There are several types of bat detector, from basic 'heterodyne' units that just allow you to listen to the bats' calls, to 'full spectrum' units that allow you to record the bats' calls for later analysis - some even have a live sonogram display, so you can 'see' the bats' calls.

If you just want to listen to the bats for your own enjoyment, the 'heterodyne' bat detectors produce the best sound and are a real pleasure to listen to, but you can't record from them. Most need to be tuned manually to different frequencies to hear the bats calling at those frequencies, but some will do this tuning for you by scanning the frequencies for the loudest call. For this group of detectors pick Basic Bat Detectors below.

If you want to be able to record the bats' calls for later analysis, I've divided the remainder into Basic Bat Recorders and Pro Bat Recorders, though there is some overlap. The Pro Bat Recorders are further divided into Passive (static) and Active (hand-held) units.

There are also links below for 'acoustic' recorders, for recording audible species such as birds, frogs, etc. and for analysis software.

Note that some models allow you to record bats + birds, or birds + bats (depending on which microphone they come with as default. These are listed according to their default microphone.

Or, you could just scroll down the page and look at everything!

Note that you get a free extra year's warranty with all bat detectors from us, plus a free book or voucher with selected bat detectors!