The 5 Best Radio Apps for Android | 2024 Edition

Radio may not be the dominant force it once was, but it’s still great for getting the news and listening to music without worrying too much about playlists or algorithms. Not all of us have the luxury of being around a radio, sure, but that’s where the best radio apps for Android can help.

These apps let you listen to FM, AM, and internet radio directly on your Android device, regardless of whether it has FM antennas. I spent time with all the popular radio apps on Android and these 5 stood out, all for their own reasons. Let’s get started.

RadioDroid

RadioDroid is one of the two best radio apps for Android, even though it’s not nearly as full-featured as some of the competition. Despite that, I still like it a lot because it has all the essential features most of you will need and, crucially, doesn’t have any ads.

Most free Android radio apps feature ads, from simple banners to annoying full-screen interstitial ones. That’s not the case here: RadioDroid doesn’t have any banner ads, nor do you have to sit through disruptive video ads when using the app. It helps that RadioDroid has a clean, no-fuss interface, too. It’s not the prettiest radio app, but it does the job; it’s easy to use and navigate and doesn’t over-complicate the user experience. 

RadioDroid defaults to focusing on local radio, which is excellent if you want an app to emulate the traditional FM radio experience. You can browse stations by tag, country, and language. Unfortunately, the tag and language lists are disorganized and messy; they’re usable, not quite as useful as those in other apps.

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Playback features are limited, but it has an alarm feature and can record audio snippets for later listening. The player can also show track titles, although it’s not as good as other apps (see myTuner). You don’t get EQ or any advanced features built-in, but I think of those as bonuses rather than essentials in a radio app. 

As it is, RadioDroid is an app for those who want a straightforward, ad-free experience that focuses on the content and not any fancy extras. 

Pricing

RadioDroid is free and open-source software. It’s available on the Google Play Store, F-Droid, and GitHub. As far as I can tell, all three versions are identical, so you can download RadioDroid from the Play Store without worrying about getting an outdated or compromised build. 

Google Play Store: RadioDroid

VRadio

VRadio is a dedicated radio app with a clean, clutter-free interface and great playback and customization options. It may seem unexceptional at first glance, but VRadio’s feature set will likely make it an indispensable app for some of you—especially if you like scheduling.

VRadio’s standout feature is the scheduler. You can create multiple schedules to automate starting and stopping playback or recording. You can set the start time, whether it repeats, the station you want to play (or record), the volume, and whether you wish to stop recording at a specific time or after a certain amount of time has passed.

It’s not for everyone, but VRadio is one of the few apps with such a full-featured scheduling function for those who need it. VRadio’s playback options are also great, with a sleep timer, alarm, and graphic equalizer. You can even add your custom stations if you have a favorite that isn’t in the VRadio database.

You probably won’t have to, though, as VRadio has a great selection of FM, AM, and internet radio stations. You browse these based on countries, categories, and station networks. The latter is great if you like what the BBC does, for example, and want to browse only the stations it produces. VRadio’s categories are great, too, with a curated list that makes finding radio stations very easy.

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Other nice features include a thorough Settings menu that lets you tweak the app’s appearance, connectivity, and several app behaviors (such as whether it keeps the screen awake and forces uninterruptible playback). There’s also a handy data usage display on the main screen that shows you how much data you’ve used over WiFi and mobile data.

Overall, VRadio is an excellent radio app held back ever so slightly by the annoying full-screen video ads. If you can live with those—or are willing to pay to remove them—it’s one of the best choices out there for all your Android radio needs.

Pricing

The free version of VRadio is perfectly usable but shows full-screen ads from time to time. Subscriptions come in 3-month ($1.49), annual ($3.49), and lifetime ($8.99) forms. Subscribing removes all ads, adds extra playback screen customization options, and gives you a fade-out option for the sleep timer.

Google Play Store: VRadio

TuneIn Radio

TuneIn Radio may have “radio” in the name, but it’s more than “just” a radio app. It gives you access to a ton of content under one banner—all with a sleek, premium interface that’s a cut above most Android radio apps. Fans of minimalism will want to stay away, but anyone who wants a one-stop shop will appreciate the TuneIn Radio app.

If content variety is your main goal, TuneIn Radio is the easy winner of all our apps. It has radio stations, sports broadcasts, news and talk shows, podcasts, and genre-based music streaming channels. Some of these—like the premium sports broadcasts—are locked behind TuneIn Radio Premium, so you’ll have to pay to get it all. However, free users will still have access to more content than most other radio apps.

Even if you’re not interested in podcasts and music, TuneIn Radio is still a competitive option for “basic” radio content such as AM, FM, and internet radio. You browse international radio stations by navigating a graphical world map, with stations popping up based on their location within a country or state. It’s a novel way to browse, although perhaps not the most efficient. 

TuneIn Radio’s playback features are good, too, with a sleep timer, an alarm, an Android Auto mode, and the ability to choose stream quality. The latter is only available if the station itself offers it, though.

TuneIn Radio is a great app, but it only truly excels if you’re interested in everything it offers. It’s still good if you only need the radio feature, but I’d go for a more minimalist app if that were all I wanted to listen to.

Pricing

TuneIn Radio is free with the option of a premium subscription ($9.99 monthly or $74.99 annually). TuneIn Radio Premium adds an extensive (“100,000+”) audiobook library, live sports content—including English Premier League soccer matches—and more than 100 commercial-free music stations. It also removes the ads that appear on the app’s playback screen.

Google Play Store: TuneIn Radio

PCRadio

PCRadio is a radio app that focuses primarily on international web radio, putting a huge variety of genres, languages, and content at your fingertips. Want to surf the “airwaves” of internet radio? This is the app you want.

PCRadio defaults to an international list of radio stations and lets you filter stations by tags. These tags include genres—rock, metal, dance, and even Russian chanson—and category types such as news and sports. It’s a great selection, and you likely won’t ever get bored, provided you want web radio content.

PCRadio’s international focus means browsing by country works slightly differently from most other radio apps. You’ll have to change your location within the app (which is thankfully very easy), limiting the radio stations you can see. It’s not all that useful, but it’s good that the option’s there.

PCRadio has a few notable playback features you rarely see in radio apps. For one, it offers three playback quality options: Standard, Premium, and Economy. However, the higher- and lower-quality options are only available for premium users. 

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The app also lets you choose from two audio players: a higher-quality player with an equalizer and a basic player that foregoes the EQ in exchange for reduced battery drain. It’s a great choice to have, especially if you want to listen to the radio on the go and keep your device alive as long as possible.

PCRadio’s focus on web radio means it won’t be for everyone. But if you just want a steady stream of music and aren’t too fussed about listening to FM radio stations, then PCRadio is worth considering.

Pricing

PCRadio is free, but the free version is slightly feature-limited and shows ads (including occasional full-screen video ads). You can pay a one-off payment of $8.99 for Premium, but the app also offers 1-year ($3.49 yearly) and 3-month ($1.49) subscriptions.

The app also claims that the premium subscription gives you “access to future functions,” but I wouldn’t recommend subscribing solely for that.

Google Play Store: PCRadio

myTuner

MyTuner is a solid radio app with a unique “one-screen” design that combines the station browser and playback window, presenting all the crucial information on one screen. If you want a radio app with a slightly more traditional interface, myTuner may be the app for you.

Another interesting feature of myTuner is that it shows a station’s recently played tracks. I’m unsure how it does this, but it’s much more accurate than apps like RadioDroid. It even works with FM radio stations that most likely don’t transmit this information publicly. MyTuner also will list any extra content under the station’s banner, such as podcasts.

Speaking of podcasts, myTuner has a dedicated podcasts tab if nothing interesting is on the radio. Unfortunately, it’s not that good and doesn’t offer much in the way of discovery. It’s a nice bonus feature, but you’re better off with one of the best podcast apps for Android if you’re keen on podcasts.

The radio and podcast selections focus on popular local content, foregrounding nearby stations and making it slightly harder to browse based on country or genre. You can still do that, but it takes a few taps and isn’t as quick to access as local stations.

Unfortunately, myTuner shows a lot of ads. It has a couple of banner ads on the main screen and occasional full-screen ads when you choose a radio station. That said, I have to concede that it’s not too bad, considering you probably won’t look at the app much once you choose a station.

If you can overlook the ads, myTuner is a decent option for a radio app on your Android tablet. The basics are there, and you can pay for extra features if you like what you get from the free version.

Pricing

The free version of myTuner has all the ads mentioned above and lacks features such as a graphic equalizer and an Android Auto mode. You can remove ads and unlock both with a one-time purchase (approximately $5.70). MyTuner is also part of the Google Play Pass.

Google Play Store: myTuner

Station-specific apps

I’ve focused on general radio apps thus far, but another option is dedicated radio station apps. For example, Malaysian radio stations BFM 89.9 and Suria FM have apps on the Google Play Store.

Both let you listen live, but each offers extra features unique to their apps. BFM 89.9’s app focuses on podcasts, with all of its radio shows available as podcasts for you to listen to at your leisure. On the other hand, Suria FM focuses more on the radio station experience, with show schedules and chart voting central parts of the app.

The main downside is, of course, the fact that you only get access to one radio station. But if you’re a fan of one local station above all others, it’s worth checking the Google Play Store to see if it has a dedicated app. It won’t be as versatile, but nothing stops you from using general and single-station apps as needed to scratch your radio itch.

Conclusion

RadioDroid is the app I recommend everyone start with because it’s easy to use and totally ad-free. It’s simple, but it gets the job done brilliantly. VRadio is a close second, only because of the occasionally annoying full-screen ads that pop up when using the app. But if you’re OK with those, then VRadio may even be the better, more versatile choice.

TuneIn Radio is also a good option, although it’s best if you really want all the extra content it offers. If you just want radio, the first two apps on this list are the ones I’d go with first.