The Best Marine VHF Radios of 2025 - Tested and Ranked

Our Testing Process

Over three weekends in May, we put 12 VHF radios through their paces across a variety of conditions on Lake Ontario.

We tested for:

Range — how far we could maintain clear communication

Audio clarity — intelligibility in wind and engine noise

Build quality — IP rating verification, drop resistance

DSC functionality — emergency call registration and transmission

Price: ~$729 CAD

Class D DSC, AIS receiver display, NMEA 2000 integration, and the clearest audio in our test.

Price: ~$299 CAD

Floats face-up, has GPS for DSC, and the battery lasted 18 hours in our test.

Price: ~$89 CAD

For a daysailer or power cruiser who just needs a backup, the MHS75 covers the basics.

*Coming next month: our AIS transponder review roundup.*