So you’ve decided to buy a dash cam, and are wondering which one is the best?
We’ve taken the most popular dash cams of the last twelve months and ordered them by price, so you can easily find the best camera for your car and your budget.
Here’s our list of the best dash cams for 2023:
If money isn’t an issue…
- BlackVue DR900X-2CH Plus: Stylish high-end 4K dash cam with advanced cloud features
- Thinkware U1000: 4K dash cam with cloud view and radar-assisted parking mode
…for taxi / Uber / ride share drivers…
- Viofo T130: Best 3-channel dash cam
…mid-price ($100-200)…
- Viofo A129 Plus Duo: Best value front and rear camera
- Garmin Mini 2: Smallest dash cam in 2023
- Viofo A119 v3: Best value one-way
…and if you’re on a budget…
- 70mai A500S: Cheapest decent 2-way dash cam
- Rexing V1: Low-cost dash cam that reliably does its job
Before we delve into the details, let’s first have a look at the most important features of each of these side-by-side, complete with (approximate) prices:
Best Dash Cams Of 2023: Side-By-Side Comparison
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | BlackVue DR900X Plus | Thinkware U1000 | Viofo T130 | A129 Plus Duo | Garmin Mini 2 | Viofo A119v3 | 70mai A500S | Rexing V1 |
| Description | Best Cloud | Radar-Assisted Parking Mode | Best Taxi Cam | Good Mid-Price Dual | Small & Discreet | Best Value | Good Low-Cost Dual | Cheap But Reliable |
| Price | $460+ →Amazon | $350 →Amazon | $210 →Amazon | $170 →Amazon | $130 →Amazon | $90 →Amazon | $70 →Amazon | $50 →Amazon |
| Channels | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Resolution | 4K front 1080p rear | 4K front 1440p rear | 1440p front 1080p rear 1080p interior | 1440p front 1080p rear | 1080p | 1440p | 1440p front 1080p rear | 1080p |
| Cloud | Yes | Yes | - | - | Yes | - | - | - |
| Parking Mode | Buffered | Radar-Assisted Buffered | Time-lapse | Time-lapse | Impact | Buffered | - | - |
Scroll to the right to see all models. Links to vendors are affiliate links, and help to support this site.
How We Select The Best Dash Cams
We’ve been independently reviewing car cameras since 2013, so we have a pretty good idea what you want 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.
Apart from clarity and general color fidelity, we decided to base our evaluations on the readability of other cars’ license plates. Video samples are available in the full reviews.
Another feature we value is discreetness. Many of the best dash cameras today are wedge-shaped, a growing trend that allows for clean and stealthy installation.
Other important factors include: Ease of use, good post-sales support, and customer satisfaction.
Our (And Your) Favorite Cams This Year
Now lets have a more detailed look at our recommended models for 2023, starting with the high-end devices with all the bells and whistles, and working our way down to the more affordable ones:
BlackVue DR900X-2CH Plus: Great Video, Best Cloud Features
Price: Amazon US / CA – eBay US / AU – more countries & vendors (affiliate links)
Resolution: 4K front, 1080p rear
Overall video quality: Good
Reliability: Very Good
Memory capacity: 256GB
Max operating temp.: 70°C / 158°F
Pros: Integrated GPS, Wi-Fi, cloud connectivity, capacitor, lock file button, elegant and discreet design. Parking modes: Buffered, time-lapse, impact-triggered
Cons: High price, no screen
Full review: DR900X-2CH Plus Review
The Korean brand BlackVue is the most innovative dash cam brand out there. Their current cameras include the DR590X Plus series, the DR750X Plus series, and the DR900X Plus series. (See this article if you’d like to learn more.)
Of these, the DR900X-2CH Plus is by far the most popular, as it records high quality 4K video to the front, and 1080p video to the rear.
With BlackVue’s trademark black cylinder design, this camera is elegant and discreet. It is also highly reliable, and it supports some of the most advanced features currently on the market.
With an internet connection in your car, or using BlackVue’s LTE module, you can connect the dash cam to the cloud. This allows you to watch live video from your car with the camera’s smart phone app, query your car’s current GPS location, and receive notifications when the dash cam records an event (like an impact to your parked or driving car).
For a complete description of BlackVue’s cloud, and how it compares to other manufacturers, click here.
The DR900X-2CH Plus supports buffered, time-lapse, and impact-triggered parking modes. Like all dash cams, it needs a hard-wiring kit or external battery pack to run in parking mode.
If love this camera’s features but don’t necessarily need 4K resolution, you can save some money and get the BlackVue DR750X-2CH Plus instead, which records 2x1080p.
Thinkware U1000: High-End 4K Cam, Radar-Assisted Parking Mode
Price: Amazon US / CA / UK – eBay US / AU – more countries & vendors (affiliate links)
Resolution: 4K front, 1440p rear
Overall video quality: Good
Reliability: Good
Memory capacity: 128GB
Max operating temp.: 60°C / 140°F
Pros: Cloud connectivity, radar-assisted buffered parking mode, integrated GPS, Wi-Fi, capacitor, lock file button. Other parking modes: Time-lapse, low bit-rate
Cons: High price, no screen. Buffered parking mode needs extra radar module
Full review: Thinkware U1000 review
Thinkware is another popular dash cam company from Korea. Their flagship camera supports cutting-edge features such as GPS, Wi-Fi, cloud connectivity, and radar-assisted parking mode. Be aware that the latter requires a radar module which costs around $100 extra, so this is truly a camera for those for whom money isn’t an issue.
Without the radar module, you can still run the camera in time-lapse or low bit-rate parking modes. A hard-wiring kit or external battery pack is still required though.
Thinkware’s cloud doesn’t have quite as many features as BlackVue’s, but they do support remote video streaming, event notifications, live GPS, cloud storage, and geo-fencing.
The U1000’s video quality is very good for the front camera, however its rear camera leaves a bit to be desired and isn’t quite as good as BlackVue’s.
You can also get the front camera on its own, without the rear camera (this is true for most multi-channel dash cams).
Viofo T130: Best 3-Channel Dash Cam
Price: Amazon US / CA / UK – AliExpress – eBay US / AU – more countries & vendors (affiliate links)
Resolution: 1440p front, 1080p rear + interior
Overall video quality: Good
Reliability: Good
Memory capacity: 256GB
Max operating temp.: 65°C / 149°F
Pros: Capacitor, GPS, Wi-Fi, lock file button. Parking modes: Simple, time-lapse, low bit rate
Cons: No screen
Full Review: Viofo T130 Review
The Viofo T130 is the best 3-channel dash cam of 2023. In addition to recording the front and rear, it also films the inside of your car. Thus it offers optimal protection for taxi and Uber drivers, or anyone in the people transportation business.
At night, the interior view is assisted by infrared lights so you don’t have to have your cabin lights on to see what is going on inside the car.
We compared the most popular 3-channel dash cams available today, and the result was astonishing: The Viofo T130 is not only the one that records the best video quality overall, it is also the cheapest!
GPS is integrated. When connected to the car’s fuse box with a hard-wiring kit (optional), the T130 supports impact-triggered, time-lapse, and low-bit rate parking modes.
Viofo A129 Plus Duo: Best Value Front And Rear Cam
Price: Amazon US / CA / UK – AliExpress – eBay US / AU – more countries & vendors (affiliate links)
Resolution: 2560×1440 (front), 1920×1080 (rear)
Overall video quality: Good
Reliability: Good
Memory capacity: 256GB
Max Operating Temp.: 65°C / 149°F
Pros: 2″ screen, Wi-Fi, capacitor, lock file button, GPS included in mount. Time-lapse and low bit-rate parking modes. Optional additional remote lock file button. Optional CPL filter.
Cons: CPL filter costs extra
Full review: Viofo A129 Plus Duo Review
Viofo are a Chinese brand that makes high-quality, reliable dash cams for a quite competitive price. Available for less than $200, their A129 Plus Duo is the arguably the best selling front and rear dash cam in 2023.
It records good quality video, at a resolution of 1440p to the front, and 1080p to the rear. Both the front and the rear cameras of the A129 Plus Duo 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.
Like most other cameras featured here, 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 button ($20) that you can place on your steering wheel or wherever you find it most convenient. The remote button uses Bluetooth to connect to the camera, so it’s wireless.
This camera supports time-lapse and low bit-rate parking modes. The corresponding hard-wire kit is priced at $15.
Garmin Mini 2: Smallest Dash Cam Of 2023
Price: Amazon US / CA / UK – eBay US / AU – more countries & vendors (affiliate links)
Resolution: 1920×1080
Overall video quality: Fair
Reliability: Very good
Memory capacity: 512GB
Max Operating Temp.: 60°C / 140°F
Pros: Wi-Fi, capacitor, lock file button, limited cloud connectivity, voice control, impact-triggered parking mode, multi-camera networks
Cons: No screen
Full review: Garmin Mini 2 review
The American company Garmin not only makes sat-nav devices, they are also gaining a foot hold on the dash cam market. While their video quality hasn’t been known to be the greatest, Garmin’s dash cams are very reliable, and they have excellent customer service.
They Garmin Mini 2 is actually quite stylish. It is also the smallest dash cam available in 2023, which will be of interest to those who want their camera to be as inconspicuous as possible.
Having no screen, the Mini 2 is controlled by Wi-Fi via the phone app. Some voice commands are also available to take a picture, save the current video, and toggle audio recording.
Garmin’s cloud supports less features than BlackVue’s and Thinkware’s, but it does support live video streaming and event notifications. Cloud storage is only available with a paid account.
A unique feature of Garmin dash cams is that you can connect several of them together to build a multi-camera network in your car. For example, you could get two Mini 2’s and let one record to the front, and another one to the rear.
Up to 4 cameras can be connected in each network.
Viofo A119 v3: Best Value One-Way Cam
Price: Amazon US / CA – AliExpress – eBay US / AU – more countries & vendors (affiliate links)
Resolution: 2560×1600
Overall video quality: Very good
Reliability: Very good
Memory capacity: 256GB (over 18 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. Buffered, time-lapse, and low bit-rate parking modes.
Cons: GPS and CPL filter cost extra
Full review: A119 v3 review
The A119 v3 is a reliable single-channel dash cam that has been around since 2019, and continues to be a best seller. Its video quality is very good at day, and good at night.
When powered with a hard-wiring kit, the A119 v3 supports three different parking modes: Buffered, time-lapse, and low bit-rate.
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 more.
A CPL filter for this device is available separately, and will set you back another $10.
The hard-wiring kit (necessary for parking mode to work) for the A119v3 also costs $10 extra.
70mai A500S Pro Plus: Low-Cost Front And Rear Dash Cam
Price: Amazon US / CA / UK – AliExpress – eBay US / AU – more countries & vendors (affiliate links)
Resolution: 2560×1440 (front), 1920×1080 (rear)
Overall video quality: Fair
Reliability: Good
Memory capacity: 128GB
Max Operating Temp.: 60°C / 140°F
Pros: 2″ screen, lock file button, GPS, Wi-Fi, impact-triggered parking mode
Cons: Internal battery, no CPL filter
Full review: 70mai A500S Pro Plus review
If you’re looking for an affordable front and rear dash cam, we recommend you don’t go lower than $100 in price (or whatever the current price of the 70mai A500S may be — it was $100 at the time of this writing).
Video quality of the front camera is okay for this price. The rear camera records fair video at day, but mediocre video at night.
The A500S supports a simple impact-triggered parking mode. Of course, like all the other dash cams featured here, it needs a hard-wiring kit for this to work.
Rexing V1: Cheap, But Does The Job
Price: Amazon US / CA – eBay US / AU – more countries & vendors (affiliate links)
Resolution: 1920×1080
Overall video quality: Good
Reliability: Good
Memory capacity: 256GB (over 42 hours)
Max Operating Temp.: 60°C / 140°F
Pros: 2.7″ screen, low price, lock file button, simple parking mode, optional external GPS
Cons: Internal battery, no Wi-Fi, no CPL
Full review: Rexing V1 Basic review
The Rexing V1 Basic is a stealthy low-cost dash cam that even supports a simple parking mode. It doesn’t have Wi-Fi, but it’s easy enough to set up and use with its 2.7″ screen and menu system.
You probably won’t need to consult the comprehensive user manual unless you experience some kind of issue, in which case the troubleshooting section will come in handy.
This camera has been around for a number of years, and has proven itself to be more reliable than most other dash cams at this price. Video quality is good at day, and fair during the night.