
Resolution: 1920×1080 (front and rear)
Overall video quality: Good
Reliability: Good
Memory capacity: 64GB (5.9 hours)
Max Operating Temp.: 70°C / 158°F
Pros: Infrared lights allow for good interior video at night, reliable email support within 24h, 1.5″ screen
Cons: Form factor, GPS costs extra
Taxi cams still are a niche product in the dash cam scene, and unfortunately there still aren’t many that are really reliable. Of the few that are, the Vantrue N2 Pro (full review) is by far the most popular in 2019.
Granted, you could just take a regular dual lens camera and mount the rear facing camera so it records your car’s interior. The problem with this setup is, your typical rear camera doesn’t have infrared lights, so you won’t see much at night when the passenger cabin is dark — and who wants to drive with the cabin lights on all the time?
So a good taxi cam should not only unite both the front and inward facing cameras in a single casing, making it a lot easier to set up than a classical front-and-rear camera. A taxi cam should also have infrared lights that let you record good passenger cabin footage at night.
The Vantrue N2 Pro does all this, and records good overall video. (Make sure to get the N2 Pro model though, as the previous model called just Vantrue N2 does NOT have infrared.)
The standard version of this camera comes without GPS. If you’d like to use GPS, you’ll have to order an extra mount which costs about $20, however this is sold out at the moment.
6. Mini 0906: Cheapest Reliable Front And Rear Dash Cam
Price: Amazon US / CA / UK – eBay US / CA / UK / AU – AliExpress – vendors for Europe
Resolution: 1920×1080 (front and rear)
Overall video quality: Fair
Reliability: Good
Memory capacity: 128GB (over 11 hours)
Max Operating Temp.: 60°C / 140°F
Pros: Good reliability and video quality for the price, time-lapse parking mode, 1.5″ screen, CPL filter and GPS included, capacitor
Cons: Night rear video is of low quality
The Chinese Mini 0906 (full review) is the cheapest dual-channel dash cam that we feel comfortable recommending. It is small and stealthy, and its video quality and reliability are reasonable for the price. While there do seem to be a few duds out there that don’t work straight out of the box or fail after a short period of time, a majority of users seem to be happy with this camera.
Sporting a minimalistic, elegant design, we find the Mini 0906 to look quite smart. It comes with a CPL filter and GPS receiver included, which is a plus considering that even some more expensive cameras require you to pay extra for these.
When hard-wired to the car’s fuse box, the Mini 0906 can run in time-lapse parking mode. Should the camera detect an impact with its G-sensor, it will switch to normal recording mode during 15 seconds, then go back to time-lapse.
7. Viofo A129 Duo: Good Mid-Price Dual Cam
Price: Amazon US / CA / UK – eBay US / CA / UK / AU – AliExpress – vendors for Europe
Resolution: 1920×1080 (front and rear)
Overall video quality: Good
Reliability: Very Good
Memory capacity: 256GB (over 16 hours)
Max Operating Temp.: 65°C / 149°F
Pros: 2″ screen, Wi-Fi, capacitor, lock file button, GPS included in mount. Simple and time-lapse parking modes. Optional additional remote lock file button. Optional CPL filter.
Cons: CPL filter costs extra
The Viofo A129 Duo (full review) costs about $50 more than the Mini 0906, but it also records better video and is a lot more reliable. It is one of the newer dual channel dash cams out there, but has already become a top seller.
Both the front and the rear cameras come in a stealthy wedge shape. A GPS receiver is included in the mount. A CPL filter is not included, and will cost you $15 extra.
The A129 has a lock file button (the round one marked in yellow), but if you’d like a button that’s easier to reach, you can get a remote lock file button ($20) that you can place on your steering wheel or wherever you find it most comortable. The remote button uses Bluetooth to connect to the camera, so it’s wireless.
This camera supports simple (impact-activated) and time-lapse parking modes. The corresponding hard-wire kit is priced at $15.
You can connect this camera to your smart phone with Wi-Fi to adjust the settings and play back video, or just control it using the buttons and its 2″ screen.
8. Viofo A119 v2: Best Video Below $100
Price (A119v3): Amazon US / CA / UK – eBay US / CA / UK / AU – AliExpress – vendors for Europe
Resolution: 2560×1440
Overall video quality: Very good
Reliability: Good
Memory capacity: 128GB (over 14 hours)
Max Operating Temp.: 65°C / 149°F
Pros: 2″ screen, optional GPS in mount, optional CPL filter, very good video quality for the price, capacitor
Cons: GPS and CPL filter cost extra
The Viofo A119 v2 (full review) records excellent video quality for a sub-$100 dash cam: We haven’t found any device that performs better in this price range. It is also the only camera on this list that supports 1440p resolution. Furthermore, it is the only camera with a lens that can be adjusted both horizontally and vertically.
This camera is available with 2 different mounts. The mount is a thin plate that sticks directly to your windshield. One mount contains a GPS antenna, the other mount doesn’t. The GPS mount is a bit thicker than the non-GPS one, and costs about $10-$20 more.
A CPL filter for this device is available separately, and will set you back about $15
9. Yi Dash Cam: Cheapest Reliable Dash Cam
Price: Amazon US / CA / UK – eBay US / CA / UK / AU – AliExpress – vendors for Europe
Resolution: 1920×1080
Overall video quality: Good
Reliability: Very Good
Memory capacity: 64GB (over 7 hours)
Max Operating Temp.: 60°C / 140°F
Pros: Low price, simple menu structure, Wi-Fi
Cons: Form factor, color, internal battery
The Yi Dash Cam (full review) is as cheap as it gets if you’re looking for something reliable. For below $50, you get a somewhat clunky device. It records good video nonetheless.
This camera has a screen and its menu structure is simple, making it super easy to set up and use.
The Yi Dash Cam even supports Wi-Fi, so you can operate it through your smart phone if you feel so inclined. A downside is that it comes with an internal battery instead of a capacitor, making it more susceptible to heat failure.
PRO TIP: If you prefer your dash cam to be black, you can find a matte black version of the Yi on eBay. At this time, the black version is only available with Chinese menus. However the menus are simple enough to be usable even if you don’t understand the language. We think it definitely looks much cooler than the gray version.
A Note On Resolution In 2019
An interesting observation: It turns out that with the exception of the Viofo A119v2, all of the cameras featured here operate at 1920×1080 resolution. 1080p seems to be the new sweet spot in 2019. There seem to be a lot more dash cams with 1080p than those that support higher resolutions such as 1440p, 2560×1080 or even 4K.
Why is this so? One reason is that at resolutions above 1080p, night video quality degrades notably. Individual pixels on the sensor necessarily become smaller as resolution goes up, thus absorbing less light per pixel.
If you’ve been following this site for a while, you may have noticed that our previous recommendation for top night video quality (DOD LS460W) recorded at 1080p, while our previous day-time favorite (Vico-Opia2) recorded at 1440p.
This year however, we found that the Street Guardian SGGCX2PRO (which does 1080p only) records excellent video both at day and at night. It is also highly reliable with great user ratings and excellent customer support, which is why it has replaced both of our previous top single channel dash cams.
Even though more and more 4K dash cams (such as the high-end BlackVue DR900S) are becoming available, 1080p cameras still outperform them for the time being, especially at night.