The Best and Smallest Dash Cams in 2024

If you are looking for a small, front-only dash cam that keeps you protected while you’re on the move or parked, the Thinkware F70 Pro is our top pick. Launched in 2023, this is one of the most fully-featured small dash cams on the market, measuring only 3.23 x 1.3 x 1.35 inches. Because of its size, the F70 Pro is legal in all US states and Canadian provinces, as it can easily be mounted out of the driver’s line of sight while complying with the size requirements in every jurisdiction.

Despite being one of the smallest single-channel units, the F70 Pro still offers you the same reliable protection, ease of use, and clear 1080p HD footage at 30fps. Like all modern and advanced Thinkware models, the F70 Pro has built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for quick and seamless connection with your iPhone or Android smartphone, allowing you to adjust its settings, review, and retrieve footage with the Thinkware Dash Cam Link app. This Bluetooth is a step above other camera brands mentioned in this list, and can’t be found in any other models in this price range.

Furthermore, the F70 Pro excels in parking mode, with many modern Thinkware-unique modes. Energy Saving Parking Mode 2.0 extends the coverage duration exponentially by disabling motion detection on standby, meaning the F70 Pro will only wake up if impacts are detected during parking mode. This means your parked vehicle can stay protected for much longer than any other camera option out there in this range, offering 2-3 days of parking mode off an average car battery. It also has Thinkware’s Smart Parking Mode, which prevents heat-related damage by automatically switching to low-power mode if the temperature inside the vehicle gets too high, still recording if impacts are detected when competitors’ units would fully shut down. While parking mode normally requires hardwiring, Thinkware’s Plug-and-play OBD cable fully supports parking mode, while making installation a breeze. If you’re looking for a durable, easy-to-use and feature-packed camera, the F70 Pro is the ultimate small dash cam solution.

While Front coverage is significantly better than no coverage, we firmly recommend front and rear coverage with a 2-channel system to ensure maximum protection. Rear cameras are an easy addition to an existing camera setup with minimal additional cost. For this, the all-new Thinkware Q200 is the ultimate choice. This is a new dash cam from the major South Korean brand, launched this March, and the successor to the former popular 2-channel champion, the F200 Pro.

With dimensions as tiny as 3.9 x 0.9 x 1.3 inches for the front camera and 2.4 x 1.2 x 1.0 inches for the rear, the Thinkware Q200 2-channel dash cam is easy to hide with its discreet design. The front camera adopts a small, rectangular candy bar design that attaches to your windshield with the same mount as the F70 Pro, while the rear camera comes in a compact cylindrical body.

Like the F70 Pro, the Q200 comes with many of the same great features like Energy Saving Parking Mode, Smart Parking Mode, and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for seamless connectivity with the Thinkware Dash Cam Link app. However, aside from supporting an additional channel to cover the rear, the Q200’s front camera records higher-resolution 2K QHD footage, while its rear camera continues to record at 1080p, both at 30fps. The Q200 takes video quality a step further by implementing Thinkware’s Super Night Vision 2.0, which works in both driving and parking modes to ensure its low-light footage is always as clear as its daytime footage.

On top of that, the Q200 supports a maximum SD card size of 256GB, up from the F70 Pro’s 128GB, and works with the Thinkware Multiplexer system. This innovative accessory allows you to elevate the Q200 from an already powerful 2-channel system into a comprehensive multi-channel system, with the ability to add up to three additional cameras for even greater coverage.

Launched in Spring 2024, the iF Product Design Award-Winning VIOFO VS1 is the newest mini dash cam on the market. As VIOFO’s smallest dash cam to date and the smallest on this list, the VS1 measures only 1.22 x 1.3 x 3.15 inches. This makes it extremely flexible, with no screen to make it even more discreet.

What we love is that the VS1’s dash cam adhesive mount is highly rotatable, enabling various unique recording angles for different vehicles. In fact, turning the lens to the cabin can even fulfill your demands as a vlogging dashcam! Fixing it to various surfaces allows people to have creative setups for this camera, such as this sports car owner who mounted his VS1 facing forward between the seats, capturing not only the road in front but also a cinematic view of the cabin and its occupants. The VS1 can easily be added to an existing setup to help cover any specific angle as a stand-alone camera.

Like all of VIOFO’s latest 2K dash cams, the VS1 is equipped with Sony's latest STARVIS 2 sensor – same as the A119 Mini 2 and A229 Plus. Combined with advanced HDR and Super Night Vision 2.0 which guarantees optimal clarity in low-light conditions, the VS1 is the tiniest dash cam packing a huge video quality, recording high-quality 2K footage at 30fps.

On top of that, the VS1 still includes all of the features you expect from today’s VIOFO dash cams, like its intuitive voice control functionality, allowing hands-free operation for starting/stopping recordings, saving clips, capturing photos, and turning Wi-Fi on and off in multiple languages. The VS1 also comes with built-in 5GHz Wi-Fi, enabling lightning-fast data transfer for hassle-free video previewing, downloading, and sharing via the VIOFO smartphone app.

With built-in GPS, parking mode, and intelligent event detection, the VS1 provides comprehensive protection for your vehicle around the clock, ensuring peace of mind wherever the road takes you – all in a package about the size of a car key as your flexible and functional road companion!

Last but certainly not least, our top pick for the best mini dash cam is no other than the VIOFO A119 Mini 2. For nearly a decade, the VIOFO A119 series has been one of the leaders in compact, single-channel dash cams. With the latest entry in the series, the A119 Mini 2, VIOFO takes things even further by packing a bigger punch into a smaller chassis. This wedge-shaped dash cam measures 1.8 x 2.9 x 1.6 inches and, unlike the other dash cams in this list, retains VIOFO’s characteristic built-in screen for easy on-device footage viewing and changing settings.

The A119 Mini 2 is also equipped with the same Sony STARVIS 2 image sensor as the VS1, meaning it captures sharp, well-exposed 2K footage in various lighting conditions while reproducing more vibrant colours. With its more powerful processor, enabling a maximum framerate of 60fps, the A119 Mini 2 allows you to capture even smoother and more fluid videos, making it ideal for highway drives.

Like the VS1, the A119 Mini 2 is equipped with VIOFO’s Super Night Vision 2.0. Combined with the upgraded processor, the A119 Mini 2 has the highest sensitivity, and lowest noise captures in low-light conditions, allowing you to make the most of the Mini 2’s High Dynamic Range (HDR) feature.

For your convenience, the A119 Mini 2 is equipped with dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi. We noticed that the upgraded 5GHz Wi-Fi provides 4 times faster file transfer than 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, enabling ultra-rapid file transfer and smooth video playback. In fact, you can download a 1-minute 2K video onto your smartphone in just 10 seconds.

Aside from built-in GPS and Parking Mode, the A119 Mini 2 also has Smart Voice Controls. With this, you can speak to your dash cam to perform a variety of operations, without keeping you distracted while driving – truly built for a safe drive. Offering all essential features in a dash cam, top-tier image quality, all in a compact size and affordable price? The VIOFO A119 Mini 2 is our top pick when it comes to small dash cams and image quality!