The best Uber dash cams provide high-res evidence in case of collisions or bad customer behavior - by having cameras inside and outside the vehicle. The cabin camera will help prevent misconduct claims, resolve disputes, avoid legal issues, and provide crucial evidence. But you also get a camera that records the road ahead like on all the best dash cams, and often a third camera too that records what is behind the vehicle.
Note that while Uber and Lyft allow dash cams, sharing customer recordings on social media is prohibited. It's advisable to display a notice about recording, especially in states with two-party consent laws.
In this article, we've drawn on our experience of testing and reviewing cameras of all kinds to curate a list of the absolute best dash cams for rideshare drivers. Whether you earn your living via Uber, Lyft, or Bolt, they'll help you stay safe and out of legal trouble.
Best overall
It’s not cheap, but it shoots 4K video, has an integrated cabin camera and the option for a rear-view camera. Plus it has 4G for always-on parking surveillance. Read more
Best value
Excellent value and reasonably compact, the Vantrue N4 shoots in 4K – although be aware this drops to 1440p when the interior and rear cameras are also active. Read more
Best for lowlight
A well-specified three-camera set-up with 4K front camera and Sony Starvis 2 sensors front and rear that give excellent performance when driving at night. Read more
Easiest to set-up
Five-minute setup and a compact design make this Nexar dash cam a great option. Both cameras record high-quality video, plus there’s GPS and Wi-Fi for easy video transfers. Read more
Best for safety
A top-notch dash cam with 4K video recordings, Alexa voice control, Emergency SOS, what3words support and the option of fitting interior and rear view cameras. Read more
Most compact
This innovative all-in-one unit gives you two 180° cameras on the windshield - one recording the road ahead and the other what is going on inside. Read more
Alistair is a technology and automotive journalist who has reviewed dozens of dash cams over the years. Whether they are $20 or $400, he has tried and tested dash cams from companies like Garmin, Thinkware and Nextbase, as well as lesser-known brands. Every model is fitted to his car and used as if his own before it is reviewed, and then judged if suitable as a recommendations in one of our buying guides. With over a decade of experience, Alistair also writes for Wired, Forbes, T3, and The Independent. A typical week includes reviewing light switches, Lamborghinis, and everything in-between.
The best Uber dash cams in 2024
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Subscription: Optional (required for 4G and cloud storage)
Reasons to buy
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4G connection
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Constant power via OBD cable
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Great 4K footage
Reasons to avoid
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Very expensive
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Some features require monthly fee
It’s one of the most expensive dash cams around, but it is also one of the newest and arguably the most impressive. What makes it especially useful for Uber drivers is how, like the Garmin Dash Cam Tandem, every version of iQ (with 1K, 2K or 4K front cameras) comes with an integrated interior camera with Full HD video and infrared night vision. A rear camera is also available as an optional extra. All three save footage to a microSD card, or with a subscription you can have footage automatically uploaded to the cloud via the iQ’s 4G connection too. This is also used to notify you via the Nextbase app when the iQ detects a parking prang or attempted theft, and the camera cleverly receives a constant power supply from your car’s OBD II port.
Constant power and 4G means this is also doubles as an in-car security camera, ready to stream footage to your phone from anywhere in the world.
Nextbase promises a steady supply of over-the-air software updates and new features coming to the iQ soon, including radar-powered vehicle monitoring that uses artificial intelligence to estimate the speed and trajectory of every vehicle within its sight; this data is then added to recordings to help show who caused a collision. The radar is also used to alert you if the iQ spots a potential thief loitering by your unattended car.
Resolution: 4K (front; 1440p when used with others), 1080p (interior and rear)
Dimensions: 109 x 47 x 46mm
Screen: 2.45in
Power supply: USB / 12V / hardwiring (optional)
WiFi: No
GPS: No
4G: No
Parking mode: Yes, hardwiring cable required
Subscription: No
Reasons to buy
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Three-camera coverage
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4K front video option
Reasons to avoid
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No GPS
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No smartphone app
The Vantrue N4 is a 4K dash cam, which means sharper and clearer footage than some of its rivals. However, this resolution is only available when the front-facing camera is used in isolation. If you want to record the interior of your car and/or a view facing rewards, as well as the front camera, the resolution drops to 1440p. This is accompanied by 1080p Full HD for both the interior and rear cameras, with all three recording at 30fps.
This means the Vantrue N4 doesn’t quite have the pixels to match the Nextbase iQ, but it is considerably cheaper and the main unit is smaller. It misses out on 4G, Wi-Fi and GPS, however, so recordings have to be transferred from the microSD card rather than wirelessly, and the lack of GPS means there’s no option for adding speed and locational data to your videos. If that’s a feature you need, Vantrue sells a GPS module separately.
This is a fairly basic dash cam – and lacks the more sophisticated design of the Nextbase iQ or Garmin Dash Cam Tandem – but one that is relatively compact and records impressive video in all three directions, which is crucial for Uber, Lyft and other ride-share drivers. There’s also a low bit rate parking mode, but this requires the optional hardwiring kit (as is the case with almost all dash cams). See our full Vantrue N4 review
Resolution: 4K (front and rear), 2K (rear), 1080P (interior)
Frame rate: 30fps
Dimensions: 140 x 100 x 190mm
Screen size: 2.4 inches
Power supply: 12V (hardwiring kit available separately)
WiFi: Yes (5GHz)
GPS: Yes
4G: No
Parking mode: Yes, hardwiring cable required
Subscription: No
Reasons to buy
+
4K front camera
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Excellent low-light performance
Reasons to avoid
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Not particularly attractive
I think the Viofo is a great value three-camera set-up. But what particularly impressed me was having Sony Starvis 2 sensors in the front and rear cameras that deliver impressive video performance when driving at night - with less grain that you get from many of its rivals. The front camera is 4K too - with a 2K camera keeping an eye at the road behind. The cabin camera makes do with a 1080P sensor - but the overall package is impressive for the price.
I loved the simpe setup process that doesn't even force you do download the Viofo app. And it is great to see that Viofo uses standard USB-C cables, and that voice control works well. With the three cameras, however, it can end up being a messy setup with a mass of cables. For that reason I recommend aprofessional installation with the optional hardwire kit - which gives you the added benefit of getting camera coverage when you are parked up.
The Nexar Pro GPS dash cam is very simple to set up: it didn't take me more than five minutes to do so. As well as a front-facing camera, there's a cabin camera that makes this system especially useful for Uber drivers. This connects to the main unit with a cable and requires its own windscreen mount, meaning the whole system takes up a fair bit of windscreen space compared to those with integrated cabin cameras.
That said, each component is compact and should be easily concealable behind the rearview mirror of most vehicles. The flip side of a small footprint is that there's no display, so there's a compromise to be made there.
The camera records crisp 135° wide video in 1080p Full HD quality, and pairs with Wi-Fi with the accompanying mobile app to allow you to review footage on your phone (check yours is compatible first, though). Collision detection and parking mode are also included, with the latter using the Nexar’s own small battery instead of drawing power from the car. If a more complete parking mode is important to you, consider dash cams that can be hardwired to the vehicle for a constant power supply, like the Viofo A129 Duo featured below.
Frame rate: Up to 120 fps (front, 1080p); 4K at 30fps
Dimensions: 152 x 127 x 122 mm
Screen size: 3in IPS touchscreen
Power supply: 12V or hardwiring (kit sold separately)
Wi-Fi: Yes
GPS: Yes
4G: No
Parking mode: Yes
Subscription: No
Reasons to buy
+
4K main camera
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Digital image stabilization
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Alexa built-in
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Multiple additional camera options
Reasons to avoid
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Relatively expensive
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More features than some drivers might need
It might look fairly ordinary at first glance, but what makes the Nextbase 622GW stand out is both the high-end 140˚ 4K camera that comes supplied and the modular design. It also boasts image stabilization so the picture will be good even with car vibration.
What we found makes this dash cam great for Uber drivers is the modular design and how Nextbase sells two different secondary cameras that attach to the main unit; one for recording the interior and the other for filming through the rear windscreen. The company also sells a camera that fits to the rear screen and plugs into the main unit. Based on our experience, we recommend fitting the modular interior camera and the wired rear camera for a three-channel setup that’s perfect for Uber drivers.
The 622GW boasts Alexa voice control and Emergency SOS, which calls the emergency services and gives them your location, name and even your blood type if you are unresponsive after a significant collision.
The system also has a 120fps super slow-motion option, but this lowers the resolution of the front camera to 1080p. There’s even what3words integration for precise positioning and an intelligent parking mode (hardwiring required).
The Garmin Dash Cam Tandem doesn't come cheap, but it provides a lot of value. This pocket-size dash camera features two 180-degree field of view lenses that record in tandem, providing complete video coverage around the driver.
The front camera records at a crystal-clear 1440p, while the 720p interior-facing lens harnesses Garmin's proprietary NightGlo technology for clear video of passengers at night. You also get voice control, built-in GPS, and Wi-Fi connectivity for transferring recordings to your phone.
Another nice touch is that the charger has an extra USB port, so you can power your phone or another device while you're driving. And the icing on the cake: it comes with a pre-installed 16GB microSD card, so you can use it right out of the box.
We’re big fans of Garmin dash cams and particularly like how compact they and their windscreen mounts are. We also like how up to four Garmin dash cams can be hooked up wirelessly to the Drive app, making it easy to create a multiple-view setup without routing any cables through your car.
If you want maximum coverage, or drive a very large vehicle, the F790 is one of a handful of Thinkware dash cams that connect to the company’s Multiplexer Box. This takes up to five camera feeds and creates a single video showing every view at once – perfect for capturing the front, rear and interior views, but also a couple of side views too, if that’s what you need.
On its own, the F790 is a dual dash cam system that records 1080p with both the main camera and a secondary wired camera, which can be fitted to the rear or interior of your car. We loved the subtle design of the F790 and its lack of a distraction display, and in our test we became fans of its HDR video capabilities with impressive nighttime quality, and how the parking mode will stay active for up to two weeks between drives (hardwiring kit required).
It’s quite expensive considering there’s no 1440p or 4K video option, but we still think the F790 is worth your consideration, especially if you are a rideshare driver who wants great footage at night and the option for fitting five cameras to one vehicle – that’s two more than most systems can handle, and one more than Garmin’s clever wireless sync function.
Every dash cam tested here is fitted to our car and used for several days before we write our review, or include it in a buying guide like this one. During that time we pay close attention to the installation and setup process, then use the dash cam as if it was our own, testing it during the day and at night, to find out just how good it really is.
While we’re not able to test the G-meters and crash detection, we look closely at the dash cam’s video quality, as well as additional features like parking mode, voice control and driver assistance technology. In the case of this buying guide, we put ourselves in the shoes of an Uber driver shopping for a dash cam that records forwards and into the cabin.
In almost every case, a dash cam’s parking mode only works when it is hardwired to the vehicle (the OBD II-powered Nextbase iQ is a notable exception). This means a special wiring kit is used (usually sold separately but inexpensive), where the dash cam is connected to the car’s battery for a constant supply of power. Dash cams connected to the 12V socket (also known as the lighter socket) usually switch off when the car is turned off, leaving their parking mode disabled.
Do dash cams work with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto?
Dash cams do not interact with infotainment systems like Apple CarPlay and Android, However, you need to remember that some dash cams rely on a Wi-Fi connection with a smartphone. This is also how wireless CarPlay and Android Auto work, and usually a smartphone cannot connect to these systems and a dash cam at the same time. Therefore, if you want to use your dash cam’s smartphone app and Wi-Fi connection, you’ll need to plug in a USB cable and use wired CarPlay or Android Auto instead of wireless.
Does a dash cam need to have GPS?
No, but if you buy a dash cam with GPS it will automatically add your speed (and also your location and direction of travel, depending on the model) to video recordings. This can be useful if you need to prove you were not speeding at the time of a collision, so if your budget allows it, you should aim to buy a dash cam with its own GPS connection.
How are dash cams fitted?
Some come with suction cups that are easy to fit and remove to the windscreen, but don’t always offer the strongest hold on the glass. They can sometimes become unstuck in cold weather.
Other dash cams come with mounting plates that stick to the windscreen with an adhesive strip; the mount then clips to the dash cam. The dash cam can still be unclipped from the mount and removed, but the plate will remain on the screen. We love Garmin’s approach here, as its dash cams attach magnetically to a tiny, coin-sized plate that takes up only a tiny bit of the windscreen.
Alistair has been a journalist since 2011 and used to be Deputy Technology Editor at IBTimes in London. His specialist tech subjects include smart home gadgets, phones, wearables, tablets and dashcams. He is the host of The AutoChat Podcast.
