It’s hard to buy a bad pair of wireless earbuds these days, and with constant discounts and deals wherever you look, now is as good of a time as any to splurge on the pair you’ve been eyeing. The market has come a long way since the early era of true wireless earbuds when we had to deal with mediocre sound quality and unreliable performance, all for the sake of ditching cables. Things are much different now. After several product generations of learned lessons, companies like Sony, Apple, Samsung, and others are releasing their most impressive earbuds to date.
You can get phenomenal noise cancellation and sound quality in the premium tier of earbuds if you’re willing to spend big. But those aren’t always the most important criteria for everyone: maybe you’re looking for the perfect fitness earbuds or for a set that works just as well for Zoom calls as for playing your favorite playlists and podcasts.
Tech companies are increasingly making their earbuds work best with their own products through exclusive features and functionality, so that’s another thing to consider as you shop around. If you want a perk like head-tracking spatial audio, you’ll need to use AirPods with an iPhone, Samsung buds with a Samsung phone, and so on.
$248
Sony’s flagship wireless earbuds offer the company’s best noise cancellation, powerful and lively sound, and a comfortable fit.
$285
With dynamic, rich sound and the best ANC available, the QC Ultra Earbuds are a terrific pick if you want to listen to your music in peace.
What I’m looking for
Whether you’re using earbuds to check out a newly-released album on Spotify, as motivation at the gym, or to tune out distractions around the office, they must deliver on the key metrics of sound quality, noise cancellation, voice call performance, and more. We spend many hours putting our picks through the paces. This includes quiet listening sessions that reveal their full detail, overall fidelity, and dynamics. We also take these buds out into the real world — on rush hour subway commutes, around busy cities, and in crowded cafes — to gauge their connection strength and determine how effectively they can quiet the world around you. We test them on video calls at work and by calling friends and family, who provide blunt feedback on how their mics sound. And importantly, with earbud makers often reserving certain software tricks for their own preferred ecosystem, we see how the earbuds fare when used across multiple platforms.
No matter how they sound, what good are earbuds if you don’t enjoy wearing them? Ears come in all shapes and sizes, so the comfort factor is highly subjective. Most of our picks include several sizes of ear tips; usually they’re silicone, but some companies use foam (or both). Again, which you like better comes down to personal preference. Silicone tips are more common, but foam can expand to fill more of your ear for a better seal. The most important tip I can offer is to try different-sized tips in each ear: you might find that one of your ears needs something bigger or smaller than the other.
Just like with comfort, we all have our own inclinations for what we want from sound quality. Some people are bass-heads who can’t live without a thumping low end. Personally, I care more about dynamics, clarity, and definition from the music I’m listening to. I want vocals to ring through naturally and instruments to be well separated in the sound stage. I look for earbuds that can bring out the subtle details in my favorite songs.
What was once a luxury feature is now the status quo. Many of our top picks include active noise cancellation to help quiet the raucous outside world. Whether you’re trying to concentrate at the office or rest while traveling, noise cancellation can be a huge help. However, some people hate the “plugged up” feeling of earbuds and prefer open-style buds that help maintain full awareness of their surroundings.
Most earbuds these days can reach between five and six hours of continuous battery life with ANC enabled. Some models can exceed that (and over-ear headphones tend to last much longer on a charge), but the convenience of being able to just pop your earbuds back into their case for more juice makes the tradeoff easier to live with.
Even if you don’t intend to use your earbuds for fitness purposes, there’s always a chance of getting caught out in the rain while wearing them. At minimum, you should be looking for earbuds that offer IPX4 water resistance. This safeguards them from splashes of water (and sweat), so they should be cut out for the hazards of daily life.
The best overall wireless earbuds
$248
The Good
- Smaller, more comfortable design
- Upgrades to ANC and sound quality
- Much clearer voice call performance
The Bad
- Glossy texture can make them harder to remove from case
- Sony’s bonus features aren’t as seamless as those of its competitors
- Potential battery longevity concerns
Noise cancellation: Yes / Battery life: 8 hours (ANC on) / Water resistance: IPX4 / Bluetooth codecs: LDAC, AAC, SBC / Multipoint: Yes / Works best with: Android, iOS, Windows, macOS / Ear tips: Foam (XS, S, M, L)
Just like their predecessors, Sony’s WF-1000XM5 earbuds have again topped our recommendations for the overall best noise-canceling earbuds. Thanks to their larger drivers, the audio quality is more detailed and dynamic than before while still retaining the warmth and clarity that made the WF-1000XM4 so enjoyable. Sony has also further improved its ANC and is nearing the same territory as Bose’s QC Earbuds II. These earbuds do a terrific job of eliminating background noise. Battery life can stretch to eight hours of continuous listening with noise cancellation turned on.
Some people found the XM4 to be bulky and uncomfortable, so this time around, Sony has managed to shrink the XM5 by 25 percent. Like before, the company includes foam-style tips that expand in your ears to create an excellent seal — and now there’s a fourth (extra small) set of tips in the box.
On Android phones, the 1000XM5 support Sony’s LDAC codec for higher-quality music playback. And they’re capable of dynamic head tracking spatial audio through supported video apps like Netflix. But even if you’re not using LDAC (or have an iPhone), these are up there with the very best audio-focused premium earbuds — including Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 4, only with substantially better noise cancellation. They’re also capable of multipoint Bluetooth connectivity, so you can pair them with two devices at the same time.
It’s worth noting that there were many reports of battery issues with the 1000XM4 over time as those earbuds aged, but Sony claims to have rectified that problem with the new model by tweaking the charging algorithm.
Read our full WF-1000XM5 review.
The best budget earbuds under $100
$79
The Good
- Standout color and design
- Very compact carrying case
- Great performer for the price
The Bad
- Limited retail availability
- Plastic case can show scuffs
Noise cancellation: Yes / Battery life: 5.5 hours (ANC on) / Water resistance: IP54 / Bluetooth codecs: LDAC, AAC, SBC / Multipoint: No / Works best with: Android, iOS, Windows, macOS / Ear tips: Silicone (S, M, L)
When looking at Nothing’s Ear (a) earbuds, it’s easy to focus all your attention on the catchy yellow color or their fun, super compact carrying case. But at their $99.99 price, the company’s entry-level earbuds provide a ton of features, including active noise cancellation, a low-latency mode for gaming, multipoint Bluetooth pairing, and a decent IP54 dust and water resistance rating.
And the sound quality you get outperforms my usual expectations for this price point. They’re not quite on par with Nothing’s higher-end Ears, but you do get expressive, very enjoyable audio — and you can customize the EQ further in Nothing’s mobile app.
Read my full Nothing Ear (a) impressions.
The best noise-canceling earbuds
$285
The Good
- Most powerful ANC you’ll find in earbuds
- Lively, rich sound
- Stabilizer fins are easier to apply
The Bad
- Immersive Audio drains battery
- Still no multipoint in 2023
- Wireless charging requires $49 case
Noise cancellation: Yes / Battery life: 6 hours (ANC on) / Water resistance: IPX4 / Bluetooth codecs: AAC, SBC, aptX Adaptive / Multipoint: Yes / Works best with: Android, iOS, Windows, macOS / Ear tips: Silicone (S, M, L)
Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are the most powerful noise-canceling earbuds on the market. Of all our top picks, they do the best job at offering peace and quiet from the cacophony of daily life and putting you in a private bubble with your music playlists or favorite podcasts.
The QC Ultra Earbuds are extremely similar to 2022’s QC Earbuds II in terms of design, fit, and sound. Audio quality is rich and dynamic, delivering more bass thump than, say, Apple’s AirPods Pro. And by switching to a two-piece ear tip / stabilizer fitting process, Bose’s latest flagship buds should fit a wider range of ears more comfortably. The Ultra also introduce a new Immersive Audio mode, which is Bose’s take on spatial audio.
Read our full QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds review.
The best earbuds for sports and working out
$249
The Good
- Huzzah! Wireless charging!
- Adds ANC, transparency modes, spatial audio
- Slimmer ear hook, smaller case
- Adds heart rate
- Great sound
- No price hike
The Bad
- Case is still a chonker
- Heart rate is not that useful for iOS users
Noise cancellation: Yes / Battery life: 8 hours (ANC on) / Water resistance: IPX4 / Bluetooth codecs: AAC, SBC / Multipoint: No / Works best with: Android, iOS, Windows, macOS / Ear tips: Silicone (XS, S, M, L, XL)
After a long wait, Beats finally introduced the Powerbeats Pro 2 in early 2025. They carry forward the signature ear hook design of past Powerbeats earbuds, but improve upon the original Powerbeats Pro in several key ways. Beats added active noise cancellation and a natural-sounding transparency mode to the Pro 2; the first-generation pair lacked both. The earbuds themselves are lighter, too, and the charging case is noticeably smaller.
The Powerbeats Pro 2 also feature heart rate monitoring thanks to built-in sensors on each earbud. You might already have a fitness tracker, chest strap, or smartwatch for this purpose, but if not, you can use these with compatible apps like Nike Run Club, Runna, Ladder, Slopes, Open, Peloton, and YaoYao. The downside is that they can’t simultaneously play music and broadcast heart rate to gym equipment when paired to an iOS device, rendering the Pro 2 a better heart rate monitoring alternative for Android users than iPhone users.
The Powerbeats Pro 2 remain rated IPX4 for water resistance. While that’s not as robust as some other fitness-focused buds, it should be sufficient to survive sweat and outdoor runs in various conditions. The earbuds still offer easy-to-use physical buttons and a dedicated volume rocker, so it’s easy to control them in the middle of a workout.
If you’re an iPhone owner, the Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds include Apple-only features like dynamic head tracking for spatial audio, auto device switching, Find My integration, and more. For Android users, Beats has an app that packs in a smaller subset of these functions.
Read our full Powerbeats Pro 2 review.
The best earbuds for iPhone owners
$199
The Good
- Much better noise cancellation
- Improved sound quality and clarity
- Unrivaled hearing health features
The Bad
- Unchanged design
- Sound is better but not top tier
Noise cancellation: Yes / Battery life: 6 hours (ANC on) / Water resistance: IPX4 / Bluetooth codecs: AAC, SBC / Multipoint: No / Works best with: iOS, Windows, macOS / Ear tips: Silicone (XS, S, M, L)
For those invested in Apple’s ecosystem, the second-gen AirPods Pro bring an appealing mix of top-notch noise cancellation and refined sound compared to the original pair. As always, they also include numerous features (spatial audio, audio sharing, automatic syncing across iCloud devices, etc.) that make them an ideal companion to the company’s other devices. They’re also the only AirPods that come with different sizes of ear tips for a customizable fit — including an extra small option.
The AirPods Pro have a compact case that supports wireless charging. Setting them up is as simple as holding the open case near your iPhone. The earbuds are lightweight and fit snugly in most ears. Their force sensor pinch controls are easy to get down, and with the second-gen model, Apple added swipe-based volume controls. The AirPods Pro have traditionally ranked among the best wireless earbuds when it comes to voice call quality, and the second-gen earbuds don’t disappoint. Their ANC is improved over the original model and is now right up there with Sony, and their transparency mode has gained the ability to quickly damper sudden, loud noises that might happen around you.
Where the AirPods Pro stand out is with their Apple-only features like head tracking for spatial audio, automatic device switching, extensive Find My support, and so on. The charging case now features a built-in speaker and a U1 chip for pinpoint location tracking, and the latest AirPods Pro have better sound and noise canceling capabilities than the original model. Plus, they retain their deep integration with Apple’s hardware ecosystem.
In the fall, Apple also rolled out an impressive set of hearing health features for the second-gen AirPods Pro. They’re now able to serve as clinical-grade hearing aids for people with mild to moderate hearing loss and protect your hearing in loud environments; you can even take a hearing test to assess your own level of hearing loss.
Read our original AirPods Pro (second-gen) review.
The best earbuds for Samsung Galaxy phone owners
$190
The Good
- Terrific sound quality
- Crisp, natural transparency / passthrough mode
- Voice commands are simple and so useful
- Good voice calls
The Bad
- Uninspired design
- Midtier noise cancellation performance
- No true multipoint
Noise cancellation: Yes / Battery life: 6 hours (ANC on) / Water resistance: IP57 / Bluetooth codecs: Samsung seamless, AAC, SBC / Multipoint: No / Works best with: Android, Windows, macOS / Ear tips: Silicone (S, M, L)
Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 Pro ditch the company’s more discreet designs of the past for a stemmed style that’s similar to AirPods and any number of other wireless earbuds. Boring? Maybe, but thanks to that change, I’ve found them to be more comfortable and provide better stability than the Buds 2 Pro. The sound quality is even better than before — and it was already excellent. These are right up there with Sennheiser and Technics from an audio fidelity standpoint.
The Buds 3 Pro are also a standout performer when it comes to call quality. And my favorite thing about these earbuds are the hands-free voice commands that don’t require you to say any specific wake phrase beforehand. You can just say “volume up” and / or “next song,” and it happens.
But they’re not perfect: the Buds 3 Pro lack multipoint connectivity, so they can’t connect to two devices at the same time. Just like Apple, Samsung prefers to automatically hop between products within its own walled garden ecosystem. Some people might consider this a dealbreaker, but I’ve still enjoyed the earbuds plenty without it.
Read our full Galaxy Buds 3 Pro review.
The best earbuds for Google Pixel phone owners
$189
The Good
- Smaller and lighter design is supremely comfortable
- More powerful noise cancellation
- Crystal-clear transparency mode
- Very pleasant and detailed sound quality
The Bad
- ANC can’t quite match Bose
- Google still refuses to add higher-quality Bluetooth codecs, limiting overall fidelity
- Gemini Live feels more feeble than futuristic
Noise cancellation: Yes / Battery life: 8 hours (ANC on) / Water resistance: IP54 / Bluetooth codecs: AAC, SBC / Multipoint: Yes / Works best with: Android, Windows, macOS / Ear tips: Silicone (XS, S, M, L)
With the Pixel Buds Pro 2, Google has addressed most of the downsides of the original pair. They’re far smaller and lighter than the chunky first-gen Pixel Buds Pro. And there’s a small nub on the buds to help lock them in place even during intensive activities like running or exercise.
Google’s active noise cancellation still isn’t on the same tier as Bose, but the transparency mode on the Buds Pro 2 is among the very best you’ll find. It offers a crisp, natural passthrough for the outside world when needed. Multipoint support is included, and Google’s latest earbuds eke out impressive battery life that surpasses most competitors.
Got a Pixel phone? With the Pixel Buds Pro 2, you can have lengthy conversations with Google’s Gemini AI while your phone stays in your pocket. Features like head-tracking spatial audio and Clear Calling are also exclusive to those within the Pixel ecosystem. If that’s you, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 are a big step up from the previous buds in a much smaller package.
Read our full Pixel Buds Pro 2 review.
The best earbuds if you own both Apple and Android devices
$170
The Good
- Better sound, ANC, and battery life than Studio Buds
- Standout translucent case option
- Improved voice call performance
The Bad
- ANC and transparency fall short of second-gen AirPods Pro
- Doesn’t offer all Apple ecosystem tricks
- No wireless charging or in-ear detection
Noise cancellation: Yes / Battery life: 6 hours (ANC on) / Water resistance: IPX4 / Bluetooth codecs: AAC, SBC / Multipoint: No / Works best with: Android, iOS, Windows, macOS / Ear tips: Silicone (XS, S, M, L)
Beats’ Studio Buds Plus are an upgraded, better-performing revision of the Studio Buds released in 2021. This time, the company has made the noise cancellation more powerful while also improving the quality of the transparency mode and extending battery life. If you’re going for style points, it doesn’t get much cooler than the translucent color option. These earbuds are very tiny and rank up with the best in terms of overall comfort.
What’s interesting about the Studio Buds Plus is that they use a proprietary chip that allows them to support native software features on both iOS and Android. Plenty of earbuds offer companion apps on each platform, but in the case of the Beats, they work with both Apple’s Find My and Google’s Find My Device. You also get simple one-tap pairing, no matter which operating system you’re using.
The drawback to this dual-ecosystem life is that Apple customers don’t get all the usual bells and whistles that come with AirPods or even the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2; you lose out on audio sharing, head tracking spatial audio, and other tricks. Wireless charging and an ear detection sensor (for auto-pause when a bud is removed) are also MIA, which stings a bit considering the price.
Read our full Beats Studio Buds Plus review.
The best earbuds for sound quality
$231
The Good
- Fantastic sound quality
- Improved day-to-day reliability
- Auracast-enabled
The Bad
- Too pricey for some
- Noise cancellation does the job, but isn’t anything special
- Long-term durability remains to be seen
Noise cancellation: Yes / Battery life: 7.5 hours (ANC on) / Water resistance: IP54 / Bluetooth codecs: AptX Adaptive, AptX, AAC, SBC / Multipoint: Yes / Works best with: Android, iOS, Windows, macOS / Ear tips: Silicone (XS, S, M, L)
Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless earbuds have always sounded fantastic; that’s never been the issue. But previous models in the series have been tainted a bit by bugs, unsteady performance, and battery reliability problems. The fourth-gen pair finally gets that part right while continuing to offer tremendous, detailed sound quality that stands above nearly all competitors. They’re a joy to listen to. The active noise cancellation can’t compete with the likes of Apple, Sony, and Bose, but if you care more about lush, intricate sound, the MTW4 won’t disappoint in the slightest.
These earbuds come with optional wing tips to help keep them securely locked in your ears. That could prove helpful for running or when hitting the gym. Sennheiser allows for plenty of EQ customization using its mobile app, and the Momentum True Wireless 4 support a range of Bluetooth codecs, including AAC, SBC, AptX, and AptX Adaptive. Sennheiser has also promised that they’re LE Audio and Auracast-ready for when those features become more widespread.
Read our full Momentum True Wireless 4 review.
The best earbuds for voice calls on iPhone
$119
The Good
- Upgraded sound quality
- Voice isolation can noticeably improve call clarity
- Deep Apple ecosystem integration
The Bad
- No wireless charging
- No built-in speaker on the case
- No proper multipoint
Noise cancellation: Optional / Battery life: 5 hours / Water resistance: IP54 / Bluetooth codecs: AAC, SBC / Multipoint: No / Works best with: iOS, Windows, macOS / Ear tips: None
Apple’s AirPods 4 come in two different versions, with a higher-priced option that includes active noise cancellation and wireless charging. But sound quality is identical on both sets, and equally as important in this case is that the same can be said of voice call clarity.
On the AirPods 4, there’s a new “voice isolation” feature — enabled by default — that uses machine learning both on the earbuds and your iPhone to eliminate distracting background noise on your end so that you come through clearly to whoever you’re speaking with.
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
Overall call quality is excellent with the AirPods 4. And beyond that, compared to the third-gen model, you can expect upgraded audio quality (with richer bass), new ways of interacting with Siri through head movements, and yes… there’s a USB-C connector on the included charging case, as opposed to a Lightning port.
The AirPods still have a one-size-fits-most hard plastic form factor, so I recommend trying them before committing to a purchase. However, Apple says it used more than 50 million data points to further refine the contours and overall stability of its latest earbuds. So, if previous models worked well for you, these seem like a safe bet. The only question is whether you feel like spending a little more to gain ANC, a transparency mode, wireless charging, and a built-in speaker for Find My location tracking.
Read our full AirPods 4 review.
The best earbuds for voice calls on Android
$190
The Good
- Terrific sound quality
- Crisp, natural transparency / passthrough mode
- Voice commands are simple and so useful
- Good voice calls
The Bad
- Uninspired design
- Midtier noise cancellation performance
- No true multipoint
Noise cancellation: Yes / Battery life: 6 hours (ANC on) / Water resistance: IP57 / Bluetooth codecs: Samsung seamless, AAC, SBC / Multipoint: No / Works best with: Android, Windows, macOS / Ear tips: Silicone (S, M, L)
Sony’s unconventional LinkBuds were our longtime pick for the clearest voice calls on Android, but we haven’t had the chance to review their successors. For now, the aforementioned Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are an easy-to-recommend choice. The built-in “voice pickup unit” detects the movement of your mouth to help isolate your voice from background noise and keep conversations clear.
The Buds 3 Pro have proven dependable for me during video chats on Google Meet, and people have been able to hear me without issue, even when I’m answering a quick call on the street.
Read our full Galaxy Buds 3 Pro review.
Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge except where specified
Update, June 5th: Updated to reflect current pricing and availability, along with several new links.
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