The Best Microphones for YouTube Videos, TikToks, and Reels

One of the essential aspects of good vlogging is excellent, high-quality sounding audio. Although not the sexiest filmmaking instrument, a microphone is vital to perfecting your YouTube video production. We put many microphones to the test for your enjoyment and knowledge, utilizing today's most advanced technology. At the same time, we have some higher price point options available on our site; these 7 for the biggest, most rewarding bang(s) for your buck.

Here's a list of the best on-camera and Lavaliere microphones for YouTube creators and content masters.

At A Glance…

• The Most Compact - The JOBY Wavo PLUS
• The Upgraded Classic - Diety V Mic D4
• The Most Streamlined - DJI Wireless Microphone Kit
• The Can Do All - The Shure VP83 Lenshopper
• The Biggest Bang for Your Buck - The Deity V Mic D3 Pro
• The Best Vlogger - The Rode VideoMic NTG
• The High End - The Rode VideoMic Pro +

1. JOBY Wavo PLUS

Best For: Vloggers, interview setups, and simple “let it rip” NAT sounds.

JOBY is a creator-led brand, so every product they make keeps in mind their audience. The WAVO's pristine audio quality holds an integrated ANR (Active Noise Reduction) algorithm, which expertly eliminates self-generated structural noise in real-time. This ensures that you capture the clearest audio directly into your camera while moving. The Wavo Plus revolutionizes audio recording, featuring a 3.5mm input for headphones and a convenient volume control that enables creators to monitor better background noise that could otherwise be overlooked.

The 100Hz high-pass filter effectively removes low-frequency noises, resulting in clean, sharp audio that actively reduces your editing time. With Wavo Plus, you can focus on your creative vision without compromising audio quality.

2. Deity V-Mic D4

Best For: Serious YouTubers and longer shoot days (great battery life).

A top-of-the-line shotgun microphone from Deity that takes everything you love about the V-Mic D3 to the next level. Designed to capture directional audio while rejecting off-camera sounds, the D4 ensures your recordings are crystal clear. Featuring a new offset shock mount, the V-Mic D4 effectively minimizes handling noise for an even better audio experience. The side-mounted USB-C output jack makes it an excellent choice for hybrid DSLR content creators who want to seamlessly connect their mic to a PC for podcasting or streaming.

3. DJI Wireless Microphone Kit

Best For: Filmmakers wanting a high-end lav mic for contention creation, interviews, talking bits, etc.

This highly loved wireless microphone system from DJI offers outstanding sound quality and dual-channel recording, even at distances of up to 200m. This comprehensive system includes two microphone transmitters, a receiver, and a highly portable charging case.

Dual-Channel Recording
This miccomes with two transmitters, each with built-in microphones. Both transmitters support omnidirectional audio, making them ideal for multi-person interviews and small studio operations. It also allows you to record high-fidelity, professional audio by accurately reproducing tones across a wider frequency range. Recordings can be made separately via each channel, or the two channels can be combined for flexibility in post-production.

Built-in Touchscreen and Onboard Memory
The receiver's touchscreen display gives you easy access to channel selection, input/output settings, and other essential operations. Both transmitters have 14 hours of built-in storage to prevent audio frame drop, loss, and other issues.

4. Shure VP83 Lenshopper

Best For: Classic interview setups or natural sounds.

Fun fact: this was Casey’s Neistat’s first-ever microphone used for vlogging. This bad boy is slightly higher quality than the aforementioned products, utilizing an electret condenser cartridge, superb-sounding audio, and a super-cardioid/lobar polar pattern for superior off-axis noise rejection. Enjoy high-level protection against unwanted noise, thanks to an integrated Rycote Lyre shock mount, and eliminate the remaining background rumble with a built-in highpass filter. A three-position gain switch accommodates different recording environments, while an all-metal construction ensures long-lasting durability.

One of the most important things to note with this microphone is the 3-position gain switch to accommodate different recording environments; -10dB, 0, +20 dB. Featuring a low-cut filter to eliminate background and noise ambiance, Shure’s additional all-metal construction ensures long-lasting durability. This is the most compact product of any $200~ range microphone, ensuring life-long protection in the backpack and studio. Remember that this lasts on one AA battery, and it’s NOT rechargeable.

5. Deity V Mic D3 Pro

Best For: Serious YouTubers, longer shoot days, vlogging enthusiasts, laptop users, and professional NAT sound enthusiasts.

It simply works with a phone, tablet, DSLR, bodypack transmitters, and just about anything with a 3.5mm microphone jack. Inside the V-Mic D3 Pro lives a microprocessor that digitally shakes hands with the audio input it’s been plugged into. We have tested it on a dozen DSLR models, two dozen phones, a handful of Android-based tablets, and the microphone inputs on laptops. The V-Mic D3 Pro outputs dual mono tracks when plugged into devices with a stereo microphone input.

The best feature we found to be on Deity’s V Mic D3 Pro is the +20dB step-less analog gain adjustment dial. On each side of the dial, the V-Mic D3 Pro features a bump guard that helps prevent the dial from being accidentally rotated. The +20dB of gain is added on a linear scale to dial in the amount you need for the shot. Repping an internal battery of 320mAh Lithium Ion, the run time for the V-Mic D3 Pro is 51 hours and the standby time is 74 hours. Takes only about 2 hours to recharge.

6. Rode VideoMic NTG

Best For YouTube vloggers, home videos, interview setups, and natural noise ambiance with noise reduction needs.

The Rode VideoMic NTG gives on-the-go vloggers, run-and-gun filmmakers, voiceover artists, and podcasters the sound of the highly regarded NTG shotguns in a convenient camera-mount mic that requires no additional adapters to work with cameras, smartphones, tablets, portable recorders, and USB-equipped computers. With quality gain control, there are substantial options premiered on the back of the mic with a metal knob. It has a high pass filter, a high-frequency boost, and a safety channel - which records it on both the left and right sides of the microphone but can save either if the other goes out.

With focused directivity, continuously variable gain, digitally switched tone controls, and an internal USB-rechargeable battery, the VideoMic NTG provides transparent sonic performance and immensely flexible functionality. Thanks to its aerospace-grade aluminum housing, the VideoMic NTG is durable, compact, and lightweight, making it at home atop a camera or boom pole. The 30+ hours of battery life and rechargeable recording time make for a perfect go-to mic setup enjoyed by all kinds of filmmakers and podcasters on YouTube.

7. Rode VideoMic Pro +

Best For: Laptop users, audio engineers, serious filmmakers, and natural ambiance.

The Rode VideoMic Pro + is a true shotgun microphone designed with camcorders, DSLR cameras, and portable audio recorders as primary and reference audio sources. At the core of the VideoMic Pro is an all-new 1/2" condenser capsule that boasts broadcast-quality audio via a 3.5mm minijack connector (outputting the mono signal to both left and right channels) with an incredibly low self-noise of just 14db. A super-cardioid polar pattern ensures that surrounding audio is minimized and your recording focuses entirely on the subject in front of the camera.

It runs on 2 rechargeable lithium ION batteries, making it perfect for on-the-go vlogging and run-and-gun filmmaking shoots. Rechargeable batteries for mics are vital to anyone looking for something that won’t easily run out of juice. Consistency and reliability are key! There are 2-staged high pass filters to reduce lower frequencies and 3-stage gain controls: -10dB, 0, +20dB, a safety channel, and a high-frequency boost. Its optimized windshield shape makes it actually effective in windy situations, which most filmmakers understand as a huge plus. The microphone uses a standard-sized shoe mount for on-camera use, and features a 3/8" thread in the base of the mount for easy boom pole mounting.

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