Best dash cams for 2026

What is a dash cam?

A dash cam is an easy-to-install, relatively inexpensive way to record video of the road ahead for every second of every drive. It's as simple as that.

If you were looking for backup cameras instead, check out our best backup cameras article.

Why do people use dash cams?

• Liability: If you're involved in an accident and need to provide information to your insurance provider or the police, dash cam accident footage can help clear up what happened.
• Rideshare monitoring: Many dash cam packages record the exterior and have a secondary camera for recording passengers. Record other drivers and keep track of your passengers. People who drive work vehicles like the peace of mind, and parents of new drivers like to keep an eye on a novice driver when they can't be in the car with them.
• Fleet management and AVL: If you have employees driving company vehicles, some dash cams let you keep tabs on your fleet with useful tools like remote video access and geo-tracking.
• Security: A dash cam with parking monitoring can trigger video recording if something hits your car while it's parked.
• Memories: Dash cams are also the easiest way to record your adventures behind the wheel. If you love an epic road trip, add one of these cams to your dash and relive the memories when you get home.

All dash cams have recording and saving features

At the very least, you can count on all dash cams to loop-record the road ahead and save the video files onto a memory card.

All the recommended dash cams (excluding the Garmin Catalyst) have the following features:

• G-sensor: If you're involved in a crash, a built-in G-sensor will trigger the camera to auto-save critical video of the incident.
• built-in Wi-Fi: for syncing video with your phone.
• built-in GPS: for geo-stamped details like time, date, location, and speed of travel.
• HD video quality: These days, HD quality is available in even a low budget dash cam.
• parking mode: When an impact is detected while parked, the dash cam will record the incident. This feature runs off the car's battery and may require an additional power supply.

Let's jump into the list for even more cool features:

1. Best universal dash cam — Kenwood DRV-A610WDP

Compact 4K HD dash camera with 2" display, Wi-Fi, and GPS — includes rear-view cam

The Kenwood DRV-A610WDP comes with two cameras that record in HD and work both inside and outside the car. The primary camera is meant to record the road ahead, and the secndary camera can be used to record the road behind you or mounted to record the vehicle's interior. Built-in GPS with geotagging, a G-sensor, and other high-level features record latitude, longitude, date, time, speed, and travel direction.

Features

• Built-in display: 2" full color LCD (front), rear cam viewable on front camera display
• Field of view: 113 degrees (front), 105 degrees (rear)
• Records in 4K (front), Wide Quad-HD (rear)
• Hardwire option: Yes
• Viewable via: built-in display, Kenwood mobile app, Wi-Fi, PC or Mac via SD card

Additional perks

• Two cameras: front view dash cam and secondary camera for interior and exterior rear view (IP67 rated)
• 64 GB SD card

Heads up

Parking mode is a feature that monitors your vehicle while you're away. Any dash camera with parking mode needs constant power from the car battery. You’ll need the optional hardwire kit. Our tech support team can help you figure this out if you need help installing it yourself.

2. Best dash cam for Alpine car systems — Alpine DVR-C320R

HD dash cam with Wi-Fi and included rear-view cam — designed for select Alpine touchscreen radios

Alpine's DVR-C320R dash cam and rear-view cam system works with compatible Alpine car receivers like the popular iLX-507 receiver. The DVR-C320R dash cam provides front and rear video monitoring, as well as helpful driver assistance features, all viewable on your stereo's touchscreen display.

The dash cam keeps an eye on the road ahead to give you an audible Forward Collision warning if you approach a car too rapidly, a Lane Departure warning if you veer from your lane, and a Stop & Go alert if you're stopped and traffic ahead starts moving.

Features

• Built-in display: N/A — view via your Alpine receiver.
• Field of view: 144 degrees (front), 160 degrees (rear)
• Records up to 1080p
• Hardwire option: Yes
• Viewable via: Alpine receiver, smartphone app (free from Alpine), PC or Mac via SD card

Additional perks

• Two cameras: front view dash cam and secondary camera for interior view or rear view (not a backup camera)
• 32GB SD card

Compatible with the following receivers

• Compatible current model Alpine stereos:
  • ILX line: iLX507, iLX-F509, and iLX-F511
  • i509 line: i509-WRA-JL and i509-WRA-JK
• Compatible previous model Alpine stereos:
  • iLX-207, X308U, INE-W987HD

Heads up

This dash cam system will not work without a compatible Alpine receiver installed in your dash. Check the Details tab on the DVR-C320R product page to find out more.

Parking mode is a feature that monitors your vehicle while you're away. Any dash camera with parking mode needs constant power from the car battery. Our tech support can help you figure this out if you need help installing it yourself.

3. Best dash cams for heavy drivers — Escort MAXcam 360c

Radar detector and QHD dash cam with Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®, GPS, and preloaded camera database

Escort's MAXcam 360c — it's a radar detector with a dash cam built in. If you put a lot of miles on your car, you might be interested in a dash cam with a built-in radar detector. The Escort MAXcam 360c shields you against X-, K-, and Ka-band radar signals, plus multiple laser threats. And all the while, it records the road ahead in resolution up to 1440p.

Features

• Built-in display: OLED display
• Field of view: 143 degrees
• Records up to 1440p
• Hardwire option: Yes
• Viewable via: Drive Smarter app via iPhone or Android, microSD card

Additional perks

• Built-in front and rear radar detection
• 360° laser protection
• 16 GB microSD card
• Magnetic suction-cup windshield mount

Escort's free Drive Smarter app can stream and share your videos, provide safety and security features, and receive shared community alerts about road conditions, law enforcement sightings, and travel hazards.

You can even set up a "Mayday Alert" that automatically sends an email and/or text message to an assigned emergency contact if you're involved in an accident.

Heads up

Parking mode is a feature that monitors your vehicle while you're away. Any dash camera with parking mode needs constant power from the car battery. You’ll need Escort’s optional hardwire kit to make that happen. Our tech support team can help you figure this out if you need help installing it yourself.

4. Best dash cams for fleets and rideshares — Garmin Dash Cam™ Mini 3

HD dash cam with Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth®

I love Garmin because of the dialed-in design and cross-compatibility throughout their whole line of dash cams. Starting with the Dash Cam Mini 3 (when they say mini, they mean it), Garmin packs essential HD quality video, Garmin Clarity HDR, and cloud storage via built-in Wi-Fi into their cost-effective, entry-level cam.

Features

• Built-in display: no screen, app only
• Field of view: 140 degrees
• Records up to 1080p
• Hardwire option: Yes
• Viewable via: Garmin Drive app via iPhone or Android, microSD card

Garmin's Dash Cam 57, 67W, Tandem, X110, X210, and Live also offer a variety of cool and upgraded features including driver assistance alerts and voice control, but you'll always get access to the Garmin Drive app, which makes video playback and sharing a snap using your phone.

You can install multiple cameras to one or several vehicles in your fleet and view them on the same phone. You can even create composite picture-in-picture videos from simultaneous recordings. If you own a fleet of vehicles or just want to keep an eye on all the cars in your family, Garmin makes it simple.

Heads up

Parking mode is a feature that monitors your vehicle while you're away. Any dash camera with parking mode needs constant power from the car battery. Our tech support team can help you figure this out if you need help installing it yourself.

5. Best dash cam with Alexa voice control — Cobra SC 400D

Ultra HD 4K dash camera/rear-view camera package with built-in Alexa and Bluetooth®

Cobra's SC 400D dash cam and rear-view cam system gives you a double dose of voice control. Like some of the Garmin Dash Cams, you can control essential camera features like turning the display on and taking a snapshot with the power of your voice.

Cobra goes a step further, by building Alexa compatibility into this system.

Features

• Built-in display: 3" touchscreen
• Field of view: 140 degrees
• Records up to 2160p
• Hardwire option: yes
• Viewable via: Drive Smarter app via iPhone or Android, microSD card

Additional perks

• 32 GB SD card
• Manage up to 3 cameras

Use Alexa in your car

With a Bluetooth® connection to your vehicle's radio and a Wi-Fi connection to your phone, you can chat with Alexa on your phone via the SC 400D's built-in mic and hear the results over your vehicle's audio system.

That means that anything you can do on your phone with Alexa, you can do through your camera. If you can't replace your radio, this is a handy way to add voice control to an older factory system. Plus, with the Drive Smarter app on your phone, Cobra opens up a host of driver assistance features for a safer experience in the car.

4k video quality

That's not all this camera system brings to the table either. Let's talk image resolution — you can't beat Cobra's Ultra HD 4K video quality. Of course, you can scale back the resolution for file size if you need to, but it's nice to know your videos can have that crystal-clear detail. Built-in Wi-Fi lets you access your video files on your phone, but if you want to review anything on the 3" touchscreen, you can do that too. That includes video recorded on the included rear-view cam as well.

Heads up

Parking mode is a feature that monitors your vehicle while you're away. Any dash camera with parking mode needs constant power from the car battery. Our tech support team can help you figure this out if you need help installing it yourself.

6. Best budget dash cam — Kenwood DRV-A310

HD dash cam with 2" display, GPS, and Wi-Fi

The Kenwood DRV-A310 comes with incredibly sharp image capturing capabilities for a very affordable price. Built-in GPS with geotagging, a G-sensor, and other high-level features record latitude, longitude, date, time, speed, and travel direction.

Features

• Built-in display: 2" full color (front), rear cam viewable on front camera display
• Field of view: 115 degrees (horizontal)
• Records in full HD 1080P
• Hardwire option: Yes, Kenwood CA-DR1130 sold separately
• Viewable via: built-in display, Kenwood mobile app, Wi-Fi, PC or Mac via SD card

Attention rideshare drivers

Add on a rear camera: KCA-R110 Rear Camera (sold separately), which plugs right into the dash cam, and you can incorporate a video stream of your vehicle's interior.

Heads up

Parking mode is a feature that monitors your vehicle while you're away. Any dash camera with parking mode needs constant power from the car battery. Our tech support team can help you figure this out if you need help installing it yourself.

7. Best dash cams for track days — Garmin Catalyst

Driving performance optimizer with dash cam and Bluetooth®

If you have a passion for driving that takes you to the track on weekends, it only follows that you'd want a way to monitor your performance and share your accomplishments with friends and fellow enthusiasts. Garmin's Catalyst dash cam and driving performance optimizer not only records your laps, it also provides essential stats to help you improve your driving.

Features

• Built-in display: 6.95" touchscreen
• Field of view: 140 degrees
• Records up to 1080p
• Hardwire kit: yes, included
• Viewable via: smartphone via Garmin Connect app, Windows and Mac computers.

Additional perks

• Worldwide circuit tracks
• Track positioning uses 10Hz GNSS positioning via satellites from both the US's GPS and Russia's GLONASS
• Coaching audible prompts and feedback in real time
• Includes 32 GB microSD card

Garmin gives you cool tools to help you identify where you can find more speed during your laps. It also works as a virtual pit crew chief offering real-time audio cues to your compatible headset or car stereo to help you save seconds as you drive. The built-in camera lets you record your track runs and view the video for deeper analysis, and True Track Positioning shows your racing line on the track right on the 6.95" display.

Heads up

As you may have guessed, this is not your average dash cam and is designed for use on pro-am tracks and driving courses.

This is a specialty dash cam for racing hobbyists and competitors; it does not include standard parking monitoring, impact alert, and safety warning features.

Any questions about dash cams?

Check out our dash cam buying guide for the full scoop on dash cam systems. Also, don’t hesitate to reach out to our advisors. They’re extremely knowledgeable and get hands-on with a lot of the gear we carry.