The 7 Best Budget Wireless Headphones - Winter 2020
Reviews

The best budget headphones that we’ve tested so far are the Mpow H5. They're decent headphones that come packed with features that we normally only see on high-end models. They don't really excel at anything in particular, but their jack-of-all-trades approach along with their low price make them a worthy consideration. The build quality is acceptable, even though there's a lot of plastic used, the ear cups still feel dense and the headband is reinforced with metal, giving them a very sturdy feel.

These headphones definitely cater to fans of bass-heavy music. The bass is heavy and punchy, but it can sound somewhat boomy and overpower the recessed mids, which sound recessed and muddy. They're suitable for genres like hip-hop or EDM, but for vocal-centric genres, you may want to look at other alternatives. A feature that's unexpected is active noise cancelling; however, their performance is unremarkable. The same can be said of the battery life, which lasts about 12 hours with ANC enabled and take 2.3 hours to charge. Fortunately, they can be used while charging or used passively with the provided 3.5mm cable. There's also multi-device pairing available, which lets you pair up to two devices at the same time so as to make switching between them easier. The only downside with their Bluetooth performance is latency, as they lack support for low-latency codecs.

If you're on the market for a well-rounded pair of headphones that fits in your budget, these could be a good option.

The best headphones under $100 that we've tested so far are the Mixcder E9 Wireless. They have a better build quality than most headphones in this price range and offer a good sound profile that's decently well-suited to a wide variety of genres, though they do perform better with bass-heavy music.

These are a comfortable pair of headphones that should be suitable for longer listening sessions. The cups are decently large with thick and comfortable padding, and while they should be large enough for most ear sizes, they could be slightly deeper. The headphones have a great control scheme with large and clicky physical buttons that are easy to use. The buttons allow you to take calls, play/pause music, and adjust the volume.

Unfortunately, their ANC isn't great and there are better options in the same price range if noise cancellation is your priority. Their battery life is decent, providing about 18 hours with ANC on, though it's much less than the 24 hours advertised by the manufacturer. All-in-all, these are a decent well-rounded pair of headphones that offer good build quality and comfort for their price point, making them some of the best budget wireless headphones.

The best budget headphones under $150 that we’ve tested so far are the Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2. They’re comfortable, easy-to-use headphones that come with an ergonomic physical control scheme that’s simple and efficient. They have lots of active features, sound very good, and feel very durable, which is great at this price point.

These headphones have an excited, bass-rich sound that brings out the thump and rumble of EDM and hip-hop without drowning out the vocals and lead instruments of pop, rock, or jazz music. Their 30-hour battery life is outstanding, and they have lots of power-saving features like an auto-off timer and smart pause to help further save power.

Unfortunately, they aren’t the sleekest-looking headphones. Their companion app also doesn’t feature an EQ, which is a bit disappointing. If you prefer a more neutral sound with a more streamlined design, the Plantronics BackBeat Go 810 Wireless are a good choice, but they’re a bit less comfortable. All-in-all, the BackBeat Pro 2 provide very good value and are among the best Bluetooth headphones we’ve tested.