The 10 Best Dash Cams with GPS

This is the pick because it covers the important things and leaves nothing critical to a second purchase. A STARVIS 2 sensor handles the job that actually matters, reading a plate at night on a wet road, and front plus rear covers being hit from behind, which is the incident most drivers experience.

GPS is the reason it is on this list, and it is doing the useful work: speed and position embedded in each clip, plus a clock that sets itself from satellite so timestamps stay right after a battery disconnect.

Including a card matters more than it sounds. Dash cams destroy ordinary memory cards, and a first time buyer who fits an old phone card often discovers months later that nothing was recorded. Having a suitable card in the box removes that failure.

Two things still cost effort. The rear camera cable has to be routed through the cabin, and parking surveillance needs a hardwire kit with low voltage protection, which is a separate item.

Bottom line: the most complete package here for ordinary driving, and the default recommendation.

• Channels: 2, front and rear
• Sensor: STARVIS 2
• GPS: yes, speed and location logging
• Storage: 128 GB card included
• Transfer: Wi-Fi to phone app
• Parking mode: requires hardwire kit

For ordinary commuting and family cars where you want front and rear cover and a camera that works out of the box. Skip it if you carry passengers for work and need an interior channel, or if you want a screenless premium unit.

Format the card in the camera every month or two and occasionally play a clip back to confirm files are usable, since a worn card fails quietly. Mount high near the mirror so the body stays out of your eyeline, and route the rear cable inside the trim rather than leaving it loose across the cabin.

The value pick, and it does not get there by dropping the parts that matter. The sensor is STARVIS 2, so night performance is in the right class, and a card is included so the camera is functional immediately.

The 5 GHz Wi-Fi is a genuine quality of life feature. Pulling a ten minute 4K clip off a camera over a slow 2.4 GHz link at the roadside is miserable, and this halves that friction or better.

Voice control belongs in the same category. Saying a command to lock the current file, immediately after something happens, is faster and safer than looking for a button while driving.

What you give up against the premium units is track record and build. There is less accumulated owner history, and no radar parking or screenless premium design.

Bottom line: the best specification for the money here, and a sensible first dash cam.

• Channels: 2, front and rear
• Sensor: STARVIS 2
• GPS: yes
• Wi-Fi: 5 GHz
• Extras: voice control, 128 GB card
• Parking mode: requires constant power source

For a first dash cam where you want the important specifications without paying premium prices. Less suitable if you need an interior camera, or if a long field track record is what reassures you.

Set the Wi-Fi to 5 GHz in the app and save clips at home rather than at the roadside where possible. Learn the voice command for locking a file before you need it. Turn off startup announcements on the first drive, and copy any incident file off the card the same day before loop recording overwrites it.

The premium pick, and the two features that justify it are the rear sensor and the parking mode. Most two channel systems put a good sensor in front and something cheap behind, which matters because being hit from behind is the common incident. Dual STARVIS 2 means the rear camera is also capable at night.

Radar parking detection is the other real differentiator. Instead of waking on motion in the frame or recording continuously, the camera uses radar to detect something approaching, which draws less current and therefore treats the car battery better over a long night.

THINKWARE comes from the installer side of the market, and the fit and finish reflects that: designed to be wired in and left alone rather than moved between cars.

The costs are money and installation. This is not the camera you plug into a socket and forget, and getting the parking features working properly means a hardwire kit and some patience.

Bottom line: the pick if you park on the street and want parking surveillance done properly.

• Channels: 2, 4K front and 2K rear
• Sensors: dual STARVIS 2
• GPS: yes
• Parking mode: radar based detection
• Power: hardwire kit for parking features
• Software: route and speed playback

For drivers who park on the street or in shared car parks and want reliable parking surveillance, and for anyone who wants a capable rear camera rather than a token one. Not for someone who wants a plug in and go camera.

Have the hardwire kit fitted with low voltage cut off set conservatively, so the camera stops well before the battery cannot start the engine. Check the parking mode settings seasonally, since cold weather reduces battery capacity, and verify recordings after any workshop visit where the battery may have been disconnected.

This is the rideshare and taxi answer. The second channel points inward, so a dispute about what happened inside the car is recorded rather than argued, and for anyone driving passengers for a living that is the incident that actually costs money.

Using a STARVIS 2 class sensor on the road facing camera means night footage is still in the right class rather than sacrificed for the interior feature.

Be aware of what it does not do. There is no rear camera, so a rear end collision is not recorded from behind, and for a private car that is usually the more valuable channel.

Interior recording also carries obligations. Rules on recording passengers vary by jurisdiction, and telling people they are being recorded is both courteous and often required, so check what applies where you drive.

Bottom line: the right camera for carrying passengers, and the wrong shape for an ordinary private car.

• Channels: 2, front and interior
• Front resolution: 2.7K
• Sensors: STARVIS 2
• GPS: yes
• Rear camera: not included
• Use: passenger carrying vehicles

For rideshare, taxi and delivery drivers who need a record of the cabin. Not for a private car, where a rear camera is the more useful second channel.

Tell passengers they are being recorded, with a visible notice if that is expected where you drive, and check the local rules on audio recording specifically since they often differ from video. Use a high endurance card with headroom, because two channels fill storage faster, and review the interior framing once seated to make sure it covers the rear bench.

This is the complete coverage option: road ahead, cabin, and road behind, all recorded together with GPS. For a driver whose vehicle is their workplace, that removes every blind spot in the record.

What raises it above other three channel systems is that all three cameras use capable sensors rather than one good camera and two afterthoughts, so night footage is usable from every angle.

The practical costs are real. Three feeds means the most cabling of anything here, and three streams fill a memory card at three times the rate, so you want the largest supported high endurance card and a habit of copying anything important off promptly.

For a private car this is more camera than the situation calls for, and a two channel front and rear system covers the likely incidents with far less installation.

Bottom line: the pick for commercial passenger driving, and overkill for a family car.

• Channels: 3, front, interior and rear
• Resolution: 1944p front, 1440p interior and rear
• Sensors: triple STARVIS 2
• GPS: yes
• Storage: high endurance card, large capacity advised
• Use: commercial and passenger carrying

For professional drivers who want every angle recorded, including fleet and rideshare use. Not for a private car, where the installation effort and storage demands are not repaid.

Before choosing three channels, decide honestly which incidents you are protecting against. Rear end collisions want a rear camera, passenger disputes want an interior camera, and few private drivers need both. Then budget for the largest supported card, because three streams overwrite footage far sooner than one.

A three channel alternative with a 4K front camera, from a brand with a large connected accessory range and a mature phone app. For anyone already using that ecosystem, keeping the camera in the same app is a small but real convenience.

The three channel layout serves the same purpose as the other multi channel cameras here: passenger carrying work where the cabin matters as much as the road.

Daylight detail from a 4K front sensor is good, and as always the night question comes down to the sensor and processing rather than resolution, so treat 4K as a daylight benefit.

The costs are the standard three channel ones. Considerable cabling, faster card consumption, and more than a private car usually needs.

Bottom line: a solid three channel option, particularly if you already use this brand's app for other car accessories.

• Channels: 3, front, rear and interior
• Front resolution: 4K
• GPS: yes
• App: brand ecosystem app
• Storage: high endurance card advised
• Use: passenger carrying and fleet

For drivers wanting three channel coverage who already use this brand's accessories, and for passenger carrying work. Not for a private car where front and rear is sufficient.

Fit the largest high endurance card the camera supports, since three streams overwrite quickly. Set the app to save incident clips automatically if it offers that, and check interior framing from the driver's seat before relying on it. Route all three cables inside trim so nothing dangles in your eyeline.

The distinguishing feature is connectivity. With a SIM fitted, this camera can be checked from anywhere and can push an alert when something happens to the parked car, which is a different proposition from footage you discover afterwards.

Wi-Fi 6 handles the local side, making transfers of large 4K clips genuinely quick when you are standing beside the car.

The costs are ongoing rather than one off. Mobile access needs a data plan, and a camera that stays connected while parked draws more current than one asleep, which makes low voltage protection on the hardwire kit more important rather than less.

If remote access is not something you will use, a straightforward two channel camera does the recording job for less money and less setup.

Bottom line: the pick if you want to check on a parked car from elsewhere, and unnecessary otherwise.

• Channels: 2, front and rear
• Front resolution: 4K
• GPS: yes
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6 plus 4G LTE with SIM
• Remote features: alerts and live checks
• Power: hardwire kit advised for parked connectivity

For people who park somewhere they worry about and want alerts rather than after the fact footage. Not for anyone unwilling to run a data plan for a camera.

Price the data plan into the decision before buying a connected camera, and check whether the useful remote features require a subscription on top. Then make sure the hardwire kit has adjustable low voltage cut off, because a camera that stays online while parked uses noticeably more current than one that only wakes on impact.

The interesting choice here is the rear camera. At 2.5K it is higher resolution than the rear cameras on most two channel systems, which matters because rear end collisions are the incident a rear camera exists to record.

GPS being built into the body rather than the mount is a small durability advantage: replace a mount and you do not lose the location logging.

Wi-Fi 6 keeps transfers quick, and a card in the box means the camera works immediately, although at 64 GB it is smaller than the cards some competitors include and will loop sooner with two high resolution streams.

The reservation is track record. This is a less established brand, and for a device whose entire value is working reliably when needed, longevity data has weight.

Bottom line: strong specification for the money, with brand history as the open question.

• Channels: 2, 4K front and 2.5K rear
• GPS: built into the camera body
• Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 6
• Storage: 64 GB card included
• Recording: loop with impact lock
• Parking mode: requires constant power

For buyers who want a capable rear camera rather than a token one and are comfortable with a newer brand. Less suitable if you prefer the reassurance of a long owner history.

Plan on a larger high endurance card than the one supplied, since two high resolution streams fill 64 GB quickly. Confirm the GPS has a fix before relying on speed data, which can take a minute from cold, and check the rear camera aim after fitting rather than assuming the default angle is right.

Sometimes one camera is the right answer. A single channel system is one cable, one mount and fifteen minutes of work, and it records the view most people picture when they think of a dash cam.

The screen is genuinely useful on a camera like this. Aiming the lens correctly is much easier when you can see the frame, and checking a clip at the roadside without pairing a phone is a real convenience.

A 170 degree lens catches adjacent lanes and pavements, which helps with vehicles pulling out. Very wide lenses also stretch objects at the edges, so judge distance from the centre of frame rather than the periphery.

The limitation is what it does not see. No rear camera means the most common collision type is unrecorded from behind, and adding one later means buying a different system.

Bottom line: a simple, quick to fit front camera with a screen, for drivers who accept front only coverage.

• Channels: 1, front only
• Resolution: 4K
• GPS: yes
• Screen: 2.4 in
• Lens: 170 degree wide angle
• Transfer: Wi-Fi

For drivers who want a straightforward front camera with a screen and minimal installation. Not the pick if rear coverage matters to you, which for most drivers it should.

Decide on channel count before anything else, because it is the one thing you cannot upgrade later without replacing the camera. If a single channel is genuinely enough, a screen and an easy install are worth more than the extra features on multi channel systems.

This is a different proposition from the rest of the list: a navigator first, with a camera built in. For anyone who still wants a dedicated satnav rather than a phone on a cradle, combining the two removes a device from the windscreen.

The seven inch screen is the reason to want it. Maps are far easier to read at that size than on a phone, and reviewing footage on it is comfortable rather than fiddly.

Be clear about the priority though. The camera is a feature of a navigator, not a dedicated recording device, so it will not match a purpose built camera with a STARVIS 2 sensor for night footage, and there is no rear channel.

Size is the other consideration. A seven inch unit occupies real windscreen space, and where it may legally sit varies by location, so check before committing to a position.

Bottom line: the pick if you want a proper satnav and will accept adequate camera performance as a bonus.

• Type: GPS navigator with integrated dash cam
• Display: 7 in
• Channels: 1, front
• Navigation: Garmin maps with driver alerts
• Recording: incident detection with file saving
• Mounting: single windscreen mount

For drivers who want a dedicated navigator with a large screen and see the camera as a useful extra. Not for anyone whose main goal is the best possible footage, where a purpose built camera is clearly better.

Mount it where the large screen does not obstruct your view and check local rules on windscreen placement first. Keep navigation and recording on the same power source so both start with the ignition, and copy incident files off promptly, since a combined device is easier to forget about than a dedicated camera.