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Driving a car isn't a matter of if, but when something will happen. No matter how careful you are, sharing a road with other motorists always poses a threat. Not so long ago, it was almost impossible to prove the wrongdoings of the other person. However, now — mostly because nobody wants an insurance claim against them — dash cams are a must-have accessory for your car. They record your surroundings while driving, giving you actual evidence if something happens. Not just that, the best dash cams today have 24-hour monitoring systems, meaning they can protect you from theft attempts or when someone backs into your parked car.

As with most tech products today, though, the options are plenty. Sadly, there's no global dash cam company like Samsung or Apple, or a one-size-fits-all solution. Many brands white-label models from China and sell them on platforms like Amazon, so you'll find dozens of identical-looking ones. That's why we've combed through Amazon listings to find the nine best dash cams that Amazon users swear by, all under $100.

Dash cams come in all shapes and sizes, and sometimes it's not just about covering the front of your car. Getting hit from behind can cause serious damage, and if you want 360 degree coverage, then the Global Positioning System (GPS)-enabled Faimee Dash Cam could be a great choice. It's rated 4.8 on Amazon with over 950 reviews and costs $77. For the money, you get a 4K f/1.8 sensor on the front, and a 2K sensor on the back. Most owners mention that the dash cam records crisp videos (enough to read license plates) in daylight with natural-looking colors. While highlights are handled well without being blown out by bright sunlight, nighttime videos are said to be good enough, but not perfect. 

Reviews mention that the installation is pretty straightforward, although hardwiring it can take some time. Still, the best part about Faimee is that the app is completely optional. The camera can record on its own, and retrieving the footage is as easy as removing the SD card and inserting it into your laptop. However, if you'd like to use the app, customers say it's pretty decent. Having 5.8GHz Wi-Fi means getting the footage takes seconds, and there's a separate locked folder for important clips like crashes. You get a 64GB SD card included, and the 24-hour parking monitor records a time-lapse video to prevent theft attempts.

If you don't want to deal with the hassle of installing a dual-channel setup and its wiring, then the Avylet 2K Dash Cam is as simple as they come. There's just one wire you need to connect, and that's it. Videos are captured by an image sensor with a 170-degree field of view (FoV). That's wide enough to cover most of your surroundings. Reviews mention the detailed 2K video quality, which stays sharp enough to zoom in on license plates during the day, with colors that aren't washed out. There's no High Dynamic Range (HDR) here, but the f/1.6 aperture pays dividends at night, as footage can look clear without much grain once you tweak the settings a little.

At just $45, the Avylet is surprisingly packed with features, including 24-hour parking surveillance that monitors your car's surroundings. Inside, the dash cam has a G-sensor that detects when an accident occurs, permanently saving the video. Beyond that, there's a 1.5-inch In-Plane Switching (IPS) display that lets you preview footage live from different angles without color shift. Sadly, it's not all perfect. We've seen reports of camera overheating, so it's best to enable the display's screen saver. You also don't get GPS built in; instead, you need to contact Avylet to buy it separately.

Most expert-recommended dash cams can cost hundreds of dollars. But if you're buying for the first time, spending that much on one can feel unnecessary. That's exactly the problem the 70mai A800S solves. It costs $95 and has a 4.5-star rating with over 2,000 reviews. Most of these reviews focus on two things: image quality and features. Footage is captured using a Sony IMX415 sensor with an f/1.8 lens. The result is noticeably sharper videos that are a couple of steps ahead of the dash cams we've mentioned so far. There's a dedicated night vision mode that retains sharpness, but according to reviews, licence plates can be tricky to capture. 

As far as features are concerned, you get a 24-hour parking monitor that uses the G-sensor to detect impact or shaking of the car, and sends a notification to your phone app. It's also helpful by automatically locking important crash footage. That's not all, though, as the A800S has Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) functionality, which can monitor the traffic ahead and alert you to imminent collisions, or when your car drifts out of a lane.

On the front is a 3-inch screen that helps you get started with the camera's settings and features. If that's too small, the 70mai app lets you access the camera's feed and other features. Still, despite the inclusion of a rear-channel 1080p camera, some buyers say the cables can be too short to connect it. 

If you don't want to deal with annoyingly short cables and don't care much about driver assists, then the Affver 4K Dash Cam is a surprisingly solid option. It costs $80 and has over 1,500 reviews with an average rating of 4.5. Buyers mention that installation, even in bigger cars, is straightforward, with the cables being long enough. The 160-degree 4K videos at the front are detailed and capture plates clearly. Nighttime videos expose the limitations of the camera, but reviewers say they are still usable overall.

With the Affver 4K, you also get a 1080p rear channel that gets the job done, albeit with a lot of reflections. A cheap polarizing lens should help fix that. You do get the standard 24-hour monitoring, along with a G-sensor that automatically saves footage from crashes and sudden bumps. Weirdly, the Type-C hardwire kit required to set it up is sold separately. There is, however, a 64GB SD card in the box, and the dash cam is one of the few to support 5GHz Wi-Fi. According to buyers, the app does a good job syncing GPS data with video footage.

The Rexing V1 is one of those dash cams that's been around for years and is a safer bet if you're looking for an established player. It featured on our list of the best dash cams, according to Consumer Reports. The V1 records in 4K using a 170-degree FoV lens. This should be enough to capture multiple lanes, and the daytime videos are detailed with balanced highlights and shadows. At night, however, the Rexing V1 fares worse than some of the other cameras on this list. If an accident happens, you'll see the other car, but reading its number plate will be tricky. Since the GPS module is sold separately, it could become an issue if you ever need detailed evidence after an accident.

The V1 can monitor your parking spot, but the kit used to do so is sold separately — though like other dash cams listed here, it also uses the G-sensor to save footage from sudden impacts. The biggest reason to consider the V1 is that it uses a supercapacitor. Unlike a battery that stores chemical energy, a supercapacitor uses electrostatic energy, with the main benefit being its operating environment. Thanks to this technology, the V1 can withstand temperatures from a chilly -20°F to a scorching 176°F. Just don't forget to get a fast SD card because the dash cam doesn't come with one. 

There's nothing particularly fancy about the Nextbase 222. It doesn't use a supercapacitor, nor does it come with a Sony lens. Instead, it's for those looking for simplicity and no headaches. Maybe that's why it has an average 4.4-star rating based on over 3,500 reviews. Looking through what people have said, despite the modest 1080p video capabilities, the Nextbase 222 produces crisp footage, letting you read number plates from multiple car lengths away in daylight. There's no jitter, and the dynamic range is very good. Reading plates at night, however, depends on whether the bright white LED headlights blind the sensor and on how well-lit the road is. Like Rexing, GPS support is missing here.

The 222 uses the company's Click&Go mounting system, which replaces the hassle of unclipping the camera with a magnetic mount that sticks to your windshield with adhesive. You also get a parking mode that uses the G-sensor to automatically start recording when someone bumps your car. The screen lets you cycle through different modes, and there's a red button at the bottom to permanently save important files immediately. 

The Nexar Beam is another solid dash cam that is refreshingly easy to set up. All you need to do is connect the single cable to your car, download the Nexar Classic app, and follow the instructions. The camera then records at 1080p, which reviewers say is crisp enough to read plates without issue in both day and artificial lighting. While videos in extreme low light will come out grainy, it's hard to complain much at the $99 price tag. The camera can also monitor your car's surroundings 24/7. Inside the app, there are accident reports that use AI to organize footage, along with speed and GPS data. You also get unlimited cloud storage.

Sadly, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. The fact that the camera streams directly to your phone has been a problem for some buyers. The camera won't record unless it's connected to your phone first, at least on iOS. If you forget to connect to the camera and, god forbid, get into an accident, there would be no footage. As expected, streaming directly to your phone when driving drains the battery quickly too.

As good as all the dash cams we've mentioned here are, they still cost around $100. Maybe that's too much to spend on an old car, in your opinion. If that's you, then the 70mai M310 makes a lot of sense. It costs $28 and has an average rating of 4.1 based on over 13,000 reviews.

For the bargain price, you get a dash cam with a 3MP SmartSens sensor that records in 1296p, which is somewhere between Full HD and 2K resolution. But is the video quality terrible? Not really. Buyers mention the surprisingly decent quality in good lighting, with natural colors and a reasonable dynamic range. Of course, you cannot expect this cam to capture license plates clearly, as there's just not enough resolution, and the motion blur makes it hard to make out the details unless you're directly behind another car.

Surprisingly, the M310 does have a built-in parking mode, but to access it, you need to buy the optional hardwire kit, which lets it connect to the battery. Once set up, the dash cam can record throughout the night in time-lapse mode, or activate only when it detects a collision. The choice is yours, and it can be configured using the app. That said, several of the reviews we studied had problems with the collision detection system, which is very sensitive regardless of the setting, and records emergency videos even when you hit only a bump. 

The Pelsee P1 Duo 4K is a solid option for anyone looking for a dual-channel setup under $60. It has over 3,000 Amazon reviews, with an average rating of 4.4. The praise stems from a few things, starting with the installation process. The wires for the dual channel are long enough to fit almost any car. Next is the image quality. The 4K sensor up front captures a wide 170-degree field of view, and people say the videos are decent, at least during the day. License plates remain readable if you're close. Nighttime videos are okay, but the details get very soft around the edges. There's also no polarizing filter, which makes reflection a problem for both channels.

You get a front-facing display to view the live feed and adjust the angle. To retrieve the footage, you can either remove the included 64GB SD card or use the app. The dash cam supports 5GHz Wi-Fi, so transfer speeds are reasonably fast. Beyond this, you get 24-hour parking surveillance (additional kit required) and a G-sensor to lock important files. While we did see several reports of these cameras breaking after a few months, customer service appears responsive enough to handle replacements.

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