There will never be the perfect drone for everyone. There are too many different reasons for owning a drone. Some like to shoot sweeping cinematic masterpieces, and some want to follow fast-paced action. What makes a drone good at one thing often makes it not so great for another. That said, if you're after speed and maneuverability, the Skydio 2 is darn near perfect. It does have some shortcomings, which I'll get to below.

For years now, DJI has dominated the consumer drone space. A quick glance at our drone buying guide reveals that half of our picks, including the top three, are all DJI drones. DJI makes excellent products, but there has been a lack of competitors. Until this year, there just haven't been a lot of compelling drones available. Late in 2021, Autel released four drones designed to compete with the entire DJI line.