Best police scanner for your radio system
The best scanner is the cheapest one that hears your local radio system. For most US counties that is P25 digital, and the cheapest new scanner we found that hears P25 Phase 1 and Phase 2 is the Uniden BCD325P2 at $399.00. In big cities with simulcast systems, get the Uniden SDS200.
Check which radio your county uses
Our picks
Best for most people: the cheapest that hears P25 Phase 2
Uniden BCD325P2
- Hears P25 Phase 1 and Phase 2, the digital radio most US counties use. Uniden: “APCO-25 Phase I and Phase II digital”
- 25,000 dynamic channels, so one scanner holds your county and the next one over.
- Sold by Amazon itself.
Watch for
- No NXDN, and DMR is a $60 add-on from Uniden (Uniden on the DMR upgrade).
- No ZIP code setup. You program it with free software, or add a GPS receiver.
- Uniden makes no simulcast claim for it. In big-city simulcast areas, get an SDS model.
Best for home or car on a budget
Uniden BCD996P2
- Hears the same radio systems as the BCD325P2: P25 Phase 1 and 2, analog and trunking.
- Runs on 12-volt DC power, so it can sit on a desk or mount in a car.
- Sold by Amazon itself.
Watch for
- Same limits as the BCD325P2: no NXDN, DMR costs extra, no ZIP setup.
- Check your state's law before you put a scanner in a car. Some states require a permit.
Best for big cities with simulcast systems
Uniden SDS200
- Built on Uniden's True I/Q receiver, its answer to simulcast, where one call goes out from several towers and cheaper scanners garble it.
- Set it up by ZIP code. Uniden: “Allows you to set your location by zip/postal code or GPS coordinates for instant reception.”
- A base and car unit.
- Sold by Amazon itself.
Watch for
- DMR and NXDN are paid add-ons. Uniden doesn't publish the price without an account login.
- Costs nearly twice the BCD996P2. Buy it only if your county shows simulcast signs.
Best handheld for simulcast
Uniden SDS150
- Uniden's own claim: “Uniden is the first company to utilize True I/Q™ Technology for exceptional performance in simulcast areas.”
- Set it up by ZIP code. Rechargeable lithium-ion battery that charges over USB-C.
- Sold by Amazon itself.
Watch for
- DMR, NXDN and ProVoice (other digital radio types) are paid add-ons. Uniden doesn't publish the price without an account login.
- The older Uniden SDS100 makes a similar simulcast claim and costs less ($689.99), but on Amazon it is sold by MBM Sales, not Amazon, so stock can run out.
Best if your area uses DMR or NXDN, not P25
Uniden BCD160DN
- DMR and NXDN come built in. Uniden: “The scanner comes preloaded with DMR and NXDN so you can start using your scanner as soon as you take it out of the box.”
- The cheapest scanner we found that hears both.
Watch for
- It does not hear P25. Most police in the US use P25. Buy it only if your lookup says DMR or NXDN.
Best if your county's digital type is unclear
Whistler TRX-1
- Hears P25, DMR and NXDN, so it covers whichever digital type your county turns out to use.
- Our pick for the counties whose licenses don't name the digital type.
Watch for
- Costs more than the BCD325P2. If you confirm your county uses P25, buy the BCD325P2 instead.
Best for analog-only areas
Uniden BC125AT
- A simple handheld for counties that still use plain analog radio.
- 500 alpha-tagged channels. Runs on two AA batteries.
Watch for
- Analog only. Uniden: “The BC125AT is not a digital scanner and is not capable of Digital Radio system monitoring, (e.g. Project 25, DMR, NXDN).”
- Check your county first. Only 79 of 3,138 counties show analog radio alone.
Amazon prices as of October 14, 2026, 10:00 PM Pacific. Prices change; Amazon shows the current one.
Match your lookup result to a scanner
Don't buy these for police P25 radio
Two families of scanners are sold as "digital" but miss the radio most police use.
- Uniden BCD160DN and BCD260DN. They decode DMR and NXDN, not P25. Uniden describes the BCD260DN as a “Base/mobile digital scanner with DMR & NXDN decoding (no trunking), BandScope rapid search, and 1,000 alpha-tagged channels”. Fine for DMR areas, wrong for P25 areas.
- Whistler WS1040 and WS1065. Whistler lists P25 Phase 1 only (Whistler's WS1040 spec). Systems that moved to Phase 2 go silent on them.
Every scanner we checked
Each answer links to the maker's own page or manual. Tap one to read the source. "Paid add-on" means the maker sells a software key for it. "Not listed" means the maker's full list of systems leaves it out.
| Scanner | Analog | P25 Phase 1 | P25 Phase 2 | DMR | NXDN | Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uniden SDS150handheld | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paid add-on | Paid add-on | $949.99 |
| Uniden SDS100handheld | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paid add-on | Paid add-on | $689.99 |
| Uniden SDS200base/mobile | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paid add-on | Paid add-on | $749.99 |
| Uniden BCD436HPhandheld | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paid add-on | Not listed | $525.00 |
| Uniden BCD536HPbase/mobile | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paid add-on | Not listed | $585.57 |
| Uniden BCD325P2handheld | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paid add-on | Not listed | $399.00 |
| Uniden BCD996P2base/mobile | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paid add-on | Not listed | $399.26 |
| Whistler TRX-1handheld | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | $599.99 |
| Whistler TRX-2base/mobile | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | $612.49 |
| Whistler WS1040handheld | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | $344.95 |
| Whistler WS1065base/mobile | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | $351.49 |
| Uniden BCD160DNhandheld | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | $244.17 |
| Uniden BCD260DNbase/mobile | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | $249.99 |
| Uniden BC125AThandheld | Yes | No | No | No | No | $137.65 |
| Uniden SR30Chandheld | Yes | No | No | No | No | $128.98 |
Amazon prices as of October 14, 2026, 10:00 PM Pacific. Prices change; Amazon shows the current one.
Words you'll see
- P25
- The digital radio standard most US police and fire use. An analog scanner can't decode it.
- Phase 1 and Phase 2
- Two versions of P25. Phase 2 fits two calls on one channel. A Phase 1-only scanner misses Phase 2 calls.
- Simulcast
- One call sent from several towers at once. Many scanners garble it.
- Trunking
- A system where a computer hands out a few shared channels to many groups. You need a scanner that can follow it.
- DMR and NXDN
- Two other digital radio types, used by some smaller agencies and businesses. Most P25 scanners can't hear NXDN.
- Analog
- Plain, older FM radio. Any scanner hears it.
- Other digital
- A digital license whose code doesn't say which type it is.
- Channels and alpha tags
- A scanner's channels are memory slots for frequencies. Alpha tags are names you give them, like "Fire Dispatch."
- Bands (VHF, UHF, 700 and 800 MHz)
- The frequency ranges radios use. A scanner must cover your agencies' bands.
How we picked
We started from the radio, not the scanner. FCC licenses show which kind of radio police, fire and EMS use in each county. Then we read each maker's page and manual for which of those systems each scanner hears, and kept only claims we could find in the maker's own words. Among scanners that hear a system, we picked the cheapest one, and preferred listings Amazon sells itself so the link keeps working. We have not bench-tested these scanners. Where we pass on a maker's performance claim, like simulcast, we say so.
Questions buyers ask
Can any of these hear encrypted police?
No. No scanner sold to the public decodes encrypted radio. See which agencies encrypted.
Phase 1 or Phase 2: does it matter?
Yes. Phase 2 fits two calls on one channel, and a Phase 1-only scanner can't hear Phase 2 calls. Every pick above except the analog BC125AT and the DMR/NXDN BCD160DN hears both.
Do I need a license to listen?
Not to listen at home in most places. A few states limit scanners in cars. Check your state's law before you mount one.