Comparison

Mobile Scanners vs DispatchLink

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Mobile Scanners

Access over 3000 live community-hosted radio feeds from the US, Australia, Canada, and more. Includes NOAA Weather feeds, missing children lists, and custom audio feed options. Learn emergency codes with state-specific guides.

Highlights
  • 3000+ live community radio feeds
  • NOAA Weather agency feeds
  • Missing Children Lists
  • Favorites list
  • Custom audio feed support
  • 10-Codes by State
Features
Read full description

Over 3000 live community hosted feeds from all around the United States, Australia, Canada, Chili, Puerto Rico and over 200 feeds from the NOAA Weather agency.  • Missing Children Lists children from all around the U.S. This feed is categorized and always up to date.  • Mobile Scanners allows you to add any number of these feeds to a list of Favorites and if more than 3000 feeds is not enough, you can add your own Custom audio feeds!  • 10-Codes by State allows access to all of the codes used by Police, Fire, Emergency and other radio band codes and other useful codes! Learn the lingo and know what’s happening as it happens!  • Got a suggestion? Use the in-app contact form in the about view to submit your feedback!

About

DispatchLink

Listen to live public-safety radio channels across Utah, with real-time incident summaries and mapping. Understand what you're hearing with plain-English explanations and track events as they unfold.

Highlights
  • Live police, fire, and EMS radio streams
  • Real-time incident summaries
  • Interactive incident map
  • Aviation radio monitoring
  • Unit tracking
  • Transmission console
Features
Read full description

DispatchLink brings Utah's public-safety radio to your phone, live, and explains what you're hearing. LISTEN LIVE • Nearly 50 police, fire and EMS channels across Utah, Salt Lake, Davis and Wasatch counties • Tiles light up the moment a channel is talking • Tap the (i) on any channel to see the towns it covers, how busy it is, and when it's usually busiest AVIATION RADIO • Salt Lake airband: tower, ground, ATIS and more, free THE MAP (PLUS) • Every incident heard on the radio, on one map • Pick live now, the last hour, today or the week • One tap shows every crash, and tap any pin to play its radio calls SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING • Incidents: calls turned into clear, plain-English summaries, grouped by town • Just in: what's happened in the last 15 minutes • Today's majors: fires, serious crashes and pursuits in one place WATCH LIKE A DISPATCHER • Console: every transmission as it happens, live • Follow any unit to see where it works and when it's busiest Built in Utah by radio enthusiasts. DISPATCHLINK PLUS Live radio is free. DispatchLink Plus unlocks the Map, Incidents and Today's majors. Plus is an auto-renewing subscription, billed monthly or yearly to your Apple ID, and includes a free trial for new subscribers. It renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple ID settings. DispatchLink is not an emergency service. In an emergency, call 911. Privacy: https://dispatchlink.org/privacy Terms: https://dispatchlink.org/terms License (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Mobile Scanners4 screens
DispatchLink4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: DispatchLink at 5.0 against Mobile Scanners's 3.1. DispatchLink also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months). Mobile Scanners's advantage is ratings volume (20 vs 2) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 17.0). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Mobile Scanners sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and DispatchLink sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DispatchLink holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mobile Scanners has 20 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 57% of Mobile Scanners's written reviews are positive against 50% of DispatchLink's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mobile Scanners ships an update every 4 months, DispatchLink monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Mobile Scanners versus DispatchLink: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMobile ScannersDispatchLink
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.1 (20 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews56.5% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings20 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS9.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB8 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperWrights Creative Services, L.L.C.Nathan Hayes

Customer experience

Mobile Scanners

All ratings20 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative45.0%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive56.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative43.5%

DispatchLink

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Mobile Scanners

One-time4
  • FBI Crime Alerts$0.99
  • FBI Top 10 Most Wanted$0.99
  • Most Wanted Terrorists$0.99
Show 1 more
  • Wanted by the FBI$0.99
2 purchases

DispatchLink

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium Access7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Annual Premium Access7 Days trial$79.991 Year

Questions

Is Mobile Scanners free?
Mobile Scanners is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DispatchLink free?
DispatchLink is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Mobile Scanners or DispatchLink?
DispatchLink is rated higher. Mobile Scanners averages 3.1 out of 5 from 20 ratings, while DispatchLink averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Mobile Scanners or DispatchLink have ads?
Neither Mobile Scanners nor DispatchLink shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mobile Scanners or DispatchLink?
Mobile Scanners ships an update every 4 months, and DispatchLink monthly. Most recently, Mobile Scanners was updated on November 6, 2026 and DispatchLink on October 30, 2026.

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