FM, AM, DAB and Internet Radio Compared
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“Radio” can mean four quite different technologies: analogue AM, analogue FM, digital broadcast radio such as DAB and DAB+, and radio delivered over the internet. They sound different, cover different areas, cost different amounts to listen to and fail in different ways. This guide compares them so you can choose the right one for each situation.
In short: AM travels farthest, FM sounds better over shorter distances, DAB adds clean digital sound and station names where it is available, and internet radio gives the widest choice from anywhere but needs a data connection. For emergencies, keep a battery-powered broadcast radio.
At a glance
| AM | FM | DAB / DAB+ | Internet radio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How it is sent | Analogue radio waves | Analogue radio waves | Digital broadcast, several stations per channel | Audio stream over the internet |
| Typical reach | Very wide; can carry hundreds of kilometres, especially at night | Local to regional, often tens of kilometres | Depends on transmitter roll-out in each country | Anywhere with a connection |
| Sound | Lower fidelity, prone to noise and interference | Good stereo; can hiss or distort in weak areas | Clean and consistent when received; can drop out when the signal is poor | Depends on the stream's bitrate and your connection |
| Choice | Often news, talk and sport | Most local and commercial stations | Local stations plus digital-only channels | Thousands of stations from every country |
| Needs | Any AM radio | Any FM radio | A DAB-capable radio | A device and internet access |
| Cost to listen | Free | Free | Free after buying the radio | Free, but uses data |
| Delay | None noticeable | None noticeable | A few seconds in some cases | Several seconds or more |
| Works without internet or power from the grid | Yes, with a battery radio | Yes, with a battery radio | Yes, with a battery radio | No |
AM: long range, modest quality
AM (amplitude modulation) carries sound by varying the strength of the radio wave. Medium-wave AM signals travel well along the ground and, after dark, bounce off the upper atmosphere to reach far beyond the transmitter. That makes AM valuable for rural coverage and for news, talk and sport. The trade-off is sound quality: AM is more affected by electrical interference, weather and nearby electronics, and it is usually limited in audio bandwidth. Medium wave sits at roughly 530–1700 kHz, with slightly different channel spacing in different regions.
FM: the music standard
FM (frequency modulation) varies the frequency of the wave instead. It rejects much of the noise that affects AM and carries stereo sound, so it became the home of music radio. The cost is range: FM signals travel roughly in straight lines, so coverage is local, and buildings, hills and distance weaken them. Most countries place FM between about 87.5 and 108 MHz, while Japan has traditionally used a lower band.
DAB and DAB+: digital broadcast radio
DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) sends several stations together in one block, called a multiplex. The newer DAB+ uses a more efficient audio codec (AAC), so a multiplex can carry more stations at good quality than the original DAB. Digital radio is quiet when the signal is good and can show station names and text, but when the signal is too weak it can break up or cut out rather than fading gradually. DAB and DAB+ are widely used in parts of Europe and in Australia, and are available in some other countries, but they are not universal. In the United States, a different system called HD Radio places digital signals alongside existing AM and FM stations.
Internet radio
Internet radio delivers audio over the same connection you use for the web, so distance does not matter. A listener in one country can hear a community station from another, and stations can reach a worldwide audience without a transmitter. The trade-offs are that you need a connection, it uses data (see our data usage guide), there is a delay of several seconds behind a broadcast signal (see what internet radio is), and some stations restrict listening to their own country (see why some stations are blocked abroad).
Which should you use?
- In the car: FM, AM or DAB for local stations, because they need no data and keep working across regions. Internet radio through a phone connection is good for stations you cannot receive locally, if your data plan allows it.
- At home: whichever your device supports. A Wi-Fi or smart speaker gives the widest choice, and a DAB or FM set gives the simplest operation.
- Travelling or living abroad: internet radio, which lets you keep listening to stations from home. See listening to your home country's radio from abroad.
- In an emergency: a battery or wind-up AM/FM (or DAB) radio. Broadcast radio keeps working when mobile networks and the internet are overloaded or down, and emergency services often use local stations to give updates.
- For rare or niche content: internet radio, which carries specialist, community and foreign-language stations that may have no local transmitter.
Will FM and AM disappear?
Policies differ. Some countries have switched off or plan to switch off parts of their analogue broadcasting in favour of digital radio, while others intend to keep FM or AM as the backbone for years to come. If you rely on a particular technology, check the plans for your own country rather than assuming it will stay or go.