The 8 Best Digital Cameras under $100 in 2027

Under $100, this is the camera we'd buy for a pocket. It's a proper compact, with a 13MP sensor, an f/2 lens, 1080p video at 60fps, an LED flash and a screen that flips up for selfies. And the controls are simple enough that anyone can pick it up and shoot.

Say you're out in the garden on a sunny morning. You switch to macro, get within about 8cm of a flower, and daylight gives you soft, retro-looking color. That's where it shines. Indoors it's a different story: there's no stabilization, so dim shots blur, and the screen is hard to read in bright sun. The box has a USB-C cable, a charger and a strap but no memory card, and it takes microSD up to 32GB. There's no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, so photos come off the card.

So would we buy it? Yes, as a fun, phone-free camera for daylight. Just don't expect it to beat a recent phone; it won't. Heading for the pool instead? Take the AKASO EK7000 (#5).

If your kid would rather make something than scroll through it, this is the one to buy. It saves photos in color, then prints black-and-white copies on thermal paper on the spot. No ink, no film, and the battery is built in and charges over USB.

Picture a rainy afternoon with nowhere to go. Your kids shoot their toys, print them in coloring-page mode and fill them in at the kitchen table. There are 110+ templates, from comic strips to greeting cards, plus a flip-up lens for selfies and three games you can turn off. The included roll covers up to 80 prints, and it takes most 2.2-inch thermal rolls after that. You'll need your own microSD card.

Here's the catch: enthusiastic kids empty a roll fast, and prints can come out faint or a little pixelated. It's also less drop-proof than VTech's chunkier cameras. So is it worth it? For kids aged 4 to 11 who love crafts, yes. Want labels and stickers too? Look at the myFirst Camera Insta Wi (#6).

For a preschooler's first camera, we'd start here. The twin grips fit small hands, there are two viewfinders to squint through, and it has survived drops onto hard floors in long-term family use. On top of that, you get a selfie camera, a flash and 80+ effects, including a live AR avatar.

So imagine a five-hour drive. Your five-year-old is in the back, snapping selfies with cartoon faces and showing you every one at the next stop. The fun is real. But the photos are soft in anything except bright light, and video tops out at 640 x 480. It runs on four AAs, and the games drain them: one family's first set died in under two days. Switch the games off in parent controls and use rechargeables. Parents on Mumsnet say kids love KidiZoom cameras and use them a lot, though plenty call the photos poor.

Is it the right first camera? For ages 3 to 7, yes. If you'd rather skip games and AAs altogether, the myFirst Camera 3 (#4) is the one to look at.

Want a kids camera that's just a camera? This is our pick. There are no games, so the only thing to do is shoot. It's tiny at 80g, it recharges, and the shockproof case, lanyard and microSD card are all in the box, so it works the day it arrives.

Now take a nature walk with your seven-year-old. They hit the lens button, swap to macro and lean in on a beetle crawling along a log. Daylight photos look better than you'd expect from a kids camera, and face tracking helps with portraits. Here's the honest part, though: autofocus hunts, so close-ups can take a couple of tries even with the macro lens. Video is the weakest link, and small thumbs press buttons by accident and land in menus.

So who's it for? Parents who want screen time spent taking photos. If your kid needs something sturdier with selfie effects and a flash, step over to the VTech KidiZoom Duo FX (#3).

If the plan is water, wheels or sand, this is the cheap camera we'd grab. It's a GoPro-style action cam, and the box is the best part: a waterproof case, two batteries, a charging dock, a wrist remote and mounts for helmets and handlebars.

Take a pool afternoon. You set it on the deck in its case, tap the remote, and get every cannonball without risking your phone. Each battery lasts about 100 minutes of video, so a spare covers the whole day. But the footage is soft and noisy, the 2-inch screen is dim in sun and isn't a touchscreen, and audio sounds muffled inside the case. Older units shot 4K at 25fps with no stabilization; current listings say 4K/30 with EIS, so check for EIS before you buy. And don't count on the 20MP stills claim: RTINGS lists a 12MP sensor.

Should you get one? For casual pool, bike and beach clips, yes. For everyday snapshots and selfies, the Kodak PIXPRO C1 (#1) suits you better.

This is the print camera we'd buy if you care about running costs. It uses standard 57mm thermal rolls, not a brand-only refill, and five rolls of paper and sticker paper come in the box. Add a 12MP camera, a selfie lens on the back and a battery that recharges, and it's an easy first camera.

Here's a moment where it earns its keep. It's the night before the first day of school, and you're printing name labels for your kid's notebooks from the phone app, then sticking them on. Your kid, meanwhile, prints their own photos in about 10 seconds a time. Just tell them to hold it still while it prints, or the print comes out worse. The app needs a parent to set up, and the cradle adds little.

But the prints themselves are the weak spot. They're black and white, uneven and they fade, and small kids find them hard to tear off. Want templates and a coloring mode for craft days instead? The VTech KidiZoom PrintCam (#2) does that best.

Think of this as a fun extra, not a camera to replace your phone. It's a keychain-size Kodak digicam made under license, with an optical viewfinder, a tiny screen, pixel and color filters and USB-C charging. That makes it a great gift for a teen or a Kodak fan.

Christmas morning is where it shines. The blind box comes out of the stocking, nobody knows which of the six styles is inside, and there's a small chance of the rare clear one. Clipped to a bag, it goes everywhere. In bright sun with bold shapes, the filters turn its soft 1.6MP photos into fun graphic art. In a dim room, though, you get noise and blur, and the power switch needs a long hold, so quick moments slip past. Add a microSD card, because internal memory holds about two photos. Some owners found photos vanished after a restart; repairing the card's format fixed it.

Want photos worth printing? Go for the Kodak PIXPRO C1 (#1).

For a toddler's very first camera, this is the cheapest one we'd buy. It has thick twin grips, survives rough play, and packs more creative tools than you'd expect: Talking Photos with voice effects, panoramas from two to five shots and an animation maker for up to 100 photos.

And then there's the dog. Your three-year-old decides it's their only subject and follows it from room to room. Still shots come out fine, but the shutter delay blurs anything that moves, dog included. The 2MP photos and tiny-resolution video are toy-level, and the 1.8-inch screen is small. Budget for four AA batteries, a USB cable and a microSD card, because none are in the box. You can set a game time limit too. And as one Mumsnet thread on KidiZoom cameras shows, kids don't seem to mind the photos.

VTech also sells a newer Pix FX with a bigger 2.4-inch screen. But for most families, we'd spend a bit more on the VTech KidiZoom Duo FX (#3), which adds a selfie camera.