In addition to being the editor at large for Wirecutter, Geoff Morrison is a tech and travel writer and photographer for The New York Times, CNET, and Forbes, among others. You can check out his extensive road trips on his YouTube channel. He’s also the author of Budget Travel for Dummies.

Sarah Witman worked on previous versions of this guide. She has been a science writer for more than eight years, covering a wide variety of topics, from particle physics to satellite remote sensing. Since joining Wirecutter, in 2017, she has reviewed trail cameras, portable power stations, rechargeable AA and AAA batteries, and more.

If a routine drive ever turns into a life-altering event, you’ll probably appreciate having a dash cam to show what happened. This continuously recording, windshield-mounted device can document an accident or other incident you’re involved in, providing you with evidence that could (ideally) help prove your innocence to a lawyer, an insurance company, or law enforcement.

Case in point: One Wirecutter staffer was able to use his dash-cam footage to prove that he wasn’t at fault after he was rear-ended in a parking garage. Although the forward-facing camera couldn’t record the vehicle in back actually striking his car, he said, “It showed that I was driving appropriately, and captured the sound, jolt from impact, and my and my girlfriend’s reactions.” Nowadays, many dash cams also come with rear- and interior-facing cameras, which provide even better coverage.

In addition, a dash cam can help other drivers who need objective eyewitness evidence following a crash, a hit-and-run incident, a road-rage situation, or police misconduct. You can use it to record unsafe roadway conditions or to monitor the driving habits of someone else in your car (with their consent, of course), such as an inexperienced driver or an older adult.

A dash cam can also come in handy if you just want to capture and share a funny scene, a memorable trip moment, a beautiful vista, or unusual happenings like streaking meteors (video).

“There are thousands of people who are injured and killed every year by hit-and-run drivers,” said Ben Schwartz, a personal-injury attorney we interviewed. “If those hit-and-run victims had a dash cam in their car, maybe the video would record the tag number of the vehicle that hit them, and then that would lead police to the bad guys.”

But there are potential disadvantages, Schwartz noted: “Not only will a dash cam document other people’s mistakes, but it’s going to document yours.” Whether or not you think you’re at fault, Schwartz said, you should first show the footage to your lawyer, who can determine whether it’s favorable to your case.

Before choosing which dash cams to test, we spent hours researching the specs and features of over 420 models, including 40 in the most recent round alone. We read reviews from Autoblog, BlackBoxMyCar, CNET, Digital Trends, PCMag, Popular Mechanics, Reddit, T3, and TechRadar, as well as customer reviews and ratings. We also perused some driving legislation and insurance claims, and we watched hours of dash-cam footage on YouTube.

We narrowed our search based on the following criteria:

• 4K resolution: Video has to be sharp and distinct enough for you, a lawyer, your insurance company, or a law enforcement officer to be able to read license plates and see other details clearly. We made a 4K front camera a requirement, since their footage is often significantly sharper than that of 1080p models.
• Night vision: The dim lighting that comes with night driving is difficult for any camera. Some sort of “night vision” mode was a requirement for us, and an important aspect of our testing was how well each camera performed at night. Most interior cameras come with IR emitters, which allow for high contrast, highly detailed black-and-white videos without distracting visible light illumination.
• HDR: High Dynamic Range is a way of recording video that captures more detail in bright and dark areas. When done correctly, this improves image quality when you’re driving into the setting sun or recording a license plate that’s illuminated by high beams. Many cameras claim to have HDR, but we tested this in each one to make sure it actually worked.
• 24-hour parked-car monitoring: We required each model to be capable of recording impacts or movement around the car, any time of day or night, whether someone is in it or not. To draw power when the car isn’t running, a dash cam usually needs to be hardwired to the car’s fuse box, connected to an external battery, or plugged into the vehicle’s OBD-II diagnostic port. Usually, an optional hardwire kit is available to set up this power connection.
• Sufficient field of view: We required each model to have a field of view (FOV) in the range of 140 to 160 degrees—wide enough to capture a multi-lane highway or a large intersection without creating a wide-angle effect, making cars in front look farther away and details harder to see.
• Supercapacitor power supply: For power, some dash cams forgo a lithium-ion battery and instead use a capacitor, which stores energy in an electric field rather than chemicals. This generally allows dash cams to handle extreme heat better. Although we haven’t had any issues with the lithium-ion-powered dash cams we’ve long-term tested—even during summer heat waves in Southern California and New York—a capacitor-based power supply can provide extra peace of mind in very hot climates. For cold climates, the difference is less important. Since many new models have capacitors, we’ve added it as a requirement.

We also preferred for models to have the following features:

• Easy-to-use controls: We looked for models with clearly labeled, easily reachable controls (especially the video-lock button). We also preferred models with buttons we could identify in the dark, as well as intuitive menus and a functional companion app.
• Easy-to-read display: Most dash cams have 1½- to 3½-inch displays. And with those that are 2 inches or larger, we’ve found it’s easier to adjust settings on the fly and to preview footage. We generally avoided models without a display, which require you to use a phone or computer to set up the camera and to view video footage.
• Effective mounting system: We looked for mounts that held the camera securely yet allowed us to aim and remove it easily. Most new models attach to a windshield with adhesive pads. A plastic lever tool for removing the cameras is usually included.
• Wi-Fi and smartphone app: An integrated Wi-Fi network allows you to view, download, and share video (plus adjust camera settings) through an app. The best apps include a map that shows the car’s location, speed, and other details.
• GPS receiver: A GPS receiver lets a dash cam record a car’s location, trip history, and speed and direction of travel—all valuable information for figuring out how an incident occurred.
• Multiple cameras: In addition to a front-facing camera, many dash cams include a small, separate camera that you mount to the car’s rear window, to record what’s behind you, and/or an additional camera that points toward the car’s cabin and passengers. Having multiple cameras gives you even more footage that can be useful in the event of a crash.

While setting up each dash cam, we first evaluated the layout of the controls, the size and location of the buttons, and the ease of navigating the menus. We checked the brightness and clarity of the display, downloaded and connected to the app, and performed common tasks. We also took notes on the camera’s build quality and overall design.

Most dash cameras run off of USB power, so we connected them at home to do an initial evaluation of the image quality. If footage from a given camera didn’t look good in these ideal conditions, there was no point mounting it in a car.

We then set up the dash cams in a car, evaluating how easy it was to attach the mounts to the windshield, connect the dash cams to their mounts, adjust the aim of the cameras, and then remove them. We tested the cameras in bright sunlight, late in the day, at night, and on a variety of highways and suburban streets, racking up hours of driving time.

We first ran all of the cameras at the same time, so the conditions were identical for each camera. But we limited the distances for these tests, given the plethora of cameras on our conveniently large van windshield. We then re-mounted the final three contenders to be up and out of the way, and we took multiple additional short local trips as well as a long road trip from Southern California to Las Vegas and Death Valley.

We spent many more hours playing back the video footage on a computer, so we could examine and compare details and overall image quality. We also checked audio quality, but in all cases the audio was “fine”: We could hear what was happening and being said, but it wasn’t exactly studio quality.

The Viofo A229 Pro has everything you could want in a dash cam. The front camera records in 4K resolution, which is far sharper than the footage from older, 1080p dash cams. And the videos it records have lots of detail and contrast, so it’s easy to pick out license plates from a distance, even at night.

The A229 Pro uses a supercapacitor instead of a battery, so it should be safer and more reliable, regardless of climate. Built-in GPS and a 24-hour parking mode ensure constant, data-rich coverage. Best of all, this dash cam comes in 1-, 2-, and 3-channel versions, so you can add extra cameras to fit a variety of needs and uses.

Its video quality is as good as or better than any dash cam we tested. Thanks to a modern Sony Starvis 2 (IMX678) image sensor, the A229 Pro can record low-noise images in low light and colorful, high-contrast images in bright light. Though its footage is not as good as what you’d get from an action camera or modern smartphone camera, the only other dash cam that came close was the 70mai, in our other good dash cams section.

It can withstand extreme temperatures. The lithium-ion batteries that come in most modern devices don’t work well in high heat or extreme cold. In the best case, a stressed lithium ion battery can cause a dash cam to stop working temporarily due to excessive heat. At worst, the battery could expand or explode, though this is rare.

The A229 Pro instead uses a supercapacitor, which maintains enough charge to save a video and shut down the camera when you turn off your car. This also allows the camera to operate from -4 to 149 degrees Fahrenheit.

The app is easy to use. Once you turn on the camera’s Wi-Fi and connect to it with your phone, the Viofo app (iOS, Android) lets you watch and download videos. On playback, you can see where each video was recorded on a map, courtesy of the built-in GPS receiver. There are also extensive settings, including camera exposure and video quality adjustments.

Multiple camera options are available. The A229 Pro comes in three configurations. The base version, available via Viofo’s website, has a single forward-facing 4K camera built into the unit. The 2-channel version, which we recommend for most drivers, adds a rear 1440p camera. And the 3-channel version, which is what we tested, adds an interior camera. At night, this interior camera records in infrared, aided by four small IR lights that illuminate the car interior with light invisible to your eye, allowing for bright videos even in total apparent darkness.

It has fast video download speeds. If your phone supports it (as most do), the camera can create a 5 GHz Wi-Fi network for faster downloads. Alternatively, you can remove the SD card and transfer the files to your computer using a card reader. Some modern phones might also be able to download via a USB-C cable directly between the camera and the phone, though we were unable to get this to work on our Pixel 7.

Installation is easy. The camera comes with a sticky pad on a flat mount that securely attaches to your windscreen. If you need to take it off and readjust, a plastic lever tool is included in the box (ostensibly to help remove your car’s interior trim), and it easily pops the mount off. You can also remove the camera and leave the mount, if desired.

The camera is powered via USB-C, and a long cable is included, as well as a small 12v adapter. If your car is equipped with a 2-amp or greater USB port, that should also work.

A hardwire kit is available. Most cars cut power to their various 12v and USB ports when the car is off. If your car does this, and you want to be able to record video while your car is parked, you’ll need to hardwire the camera to your car’s fuse box.

Viofo has several kits available, though what exactly you’ll need will depend on your car. See How to set up a dash cam below for more info.

There are useful included (and optional) accessories. The 12V adapter that comes with the A229 Pro has an additional USB port so you can charge a different device. A included circular polarizing lens (CPL), an option with some cameras and not available at all with others, can cut down on dashboard glare in certain lighting conditions, and it can improve the look of the videos by adding contrast. It should have a negligible effect on low-light performance. Not included but available separately is a Bluetooth remote control that you can click to permanently save the clip currently being recorded.

It has a one-year warranty. The A229 Pro has a one-year warranty. If you register your camera with Viofo, it will add an additional six months, bringing the total to 18 months.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• The A229 Pro does not include a microSD card, so you’ll need to get one separately. Because this camera records 4K video, Viofo recommends at least a Class-10 or UHS-I rated card (its own offering is UHS-III). And because the camera deletes the oldest video once the card fills up, you’ll want a large card to ensure you don’t lose relevant clips. Based on our testing, you’ll need about 25 GB of storage per hour of footage.
• Though the A229 Pro is generally compact (3.9 inches high by 2.3 inches wide), its vertical design is unusual. For most cars that isn’t a big deal. But those whose cars have smaller or shorter windshields might find that the Viofo takes up more valuable viewing space. If you want to maximize driving visibility, check out the Vantrue N4 Pro in the other good dash cams section.
• The A229 Pro’s rear camera is clearer and offers higher resolution than most. However, if you have tinted windows, the image will be dim. You can increase exposure in the Viofo app so that the window looks roughly untinted during the day, but nighttime image quality will suffer. This isn’t specifically a Viofo problem, but it’s something to keep in mind.
• When you first install the Viofo, you’ll notice it has a lot of LEDs. Two red and two cyan lights are on all the time. Fortunately, you can turn these off in the app.

The Miofive S1 offers many of the same features we like in our main pick, but for a fraction of the price. It has 4K recording, GPS, good image quality day or night, a supercapacitor instead of a battery, and a 24-hour parking mode.

Although its image quality isn’t as good as the Viofo A229 Pro’s, it’s still much better than that of nearly all the other dash cams we tested. It does not have a rear or interior camera, but for double the money, the S1 Ultra adds a 4K rear camera to everything we like about the S1.

Their image quality is very good, especially for the money. Even though the S1 has 4K resolution, its images weren’t as sharp as the Viofo’s. However, they were still better than those of most of the cameras we tested, and even at night you can read license plates from a reasonable distance.

The S1 Ultra’s 4K rear camera is a rarity in the dash cam market, though it records at 25 fps, compared with the 30 fps of the main and rear cameras of our other picks. This means the video won’t look quite as smooth, and fast motion might be a little blurrier, but it will be hard to notice the difference most of the time. It’s also not quite as sharp as the front camera, but for a rear camera, it’s very good.

Upgrading to the Ultra doubles the price of the base S1, but that’s still cheaper than the Viofo. For a little less money than the Ultra, the S1 Pro has a lower resolution rear camera. You can read more about that in the Competition.

They’re easy to set up and use. The app connects easily, and it lets you crop and trim videos before sharing. After you download videos to the app, you can see where they were recorded on a map. There’s a parking-locator feature, which is helpful if you’re someone who regularly forgets where you’ve parked. We had some connectivity issues, but nothing excessive or beyond the occasionally finicky nature of all the dash cam apps we tested.

Like our top pick, these dash cams uses a supercapacitor instead of a battery. The lithium-ion batteries that come in most modern electronics don’t react well to extreme temperatures. Instead, the S1 has a supercapacitor, which keeps it running long enough after you shut off the car to save the last video and power down.

The S1 is very small. Despite having a larger screen than the Viofo (3-inches), the S1 is one of the smallest cameras we tested: 3.75 inches wide by 2 inches tall by 1.5 inches deep. That makes it a better fit for cars with shorter windshields.

Their mount is useful but feels cheap. The S1’s mount lets you rotate and pivot the camera. This makes installation a little easier than it is with our non-adjustable top pick, since you don’t need to get perfect placement.

However, the mount is plastic and feels very cheap, with a lot of give and jiggle. This likely isn’t a problem if you plan on setting it up and never touching it, but it doesn’t inspire confidence if you want to regularly adjust and tweak it. When you're driving over rough surfaces, there’s more camera shake visible in recordings than with the other cameras.

A wiring kit is available. If you want to use the 24-hour parking monitor feature, you’ll either need to have a power outlet in your car that doesn’t turn off when the car does or to hardwire the camera to your fuse box. Miofive has a kit available, though your specific vehicle may or may not require additional parts. Check out the How to set up a dash cam section for more information.

A circular polarizing lens (CPL) is available separately. Unlike the Viofo, which includes one, a polarizer is only available as an add-on for the Miofive. It’s $20.

A microSD card is not included with the base S1. Like most of the cameras we tested, the base S1 does not come with a microSD card. (The S1 Ultra comes with a 64 GB SD card in the box, which is a nice bonus.) The camera supports up to 512 GB of storage, and if you don’t already have a card lying around, we recommend these.

Because this camera records 4K video, you shouldn’t get a cheap microSD card. Miofive doesn’t explicitly recommend specific speeds, but the cards it sells to go with the camera are UHS-III (V30).

The build quality could be better. While it has impressive features and performance for its price, the Miofive S1 doesn’t have the high-quality fit and finish of the other cameras we tested. Among other things, the mount is cheap-feeling, and the buttons feel flimsy. You should keep this in mind and set your expectations appropriately.

If you have a smaller windshield, or you want something that’s easier to set up for ride-share drivers: The Vantrue N4 Pro is a great choice. This 3-channel dash cam is the successor to our former top pick. Its overall image quality isn’t as pleasing as that of our current picks, but license plates are readable from roughly the same distance as with the Viofo dash cam. For smaller or shorter windshields, the N4 Pro’s horizontal cylinder design might be less obtrusive. And its mount has a ball joint, which makes aiming and positioning easier than with the Viofo cam.

If you’re on a budget, but you want better image quality and don’t mind a battery: The 70mai A810 provides an attractive combo of low price, compact design, and excellent image quality, essentially matching that of our top pick (unsurprising, since it uses the same image sensor). There are 1- and a 2-camera versions, and the latter is less than half the price of our main pick’s 2-camera version.

The main issue with the 70mai is that it uses a lithium-ion battery, making it potentially less safe and reliable than our supercapacitor-powered picks. If you live in a cooler climate, or you don’t mind removing the camera from the car on hot days (it unplugs and slides off its mount easily), this might be less of a concern.

If you want police alerts: The Cobra SC 400D has a 4K front-facing camera, 1080p rear-facing camera, the option to add an interior camera, 24-hour parked-car monitoring, voice control, Alexa support, Bluetooth compatibility, emergency alerts, GPS tracking, and Wi-Fi connectivity. It also offers compatibility with Cobra’s iRadar app, which gives you access to user-submitted notifications about nearby accidents, construction zones, roadway hazards, police surveillance, and more. However, if you have a newer car with Android Auto or Apple Carplay, or your phone is mounted where you can see it, other apps like Waze have a similar capability. This camera was also more difficult to set up and use than our picks.

Mount it high and out of your eyeline. To get the best view of the road ahead, mount a dash cam high in the center of the windshield, near the rearview mirror. You should be able to see the unit’s screen and easily reach its controls, but the camera shouldn’t block your forward view.

Some states have regulations regarding what you can mount on a windshield and where, so check your local laws. Also, don’t skip the car wash: No matter how good your dash cam’s resolution is, it won’t be able to capture crisp, detailed footage through a dirty windshield.

Don’t let the power cable dangle. Most dash cams have a long cord that plugs into a car’s 12 V DC outlet (aka cigarette lighter). To get the cord out of your way, we suggest running it under the molding between the top of the windshield and the car’s headliner, along the passenger side. From there, you can run the cord down along the edge of the windshield and the front pillar, into the gap on the side of the dash, and underneath the dash to the power outlet.

Securing the cord isn’t hard to do, but it can require patience. Some dash cams come with small cable-holding clips, which adhere to the glass and hold the cord, as well as a small tool for fitting the cord between the trim or molding. This video shows how to perform a tidy installation.

Have a power plan. If your dash cam’s charger doesn’t have an additional built-in USB-A port, and you want to be able to charge a phone or other device while the dash cam is in use, you have a few options.

If the camera’s power cord unplugs from its adapter, you could plug it into a multiport USB car charger, which leaves a port open for other devices. If not, you could use a 12-volt splitter; in our testing, we had success with these three-outlet splitters. You can use your car’s USB ports, but they need to be fairly high-powered.

The Viofo dash cam, for instance, requires at least 2 amps. Modern cars often have at least one 2.4-amp port, which will work. If you try this and have issues with the camera shutting off, it might be because it’s not getting enough power from the USB port. In that case, you’ll need to use a 12v adapter.

Consider direct wiring. Most dash-cam companies also sell hardwire kits that can connect directly to a vehicle’s fuse box. With most cars, this is the only way to get power to the camera when the car is off, so you can use the dash cam’s parking mode.

If you’re comfortable doing basic automotive wiring and using a circuit tester, you can easily hardwire the dash cam to the fuse box yourself. But any car-stereo shop (and some big-box retailers like Best Buy) can do it for you. If you go this route, consider getting some kind of battery trickle charger, since the camera can wear down your battery if you don’t drive the car every day. Some models will have a low-voltage cutoff so they don’t drain your battery completely.

This is not a comprehensive list of all of the dash cams we’ve tested. We’ve removed those that have been discontinued or no longer meet our criteria.

The AZDome M580 2CH is a midrange dash cam with an extra-wide screen and extra-wide resolution: 5K. However, this comes at the expense of vertical resolution. This is a reasonable trade-off in theory. But in our testing, its image quality was subpar, and we had trouble connecting the camera to its app.

The BlackVue DR970X-2CH Plus has a 4K main camera, an LTE (cloud) option, and many other features we were looking for in a dash cam. But in our latest testing, this was the only camera that required a proprietary power cable instead of standard USB. There are different sibling versions with more or fewer cameras, but they’re all on the expensive side. Also, its image quality during the day and at night significantly trailed that of our picks.

The BlackVue DR900X-1CH Plus has many of the features we value: a 4K front-facing camera, the option to add 1080p rear and interior cameras, a 24-hour parked-car monitoring mode, built-in GPS tracking, and Wi-Fi connectivity. It’s also one of the few models we tested with a built-in mobile hotspot feature. However, its mount is less user-friendly than those of our picks, and it is an older model.

The Miofive MF02 Dual is a 4K dash cam shaped like a candy bar. It has a lot of the features we were looking for. However, although its daylight image quality was okay, the nighttime video was subpar. It was also the only camera in our recent testing not to have a removable microSD card, so accessing the recorded footage was more cumbersome.

The Miofive S1 Pro, like the S1 Ultra, adds a rear camera to the S1. The Pro’s rear camera is 2K (aka 1440p), not as high resolution as the Ultra’s 4K. This is similar to other dash cams’ rear cameras, including our top pick from Viofo. While there is a price difference between the S1 Pro and S1 Ultra, it’s slight, and the increase in resolution for the rear camera is worth it. If the difference is more than you’re interested in paying, or you don’t mind the lower-resolution rear camera, the S1 Pro is a good option.

The MyGekoGear Orbit 960 (from the company formerly known as Geko) has a 4K front-facing camera and some premium features, such as GPS tracking and app connectivity. You can also buy a separate hardwiring kit to add 24-hour parked-car monitoring. In our testing, the Orbit 960 was easy to set up and use, and day and night footage was crisp and clear. However, this model uses an older image sensor, and it has just a handful of reviews on Amazon.

The 4K Nextbase 622GW is a former upgrade pick, and it has some clever features. Negative user comments here and on Amazon have knocked it out of contention.

The Rexing V55 is a 4K dash cam with optional rear or interior cameras. There’s also a waterproof rear-camera option for exterior mounting. Although the price is good, the image quality isn’t.

The Thinkware U1000 has a 4K front camera, and you can add a 2K rear camera, for $100 more at this writing. But it’s more finicky to use and more expensive than models we tested with a wider range of features.

The Vantrue N2S has a 4K-resolution front-facing camera, but it doesn’t have a rear camera, and there's no option to add one. If you use the interior camera, the resolution of both cameras is limited to 1440p.

The Viofo A139 Pro has the same front sensor as our main pick, a compact design, and a built-in interior camera, but the rear camera uses an older 1080p sensor. It also lacks a screen. We think for most people the A229 Pro will be easier to use. But ride-share drivers who don’t want to install a separate interior camera, who want better image quality than that of the Vantrue N4 Pro, and who don’t mind not having a screen might find it to be a great alternative.

The Viofo A129 Pro Duo has a 4K front camera and a 1080p rear camera. It offers a good mix of features (including GPS tracking, 24-hour parked-car monitoring, and app connectivity). Yet in our tests it was much more difficult to set up and use compared with less-expensive models offering the same capabilities.

This article was edited by Ben Keough and Erica Ogg.