CAPITAL - The UK's No.1 Hit Music Station
London · 48kbps
Free Online Radio Stations in the United Kingdom
Stream live radio from the United Kingdom for free — news, talk and music stations, playable instantly in your browser. Use the genre filter to narrow down by style, or search for a specific station by name.
Heart 80s
128kbps
Gold
128kbps
talkSPORT
63kbps
Heart 90s
128kbps
KISSTORY: Non-Stop Old Skool & Anthems
London · 47kbps
Times Radio
127kbps
PLANET ROCK: Where Rock Lives
London · 47kbps
Heart Dance
128kbps
Virgin Radio UK
London, England
Smooth Chill
128kbps
BBC World Service
56kbps
Magic Radio UK
112kbps
KISS - The Best Vibes & Energy
London · 48kbps
KISSTORY R&B: The Hottest R&B tracks from KISSTORY
London · 127kbps
📻
Chillout Ibiza FM
192kbps
CAPITAL DANCE: The UK's Official Dance Station
London · 48kbps
BBC News HD (720P)
England
Intamixx 80s 90s Radio UK
London · 128kbps
Heart FM
London · 48kbps
📻
Classic FM Movies
128kbps
KISS DANCE: The Biggest Dance Anthems 24/7
London · 127kbps
Greatest Hits Radio
West Midlands · 48kbps
📻
Heart 70s
128kbps
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Radio in the United Kingdom at a glance
The United Kingdom has 2,515 radio stations registered in the Radio-Browser directory, and 300 or more of them currently stream over a secure (HTTPS) connection, which is what this page lists. The most-played stations at the moment include CAPITAL - The UK's No.1 Hit Music Station, Heart 80s and Gold. Common genre tags include pop, house, dance, rock and 80s. Where stations report a language, the most common are English, Engilsh and Arabic. Stations are based in places such as London, London, England, West Midlands and Essex.
- 2,515 registered stations
- 300 or more streaming securely
- Top genres: pop, house, dance, rock
- Languages: English, Engilsh, Arabic
- Median bitrate: 128 kbps
Radio in the United Kingdom: what to expect
Radio in the United Kingdom combines a large public broadcaster with a busy commercial and community sector. The BBC runs national networks including Radio 1, Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 4, Radio 5 Live and 6 Music, plus services for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and local radio across England. Commercial groups run national and regional stations in formats from classic hits to classical music and talk, and licensed community stations serve local neighbourhoods and communities of interest.
Digital radio (DAB) is widely used alongside FM and AM, and many stations stream online. Rights arrangements mean that some streams can behave differently outside the UK, so a station that plays at home may not play abroad.
A general introduction; networks, brands and ownership change over time.
The figures below describe the 300 most-played working stations that offer a secure stream, based on directory data refreshed on 9 October 2026. A station can carry more than one genre tag or language, so shares can add up to more than 100%. Language figures cover only the 190 stations that report a language.
Most common genre tags
| Genre tag | Stations | Share |
|---|---|---|
| pop | 28 | 9% |
| house | 25 | 8% |
| dance | 18 | 6% |
| rock | 18 | 6% |
| 80s | 17 | 6% |
| london | 17 | 6% |
| soul | 16 | 5% |
| jazz | 15 | 5% |
Broadcast languages
| Language | Stations | Share |
|---|---|---|
| English | 182 | 96% |
| Engilsh | 6 | 3% |
| Arabic | 1 | 1% |
| Engilsh Uk | 1 | 1% |
| Russian | 1 | 1% |
Where stations are based
| Region | Stations | Share |
|---|---|---|
| London | 38 | 13% |
| London, England | 31 | 10% |
| West Midlands | 5 | 2% |
| Essex | 4 | 1% |
| Bristol | 3 | 1% |
| Dorset | 3 | 1% |
Stream quality
Stream quality: the median bitrate is 128 kbps, from the 264 stations that report one. Of the stations that report a codec, 72% use MP3 and 27% use AAC.
Frequently asked questions about radio in the United Kingdom
How many radio stations are there in the United Kingdom?
The United Kingdom has 2,515 radio stations registered in the Radio-Browser directory. 300 or more of them currently stream over a secure (HTTPS) connection and are listed on this page.
What are the most popular radio stations in the United Kingdom?
Ranked by how often listeners have played them through the directory, the most-played stations include CAPITAL - The UK's No.1 Hit Music Station, Heart 80s, Gold, talkSPORT and Heart 90s. Rankings change as listening changes.
What kinds of radio can I listen to in the United Kingdom?
Among the stations we sampled, the most common genre tags are pop, house, dance, rock and 80s. Use the Genre filter at the top of this page to narrow the list.
What languages do radio stations in the United Kingdom broadcast in?
Where stations report a language, the most common are English, Engilsh and Arabic.
Do I need an account or an app to listen to radio from the United Kingdom?
No. Open a station and press Play; it streams directly in your web browser. There is nothing to install and no account to create.
Why won't a station from the United Kingdom play?
Stations occasionally go offline, and some only allow listeners inside their own country. Try another station, or work through our guide to fixing radio streams that will not play.
More English-language radio from other countries
United States8,432
Australia2,199
Canada1,614
Philippines1,106
United Arab Emirates801
Uganda375
Ireland296
South Africa259New to online radio?
Read our beginner's guide, see what each radio genre sounds like, or learn what to do if a station will not play. You can also browse radio by country, by language or by genre.
Station counts, genre tags, languages and regions come from the community-maintained Radio-Browser directory and were last refreshed on 9 October 2026. Summaries on this page are generated automatically from that data; see how we list stations.