The best smartphone gimbals far surpass the image stabilization features of your camera alone. While the former can help mitigate the worst of your shaky movements, a gimbal takes control of the phone's movement itself, enabling smooth panning, sweeping motions, and even the ability to track moving subjects within the frame. In other words, with a smartphone mounted on a gimbal, you can capture professional-looking footage without complex, heavy equipment.
Below you'll find our selection of the best smartphone gimbals available today. They're mechanical stabilizers that utilize at least two, and typically three, axes of rotation to keep the camera steady. They employ motors that work independently or in combination to achieve a wide range of movements. For instance, the Pan Follow mode will maintain a level camera as it moves, while Follow modes allow for smooth vertical tilting, and POV modes enable horizontal tilting for more dynamic angles, all while maintaining perfect stabilization.
Furthermore, the best smartphone gimbals come equipped with companion apps that wirelessly integrate with the gimbal to offer advanced features like subject tracking, automated panoramas, and more. If you're using a dedicated camera rather than a smartphone, be sure to check out our separate guides for the best gimbals for DSLR and mirrorless cameras, as well as best GoPro gimbal.
The Quick List
We'll start with the best all-rounder. The DJI Osmo Mobile 7P is an extremely robust, professional selfie stick/gimbal that has a lot of advanced features such as motion timelapse, subject tracking and an analog zoom/focus wheel for easy control.
This gimbal pairs with Apple's Dockkit technology for top AI-powered tracking using your phone camera's autofocus. There are also clever magnetic attachments for quickly popping the phone on and off, as well as a built-in tripod and selfie stick.
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The AI tracker provides the services of a skilled camera operator. The various shooting modes enable you to shoot cinematic camera moves such as crane and tracking shots.
This entry-level, smartphone-focused 3-axis gimbal is designed to be easy to use and set up. Compared to more premium gimbals, it has a lower payload capacity of 280g, but is well-suited for use with iPhones.
Is money no object? Then check out the Hohem iSteady M7. While it's expensive, you can do a lot with it. This high-quality, 3-axis gimbal can be used with smartphones, has a built in screen and AI tracking!
Best smartphone gimbals: the full guide
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Best smartphone gimbal overall
The DJI Osmo Mobile 7P is an extremely robust, professional selfie stick/gimbal that has a lot of advanced features such as motion timelapse, subject tracking, and an analog zoom/focus wheel for easy control. This certainly isn't a budget option but it's by far one of the best selfie sticks you can buy if stabilization is your main game.
Our reviewer tested it using the iPhone 16 Pro Max and despite it being one of the heavier smartphones now available, the gimbal was able to keep up with some aggressive movements and still maintain incredibly smooth footage. He could comfortably get the gimbal to nearly 180˚ without the default mode losing the horizon.
The option of an FPV mode, in which the camera effectively leans into the movement, is a great touch for action footage, and auto-stitched panoramas are also available. Overall, this is an excellent selfie stick/gimbal, but you will have to pay a hefty chunk more.
Read our full DJI Osmo Mobile 7P review for more details
Best smartphone gimbal for tracking
The Insta360 Flow 2 Pro is a compact and portable smartphone gimbal packed with features to enhance mobile videography. Featuring a lightweight, foldable plastic body for easy transport. The magnetic spring clamp ensures a quick and secure attachment of your iPhone, making setup effortless.
One of its standout features is the built-in tripod integrated directly into the gimbal’s shaft. Unlike other models with separate or flimsy tripod attachments, the Flow 2 Pro offers a sturdy and stable base simply by extending its legs. This design makes it more convenient for stationary shots, time-lapses, or hands-free filming.
A major advantage is its ability to pan continuously through 360 degrees, allowing for seamless subject tracking without limitations. This feature is especially useful for dynamic shots where movement is key. The Insta360 also offers access to Apple's Dockkit tech, which enables intelligent tracking – following your subject by locking focus and keeping them in the center of the frame – very clever stuff.
If you're looking for a gimbal that balances portability, functionality, and stability, this one is a solid choice – although it is a little more expensive than rival products.
Read our full Insta360 Flow 2 Pro review for more details
Best iPhone gimbal for presenting to camera
The Zhiyun Smooth 5S AI is very comparable to the Hohem iSteady M6 that features in this guide in relation to functions and price, though if you shop around you should be able to get the Hohem at a lower price as the Zhiyun Smooth 5S AI is a newer release.
Like the Hohem iSteady M6, the Zhiyun Smooth 5S AI ships with a magnetic sensor that clips on top of the gimbal just above your smartphone. The sensor uses AI to recognize gestures that trigger a range of actions. For example, if you make the OK gesture then the gimbal will pan and tilt the attached smartphone to keep your face in the frame as you walk and talk. This makes it a valuable tool for a vlogger or presenter who wants to add some movements as they talk to the camera (without having to pay for a camera operator).
Both the iSteady and the Hohem have a mini LED fill light, though the Zhiyun’s LED has the edge when it comes to brightness levels. The AI sensor can be used when running your smartphone’s native Camera app, but it provides extra gesture control when filming via the Zy Cami app as you can start and stop the smartphone recording with a gesture (rather than having to manually tap the record icon).
Read our full Zhiyun Smooth 5S AI review for more details
Best smartphone gimbal for traveling light
There are plenty of stabilizers to choose from in this buying guide, but the iSteady V3 has a few extra tricks up its sleeve in comparison with the others, as well as being one of the cheapest gimbals on offer.
For starters, it's probably the most compact gimbal we’ve featured and in its folded configuration you can squeeze it into the pocket of your jeans (as long as you unclip the AI sensor). This compactness is made possible by the innovative design feature of placing the tripod legs inside the gimbal’s shaft (instead of attaching them via a screenshot thread like the other stabilizers do).
You can then extend the legs when you need the gimbal to be freestanding and then use the AI sensor to make your smartphone pan and tilt to follow your every move like a professional camera operator. The AI sensor recognizes a host of control gestures - such as using a double-handed thumbs-up to make it swap from portrait to landscape orientation.
The iSteady V3 also boasts a unique detachable control panel that uses Bluetooth to control the gimbal remotely, so you can pan and tilt it while recording a selfie from a distance and trigger your smartphone’s Camera app to start or stop recording. The only real downside is that the tilt angle's range is less than many other gimbals, so it's harder to shoot very low-angle tracking shots.
Read our full Hohem iSteady V3 review for more details
Best premium smartphone gimbal
One challenge we face when using a stabiliser is whether to use the smartphone’s front or rear cameras. If you use the front camera, you can see your footage on the smartphone’s screen and know exactly where you are in the frame. However, the front camera tends to be more limited and of lower quality than the rear cameras, but if you use the rear camera, then you won’t be able to see your footage as it's being recorded. The Insta360 Flow 2 featured elsewhere in this buying guide solves this problem by having a mirror on the rear of the gimbal, which gives you an idea of where your face is positioned when shooting a selfie ‘blind’. The more expensive Hohem iSteady V7 offers a more effective solution by feeding live video footage from the AI-sensor at the front of the gimbal to the touchscreen display at the rear.
The Hohem iSteady M7’s AI-tracker enables you to rest the gimbal on its mini tripod, extend the selfie stick (or extension pole), and then it will follow your every move as you walk and talk freely. You can also operate it remotely by detaching the touchscreen panel and using the mini joystick to pan and tilt the camera. When holding the M7 in your hand, it’s an easy operation to tap the physical Mode button to make the gimbal perform classic Pan, Pan Follow, and POV (Point of View) moves as well as craning the camera from a low to high angle for a cinematic look. Check out our full review to see a video of the M7 as it makes some Hollywood style moves with it.
Every rose has its thorns, and in the case of the Hohem iSteady M7, we could occasionally glimpse a bit of the roll motor at the far right of the frame when making a steep tilting move. This didn’t cause problems for most of our camera moves, but it means the gimbal isn’t perfect, so it didn’t quite hit the 5-star rating that its innovative live front-to-rear camera feed would have earned it.
Read our full Hohem iSteady M7 review for more details
How to choose the best smartphone gimbal
When looking for the best smartphone gimbal features, there are several important factors to consider. First, it's crucial to check the phone size specifications to ensure your device will fit the gimbal. Many of today's best camera phones are quite large, so this compatibility is essential. Another desirable feature is the ability to quickly rotate between horizontal and vertical shooting orientations, which can be especially useful for capturing content for platforms like TikTok.
Selfie sticks integrated into the gimbal design can also be a convenient addition, allowing you to hold the device further away to film yourself effectively. Additionally, the folded size of the gimbal is worth considering, as the most compact models can fit easily into a bag or coat pocket, making them highly portable. Finally, some gimbals come equipped with built-in or magnetically attached LED lights, which can be surprisingly powerful and effective for illuminating selfie shots.
What is a smartphone gimbal?
A smartphone gimbal is a motorized device that uses motors and sensors to counteract shake and keep your smartphone camera steady. This allows you to shoot smooth, professional-looking videos with your phone.
How do smartphone gimbals work?
Smartphone gimbals use brushless motors to constantly adjust the position of your phone, keeping it level and stable even when you move. They detect unwanted movements and counteract them, resulting in smooth footage.
What are the benefits of using a smartphone gimbal?
The main benefit of using a smartphone gimbal is the silky-smooth, stabilized video it produces. By eliminating shaky footage, your videos will take on a professional polish. Gimbals also benefit low-light shooting. Since the gimbal keeps your phone perfectly steady, you can use slower shutter speeds to capture more light without worrying about blurry videos. On top of these core benefits, many smartphone gimbals boast features like pan follows and object tracking that open up a world of creative camera movements for you to explore.
How we test smartphone gimbals
Our expert reviewers put smartphone gimbals through a rigorous testing process to assess their real-world performance and capabilities. First, they carefully balance the gimbals to ensure optimal weight distribution and smooth operation. They then test the various shooting modes, evaluating how well the gimbal is able to stabilize the phone during different types of movement and camera angles.
The accessibility and intuitiveness of the controls are also closely examined, as is the quality of any companion apps. Our testers assess features like the fill light, zoom/focus mechanisms, and tracking algorithms to see how they enhance the filming experience. Durability is tested too, by seeing how the gimbal handles being transported and used in different environments. Finally, the overall value proposition is considered: do the features and performance justify the price point?
