Budget-Friendly Rear and Front Dash Cams

• Dash cams are small cameras designed to fit on your vehicle’s windshield that records everything that goes on behind and in front of your car while you drive.
• With a dash cam, you can protect yourself from being blamed for accidents or incidents that may not have been your fault.
• Fortunately, there are plenty of budget-friendly dash cans available on the market today.

Do you drive a car? Do you like to be able to look back at your driving and feel confident that you’ve done nothing wrong? If so, then you should seriously consider investing in one of the many dash cams available on the market today.

Dash cams are small cameras designed to fit on your vehicle’s windshield. They record everything that goes on behind and in front of your car while you drive. This means they can protect you from being blamed for accidents or incidents that may not have been your fault. Protect yourself today by starting an online search.

If you need some help starting your search, here are a few budget-friendly dash cams that are worth your consideration.

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Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2

Price: $129.99¹

The Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 is popular on the market — and for good reason. It’s easy to install, highly discreet, can record crisp 1080p video, and is very affordable. Plus, it comes with a few extra features that can be quite handy, including hands-free voice controls, incident alerts while parked, live monitoring, and 24-hour online storage.²

Just be aware that the Mini 2 doesn’t come with GPS tracking and you need to buy a separate microSD to save videos internally.

Pros

• Compact design.
• Easy to setup.
• Exceptional video quality for its size.

Cons

• Memory card not included.
• No GPS.³

Nextbase 522GW Dash Cam

Price: $247.95⁴

The Nextbase 522GW Dash Cam is a high-quality, budget-friendly dash cam that offers clear viewing for the front of your vehicle. Thanks to the included Click & Go GPS mount, it is incredibly easy to setup and remove the device.

The Nextbase 522GW has a 140-degree viewing angle with a polarizing filter and records in 1440p HD quality, so you can be sure to capture everything that happens on the road.⁵ This dash cam also has built-in Emergency SOS response, which will alert emergency services to your location in the case of an accident or any incident that may cause the driver to become unresponsive.

Pros

• Large, crisp screen.
• Packed with features including Alexa voice controls and an Emergency SOS response.

Cons

• Memory card not included.
• Cumbersome cord and port management.⁶

Kenwood DRV-A601W

Price: $225⁷

The Kenwood DRV-A601W’s biggest claim to fame is its ability to capture video in 4K with wide dynamic range. With these key features, your dash cam footage will be clear and crisp no matter the lighting. If you would like crisp video of your car’s rear, Kenwood has made it easy to connect the KCA-R200 rear camera to the unit.⁸

On top of the 4K video, the DRV-A601W includes a built-in GPS, Wi-Fi to easily share your videos on social media, three-inch LCD display with touch controls, and a 64GB microSD card.

Pros

• Captures 4K video.
• Able to attach rear-camera to the unit.

Cons

• Build quality feels cheap for the price.
• Disappointing night vision mode.⁹

Vantrue N2 Pro

Price: $169.99¹⁰

The defining feature of the Vantrue N2 Pro is its dual camera system. This system — claimed to be the first of its kind — captures 1080p from both the front and rear of your car simultaneously without the need for a separate camera outside of the device. Along with the dual cameras, the N2 Pro includes four infrared sensors, which helps in providing clear video footage even when there is no light.¹¹

While the N2 Pro exceeds when it comes to video recording, it does not include some standard features of other dash cams, like Bluetooth connectivity, GPS, and Wi-Fi.

Pros

• Dual camera setup.
• Impressive night vision.

Cons

• Cheap build quality.
• Lack of GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.¹²

Car and Driver Road Patrol Touch Duo

Price: $179.99

For the price, the Car and Driver Road Patrol Touch Duo is one of the best dash cams available. It can record video in 1080p Full HD, features a large three-inch OLED touchscreen display, and includes multiple collision detection systems.¹³

One of the Road Patrol Touch Duo’s coolest features is the modular rear-view camera. You are able to detach the camera from the unit and place it anywhere in the vehicle. Better yet, you can angle the camera left or right to get coverage of hard to see areas like your blind spot or the backseat.

Pros

• Large touchscreen display.
• Very versatile rear-view camera.
• Stylish design.

Cons

• No GPS.
• Doesn’t save video files when the unit’s power fails.¹⁴