Top Five Dash Cams For 2021

Louise Muyanja

In this article

It’s hard to overstate the gulf between the best dash cams and our Don’t Buys. It’s not always obvious from the price either. Our rigorous tests have uncovered even well-known brands with tedious installations, confusing instructions and, worst of all, unusable footage. When it comes to finding the best dash cam, a little research goes a long way. Fortunately, our experts have already done it for you.

It can be almost impossible to know which dash cam is the best simply by looking at the box it comes in. All sorts of numbers and specifications are proudly shown off, but how can you know how well it really performs without taking it out on the road first?

Below, we reveal the very best models from our testing – as well as the dash cams you should avoid. Every dash cam goes through our rigorous lab tests, so you can be sure that any model we recommend offers top-quality footage with useful features and will be a breeze to use.

Only logged-in Which? members can view our recommendations below. If you’re not yet a member, join Which? to get instant access to our round-up of the best dash cams plus all of our online reviews.

Top five best dash cams

77%

£109.99

Reviewed Jun 2019

It might not be cheap but our tests found that this premium dash cam is totally worth its price. This compact dash cam manages to pull off detailed and good quality footage, an enviable roster of features and it’s easy to use. It’s no wonder this is the highest-scoring model in its range.

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76%

£239.95

Reviewed Oct 2020

This dash cam is among the highest scoring we've ever tested. It has many of the bells and whistles you'd expect at this price, from 4K recording and wi-fi connectivity to a setting that alerts emergency services of your location if you get into an accident. But does it succeed where most dash cams fail – low light recording?

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74%

£64.95

Reviewed Jun 2019

If you’re looking for a dash cam that does a good job for a reasonable price, you’ve met your mate with this one. It’s a good value dash cam that produces sharp and clear recordings. Not to mention that it’s a breeze to set up and use - we’re definitely impressed. It might not have all the bells and whistles you’ll find on the 422GW, but it’s impressive nonetheless.

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70%

£229.99

Reviewed Oct 2020

This brand is a newcomer to our dash cam test lab – and it doesn’t disappoint. It’s pricey for a dash cam, but it comes with three wide-angle lenses, capturing footage in front of, behind and inside the vehicle. If you’re looking for maximum video coverage, this could be the dash cam for you.

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69%

£48.00

Reviewed Aug 2018

This household name has successfully ventured into the dash cam market and delivered a very good and affordable model. Its price isn’t its only selling point. In our tests it proved it can produce great footage, even in low light conditions, and is easy to use despite being so compact. It’s only a hair away from our Best Buy threshold, thanks to its fiddly, impractical mount. So if you’re on a budget, this is a good choice.

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Recommendations updated January 2021

Not found the model for you? Browse all of our dash cam reviews.

And here are three dash cams to avoid

The dash cam market is one of the fastest-growing tech markets around the world, thanks to more and more motorists realising its virtues. But it's not all smooth sailing.

It should come as no surprise that there are also some poor dash cams out there, but what may surprise you is just how poor they really are.

Below, you'll find the absolute worst of the worst in our tests. These models are simply not worth buying.

Three dash cams to avoid

44%

£21.00

Reviewed Nov 2019

To put it simply, this dash cam is disappointing. Footage is patchy during the day and is useless at night as the dash cam has poor sensitivity to low light, so we were unable to read number plates at all. It's affordable but its footage quality just isn't good enough.

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44%

£40.00

Reviewed May 2020

This big name dash cam is underwhelming to say the least. The best thing we can say about it is that it's easy to mount and remove from your windscreen. Which is just as well, because with poor image quality and frustrating buttons, you'll probably want to remove it as quickly as possible.

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43%

£20.00

Reviewed Feb 2019

Unfortunately, this popular brand couldn't pull off a cheap, good quality dash cam with this model. Its video quality is what lets it down. Even in the daytime, recordings are grainy. At night, reading number plates is a real task. Paired with the fact that its audio quality is hugely disappointing, it's a definite Don't Buy.

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Pricing, recommendations and test scores correct as of January 2021.

Six things to look out for when picking a dash cam

Recording resolution: Make sure it films in Full HD at least - that’s 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. This will ensure a minimum level of sharpness to its footage.
GPS tracking: This attaches an exact location to your footage. Without it you may have a hard time proving you were in a certain location when the accident occurred, which means the perpetrator could get away with it.
Parking mode: This great feature activates recording on your dash cam if it detects a collision while your car is parked. This allows it to capture footage in your absence that will potentially help in a claim.
Power cable length: It may seem obvious, but a cable that’s too short can be a real pain. It could even put you in legal trouble - as it will have to hang directly from behind your rearview mirror to your cigarette lighter socket. Our reviews will let you know if a dash cam’s power cable is too short.
Loop recording: Loop recording automatically overwrites old footage with new recordings when the memory card fills up, saving you the time and effort of deleting files to free up space. Almost every model has it nowadays, but it’s still important to check.
Screen or no screen: This can be a matter of personal preference, although a dash cam with a screen is usually more advantageous as you can see the footage being filmed in real time. Models without a screen are smaller and more discreet, but it does mean you’ll need a computer or companion smartphone app to see what’s being recorded.