The 10 Very Best Wireless Earbuds

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Isolation, noise cancellation and transparency mode: Active; Yes | Design: Stemless | Battery life: Up to 12 hours | Water resistance: IP54 | Fast pair: Yes | Operating system compatibility: Cross-platform

For a no-compromises experience — top-notch sound quality and noise cancellation with a comfortable and premium feel — get Sennheiser’s Momentum 5 True Wireless earbuds. Sound is rich and balanced, while the noise-canceling and transparency modes are both among the best of any earbuds I’ve tested.

Even before swapping the tips of the Momentum 5’s, these earbuds were among the most comfortable I’ve tested. They’re chunkier than Google’s Pixel Buds Pro and Sony’s LinkBuds and do feel a bit heftier when in the ear, though not so much that they feel like anchors. But Sennheiser recommends going through its fit-test process to ensure a proper seal, and I found it worthwhile to do so. The tips that came preinstalled on the Momentums were too small for my large ear canals and resulted in a weak seal; going to the largest tips solved this and made a noticeable difference in how much transient noise passed through to my ears.

By default, the sound profile has an enjoyable amount of bass without being overpowering: clear mids and crisp highs. Using the accompanying app, you can choose from several other sound profiles, including pop, hip-hop, and speech clarity. For a more personalized experience, you can also create a custom profile tailored to your ears — the app will even walk you through creating that profile. With my custom settings, gentle strings can easily be heard through thumping bass and booming vocals. It’s hard not to bob your head to the beat when things sound this good.

Sennheiser’s app does more than just assess your earbuds’ fit and let you tweak the sound profile. You can toggle between noise-cancellation and transparency mode (or turn both off), as well as adjust how much outside noise reaches your ears in transparency mode. There’s also a feature called Sound Zones, which (if you give the app location access) lets the earbuds automatically toggle their sound settings based on where you are. So you could have transparency mode on while you’re commuting to work but enable noise cancellation when you reach the office or gym.

In chatty coffee shops and parks near busy streets, the Momentums managed to keep external noise to a minimum — even the loud construction machines at my neighbor’s house barely made it through. And when I needed to hear my surroundings, like on walks through the city, transparency mode sounded realistic while reducing loud noises to tolerable levels.

Finally, the app lets you customize the touch-based controls of the earbuds. There are separate options for single, double, and triple taps, with ten total options including toggling volume, moving between tracks, and enabling ANC. Despite the relatively small surface area of the earbuds, the touch controls are surprisingly responsive: They never missed my taps or triggered the wrong action.

In addition to sounding great, the Momentums’ microphones are surprisingly effective at reducing noise on your outgoing voice calls. During a long call with a friend, my five dogs all began barking and howling after a knock on the door. While some of the noise made it through to my ears, my friend didn’t hear a thing.

Isolation, noise cancellation and transparency mode: Active; Yes | Design: Stemmed | Battery life: 10 hours without ANC, 6 hours with ANC | Water resistance: IP54 | Fast pair: Yes | Operating system compatibility: Cross-platform

For a relatively new company — launched in 2020 — Nothing has consistently impressed me with its affordable gadgets that still manage to feel premium, all while featuring unique designs that bring some much-needed charm to the space. Where most earbuds with charging cases totally cover the earbuds with an opaque lid, the Ear (3a)’s case has a transparent top that flaunts the buds. Rightfully so, as the earbuds feature a retro-looking transparent stem with bold tips (in addition to black and white, they come in a vibrant yellow and pink). The bottom of the case is colored to match the tips of the buds, creating a cohesive look that embraces the techy aesthetic.

They’re also as comfortable as far more expensive models I tested, including the AirPods Pro and Momentums. I hardly noticed them in my ear once I got the fit right, and they never budged while I went about my day.

Beyond that, the Ear (3a)s sound excellent for such affordable earbuds. While the soundstage isn’t as wide as that of the Momentums or LinkBuds, it’s not overly narrow either. Mids are especially rich, while bass has plenty of oomph without becoming overbearing. Unlike Sennheiser’s and Sony’s apps, Nothing’s doesn’t have any sort of automated custom-profile generation, though you can tweak the equalizer on your own and create unique profiles.

Noise cancellation on the (3a)s doesn’t match the Sennheiser or Sony earbuds — traffic sounds are a bit more noticeable — but it’s sufficient for most situations. I’ve worn them on several walks through my neighborhood, and cars passing by were of no bother. If you need these just to block out the chatter of nearby folks at a coffee shop or tone things down on your daily commute, these will do the trick.

While you control the Sony and Sennheiser earbuds by tapping on the buds themselves, the Nothings have squeezable buttons on the stems to do things like control playback, answer or decline calls, or toggle between transparency and noise-canceling mode. You can configure actions for single and double squeezes, as well as pinching and holding. I’m particularly fond of the feature Nothing calls Audio Snapshot — by default triggered through a pinch and hold of the stem, though you can change it to something else — that allows you to record small clips of audio that you can edit inside Nothing’s app before sharing them with friends or transcribing them. I’ve used it to take notes while on a walk — much faster than stopping to grab my phone and jot down a thought.

Isolation, noise cancellation and transparency mode: Active; Yes | Design: Stemmed | Battery life: 8 hours with ANC enabled; 10 hours in transparency mode | Water resistance: IP57 | Fast pair: With Apple devices | Operating system compatibility: iOS; iPadOS; macOS

Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 feature top-of-the-line noise cancellation, excellent sound, and clever software tricks that make controlling your phone hands-free a breeze. Their all-day battery life and ability to seamlessly switch between all your Apple devices can’t be beat, either.

The AirPods Pro 3 look quite similar to their predecessors, with a nearly all-white design and stems that house touch sensors for quickly adjusting the volume. Setup is as simple as opening the case of the AirPods while near an Apple device, waiting for the notification to pop up, and pair — no fiddling with settings required. There’s no accompanying app, so to adjust any settings of the AirPods, you have to jump into the Bluetooth section of the Settings app and select the AirPods from the list of devices. From there, you can toggle between transparency and ANC (though pressing down on the stem will do the same thing), create a custom sound profile, and customize the controls of the AirPods. There’s also a fit test within the Settings app, which works just the same as Sennheiser’s. Surprisingly, though, the AirPods Pro were the only ones that fit with the preinstalled tips. I had to switch to larger ones with every other earbud. Maybe they have me in mind.

As for actually listening to things on the AirPods Pro 3, the earbuds have a reasonably neutral sound profile. Bass has some oomph but is never overwhelming, and vocals can be heard over soaring highs without any trouble. The soundstage isn’t as wide as on the Momentums, but audio never sounded compressed.

Most impressive is how effective noise cancellation is on the AirPods Pro 3; it matches that of the pricier Momentums. When I wear the AirPods on a walk through downtown or to get some work done from my favorite outdoor coffee shop, I barely hear a peep. On airplanes, the roar of the engine is barely noticeable, and I’m able to ignore the flight attendant’s pitch for the airline’s credit card without any trouble.

Similarly, transparency mode is remarkably effective. When it’s active, the AirPods will automatically reduce the volume of sounds above a certain decibel level (sirens, loud yelling, overly loud engines being revved) before passing them to your ears. I used this mode mostly while walking through crowded areas like the downtown area of my city, and everything sounded as if I didn’t have earbuds in at all. There’s even a feature that allows the AirPods to automatically switch to transparency mode whenever someone’s talking to you so you don’t have to take your earbuds out. It’s nearly instantaneous, though I’d recommend turning it off if you often sing to yourself, as that’ll trigger it.

These are the first AirPods to feature heart-rate tracking, similar to the Powerbeats Pro 2 — useful if you don’t have a smartwatch or forget it at home. They can track 50 different types of workouts, and if you also wear an Apple Watch during your workout, your iPhone will automatically choose the data from whichever device has a stronger connection. But while I haven’t had an issue with the AirPods falling out in my year of using them, they don’t have a clip or wings to hold the buds in place when you’re in motion, so I’d still recommend the PowerBeats or LinkBuds for dedicated running earbuds.

Isolation, noise cancellation and transparency mode: Active; Yes | Design: Stemmed | Battery life: 4 hours with ANC enabled; 6 hours with ANC disabled | Water resistance: IP57 | Fast pair: With Apple devices | Operating system compatibility: iOS; iPadOS; macOS

Apple’s newest AirPods — released alongside the iPhone Duo and 18 Pro — bring many of the best features of the Pro line to the base-level AirPods. They have improved active noise cancellation, touch-based controls on the stems (previously reserved for the Pros), and better sound quality than any previous version of the regular AirPods. They have a hard, plastic shell that lacks silicone or foam tips, so some may find these don’t fit as snugly in the ear. I had that issue with older versions of the AirPods (the 4’s were the first to fix this for me), but the AirPods 5 were so secure, I forgot to worry about them falling out.

On a walk along a busy street from my house to the grocery store, the AirPods 5’s improved ANC made the whiz of cars passing by so faint, I hardly noticed it over the music I was playing. That’s not quite as effective as the Pros, which almost entirely block out such noise, but it’s quite good for earbuds that don’t create a full seal in your ear canal. The shortcomings are most noticeable with loud, transient sounds; without a real seal, the quacks of ducks in the park made it right past the AirPods as if they weren’t there at all. Transparency mode, on the other hand, is just as good as that of the more expensive Pros — things sound so clear, you might forget you’re wearing earbuds at all.

Sound quality doesn’t quite match that of the more expensive Pros, but it’s closer than any previous pair of regular AirPods have gotten. Bass is more pronounced than on previous models while still giving the mids and highs room to breathe.

There are two versions of the AirPods 5: one with a charging case, one without. The difference is only $20, but I wouldn’t recommend anyone go for the cheaper model. In addition to lacking wireless charging, the cheaper version also doesn’t have touch controls on the stem — you’d miss it every time you had to pull your phone out to change the volume.

Isolation, noise cancellation and transparency mode: Active; Yes | Design: Stemless | Battery life: 8 hours with ANC enabled; 12 hours with ANC disabled | Water resistance: IP54 | Operating system compatibility: Android | Fast pair: Yes

Google’s Pixel Buds Pro 2 are about as close as you can get to an AirPods-like experience on an Android device, with deep integration with the operating system (so long as you use a Pixel phone). Sound quality rivals that of Apple’s high-end earbuds, and while the noise cancellation isn’t quite on par with the Momentums or LinkBuds, these earbuds have one of the best transparency modes of any earbuds I’ve tested.

As with AirPods and an iPhone, when you first open the Pixel Buds case near an Android phone, a card will pop up at the bottom of your screen, allowing you to quickly pair the devices without jumping into your Bluetooth settings. Once that’s done, you can open up the Pixel Buds app (preinstalled on Google phones and available on the Play Store) to fine-tune the buds. There’s no hearing test to automatically create a custom EQ profile, but like Sennheiser’s app and iOS, the Pixel Buds app will test the fit of your earbuds to ensure you’re using the proper tips and getting a good seal. After that, you can set the mode — transparency, ANC, or both off — and start listening. Toggling those modes is especially convenient on Pixel phones compared to other Android phones, as Google allows you to do so directly from the volume slider that pops up whenever you adjust it. It takes a couple taps, but it’s still faster than going into the Pixel Buds app on a Galaxy phone or other Android device.

Compared to the AirPods Pro 3, the Pixel Buds have more prominent bass and an overall warmer sound profile. Noise cancellation, meanwhile, is nearly as effective. Even without music playing, only transient sounds that ANC can’t typically catch (like the bark of one of my particularly loud dogs) made it through to my ears. Transparency mode is equally noteworthy: While on a walk through a part of town undergoing construction, the noise cancellation let me hear my surroundings even while keeping the roar of the power tools gentle enough to not drown out my music.

Of all the stemless earbuds I’ve tested, the controls on the Pixel Buds Pro 2 are the most accurate and easy to use. A quick, gentle tap on the right earbud will pause playback, while a double tap will skip forward to the next track. Swiping up and down, meanwhile, adjusts volume just like on the stems of the AirPods. Despite having a smaller surface area on which to perform those swipes, it’s just as easy to change the volume on the Pixel Buds.

My favorite thing about the Pixel Buds is their ability to quickly switch between paired devices depending on which one is playing something. So if I have the Buds paired with both an iPad and Pixel phone, I could be playing a YouTube video on the iPad, pause it, and immediately start playing a song on Spotify from the Pixel. Nearly instantaneously, the Buds will switch between devices (this works just as well with two Android devices). The AirPods work similarly, though only between Apple devices, so I’m glad Google found a way to make the feature cross-platform.

Isolation, noise cancellation and transparency mode: Active; Yes | Design: Stemless | Battery life: 7 hours with ANC enabled; 10 hours with ANC disabled | Water resistance: IP54 | Fast pair: Yes | Operating system compatibility: Android

If you’re willing to give up some noise-canceling performance and deal with a less refined set of controls, you can get most of the benefits of the Pixel Buds Pro 2 with the more affordable Buds 2a. Just like their more expensive counterpart, the Buds 2a can easily switch between an iPad and Pixel phone and have the same comfortable fit.

Despite being cheaper than the Buds Pro, the 2a’s sound nearly as good. While the soundstage may be a bit narrower, bass and treble are especially pronounced, and the overall profile is nearly as rich as that of the Pros.

The compromises are mostly felt in the noise cancellation and gesture-based controls of the Buds 2a. Loud noise, such as that of traffic outside your street-facing window, isn’t as reduced as on the Pixel Buds Pro or AirPods Pro. And unlike the Pixel Bud Pros, you can’t adjust the volume by swiping up and down on the earbuds, so you’ll have to pull your phone out and use the volume controls on that. Less important, though still noteworthy, is that unlike the Buds Pro, the case of the 2a’s doesn’t have wireless charging.

Isolation, noise cancellation and transparency mode: Active; Yes | Design: Stemless, with ear clip | Battery life: 8 hours with ANC enabled; 10 hours in adaptive mode | Water resistance: IPX4 | Fast pair: Yes | Operating system compatibility: iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Android

Some earbuds can fall out of place when you’re moving around a lot, which can make them difficult to wear while working out. You can get earbuds with clips meant to hold the buds in place while you’re wearing them, but the clips are often uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. The Powerbeats Pro 2 don’t have that problem: After wearing them for five hours during work, plus an hour-long workout, as well as several 20-mile bike rides, I found that the earbuds never moved around or fell out.

While the sound quality on these earbuds doesn’t match that of the similarly priced AirPods Pro or LinkBuds, it’s still quite good. The bass is particularly vibrant, which helps when going on runs and trying to block out traffic or wind noise. Noise cancellation also works well, and the transparency mode is great for maintaining awareness of your surroundings.

Like the AirPods Pro 3, the PowerBeats have built-in heart monitoring. But where the Apple Watch can automatically start tracking workouts when it notices a change in your movement and heart rate, you have to trigger it manually on the PowerBeats. Doing so (on both iOS and Android) is as simple as starting a workout in your fitness app of choice.

My main gripe with these earbuds is how big the case is. It has to be to make room for the clips of the PowerBeats, but it means they’re not as easy to fit in a jean pocket as smaller earbuds like the LinkBuds or Pixel Buds. That said, the case isn’t so bulky you couldn’t fit it in a small fanny pack or running belt.

Isolation, noise cancellation and transparency mode: Active; Yes | Design: Stemless | Battery life: 5.5 hours | Water resistance: IPX4 | Fast pair: Yes | Operating system compatibility: Cross-platform

While I’ve found the PowerBeats to be quite comfortable despite their clip, some may prefer more discreet workout buds. Sony’s LinkBuds Fit have winged rubber tips that conform to your ear, ensuring that no matter how much you move your head around, the buds stay in place. I wore them on a couple bike rides, and they never budged.

Out of the box, the LinkBuds have a balanced, natural sound that’s a tad less bassy than the default profile on the Momentums. Sony’s accompanying app — which is clunkier than Sennheiser’s — also lets you create a custom profile by guiding you through several sound settings and asking you to pick the ones that sound best to you. Following several rounds of that, the app will generate unique settings tailored specifically to your ears. After I went through the process, the bass was slightly toned down, and the highs and mids were more pronounced.

With noise canceling enabled, things like street noise are muffled enough to let you focus on your music. Transparency mode is great, too. Everything sounded natural, and there’s a mode that will allow speech through while still blocking out other sounds. I found this particularly helpful when waiting for my order at a coffee shop.

Like the Sennheisers, the LinkBuds have tap-based controls that you can customize in Sony’s app. You have to tap harder than on the Momentums — though not aggressively so — but I was impressed by the fact that taps register even when you slightly miss the target. In one case, I completely missed the earbud, instead hitting my ear, but still managed to pause my music.

Isolation, noise cancellation and transparency mode: Active; Yes | Design: Stemmed | Battery life: 8 hours with ANC enabled; 11 hours with ANC disabled | Water resistance: IP55 | Fast pair: Yes | Operating system compatibility: Cross-platform

We have long recommended the Twelve South AirFly Pro for connecting wireless earbuds to airplane entertainment systems, but with JBL’s Tour Pro 3 earbuds, you don’t need any additional gear. The Pro 3’s support Auracast, a feature that lets you pair wireless earbuds to another device — like an in-flight entertainment system — by connecting it to the earbuds’ case via a USB-C–to–3.5-mm. adapter cable. You can also use it to connect two Auracast-enabled devices and share audio, so you and a friend can both have your earbuds in and hear the same thing.

Compared to the Momentums, the Tour Pro 3’s have a warmer sound with a slightly wider soundstage. With JBL’s app, you can use the company’s Personi-Fi feature to create a personalized profile that’s more tuned to your ears than the default one. I preferred to use the “studio” profile, which provided crisp, detailed, balanced sound.

Although it may seem gimmicky, the screen on the outside of the Tour Pro 3’s case is quite useful. You can use it to toggle playback, adjust the volume, and switch between ANC and transparency mode, or you can even use the display as a flashlight by making the whole thing a bright white. You can do a few of those things right on the earbuds themselves (aside from changing the volume), but it’s nice to have another way to adjust your settings in case you often keep your phone in a bag.

Isolation, noise cancellation and transparency mode: Active; Yes | Design: Stemmed | Battery life: 4.5 hours with ANC enabled | Water resistance: IP57 | Fast pair: Yes | Operating system compatibility: Cross-platform

While many will rightfully wince at the price of Bang and Olufsen’s Beo Grace earbuds, I’d be remiss not to mention them. Among all the wireless earbuds I’ve tested, none have matched the Graces in sound quality. Additionally, they also feel impressively light — they’re nearly unnoticeable in the ear despite weighing a bit more than some other earbuds like the similarly sized AirPods Pro 3.

The soundstage on the Graces is wide, and songs sound shockingly vivid and detailed for wireless earbuds. Bass is heavier than you’d expect, though not overpowering, and highs come through with excellent clarity. Noise cancellation works about as well as on the AirPods Pro, which is to say that they block out as much sound as you can expect from wireless earbuds. And transparency mode makes everything sound remarkably natural.

I also like that these earbuds use bone conduction to allow you to change the volume without even touching the earbuds. You simply tap the skin in front of your ear to adjust; right to increase, left to decrease. Finally, you can connect the case to any device with a USB port (or a 3.5-mm. analog output using an adapter cable), and it’ll turn into an audio transmitter that’ll cast the sound straight to your earbuds without needing to pair — perfect for in-flight entertainment systems. That all comes at a high cost, but if it’s in the budget, you won’t regret it.