The 7 Best Budget Noise Cancelling Headphones - Winter 2020
Reviews

The best cheap noise cancelling headphones we’ve reviewed so far are the Mpow H5. They’re lightweight and decently well-padded wireless headphones. They have a simple, all-black style and have a more premium feel than the Mpow 059 Wireless. They feel fairly well-built and if they do suffer accidental damage, they don’t cost too much to replace.

These headphones come with a great hard carrying case and support multi-device pairing, which are nice additions at this price point. Their battery lasts 12 hours with both ANC and Bluetooth enabled, and although they have no power-saving features, they charge in just over 2 hours. They sound decent for their price, packing enough punch to be well-suited for bass-heavy genres like EDM and hip-hop.

Unfortunately, they have surprisingly poor noise isolation, especially for ANC headphones. Fans of more vocal-centric music will also find they sound a bit muddy. That said, these are still decently well-built, comfortable, wireless headphones that provide great value for their price.

The best budget noise cancelling headphones under $100 we’ve reviewed so far are the Mpow H10. They're over-the-ear headphones that deliver decent performance for the price. They're somewhat bulky and may not be suitable for those with a smaller head, but they're comfortable and can be worn for an extended period of time. With a 23-hour battery life, they'll definitely last through those long listening sessions. Unfortunately, the build quality is a bit disappointing. The plastic used for the ear cups feels cheap and when folding the headphones for storage, the hinges produce a loud cracking noise, which is concerning for their durability.

The active noise cancelling is the standout feature here, and they do a great job of blocking out ambient noises, such as bus engines and speech. They have an overall sound signature that's versatile and suitable for almost any genre of music, but the mid range is slightly recessed and the treble can sound sibilant to some.

The Mpow H5 Wireless feel better built overall, but the H10 have a better sound and a significantly longer battery life. If you don't mind the higher price, give these headphones a try.

If you don't mind spending a bit more, the Amazon Echo Buds Truly Wireless headphones are the best budget noise cancelling headphones under $150. They have outstanding noise isolation, decent battery life, and a good sound. Although most of their noise isolation comes from passive isolation, these headphones can cut out a large amount of noise throughout the frequency range with the active noise cancelling enabled. Amazon provides a variety of stability fins and tips to help you get a snug fit, and they're lightweight, so you shouldn't have any issues wearing them for long sessions. The battery will give you about 5 hours of playback with ANC on, and the charging case holds another five charges for a total of almost 32 hours.

These earbuds have a fairly well-balanced sound, but with a slight emphasis in the bass to give it that thump. They'll sound decent for most genres, and these earbuds are customizable through Amazon's Alexa app, which has a 3-band graphic EQ. There's a microphone to take calls; unfortunately, the quality is sub-par. Speech tends to sound muffled and the microphone struggles to separate voice from background noise. While these earbuds have a good connection due to the Bluetooth 5.0 support, there's simply too much latency to recommend them for watching videos or for gaming.

If you tend to travel a lot, these are decent headphones that'll give you peace so that you can enjoy your music.