Before you buy
RC car scale sizes explained
The scale number tells you how big the car is, and size decides almost everything else: where it can be used, what it costs, and whether it works in your yard.
By Ryder M. · Published September 27, 2026 · Last reviewed
Shock & Servo is reader-supported. If you buy through a link on this page we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes which products we pick or the order we rank them in — the full rules are on our methodology page and our affiliate disclosure.
The scale is a fraction of the real vehicle's size. A 1/10 scale car is one tenth the size of the real thing — usually 17 to 20 inches long. 1/16 is around 12 inches, 1/18 around 10, and 1/24 around 8. The smaller the number under the one, the bigger the car.
The scale chart
| Scale | Typical length | In inches | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/5 - 1/6 | 80-100 cm | 31-39 in | Specialists. Large, heavy, expensive, needs a field |
| 1/8 | 50-60 cm | 20-24 in | Experienced owners; high-power 6S machines |
| 1/10 | 43-52 cm | 17-20 in | The standard. Most hobby cars, widest parts choice |
| 1/14 - 1/16 | 28-35 cm | 11-14 in | Great compromise: capable outdoors, fits a yard |
| 1/18 | 24-28 cm | 9-11 in | Children, small yards, indoor-ish use |
| 1/24 | 18-20 cm | 7-8 in | Indoor crawling; the smallest genuinely capable scale |
| 1/28 and smaller | under 18 cm | under 7 in | Desk toys and indoor micro racing |
How to choose a scale
- Start from where it will be used. A back yard suits 1/16 or 1/18. A park, field or empty lot suits 1/10. Indoors suits 1/24 crawlers.
- Then consider the driver's age. Smaller scales are lighter, slower and much easier for a child to carry and control.
- Then the budget. Bigger scales cost more to buy, and much more to run — bigger batteries, bigger tires, pricier spares.
- Then parts. 1/10 has by far the widest parts and upgrade choice of any scale.
One car per scale
| # | Product | Best for | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Axial SCX24Under eight inches long, four-wheel drive, and it turns a living room floor into a trail. | Indoor crawling | 8.6 | $159.99View on Amazon #ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026 |
| 2 |  Losi Mini LMTA solid-axle monster truck in miniature, sold in the Grave Digger and Son-uva Digger liveries kids already know. | Licensed monster trucks | 8.4 | $248.50View on Amazon #ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026 |
| 3 |  MJX HYPER GO 16213A brushless motor at a price that normally buys a brushed one — very fast, and more car than a young child should have. | Most speed per dollar | 8.4 | $112.49$124.99(10% off)View on Amazon #ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026 |
| 4 |  Traxxas Slash 4X4 BL-2sThe short-course truck that half the hobby owns, which is exactly why parts are never a problem. | The safest big gift | 9.1 | $429.95View on Amazon #ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026 |
Product photo via Amazon.
#1 · Indoor crawling
Axial SCX24
Under eight inches long, four-wheel drive, and it turns a living room floor into a trail.
8.6/10our score for this use
A 1/24 scale crawler — smaller than a shoe — sold under several licensed bodies, including the Toyota 4Runner stocked here plus Jeep, Chevrolet C10 and Dodge Power Wagon versions. It is a complete ready-to-run package with a Spektrum radio, a LiPo battery and a charger included, and it crawls over table legs, stairs and garden rockeries at walking pace.
- Size:
- 1/24 (8-9 inches, depending on body)
- Drive:
- Full-time 4WD
- Motor:
- brushed motor
What it does well
- Small enough to use indoors year-round, which no other hobby-grade car on this site can claim
- Slow, so crashes barely exist — the failure mode is tipping over, not breaking
- A huge aftermarket of upgrade parts if the hobby sticks
What it does badly
- Tiny. If the person you are buying for wanted something impressive to look at, this is not it
- Not fast, and it never will be
- The included battery is small, so a spare pack is an obvious early purchase
Specifications from Axial's own brand site.
#ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026
Product photo via Amazon.
#2 · Licensed monster trucks
Losi Mini LMT
A solid-axle monster truck in miniature, sold in the Grave Digger and Son-uva Digger liveries kids already know.
8.4/10our score for this use
1/18 scale, four-wheel drive, with an aluminum chassis, solid axles, a four-link suspension and metal differentials — the layout of a real monster truck, shrunk. It runs a brushed 380-size motor, so it is quick without being uncontrollable.
- Size:
- 1/18
- Drive:
- 4WD, solid axles
- Motor:
- brushed motor
What it does well
- The licensed bodies mean instant recognition for a child who watches monster truck events
- Metal differentials and an aluminum chassis at a size that usually gets all-plastic treatment
- Solid axles make it very hard to break on landings
What it does badly
- Brushed motor and modest speed — it is about jumping and bashing, not top end
- Tall and narrow, so it rolls over constantly at first
- Losi parts cost more than the budget brands' equivalents
Specifications from Losi's mini range.
#ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026
Product photo via Amazon.
#3 · Most speed per dollar
MJX HYPER GO 16213
A brushless motor at a price that normally buys a brushed one — very fast, and more car than a young child should have.
8.4/10our score for this use
Brushless means the motor has no wearing carbon brushes inside: more power, less maintenance, and a much higher price historically. MJX put one in a 1/16 off-road truck with a matched speed control, four-wheel drive through sealed gear differentials, independent suspension at all four corners and an injection-molded chassis. It runs on a standard 2S LiPo, so run time is whatever pack you buy.
- Size:
- 1/16
- Drive:
- 4WD
- Motor:
- brushless motor
What it does well
- Brushless power and sealed gear differentials at a price that used to buy neither
- Genuinely fast — this is the one that impresses a teenager
- Takes standard 2S LiPo packs, so a second battery is cheap and easy to find
What it does badly
- Too fast for a young child. Below about twelve it is frustrating rather than fun
- Parts come through MJX sellers, not a hobby-shop shelf — a broken part can mean a wait
- Speed and light weight are a bad combination on hard surfaces; it breaks front suspension arms
Specifications from MJX's HYPER GO product pages.
#ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026
Product photo via Amazon.
#4 · The safest big gift
Traxxas Slash 4X4 BL-2s
The short-course truck that half the hobby owns, which is exactly why parts are never a problem.
9.1/10our score for this use
A short-course truck is the enclosed-wheel, pickup-bodied shape used in desert racing: the bodywork covers the wheels, so it survives contact far better than an open-wheel buggy. The BL-2s version is brushless and runs on a 2-cell LiPo or a 6-7 cell NiMH battery.
- Size:
- 1/10
- Drive:
- Shaft-driven 4WD
- Motor:
- brushless motor
What it does well
- Enclosed wheels make it the most crash-tolerant shape in the hobby for a beginner
- Traxxas parts are stocked in hobby shops across the country and ship next day online
- A settled, decade-old platform: every part, upgrade and how-to video already exists
What it does badly
- Traxxas lists no battery and no charger in the box, so budget for both before it can be driven
- The total spend climbs well above the sticker once a battery and charger are added
- Fast enough that a first-timer should start in the reduced-power mode, not at full throttle
Specifications from the Traxxas Slash 4X4 BL-2s product page.
#ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026
Why 1/10 is the default
Most hobby-grade cars are 1/10 because it is the size that works: big enough to handle real ground and be seen at a distance, small enough to carry in one hand and fit in a car boot. It is also where the parts, upgrades, tires and bodies are, which matters when something breaks. The Traxxas Slash, the Arrma Granite and the Redcat Volcano are all 1/10.
What scale does not tell you
- Speed. A 1/18 brushless car can be faster than a 1/10 brushed one.
- Quality. Scale and build standard are unrelated — the 1/18 Losi Mini LMT has metal differentials that some 1/10 cars lack.
- Price. Small does not mean cheap; the Axial SCX24 costs more than plenty of larger cars.
- Durability. Smaller cars are lighter, which often makes them harder to break, not easier.
Scale also decides whether a car can be used in a room at all. If the driving will mostly happen inside, the best indoor RC cars works through the sizes that suit a carpet or a hardwood floor.
How we assessed this
Scale definitions are standard across the industry; the length ranges are typical for each scale rather than measurements of specific cars. Where we quote a specific car's size — the Mini Rally VXL at 21 inches, the SCX24 at under 8 — it comes from the manufacturer. See our methodology page.
If small is what you want
- The best mini RC cars — 1/16 to 1/24, and why they get used more
Two practical follow-ups to this chart. The best 1/10 scale RC cars ranks the models at the scale most of the hobby settles on, and where to drive RC cars turns the chart around: it starts from the space you have and works back to the size that suits it.