Top five digital radio alarm clocks for 2021

This nice-looking DAB+/FM radio has a smooth wooden finish and a handy carry strap for whenever you want to reposition it. It’s highly suitable as a bedside alarm clock radio, with alarm and snooze functions and a nice, clear large screen with good contrast, even when viewing at an angle. Sound is nice, even and clear, with vocals and speech particularly strong. It even has Bluetooth and line in so you can play audio from your smartphone and other devices, and you can even get a rechargeable battery for it, sold separately for around £20, that’ll turn this compact space-saving radio into a portable one. It’s the perfect all-rounder for the bedroom or anywhere else. Login to find out how easy the radio is to use, and whether the screen is ideal for reading at night.

This high-end alarm clock radio has premium build quality and is ideal for the bedroom routine, with a large, clear screen, alarms with snooze function and a sleep timer for those that love to listen at night as they’re falling asleep. It even supports Bluetooth, so you can stream your music wirelessly through the radio’s speakers. It’s not quite the best-sounding radio we’ve tested, but the sound is very good and spreads out well throughout the room. It’s a radio for those looking for stylish looks a cut above the cheap plastic found in many radios. Login to find out how easy our expert lab found this radio to use, and how good the maximum volume of this radio is.

If you’re looking for a retro alarm-clock radio designed specifically for the bedside, you’ve come to the right place. The sound is superbly balanced and there are two independent alarms, flexible sleep and snooze functions, and the alarm volume rises slowly so you’re awoken gently. The premium build is a treat, and the telescopic aerial saves you from the fiddly wire ones found on most clock radios.

For those seeking a higher-end bedside radio, this compact radio with a beautiful build is an excellent choice. Sound quality delivers, plus it has a convenient CD player for your personal music collection, and Bluetooth to stream audio and access internet features from your smartphone.

This dedicated alarm clock radio has a full-front screen that’s easy to read even when you've stood up out of bed. The snooze button is large and easy to hit, and there's a generous several dozen presets and two direct-access buttons to save your favourite radio stations, plus two handy USB sockets to charge your devices. Bluetooth allows you to stream audio and access internet features like podcasts from your smartphone.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking big brands and spending more saves you from the duds. This DAB radio is frustratingly fiddly to use. Buttons are small, poorly labelled and often fail to register your commands, and the awkwardly-placed display is one of the worst we’ve seen on a radio. The battery life lasted barely a third of the time the manufacturer claims in our tests, and the sound is unpleasant, thin and muffled.

This DAB/FM radio may have stylish retro looks, but it narrowly avoids getting a Don’t Buy. Available for around £50, it would be an expensive mistake to buy this radio for use as an alarm clock, with the low maximum volume making the two independent alarms and snooze function useless if you’re a heavy sleeper. Despite having stereo speakers, it sounds poor, with a rough and scratchy sound that lacks life and bass. On closer inspection the build quality is quite poor as well, and having the screen on top of the radio makes it hardly ideal for use as a radio alarm clock. It’s not worth the money. Login to find out which radios we would recommend instead with vastly superior sound quality.

While designed primarily as a bedside alarm clock with two independent alarms, this small low-cost radio simply sounds awful. It’s the kind of radio that would annoy your partner each morning if they’re already awake. It has a thin, tinny sound with a lack of any bass or even higher treble frequencies. The screen can be hard to read as well as it isn’t very bright, and isn’t convenient to use either. You can’t display both the time and the radio station you’re listening to at the same time. The button layout isn’t good either, making it easy to get the volume and radio station buttons confused – which can make for a frustrating morning experience. Login to find out how power-hungry this radio is, and for a breakdown of how it performs across various musical genres in our test results.