Here's something I think you'll enjoy hearing (see what I did there?): Really good headphones don't have to cost an arm and a leg. Before you splurge on something like the $549 Apple AirPods Max or $449 Bose QuietComfort Ultra, consider one of the following budget alternatives.
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Hang on, isn't "budget" just code for poor sound, cheap construction, limited features and uncomfortable fit? It can be, but rest assured we've found the standouts: Every headphone here is punching well above its price class. Yes, you may have to sacrifice a feature or two and live with middle-of-the-road noise-cancelling, but you'll still enjoy a splendid listening experience overall.
Indeed, not everyone needs or wants studio-grade sound that's been finely tuned by master audiologists. Whether you're doing dishes, working out at the gym, going for a walk or taking a trip, the best cheap headphones are perfectly capable — and decidedly affordable.
By the way, if earbuds are more your style, we've got you covered: Check out the best cheap earbuds for 2026.
The best budget headphone overall for 2026
Rick Broida/Yahoo News
Driver size: 40mm | Spatial Audio: No | Foldable: Yes | Controls: Buttons | Colors: Jet Black, Latte Cream, Sky Blue | Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, wired | Weight: 9 ounces | Carrying case: Drawstring | Max battery life: 55 hours
Any headphone priced below $100 must involve compromises, right? Nope: The Soundcore Space One constantly made me wonder, why would anyone spend more?
For starters, it sounds really good, with plenty of equalizer options for fine-tuning music to your liking. Soundcore's HearID hearing test will even create a customized equalizer profile (though I can't say I noticed a huge difference between the before and after). Meanwhile, the ANC here (that's the all-important active noise cancellation) exceeded my expectations given the price point; honestly it's on par with some headphones costing twice as much.
Other pleasant surprises: Head-detection, impressive battery life (up to 40 hours with ANC, 55 without), a user-friendly companion app, LDAC support (**that means higher potential audio quality** for Android users) and a feature called Easy Chat. Just lay your hand on the left earcup and the headphones quickly switch into transparency mode **— allowing you to hear the outside world —** so you can converse more comfortably. That's an insanely convenient feature I absolutely love.
My main concern with the Space One is the build quality: The headphones look nice, but have a slightly lightweight, plasticky feel. I'm not sure how they'll hold up to heavy use.
That said, this is the headphone I recommend for most people. I'd say you get 80% of the features and sound quality of more premium products, but for less than one-third the price.
- Priced well below many competitors
- Very good sound and noise-cancelling
- Supports high-resolution LDAC codec
- One-touch transparency mode
- Above-average battery life
- Excellent companion app
- Useful printed instruction guide
- Slightly cheap feel
- Drawstring carrying case
The other top budget headphones for 2026
Rick Broida/Yahoo
Driver size: 40mm | Spatial Audio: No | Foldable: Yes | Controls: Buttons | Colors: Multiple | Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, wired | Weight: 9 ounces | Carrying case: None | Max battery life: 60 hours
I'm sitting here listening to Beethoven, the Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel trying to figure out why this $35 headphone doesn't absolutely suck. Quite the opposite: It sounds very nice and offers arguably the best equalizer of any headphone I've tried. Even the battery life impresses: Up to 60 hours without ANC, 40 hours with.
So where's the gotcha? ANC is the weak link here: The Tozo HT2 cancels noticeably less noise than pricier competitors. And although there are five ANC modes to choose from, one of them is weird: When you select Adaptive, you hear a few musical tones, then a pause, then a beep, then several seconds of silence, before the music resumes. This doesn't happen with any of the other modes.
Speaking of weird (but in a good way), Tozo's app offers a whopping 32 equalizer presets along with a 10-band custom equalizer (which lets you save your own presets). And if you register with Tozo, you can access an online library of user-created presets. Needless to say, this is a great headphone for those who like to monkey with levels — and helpful for combating the harshness I noticed in certain highs when listening at higher volumes.
Unsurprisingly, for $35 you don't get frills like spatial audio, head-detection or even a carrying case. But you do get a comfy headphone that sounds far better than you'd expect.
Note: There's a newer version of this, the Tozo HT3, that promises better ANC, longer battery life and other improvements — all for about the same price. We're testing it now and will update this review upon completion.
- Usually priced $35 or less
- Sounds way better than you'd expect
- Extensive equalizer options
- Impressive battery life
- Good printed instructions
- Below-average ANC
- Highs get a little harsh at higher volumes
- No carrying case
Rick Broida/Yahoo
Driver size: 30mm | Spatial Audio: No | Foldable: No | Controls: Buttons | Colors: Black, white, pink | Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0 | Weight: 6.8 ounces | Carrying case: None | Max battery life: 35 hours
If you want Sony sound quality and ANC without the high price of Sony's flagship XM series, the CH720N is a surprisingly good alternative. It incorporates the same V1 noise-cancelling chip found in the WH-1000XM5, but for a price that typically hovers around $100.
There are, of course, a few sacrifices to be made. Sony doesn't supply a carrying case, and the non-folding design could make travel a little more complicated. You'll also have to live without spatial audio and wear-detection (no auto-pause when you take the headphones off).
But the headphones sound great, which is arguably what matters most. I listened to everything from Beethoven to Billy Joel to Bruno Mars, and it all sounded lovely: well balanced, richly detailed, not pushy with the bass. Want more bass? Less treble? Head to the app and fiddle with the equalizer, which has plenty of presets but also manual and custom slots.
Sony could do better with its app (confusing) and print instructions (vague), but that's true of many Sony products. The upshot is that for hundreds less than the price of something in the XM lineup, you can enjoy top-notch audio and noise-cancelling.
Here's a full Sony WH-CH720N review if you want more details.
- Lightweight and comfortable
- Superb sound and noise-cancelling
- Much less expensive than Sony's flagship 'phones
- Multipoint connectivity
- Poor printed instructions
- Non-folding design
- No carrying case
- No wear-detection
Rick Broida/Yahoo
Driver size: 40mm | Spatial Audio: No | Foldable: Yes | Controls: Buttons | Colors: Black | Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, wired | Weight: 9.3 ounces | Carrying case: Zippered clamshell | Max battery life: 55 hours
What makes a pair of headphones especially well-suited to the gym? A secure fit, strong ANC, a sweat-resistant design and a battery that can last for weeks' worth of workouts.
Treblab's U5 ticks all those boxes, with some design flair to boot: There's an eye-catching industrial look to the gray pins that serve as the earcups' pivot hinges and the coiled black wires that emerge from the bottom edges of the headband.
Speaking of earcups, I found them snug but comfortable and especially liked the outward-facing mode-select button, which is easy to find by touch (unlike on a lot of headphones). Pushing it toggles between ANC, Transparency and Off, each mode accompanied by its own sound effect instead of a verbal announcement. That's less than ideal; I initially had trouble remembering which sound was attached to which mode.
I liked the U5's bright, bass-rich soundstage — and here's hoping you do, too, because Treblab doesn't offer a companion app, meaning no equalizer for tweaking the audio. Also MIA: head-detection and spatial audio, the former something I'd appreciate having at the gym.
That said, there's a lot to like here, especially at $90 — a price that's occasionally discounted to $70.
- Eye-catching industrial design
- Priced below $100 and often discounted
- Excellent battery life
- Good printed instructions
- Well-designed control buttons
- Good sound overall and solid ANC
- Slightly outdated charging cable
- No companion app or equalizer
- No head-detection, spatial audio
Rick Broida/Yahoo
Driver size: 35mm | Spatial Audio: Yes | Foldable: Yes | Controls: Buttons | Colors: Starlight Off-White, Sunset Coral, Twilight Blue, Cosmic Black | Connectivity: Bluetooth 6.1, wired | Weight: 9.5 ounces | Carrying case: Zippered clamshell | Max battery life: 100 hours
Budget brand Baseus makes its move into the premium space with the Inspire XH1, an eye-catching folding headphone that stands out in one key area: battery life. Baseus promises a whopping 100 hours of play time on a charge; 65 hours if you enable ANC. Few others come close.
Thankfully, this isn't a one-trick pony: The XH1 sounds delightful, thanks in part to "Sound by Bose" tuning. There's an equalizer if you want to make adjustments, but I was more than happy with the default settings. There's also LDAC support here for Android users.
Baseus did a mostly good job with the controls, though I found it too easy to confuse the power and ANC buttons on the left earcup: They're close together and exactly the same size. At least they're labeled, which far too many headphone makers don't bother to do.
But the ANC here was definitely on the weak side, and I was surprised that an ostensibly premium headphone lacked head-detection. As for the Dolby-powered spatial audio mode, to me it sounded like just another equalizer setting. (Its Cinema option is a straight-up misfire, adding a tinny, metallic echo to movies and TV shows.)
One could argue that battery life doesn't matter much if the actual headphone isn't good. Thankfully, the Inspire XH1 delivers great sound, with great looks to boot.
- Delightful Bose-tuned audio
- Unrivaled battery life: up to 100 hours
- Gorgeous chrome-accented design
- Hard-shell carrying case
- On the pricier side of "budget"
- So-so ANC
- Sub-par spatial audio
- No head-detection
- Tiny print in user manual
Other budget headphones we're testing
There are tons of affordable headphones out there; we're just getting started with our testing. On our immediate to-do list:
EarFun Wave Pro: EarFun makes some of our favorite budget earbuds, so we're excited to see how the company's headphone (which typically sells for $60-80) fares against others in this group.
Tozo HT3: As noted in our review of the HT2 (above), this is Tozo's updated over-the-ear headphone. It adds spatial audio to the mix, increases battery life by a whopping 50% and much more. At this writing, it's selling for all of $30. How?!
Frequently asked questions
What are some features you don't get in the best budget wireless headphones?
Surprisingly, budget headphones offer a lot of the same features as their pricier counterparts. True, they may not have the same build quality or ANC effectiveness, but in terms of basic features, they're pretty close.
However, there are two specs you're probably going to have to live without:
Head detection: Fancier headphones have a sensor that can tell when you're wearing them. When you take them off, the audio automatically pauses — then resumes when you put them back on. It's a really nice feature to have, but not essential.
Spatial audio: Call it a trick of the ears. Spatial audio simulates surround-sound, providing a more realistic "you are there" experience when listening to music or watching movies. I especially like spatial audio with head-tracking, which creates an unmoving focal point — a simulated stage (or screen) that stays put even when you turn your head. Very few budget headphones offer spatial audio, and I don't know of any that add head-tracking to the mix. Again, great feature, but definitely something you can live without.
Headphone shopping includes a lot of confusing acronyms, abbreviations and terms. What do they mean?
ANC: Active Noise-Cancelling, the magical technology that uses sound waves to block other sound waves. Unfortunately, this doesn't afford total silence; ANC mostly reduces lower frequencies, like bus and airplane engines.
Driver size: Put simply: How physically large is the little speaker inside each earcup? Typically you'll see 30-40mm, and while bigger is usually better, it doesn't tell the whole story.
Multipoint Bluetooth: Older headphones could connect to only one device at a time. With multipoint, you can pair with two or more sources: a phone and a laptop, for example.
LDAC: Often pronounced, "El-dack," this high-resolution audio-compression technology promises better sound because it can transmit three times as much data over Bluetooth. LDAC is is available only on Android phones.
Lossless audio: With or without LDAC, Bluetooth audio involves some compression of the signal, meaning some loss of fidelity. True to its name, lossless audio — usually achieved via a wired connection — preserves the original quality of the recording.
What's the biggest mistake people make when shopping for headphones?
Putting too much emphasis on sound quality. (Hear me out!) I think most of us listen to music while working, studying, commuting, walking or working out at the gym. Do you need to hear every subtle nuance of every note during those activities? Do you care about resolution or imaging or soundstages? I think most of us just want sound that's pleasing and well-balanced, with some options for fine-tuning (read: equalizer) if desired.
Every headphone here more than satisfies those metrics. Granted, not many of them excel at noise-cancelling, which is important for travel, commuting and busy offices. **If** you're a real audiophile, someone who cares deeply about "studio fidelity" and all that, **then by all means, go ahead and invest $300 or more into some serious headphones. Otherwise, my advice is to not** get hung up on sound quality. Even cheap headphones will sound really, really good to average listeners, and tweaking the equalizer settings in the app goes a long way toward improving specific genres of music.
What's a surprising fact about the best affordable headphones?
If you compare the Amazon user ratings for the models listed above to those for headphones costing 3-4 times as much (think: Apple AirPods Max, Sony WH-1000XM6, etc.), you'll see they're all in the same range: 4.3 or 4.4 stars. Translation: Spending a lot more probably doesn't make you any happier with your headphones.
Weirdly, spending less might: The Tozo HT3 (which we're testing, see above) averages 4.6 stars, one of the highest ratings of any headphone. While these numbers don't tell the whole story, they do say something.
