The 6 Best Megaphones
Updated by · How we research
Six megaphones and bullhorns compared on mic style, batteries or charging, sirens and music playback. The Pyle PMP53IN, with its palm mic on a cord, leads. When users buy our independently chosen editorial picks, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
The watts and yard ranges printed on megaphone boxes are sales claims, and real reach in wind or a noisy crowd is far shorter. A mic on a cord often matters more, since holding the horn away from your face helps stop the squeal of feedback. These picks suit coaches, rally organizers, tour guides and young firefighter fans.
Editor's Notes
October 27, 2026, by Ezvid Wiki Editors:
The Pyle PMP53IN takes over the top of the list. Its palm mic rides on a coiled cord, so you can hold the horn away from your face, and that does more for a low-cost megaphone than any wattage figure on the box. The Pyle PMP20 stays as the simple, cheap choice, and the ThunderPower THUN1200 and the Dress Up America Firefighter stay too.
Four entries are gone. The Pyle PA is now sold as a wireless version of the Pyle PMP53IN, so keeping it would have meant listing nearly the same horn twice. The Pyle Portable has no current price and little stock, the Knox Mini Handheld is unavailable, and the Rise Aquatics plastic cone is no longer sold. New are the rechargeable Pyle PMP45R and the MyMealivos 50W, which plays music from a phone and records long messages.
No lab has published loudness or range measurements for these horns, so we compared mic layout, power options and recorder length from makers' specs and photos, read an engineering forum thread on why small horns sound thin, and checked every brand against the federal recall database.
Earlier notes
March 23, 2021, by Sheila O'Neill:
We removed the Kestrel Blue Ocean and MyMealivos Professional during this update due to availability issues.
New to the list, the Pyle Bullhorn is a good choice for someone who wants more features than a simple model like the Pyle Speaker can offer but doesn't want to pay extra for all the bells and whistles of the Pyle PA. It has a handheld mic, a built-in siren, and an aux port that can be used to stream audio from devices like smartphones and mp3 players.
We also decided to add an electricity-free option in this update: the Rise Aquatics Plastic. Whether you want something that can survive being dropped or you don't want to have to keep buying batteries, this simple model can be a good choice. Unfortunately, it doesn't provide as much amplification as powered alternatives.
February 17, 2020, by Alexander Rennie:
We added five new entries during this update, removing three that we found to have questionable quality and availability issues.
Our new top pick overall, the Pyle PA, is one of those new additions. Brought in to replace the outdated Pyle Bullhorn as our Bluetooth option, the Pyle PA has all the tech connectivity features you want, while at the same time being an affordable, solidly built megaphone.
Pyle continues to dominate the market by making reliable audio products like this, and I really don't see them getting knocked off the #1 spot any time soon.
Another Pyle we added was the Pyle Speaker. This compact option has an almost unbelievably low price tag, but still packs a punch with 20 watts of power. Similarly-priced products are almost certainly going to be of lower quality, so if you’re looking for something on a budget, the Pyle Speaker is exactly what you need.
To beef up our list with some more power, we also added the Thunderpower 1200. It’s big, bulky, and expensive, but if you want to be absolutely sure people are going to hear you, it’s going to do the job.
A really interesting model we came across during our research was the MyMealivos Professional. Its voice-recording feature allows you to store a message up to 15 seconds long that, by pressing a button, will replay through the megaphone. I’m sure there are many users who find themselves repeating the same announcement or reminder over and over, and would love to automate the process with a feature like this.
Special Honors
Omnicheer Megaphones Omnicheer, a cheerleading supplier, sells the plain plastic cheer cones that megaphones started as, in several lengths and a range of team colors. They need no batteries, and there's nothing inside to get wet, which makes them a fit for cheer squads, swim meets and pool decks. They're far quieter than an electric horn, but they never run out of power. omnicheer.com
Electric Horns And Plain Cones
A megaphone, bullhorn or loudhailer is a cone that gathers your voice and aims it in one direction.
A megaphone, bullhorn or loudhailer is a cone that gathers your voice and aims it in one direction. The cone helps match the voice to the open air, and a longer, narrower horn throws sound farther (Wikipedia: Megaphone). Since the 1960s, electric models with a microphone, a battery amplifier and a horn speaker have mostly replaced the plain cone.
The plain cone hasn't gone away. Cheerleaders still use it, and so do lifeguards, because there's nothing inside to short out when it gets wet. Cheer suppliers such as Omnicheer sell plastic cones in several lengths and team colors, which suit a squad better than a party-favor pack.
Electric models come in two common layouts. On compact ones, like the Pyle PMP20, you speak into the back of the horn. Larger ones add a palm mic on a coiled cord, plus a strap, a siren and often a jack for music. A few also record a message to replay or stream audio from a phone over Bluetooth.
Watts, Yards And Why They All Sound Thin
Ranges on megaphone boxes run from a few hundred feet to more than a mile. They're the makers' own numbers, and they assume quiet, open ground. Wind, crowd noise and buildings cut them sharply.
Electronics engineers on the EEVblog forum explain why low-cost megaphones sound harsh. Small drivers distort when pushed, a folded horn is too small to carry deep tones, and a mic close to the horn picks up its own output, so feedback caps the usable volume. One poster found an amplifier chip rated near 5 watts inside a unit sold as 40 watts. That's a forum discussion, not a lab test, but it fits the physics.
So read wattage as a rough size class. A 20-watt compact covers a classroom, a playground or a small tour group. For a sports field, a parade route or a crowd that's talking, a 40- or 50-watt model with a corded mic is the safer bet. A thin, horn-like voice is normal for every model; clear speech, not raw volume, is what gets the message across.
Batteries, Hearing And Local Noise Rules
Most megaphones still run on C or D cells: four in a compact model, six or eight in a big one. Alkaline cells add weight and cost, so a rechargeable pack pays off if you use the horn every week. Models that take both are the most flexible, since a dead pack doesn't end the event. For a horn that sits in a closet for emergencies, fresh cells are the simpler choice.
A megaphone is loud enough to hurt. NIOSH, the federal workplace-safety agency, recommends limiting noise exposure to 85 decibels averaged over eight hours (CDC/NIOSH), and ThunderPower rates its siren at 122 decibels. Point the horn away from faces, keep it off your own shoulder when the siren is on, and don't let kids aim it at each other's ears.
Rules vary by place. In the U.S., governments can limit megaphones by loudness, time of day or neighborhood, but not by what you say (Wikipedia: Megaphone). Check your city's noise ordinance and permit rules before a rally or a march, and don't use a siren in a way that could be mistaken for an emergency vehicle.
How we researched this
We compared about 20 megaphones and bullhorns from a dozen brands, from compact handhelds to rechargeable and Bluetooth models, a heavy-duty horn and a kids' toy. We read makers' specs and product photos, checking battery type and what's in the box where the two disagreed, plus Wikipedia's history of the megaphone, an EEVblog engineering thread on megaphone sound, NIOSH noise guidance and owner feedback patterns. We checked every brand for recalls in the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's SaferProducts database and found none. We found no independent loudness or range test of any megaphone.
Frequently asked questions
Is a bullhorn the same thing as a megaphone?
Yes. Bullhorn, megaphone and loudhailer all name a horn that makes a voice louder and aims it. In everyday use, bullhorn usually means the electric kind with a trigger grip, while megaphone also covers the plain cheer cone.
How many watts does a megaphone need?
Treat watts as a size class, not a promise. A 20-watt compact covers a classroom, a playground or a small tour group. For a sports field, a parade route or a noisy crowd, a 40- to 50-watt model with a corded mic is the safer choice. The ranges on boxes assume quiet, open ground.
Should I buy a rechargeable megaphone or one that takes batteries?
If you use it every week, a rechargeable pack saves money. If it lives in a closet for emergencies, C or D cells are simpler, because a stored pack slowly loses its charge. Models that take both, such as the Pyle PMP45R and the MyMealivos 50W, cover either case.
Can a megaphone play music?
Only some can. Models with an aux jack, such as the Pyle PMP53IN, play music through a cable from a phone, and Bluetooth models such as the MyMealivos 50W stream without one. Expect thin, tinny sound, because the horn is built for voice and sirens, not bass.
Do I need a permit to use a megaphone at a protest?
It depends on where you are. In the U.S., cities can limit amplified sound by volume, time of day or neighborhood, and some require a permit for amplified sound at rallies in parks or streets. They can't restrict what you say. Check your city's noise ordinance before the event.
Is there a megaphone that doesn't need batteries?
Yes, the plain cone. Cheer and lifeguard cones work with your voice alone, and water can't hurt them. They're much quieter than an electric horn, but they never run out of power. Cheer suppliers sell them in several lengths.
