Top five best Chinese dash cams on AliExpress

A quality dashcam can save you a lot, and I don’t just mean money. Dashcams make it so much easier to process an insurance claim; they help you avoid the stress of proving who did what in an accident; and if you’re a fleet manager or rideshare driver, they’re all you need for all-round vehicle monitoring.

Great dashcams can cost a pretty penny, especially when you’re buying from big brand marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. When you shop dashcams on AliExpress, you’re buying from the source – the same guys the sellers on Amazon purchase from, rebrand, and add a huge markup to.

In this guide, I’ll cover the best Chinese dashcams on AliExpress, so you know what to get if you’re going the AliExpress route.

How we made this pick – what to look out for in a dash cam

Optics

When it’s all said and done, camera quality is the most important feature to consider when shopping dash cams on AliExpress. Excellent cameras produce excellent images, complete with all the details that might become important when you need video footage. Four main attributes define the camera quality of a dashcam:

Camera resolution

In layman’s terms, the resolution of a camera is a measure of how much detail it’s able to cram into any footage. Dashcams capable of shooting footage in 4K are the gold standard.

And the 4K here means footage from these cameras contains approx. 3840 pixels horizontally and 2160 pixels vertically in every ‘frame.’ More pixels mean more detail and enhanced clarity even when you zoom in.

Dashcams can also come with full HD cameras (1920p x 1080p), which are clear enough but not as detailed as 4K cameras. 4K cameras pack in 4 times the detail you’ll get with full HD cameras.

Frame rate

The number of frames or stills a camera takes per second to form a video is its frame rate. Higher frame rates in the region of 60 frames per second (fps) translate to smoother, more visually appealing videos.

But since you’re merely taking footage for surveillance and not to win a Nat Geo video contest, 60fps is actually overkill. Most dash cams will ship with a 30fps capable camera, and that’s more than enough.

Field of view

Cameras work like eyes. Think of how much you can see your head straight without turning your head, and you already have a solid idea what field of view means. The wider a dashcam’s field of view, the wider the scope of its video feed.

The ideal dash cam has a camera with a field of view measurement of at least 180o, meaning its view is almost similar to the human eye.

Night vision

Most conventional cameras go blind once it’s dark. A dashcam equipped with a night vision camera uses special infrared cameras to see through the darkness. Not all dashcams come with night vision cameras. Many others use conventional cameras with so-called ‘night vision optimization, which is purely a marketing gimmick.

Connectivity

Wireless connectivity (usually Wi-Fi) on a dashcam allows it to connect to your phone and the internet.

There are many advantages to this. For one, dash cams that pair to mobile phones usually have apps that allow you to control the dash cam, view the video feed, save important videos and do lots more directly from your phone.

By connecting to the internet, they can also upload video feed to the cloud, which is a cool feature that guarantees the security of whatever footage the dashcam takes. If you’re in an accident and the dashcam gets destroyed, you’ll still have a copy somewhere safe on the cloud.

Power source

Most dash cams draw power from the 12v socket on your vehicle dash. Some others pipe directly into your vehicle’s fuse box. The advantage of the latter is apparent; when you switch off your car power on your dashboard goes off as well.

Dashcams that connect to your vehicle’s fuse box don’t ever lose power, meaning they can stay on even when the car is off and continue with their recording business.

Important to note that some dashcams come with inbuilt batteries that allow them to stay on perpetually without the need for a direct connection to your vehicle’s fusebox. Even better, some have ‘super capacitor’ batteries that can go very long periods without needing power.

GPS functionality

GPS information which includes your car speed, its location and other relevant details, can come in handy in many scenarios. For fleet owners, it’s a way to monitor your vehicles; in an accident, the extra details can help you resolve a dispute.

Not all dashcams come with GPS functionality, and for those that do, it bumps up the price. Do you need GPS in your dashcam? Well, if you’re the average driver, you’re probably fine without it.

Fleet owner, rideshare driver, or man trying to catch his wife cheating? Those extra details can provide a valuable perspective in many scenarios.

Integrated display

These days dashcams come with an integrated display that allows you to easily assess settings, view footage and all of that stuff. It’s nice to have a display on a dashcam – it makes using and setting your dashcam all the easier, but don’t rule out a dashcam strictly because it doesn’t come with a built-in display. Some excellent dashcams ditch a built-in display for other more valuable features or cost savings.

Best Dash cams on AliExpress

Best overall – Vantrue N4

All things considered, the Vantrue N4 is the best dashcam you can get on AliExpress right now. With its 4K-ready camera, this dashcam records incredibly sharp and detailed footage at 30 frames per second.

But its 4K setup is not why the Vantrue tops this list of the best AliExpress dashcams available today – virtually all the cameras in this ranking ship with a 4K camera. Where the Vantrue N4 shines through is in the build quality and feature list department – nothing comes close at this price point.

The N4 is one of the very few dashcams to ship with an f1.4 aperture. If you’re new to this, the aperture size tells you how wide the camera lens is, with smaller numbers indicating a wider lens – so the smaller the number, the better. More light going in allows this dashcam to shoot incredibly clear photos both in daylight and at night.

It’s also one of the very few AliExpress dashcams at this price point to spot both motion detection and collision detection in the same package. With motion detection, the N4 will automatically start recording footage if it detects motion in and around the front of your car when it’s parked and turned off.

Collision detection prompts the camera to record and save footage to a special protected location if it detects any collision. Both are really important features to have for 24-hour wide security.

You also get an infrared night vision camera that captures footage from your vehicle’s interior.

This is all on top of the usuals you’d expect from a premium dashcam, including Wi-Fi connectivity, an integrated display, GPS functionality and support for 360 views via optional interior and rear cameras. There’s little to hate on the N4, and for the price, you get absolute value for money spent.

1st runner up – Azdome M550

The Azdome M550 may fall slightly behind the Vantrue N4 when it comes to raw specifications, but when you consider the starting price of $120 and all that’s included in the package, it checks out to be one of the best dashcam deals on AliExpress.

Out of the box, the M550 comes with a full 360 view camera package. So you get an interior camera and a rearview camera in addition to the main front-facing camera. In most other dashcam packages (the Vantrue N4 included), interior and rear-facing cameras are additional, priced-separately options.

Footage quality is excellent. You get the same 4K video at 30fps from the main camera as you would on the Vantrue. And although the camera here has a smaller aperture (f1.8), the footage is still bright and clear enough even in low light conditions.

There’s no true infrared night vision, though, but that’s understandable given the price of this dashcam.

You, however, get collision detection and 24-hour surveillance if you purchase the add-on power kit and route power for the dashcam from your fusebox.

All the other party tricks are well accounted for as well. GPS, an integrated display and, as I already noted, full surround view with included-in-the-box rear and interior cameras.

I should note that both this dashcam and the Vantrue N4 we just covered have distinctly small form factors compared to other dashcams at this price range. As a result, they tuck in nicely under your headliner for discrete video recording.

2nd runner up – DDPAI Mini

For the features it packs, the DDPAI Mini is arguably the most compact and portable dashcam you can get on AliExpress. That portability comes at a cost, though – this doesn’t ship with an integrated display; you’ll have to control it with your mobile phone.

But the discrete design is something that might interest some, and it certainly interests me. Having a dashcam that sits pretty without being noticed has its perks. It leaves your windshield and headliner less cluttered, and since it’s out of view, it’s less likely to be stolen or tampered with in the event of an accident.

Integrated display aside, the Mini 5 ships with all the other customary dashcam tech you’d expect at this price point. You get wireless connectivity to your smartphone, GPS, collision sensing and, interestingly, an inbuilt 64GB storage system, which means you don’t need an SD card to use this dashcam.

Camera quality is excellent, on par with what you’d get with the Adzome M550 (it has a very similar f1.8 camera). You get pretty crisp and detailed 4K footage at 30 fps. There’s no actual infrared night vision, however.

The only major downside with the Mini 5 is the fact that this doesn’t support 360 view. You can’t plug in a rear or internal view camera, so you get only front footage at all times. So take that into consideration if you eventually get this dashcam setup.

3rd runner up – 70mai A800s

The 70mai A800s is one of AliExpress’s best-selling dashcams, and it’s easy to see why. While it doesn’t match the quality or spec sheet of the Vantrue N4 pound for pound, it covers all the basics at a decent price point.

You get 4K footage at 30fps, GPS support, an integrated display, 24-hour surveillance, wireless connectivity and all the works. Footage quality is excellent during the day but kinda blurry at night. It’s an f1.8 camera setup, so not quite as good as the N4 but still very much capable.

There’s no dedicated infrared camera, and while you do have support for rear and interior views, you can’t have both with the default front view. This means you can either have front and rear view or front and interior view but not full-on 360 view like you would on the Vantrue N4. Also, note that like the Vantrue N4, and unlike the DDPAI mini, the camera setups for the rear and interior views are sold separately.

Specialty features like collision detection are also standard with this dashcam. But, again, unlike the more premium Vantrue, this doesn’t come with motion detection – just collision detection.

As far as build quality goes, this is a solidly built dashcam that’s guaranteed to stand the test of time (and hot and cold weather). The build is also portable and compact enough, approaching DDPAI mini 5 levels of compactness.

Overall the 70mai A800s is a good dashcam, and I’ll recommend it if you want something that does all the basics right at an affordable price point.

4th runner up – Sameuo U2000

The Sameuo U2000 strips down to the basics for a truly pocket-friendly dashcam. You don’t get the 4K footage, GPS functionality, infrared cameras, a touchscreen display, or motion detection you’d get with the other more premium dashcams on this ranking.

What you do get is an excellent dashcam that does the ultimate basics of recording clear and crisp video footage. And for the best part, it cost only 39 bucks when writing this.

Thirty-nine bucks gets you full HD video footage shot by an impressive f1.6 camera. It is crystal clear and full of detail in bright sunlight, and while there’s a noticeable drop in quality at nighttime, this thing still produces excellent low-light footage with its f1.6 camera.

Add that to its integrated display (not touch sensitive), collision sensing function, wireless connectivity and support for an optional rear camera, and you get why this is an awesome deal of a dashcam.

Build quality is surprisingly good. It certainly surpasses expectations for a $39 dashcam, and because this thing cuts down on the extras, it’s incredibly compact as well, with a design that allows it to fit snugly just under your headliner away from view.

If you’re short on cash and need a dashcam to do all that’s required from a dashcam, you can’t go wrong with the Sameuo U2000. It is a properly built dashcam that cuts down on the sometimes unneeded extras for a simple and cheap but still capable dashcam.

To conclude

AliExpress stocks some excellent dashcam setups at unbeatable prices. But don’t just take my word for it – check out the price of the Vantrue N4 on Amazon; it’s a whole $100 more for the same dashcam.

Granted, you do have to deal with sometimes longer shipping times, but you get the same buyer protection and customer support you’d get from traditional big-name stores like eBay and Amazon. That’s to say, your dashcam will eventually get to you, or you get your money back.

The dashcams I’ve covered in this review of the best dashcams on AliExpress are the best available for now; as things change and newer, better models get released, I’ll update this guide to match. Till then, happy shopping.

Frequently asked questions