The best radar detectors don’t simply help you to evade police who are actively looking for speeders. Sure, that’s implied in the name—they’re commonly called police radar detectors, after all. But thanks to a slew of modern features, radar detectors can also improve your situational awareness and help you to be smarter, sharper and more alert on the road. That’s a win for everyone—you, the police and other drivers—unless you plan to only hike, ride an e-bike or take a kayak to the grocery store.
In other words, forget about the stigma that radar detectors are just for cheaters. Sure, they give you advance warning and help you avoid expensive tickets, but they do so much more.
If it has been a while since you’ve shopped for a radar detector, you might be caught off-guard by just how sophisticated these devices have become. The best of today’s radar detectors are nothing short of palm-sized computers, packed with sensors and software to discern false signals from real ones. Many monitor all the actively used police radar bands—a half-dozen, in fact, that include the Ku-band, Ka-band and K-band as well as laser detection for the police departments that measure speeders with the significantly harder-to-detect beams of light. That’s not all; some detectors even know about red light cameras and permanently mounted speed cameras.
The bottom line: You’ve never had more options. Because radar detectors can be so pricey (as much as $800 for windshield-mounted models), we’ve rounded up the best options for you below. From the Uniden R7 to the Escort Mac360C to the Uniden R3, here are the 9 best radar detector options for you and your car.
- Best Overall Police Radar Detector: Valentine One V1 Gen 2
- Best Radar Detector with Built-in Dash Cam: Cobra Road Scout
- Longest Range Radar Detector: Uniden R7 Laser/Radar Detector
- Most User Friendly Radar Detector: Escort MAX360C Laser Radar Detector
- Best Radar Detector For Motorcycles: Rocky Mountain Radar Moto-Raptor
- Best Under $400 Radar Detector: Escort Max 3 Laser Radar Detector
- Best Overall Value Radar Detector: Uniden R3 Laser/Radar Detector
- Best Budget Radar Detector: Cobra RAD 480i Laser Radar Detector
- Best Impulse Buy Radar Detector: Whistler CR73
Best Overall Police Radar Detector
Know Exactly Which Direction The Radar is Coming From
It’s not often that a company more or less reinvents an established product, but it can happen. Take Valentine, which invented a whole new way to warn you about radar signals. And while there are now other radar detectors that do something similar—like the Uniden R7, for example—Valentine was the first to show you what direction the signal was coming from. And that’s critical. Arrows pointing front, rear or to the side tell you a lot—a threat from the front is something you need to pay attention to, while most side pings are false alarms.
The new Valentine One V1 Gen 2 monitors all the common bands, including X, K, Ka, Super Wideband Ka and laser, and does an excellent job of filtering out false alerts to give you a relatively quiet ride. It also does all that with a superb range, almost as good as the Uniden R7 (which we gave the award for best overall detection range). The detector connects to your smartphone, where a mobile app lets you create GPS lockouts (you can ask Valentine not to alarm when passing known fixed-location radar sources that are always false positives). That said, that’s a work-around for the fact that this detector doesn’t have GPS built in—arguably an oversight in a radar detector this pricey.
Best Radar Detector with Built-in Dash Cam
Like Peanut Butter and Chocolate, It’s A Radar Detector with Built-in Dash Cam
It’s easy for your car’s dash to get cluttered with gadgets, especially if you want both a radar detector and a dashcam in your car at the same time. It’s possible to get an accessory dashcam that connects to certain model radar detectors to minimize the space they take up, but Cobra’s Road Scout does both in the same integrated package. It looks sort of like a pair of high-tech binoculars; the Road Scout features a forward-looking camera that faces out the windshield and three cockpit-facing pods—two feature controls and the center is a color LCD display.
You get a 1080p HD webcam with night vision that does continuous-loop recording to the on-board memory card (it comes with a 16GB card) and has a G-sensor to lock the recording in the event of an impact so it doesn’t get accidentally overwritten—so you’ve always captured whatever just happened.
Of course, it’s also a radar detector, and the Road Scout is a solid if not stellar performer. It doesn’t have the longest range in the roundup, so you might find that it doesn’t sound a tone until you can already see the police car. Even so, Cobra offers a lot of signal filtering to minimize false positives, and there’s GPS built in as well, so you can easily mark known false signals. This is also a very connected detector; it has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and connects to Cobra’s mobile app for community alerts and other features. It’s not the most powerful or capable radar detector out there, but the addition of the webcam might make that trade-off worth it.
Longest Range Radar Detector
Uniden Delivers Long Range, Directional Arrows And Even GPS
Uniden’s R7 ranks among the very best radar detectors money can buy. It supports all the radar bands currently in use in the US, including the new MSCD/MRCT MultaRadar frequency modulated radars that older devices cannot detect—plus lasers. And rather than just indicating the signal strength of the detected radar signal, the R7 shows an arrow to indicate where it’s coming from—in front, behind or off to the side. This is super helpful because side signals are almost always false alarms, generated by devices like automatic doors in retail structures.
That’s not all; the R7 also includes GPS. Because the detector knows where it is, it can alert you to otherwise impossible-to-detect red light cameras. It also lets you mark up to 2,000 locations of common false alarms, such as if the local mall often triggers an alert. That makes your drive quieter, with less stressful pings along your route. The colorful OLED screen is bright, easy to read and understandable, and you can get voice alerts, as well as customizable tones for each radar and laser bands.
Most User Friendly Radar Detector
Radar Detectors Don’t Need To Be As Complicated As A Nuclear Sub
You can choose from among a number of premium radar detectors that have excellent range, great sensitivity and smart filtering. But all that’s for naught if you don’t care to learn the intricacies of radar bands and detection settings, and your radar detector is just too hard to use. That’s where the Escort MAX360C comes in. This aggressively styled gadget not only looks great, it’s packed with features and is easy to use. It is designed to detect all the radar bands including MultaRadar and laser, but the way it’s presented is what makes it so appealing.
You get four directional arrows baked into the frame around the OLED color display, for example, and the screen is bright and easy to read—especially easy because it’s recessed to provide some shade from direct sunlight. The best part? You can dial down the complexity by choosing a novice mode which hides signal strength bars and simply advises you in plain English when it’s time to slow down.
The Escort MAX360C also has GPS red light and speed cameras, as well as the ability to automatically lock out known false alarms. Want more? It has Bluetooth and connects to the Escort mobile app on your phone for community-sourced warnings about speeds traps.
Best Radar Detector For Motorcycles
It’s Not Perfect, But The Moto-Raptor Becomes a Part Of Your Motorcycle
We like Rocky Mountain Radar’s Moto-Raptor because unlike most radar detectors for bikes, this one is not a simple box-on-a-stick. The main unit mounts discretely in the bike frame, eliminating the need to mount it on the handlebars and the subsequent potential for theft or vandalism. It connects to your headset via Wi-Fi, so there are no wires or cords. You stay in the loop via a helmet speaker and LED alert.
In addition to the clean and convenient install, it offers most of the features you’d expect in a radar detector—360 degree coverage with a three-mile detection range and the ability to detect all the major bands as well as laser. Unfortunately, it’s far from perfect—there’s no meaningful way to filter or adjust the feedback, and there’s no display to give you details about what is being detected. Even so, Rocky Mountain Radar has found a way to make a radar detector that seems like it was designed with a motorcycle in mind, rather than begrudgingly retrofitted after the fact.
Best Under $400 Radar Detector
A Powerful and Effective Detector One Step Down From the Top-Of-The-Line
If you haven’t noticed, many of the best radar detectors tend to be priced around $450 or even higher. We consider the Uniden R3 to be the best value for the very reason that you get so many key features for just $250. But in between those two extremes, you get the Escort Max 3, a great model that clocks in (just) under $400.
The little brother to the Max 360C, the Max 3 clearly shares some of the same body styling and features. It detects X, K, Ka and laser, though it’s blind to MultaRadar (which currently isn’t a serious limitation unless you drive in Canada or the handful of states where it’s been implemented). You get a respectably long detection range and competent filtering to reduce false alarms. And integrated GPS means you can get advanced warning of red light and speed cameras. Plus, the GPS is used to vary the sensitivity based on vehicle speed. Integrated Bluetooth means it’s also compatible with Escort’s mobile app, which you can use to tap into community alerts about speed traps and other traffic advisories.
One other cool little bonus feature: It’s compatible with the M1 Dash Cam—it’s a 1080p HD camera that plugs into the side of the Max 3, making it easy to integrate all your devices in a single place, attached to the windshield with a single suction cup.
Best Overall Value Radar Detector
Uniden’s R3 Has a Long Range, GPS And Great Filtering
Radar detectors are one of those tech gadgets that come in an enormous price range—at the high end, you can spend $800 or more. Yet there are models you can buy for as little as $100. And you probably don’t want to find yourself at either extreme. The Uniden R3 is, for many people, the Goldilocks of radar detectors. Priced around $250, it offers a great array of features and capabilities. It performs quite well, and it’s relatively affordable. In other words, it’s the best overall value you can find.
Frankly, it’s surprising what you get at this price point; it detects all the major bands including MultaRadar and laser and musters a relatively long range. To help mute unwanted false positives, it has GPS with the ability to lock out 500 false signals. The GPS also manages to alert you about red light and speed cameras. You can configure voice alerts in addition to tones, and the color display is easy to read, though it’s not as crisp as many similar displays. Of course, you can’t get everything at this somewhat modest price point, and the R3 lacks directional arrows to indicate where the signal is coming from.
Best Budget Radar Detector
A No-Frills Radar Detector That’s Great If You Don’t Set Out to Speed
Looking for the least expensive way to get into the world of radar detectors while still getting a solid, quality product that works as advertised? That’s the Cobra RAD 480i. Yes, if you look, you can find units on Amazon for under $100—but we don’t recommend them.
This isn’t the most powerful or feature-rich radar detector you can buy, but then again you probably wouldn’t expect it to be at this price point. It detects the traditional X, K, Ka and laser bands, but you don't get MultaRadar. There’s no GPS on board, so you don’t get some special features like sensitivity based on vehicle speed. But surprisingly, you do have access to red light and speed camera warnings thanks to updates you can get via the integrated Bluetooth and connectivity to the mobile app. That’s pretty cool for under $200. And it has both front and rear radar detection (without arrows to indicate the direction of the threat however). Is it the most powerful model out there? Not by a very long shot. But it’s the best collection of capabilities you can buy at this price point.
Best Impulse Buy Radar Detector
The Whistler CR73 Isn’t The Best Budget Model, But It Might Be The Absolute Cheapest
We already pegged the Cobra RAD 480i as the best budget model, and the Whistler CR73 doesn’t quite match that detector’s features and capabilities. But the CR73 has something else: Arguably the lowest price you’ll find anywhere. The $64 radar detector is cheap enough to qualify as an impulse buy, so if you’re headed out on a road trip and don’t want to invest a lot at the last minute, this is a solid option.
Despite the low price, you get 360-dgree protection (though obviously at this price, without directional indicators). The screen indicates which band has been detected with a color-coded display and indicates proximity to the source as well. You get protection from all the common bands, including X-band, back-band, super wide Ka-band, and even laser.
Some artificial intelligence like Traffic Flow Signal Rejection, helps weed out false alerts from fixed radar systems like radar-based traffic monitoring systems—and you can manually set filters on specific bands as well. Even so, don’t expect the same kind of smart signal processing you’ll see on models that cost $200 or more.
Do Radar Detectors Still Work in 2021?
Yes, radar detectors are still very effective. It might not seem that way because these devices aren’t marketed as heavily as they once were, but radar detector companies continue to evolve their products in response to advances in police radar gun tech, which means that the latest and best radar detectors are able to detect even the latest radar and laser devices used by police.
Keep in mind that radar detectors have limitations, and can’t detect techniques that don’t involve some kind of radiation. For example, if aircraft are used to time your travel between two fixed points, no technology in your car can detect or warn you about that.
Can Police Detect Radar Detectors?
Often, yes—police can detect radar detectors. They can do this in three ways:
- Many radar guns have the ability to sense radar detectors passing through their firing zone.
- Your own behavior as a driver can often give away the fact that you have a radar detector, such as if you brake suddenly when illuminated by radar.
- Police may be able to see radar detectors mounted to the windshield or dashboard. This generally isn't a problem unless you are driving in a state like California where it’s illegal to mount a radar detector to your windshield. To be clear, using a radar detector isn’t illegal in California, so if you mount it to the dashboard, off the windshield, you won’t get ticketed.
Are Radar Jammers Legal?
Absolutely not—devices that jam police radar are illegal on all federal roads and within most states. It’s not easy to buy a device like that, but if you do be aware that you should never attempt to use it on any kind of public road. That said, laser jammers are not yet illegal under federal law, though many states have banned them. We’d advise that it’s still not a good idea to purchase or use one.
