Looking for a Citizen app alternative? Four options compared
The right Citizen app alternative depends on what you use Citizen for. For fire and medical calls from local agencies, try PulsePoint. For hours of live scanner audio, a feed directory such as Broadcastify. For police, fire and EMS incidents with their radio clips on a free map in your browser, World Monitor. For instant alerts near you and video from the scene, Citizen itself is still the strongest.
Updated 6 November 2026. By Apphesus, the team behind World Monitor, one of the products compared here. Facts about the other products come from their own app store listings and websites, as named in the text.
Which Citizen alternative fits which job
- Citizen
- Push alerts about incidents near you, with live video and updates from people at the scene, in many US cities.
- PulsePoint
- Fire and EMS calls straight from participating local agencies, plus CPR alerts if you are trained.
- Scanner feeds
- A live police or fire radio channel you can leave running, through Broadcastify or an app that plays its feeds.
- World Monitor
- A free web map of US police, fire and EMS incidents, each with its recorded radio clips and an AI summary, next to world news.
Citizen vs the alternatives at a glance
| Feature | Citizen | PulsePoint Respond | Broadcastify | World Monitor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | Safety alerts, incident updates and user video | Fire and EMS incidents from local agencies; CPR alerts | Live scanner radio feeds, channel by channel | Incident pins with recorded dispatch clips, AI transcript and report |
| Push alerts near you | Yes | Yes, opt-in | Not its focus | No |
| Scanner audio | Clips on the premium tier | Dispatch radio in most connected communities | Continuous live feeds | Recorded clips per incident, free |
| Coverage | US and Canada; best in listed metro areas | Participating agencies in North America | Wherever volunteers provide a feed | US, where public dispatch audio is received |
| Price | Free; in-app purchases $5.99 to $19.99 | Free app | Free with ads; Premium $30 a year | Web app free, no account; phone apps free with optional premium |
| Platforms | iPhone, Android | iPhone, Android, web | Web and apps | Web, iPhone, Android |
What each Citizen app alternative does well
Citizen: alerts and video from the scene
Citizen, made by sp0n, Inc., sends alerts about incidents near you and lets people share live video and updates from the scene. Its App Store listing, checked on 6 November 2026, says it is available in the US and Canada, with free safety alerts best supported in a long list of metro areas. The same listing says the premium tier adds police and fire scanner audio clips, detailed incident archives, multiple alert zones and a custom alert radius. In-app purchases on the US store range from $5.99 to $19.99, under names that include Citizen Plus and Citizen Premium. The listing shows a 4.7 rating from about 525,000 ratings.
Where Citizen is stronger: alerts that reach your phone when something happens nearby, video from people on the ground, and a large community in the cities it covers. None of the alternatives here match that.
PulsePoint Respond: fire and EMS from the source
PulsePoint Respond is a free app from the PulsePoint Foundation. Its App Store listing describes a 911-connected app that informs you of emergencies in your community, alerts CPR-trained users to nearby cardiac arrests, and lets you listen to dispatch radio in most connected communities. Its data comes from participating fire and EMS agencies, and there is a browser version, Respond for Web, according to pulsepoint.org.
Where it is stronger: incident data straight from the agency, and a public-health purpose. It centers on fire and EMS, and works only where the local agency takes part.
Scanner feeds: Broadcastify and scanner apps
Broadcastify streams police, fire and EMS radio channels supplied by volunteers, and many scanner apps play those feeds. Its Premium page, checked on 6 November 2026, lists $15 for six months, $30 for a year or $60 for two years for ad-free listening, 365-day archives and custom dashboards.
Where they are stronger: a continuous live channel and archives. You still have to know which channel to pick and listen through the quiet stretches yourself.
Local news apps
Your local TV station or newspaper app reports the incidents that matter most in your area, with context and follow-ups, and covers towns that the other options miss. It is slower and does not cover every call.
World Monitor: dispatch replays on a free map
World Monitor by Apphesus turns public dispatch radio into incident pins across the US. Each pin holds the recorded radio clips behind the incident, an AI transcript and a short report, and the feed has a dispatch channel for each of the 50 states. These are dispatch replays, minutes old, not a live scanner. The web app at worldmonitor.news/live is free, with no account, and shows world news, conflicts, quakes and wildfires on the same map. The police scanner map guide explains how it works.
Where World Monitor is weaker: no push alerts for incidents near you, no user video, US coverage that is uneven by area, and AI transcripts that can contain errors. It is not an emergency service. In an emergency, call 911.
Three questions to pick a Citizen alternative
- Alert or look?If you want your phone to tell you, choose an alert app such as Citizen or PulsePoint. If you would rather check a map when you want to, World Monitor is enough.
- Listen how?For a channel left running, use a scanner feed. For the few clips that describe a specific incident, use World Monitor's dispatch replays.
- Where?Check coverage for your own town in each option. All of them are stronger in big metro areas than in rural ones.
NOTE. None of these apps replace emergency services. Follow instructions from local authorities and call 911 in an emergency.
Hear the calls behind the incidents
The full web app opens in any modern browser, free and without an account. The phone apps are free to download, with an optional premium subscription.
Questions about Citizen app alternatives
Is the Citizen app free?
Citizen is free to download, with safety alerts and incident video. Its App Store listing, checked on 6 November 2026, says the premium tier adds police and fire scanner audio clips, detailed incident archives and multiple alert zones, and lists in-app purchases from $5.99 to $19.99.
Is there a free alternative to Citizen with police scanner audio?
Yes. World Monitor's web app at worldmonitor.news/live is free, with no account, and each US dispatch incident on its map carries the recorded radio clips it came from. Broadcastify streams scanner feeds for free with ads, and PulsePoint Respond lets you listen to dispatch radio in many connected communities.
Does World Monitor send push alerts like Citizen?
Not for incidents near you. World Monitor is a map and feed you open when you want to look. If you want a phone alert when something happens near your location, Citizen is built for that.
Is World Monitor's police scanner audio live?
No. World Monitor plays dispatch replays: recorded clips of public radio, grouped by incident, a few minutes after they aired. For a continuous live channel, use a scanner feed directory such as Broadcastify.
Which Citizen alternative works outside big cities?
Coverage depends on the area for every option here. PulsePoint works where local fire and EMS agencies take part, scanner feeds exist where volunteers provide them, and World Monitor maps incidents only where it receives public dispatch audio. Local news apps cover most towns, with less detail and more delay.