'Truly wireless' earbuds eschew the connecting cable between left and right earbuds found on older 'wireless' earbuds for a fully wireless experience. While they've been around for a while, they didn't become widely popular until Apple released the first AirPods in late 2016. Since then, almost every company has thrown their hat in the ring, with competition spurring an arms race in features and performance. The best entries are versatile, but you might want to focus on specific aspects depending on your needs. If you care about travel, you'll want to focus on noise isolation performance and battery life. Working out and running? Stability and comfort.
We've tested over 245 pairs of truly wireless earbuds and in-ear headphones, and below are our recommendations for the best options. Check out our picks for the best budget earbuds if you're looking for something with less of an impact on your wallet. You can also look at the best in-ear headphones and the best earbuds for iPhone for more options.
Our How We Test Headphones article takes you behind the scenes in our lab. You'll learn how we choose and purchase products and dive into the details of our review philosophy, from testing and scoring to writing and editing.
You can also discover how we produce recommendations like this one so that you can find the best headphones (or earbuds!) for your needs.
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Best True Wireless Earbuds
TravelOffice WorkBatteryNoise Isolation - Full RangeNoise Isolation - Common ScenariosRecording QualitySee all our test resultsNoise HandlingThe Sony WF-1000XM6 are the best true wireless earbuds we've tested. These buds build on the Sony WF-1000XM5 with improved noise cancelling and better microphone performance, making them a great fit for travel, commuting, or daily office use. Their ANC is incredible, and the memory foam ear tips help passively block a huge amount of outside noise, from plane engine rumble to sharper high-pitched sounds. You can also adjust how much ambient sound you want to hear. The mic captures your voice well and separates it from background noise unless you're in a very noisy environment.
They have a warm sound profile with boosted bass and a balanced mid and treble range that works well with most audio content. If you'd rather tweak the default sound, the companion app includes a graphic EQ and presets, making it easy to dial in the sound you prefer. And their 8.6-hour battery life is enough to keep you going through a full work day (with two additional charges in the case). That said, their somewhat bulky redesign isn't for everyone, so check out our next pick for something more universally comfortable.
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Best Mid-Range True Wireless Earbuds
TravelOffice WorkBatteryNoise Isolation - Full RangeNoise Isolation - Common ScenariosRecording QualitySee all our test resultsNoise HandlingThe Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro are significantly cheaper than our top pick, but they punch well above their weight, making them the best mid-range true wireless earbuds we've tested. If you care about comfort and stability, these buds are better than our top pick thanks to their more streamlined design, shallower in-ear fit, and interchangeable stabilizers. Plus, an IP55 rating rounds out their specs, making them a great option for gymgoers and runners. Still, the Anker are slightly less effective than the Sony for isolating you from bass and treble range noise, so you may notice a bit more ventilation hiss or airplane rumble on a flight.
The Anker's warm tuning brings plenty of punch and thump to pop and rock music, though you may find classical tracks sound somewhat boomy, with timpani overpowering complex violin orchestration. That said, there are plenty of ways to tune the earbuds; you can use the app's graphic EQ, presets, and even HearID, a personalized audio feature. You also have access to Bluetooth multipoint with up to three simultaneous connections if you often juggle work and personal devices. The main downside of the earbuds is the 6.9-hour continuous battery life. It's by no means short, but the Sony have a longer 8.6-hour battery.
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Best Lower Mid-Range True Wireless Earbuds
TravelOffice WorkBatteryNoise Isolation - Full RangeNoise Isolation - Common ScenariosRecording QualitySee all our test resultsNoise HandlingThe OnePlus Buds 4 are our pick for the best true wireless earbuds we've tested in the lower mid-range. Unfortunately, dropping down another price tier means sacrifices in certain aspects, with the gap widened due to how much the Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro bring to the table for their price. Stepping down to the lower mid-range pick comes with a more traditional stem design that isn't as comfortable, and an even shorter 4.8-hour battery life. Still, the OnePlus manage to isolate you from noise amazingly; they aren't as effective as the Anker across all audible frequencies, but they manage to cut bass-range rumble about the same amount.
These lower mid-range earbuds may not excel in any one category, but they also don't have any glaring weaknesses. Out of the box, they have a similar warm tuning to the Anker, with similar EQ and personalized sound profile features. Their mic system also performs much better than the score suggests and, when coupled with two-device Bluetooth multipoint, make the buds a solid option for office work.
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Best Budget True Wireless Earbuds
TravelOffice WorkBatteryNoise Isolation - Full RangeNoise Isolation - Common ScenariosRecording QualitySee all our test resultsNoise HandlingIf you're looking for affordable earbuds, the budget-friendly Anker Soundcore Space A40 Truly Wireless are a great place to start. These earbuds don't have as good a microphone as the OnePlus Buds 4, but their warm sound profile is similar-ish to the OnePlus and suits a wide variety of genres. They do lack a little detail in the low-treble region, so those of you who like vocals to sound very up front will want to use the app's graphic EQ and presets to customize their sound to your liking. The Anker support LDAC for high-resolution audio via Bluetooth, an advantage over the OnePlus. But their fit isn't as consistent, so the earbuds can sound very different between wears.
These earbuds have an adaptive ANC system that adjusts to the noise around you. It does a fantastic job of effectively blocking out ambient sound while filtering out low-pitched noise, like rumbling engines, and marginally outperforms the previous pick. The earbuds last more than eight hours of continuous use with ANC on and have a case that holds an additional four charges.
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Best Cheap Wireless Earbuds
TravelOffice WorkBatteryNoise Isolation - Full RangeNoise Isolation - Common ScenariosRecording QualitySee all our test resultsNoise HandlingIf you want cheap Bluetooth earbuds, get the Anker Soundcore P31i. You might be surprised to see yet another Anker pick on our list, but the brand excels in the mid- to budget-range and tends to offer exceptional price-to-performance. The Soundcore P31i stand out at this price thanks to features that are still uncommon in the category, including adaptive ANC, LDAC support, and multi-device pairing. They're also very comfortable and lightweight, with a stable fit that works well for daily use, and their mic does a good job keeping your voice understandable in noisy places. Their ANC can't match the more expensive Anker Soundcore Space A40 Truly Wireless, but it still does a decent job cutting down passing cars, plane engine rumble, and background chatter.
They last a little over seven hours on a single charge, and the case holds four extra charges, so they're easy to keep going through long days on the move. Their default sound is warm and bass-heavy, which suits modern pop well, though the rolled-off treble means voices can lack sparkle. Fortunately, the companion app includes a graphic EQ and presets, so it's easy to tweak their sound to your liking. If you want something even more affordable, the Anker Soundcore P25i are also worth a look, but they don't have ANC, and their mic isn't as useful in noisy environments.
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Best Truly Wireless Earbuds For iPhone
TravelOffice WorkBatteryNoise Isolation - Full RangeNoise Isolation - Common ScenariosRecording QualitySee all our test resultsNoise HandlingThe Apple AirPods Pro 3 are a great option if you're looking for premium buds that will integrate well with your Apple ecosystem. While they don't have cross-platform sound customization features like the Sony WF-1000XM6, they offer a few features for iOS that you might appreciate if you're an iPhone or MacBook user. Their H2 chip helps with easy pairing to Apple devices, and they support Spatial Audio, a surround sound feature meant to create a more immersive listening experience with compatible content.
Their adaptive EQ produces a sound that varies with the device they're paired to and how loud you listen. In general, the sound is versatile, with a fairly flat mid-range ensuring voices and instruments sound true to life, while kick drums and basslines have just a touch of extra boom. They're even better than the Sony at blocking out noise around you, doing an outstanding job isolating you from the rumble of plane engines and office chatter alike. Their nine-hour battery life is good, and they also have a comfortable fit for most people, but you might find they wiggle out of your ears after a while and require repositioning. On the plus side, the Pro 3 come with nice-to-haves such as a heart rate monitor and hearing aid functionality, although the latter's availability varies with your region, so check before buying.
Notable Mentions
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Beats Powerbeats Pro 2:
The Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 are a great choice if you prefer ear hooks over earbud stabilizers found on the Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro.
They perform fairly similarly to the Anker, but their bulky design is less versatile than the Anker's, and their sound isn't as customizable.
See our review -
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation:
The Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation are earbuds with an adaptive EQ feature, which adjusts their sound to how they fit your ears. They're a good alternative for iPhone users who don't like the in-ear fit of the Apple AirPods Pro 3. Still, that design means they can't block out anywhere near as much noise as the Pro 3.
See our review
Recent Updates
Aug 18, 2026:
We've replaced our upper mid-range and mid-range picks with a single mid-range option: the Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro. We've also removed some Notable Mentions and other product mentions that didn't offer clear benefits over existing picks.
Apr 24, 2026:
The Sony WF-1000XM6 are our new top pick for their impressive all-around performance. That means the Technics EAH-AZ100 are now our upper mid-range pick. The Nothing Ear 3 are our new mid-range pick, pushing the cheaper Nothing Ear down to the lower mid-range price bracket, and the Anker Soundcore Space A40 Truly Wireless to the Budget price range. The Anker Soundcore P31i replace the JBL Vibe Buds True Wireless as our cheap pick. Finally, we removed the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro from our Notable Mentions.
Jan 28, 2026:
The Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 replace the Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless as our upper mid-range pick because they offer comparable performance at a lower price.
Oct 14, 2025:
The Technics EAH-AZ100 are our new top pick for their impressive all-around performance, with the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) as an alternative with a more mid-forward default sound. The Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless are now our upper mid-range pick, and the Apple AirPods Pro 3 are our new 'Best For iPhone' pick. Finally, we removed the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds Truly Wireless from our Notable Mentions, and the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 replace the Beats Powerbeats Pro Truly Wireless in the same section.
Apr 25, 2025:
We've replaced the Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 with the Technics EAH-AZ80 as our pick for the upper-mid range category due to the Jabra's dwindling availability.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best earbuds to buy for most people in each price range. We factor in the price (cheaper headphones win over pricier ones if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our visitors, and availability (no headphones that are difficult to find or almost out of stock everywhere).
If you'd like to choose for yourself, here's the list of all our reviews for truly wireless earbuds. Be careful not to get caught up in the details. There are no perfect earbuds. Personal taste, preference, and listening habits will matter more in your selection.