Police Scanner + vs OpenMHz
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Police Scanner +
Access over 100,000 free radio stations, including police, fire, EMS, and music. Listen live, record for later, set alarms, and customize your background. Connect with other listeners and share what you're enjoying.
- Listen to 100,000+ radio stations
- Record stations for playback
- Set wake-up alarms
- Background listening
- Customizable backgrounds
- Live event information
- Chat with listeners
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Listen to the largest collection of police, fire, EMS, airport, railroad, weather, comedy, talk, and music stations. That's over 100,000 stations available for free. Get the original police scanner app that has everyone hooked - as seen in hit movies like Spider-Man FEATURES: - Read about active events going on at the moment along with the station that is current playing the audio from that event - Record stations for future playback and for emailing an mp3 copy to yourself or others - Set an alarm in the app and wake up to your favorite station - Listen to our app while you sleep and set a timer to stop the station at a certain time - View the current artist and song name that is playing - Run the app in the background and do other things on your device while you listen to the app - Choose your own background from your photo library - Chat with other listeners - Tweet the station and song you're listening to your Twitter followers - Notifications are enabled to notify you of the current song that the station changed to while the app is in the background - Save a station to your favorites for quick and easy access - List and search radio stations by popularity, genre, song name, and artist - List scanner stations by popularity and location - Use your device's GPS to easily find stations located near you - The screen glows blue and red on the bottom to the beat of the music or whenever someone talks - The rings in the center of the player act as a clock - Add your own custom stations - This app is compatible with most iPod/iPhone docks, Bluetooth devices, and other iPhone devices Privacy Policy: https://regoapps.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
OpenMHz
Access live police and fire radio broadcasts from across the United States. Enjoy an ad-free experience with a 30-day archive to review past transmissions. Explore over 225 city, county, and state radio systems.
- Live police and fire radio streams
- 30-day transmission archive
- Over 225 US radio systems
- Ad-free experience
- No in-app purchases
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Listen live to Police and Fire radios from across the US. - Ad Free and no in-app purchases required! - Scroll back in time, with a 30 day archive. - Over 225 city, county and state radio systems! It is recorded using a Software Defined Radio, so unlike a scanner, all of the channels are captured and the each transmission is saved invdividually
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Police Scanner + at 4.5 against OpenMHz's 3.9. Police Scanner + also leads on ratings volume (102K vs 175) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 9 days). OpenMHz's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ads (none vs shown). On price, review sentiment, chart position and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Police Scanner + sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. OpenMHz asks for nothing beyond the download.
Police Scanner + holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Police Scanner + has 102K ratings behind it against 175, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 53% of Police Scanner +'s written reviews are positive against 59% of OpenMHz's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Police Scanner + ships an update every 4 days, OpenMHz every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Police Scanner + | OpenMHz |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (102K ratings) — better | 3.9 (175 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 52.8% of reviews | 59.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 102K — better | 175 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 9 days |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #88 — better | #95 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 51 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rego Apps | Luke Berndt |
Customer experience
Police Scanner +
OpenMHz
User reviews
Police Scanner +
From 102K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Clear audio quality
- 🔍 Useful for monitoring local emergencies
- 📻 Wide selection of radio stations
- ⏱ Helpful for staying informed in real-time
Room to improve
- 🔍 Lack of coverage for certain regions
- 📢 Disruptive and intrusive ads
- 🔌 App crashes or stops working unexpectedly
- 🔀 Difficulty switching between channels
OpenMHz
From 175 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💰 Completely free with no ads or subscriptions
- 🎙️ Access to hard-to-find radio channels and frequencies
- 📚 Archive feature allows listening to past calls and events
- 🎯 Ability to select specific talk groups and agencies
- 🌍 Extensive coverage across USA with many local systems
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezing issues
- 🔄 Data not refreshing or getting stuck on old timestamps
- 📵 App stops working after a few days of use
- 🔊 Audio squelching and feedback problems
- ⚠️ Inconsistent autoplay functionality
Bugs and requests
Police Scanner +
Reported bugs
3 issues- App freezes or becomes unresponsive
- Ads prevent access to the app's core functionality
- Channels frequently drop or disconnect
Requested features
4 requests- More local scanner channels
- Option to disable ads or pay for ad-free version
- Ability to monitor multiple channels simultaneously
- Improved stability and reliability
OpenMHz
Reported bugs
12 issues- App freezes and requires force restart
- Archive feature doesn't properly reset when disabled
- Blank screen with no content loading
- Data stuck on old timestamps and not updating
- Logs not displaying or showing blank screens
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- App crashes when minimized and reopened
- Specific channels (Charlotte NC, Sacramento) not updating
- Audio plays out of order with incorrect timestamps
- Talk groups disappearing from feeds
- Spotty and breaking audio feeds
- Loading spinner stuck indefinitely
- App won't open or crashes on startup
Requested features
12 requests- Ability to bookmark or favorite systems and talk groups
- Custom group creation and naming
- Search functionality for talk groups instead of scrolling
- Background audio playback when screen is locked
- iPad landscape mode support
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- Save user preferences and last selected channels
- CarPlay support
- Map view with icons and geolocation
- Day/date indicators in archive listings
- Feedback/support contact option within app
- Meridian Mississippi frequencies
- Real-time audio instead of delayed playback
In-app purchases
Police Scanner +
- Police Scanner Pro Edition$2.997 Days
- Police Scanner Pro Edition$9.991 Month
- Police Scanner Pro Edition3 Days trial$39.991 Year
OpenMHz
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Police Scanner + free?
Is OpenMHz free?
Which has better reviews, Police Scanner + or OpenMHz?
Do Police Scanner + or OpenMHz have ads?
Which is updated more often, Police Scanner + or OpenMHz?
Which is more popular, Police Scanner + or OpenMHz?
Other comparisons
