In this day and age, there's an expectation that you can answer calls quickly and easily. Whether you're working from home and joining a meeting or you're getting a call from family on the go, you'll want earbuds with solid mic performance. If you're taking calls from a noisy office or a busy street, blocking out background noise can make your conversation easier to understand. This article mostly covers truly wireless earbuds. They don't offer the best performance for calls, especially compared to dedicated earbuds and Bluetooth headsets for phone calls, but they maximize a balance of versatility and portability.
We've tested over 360 pairs of earbuds and in-ear headphones, and below are our recommendations for the best earbuds for calls to buy. If you want more recommendations, check out our picks for the best earbuds with a mic. If you don't mind an over-ear fit, you'll also want to check out the best office headphones.
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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 Earbuds For Phone Calls
The Sony WF-1000XM6 are the best earbuds for phone calls we've tested. Their integrated mic makes your voice sound clear and does a good job of separating it from moderately busy backdrops, like a noisy office. That said, particularly loud noises, like passing trains, can trigger the mic's noise gate and make your voice harder to understand, so don't take important calls in a subway station. On the plus side, their outstanding noise isolation helps block out office chatter, street noise, and other distractions so you can focus on the conversation.
These earbuds are decently comfortable for most people, though the bulkier design can feel unwieldy if you have smaller ears. Still, their battery lasts over eight hours continuously, with two extra charges in the case, so you can get through most workdays without needing a recharge. If you predominantly take calls or meetings with video and are sensitive to audio-visual desync, consider the Razer Hammerhead Pro HyperSpeed True Wireless, which come with a 2.4GHz USB-C dongle in addition to Bluetooth. They have much lower latency with the dongle than with the Sony's Bluetooth connection, so you likely won't notice lip-sync issues across calling apps. The Razer's mic system sounds clear and rejects background noise well, but these earbuds have a shorter battery life, and their app doesn't offer as much control over call commands. Their ANC also isn't anywhere near as good as the Sony's.
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Best Upper Mid-Range For Phone Calls
If you don't need top-tier ANC, the Technics EAH-AZ80 offer impressive performance at a more affordable price point. Their mic system captures your voice intelligibly, and their noise handling reduces constant background hiss quite effectively, though it struggles with extremely loud sounds, such as arriving subway cars. You can improve their noise handling by enabling 'JustMyVoice,' which improves microphone noise attenuation at the cost of recording quality. Your voice isn't perfectly natural-sounding, limited by the distance and angle of truly wireless earbud microphones from your mouth, but you'll remain comprehensible. Their noise isolation is impressive enough for use in an office, but it's a step below the Sony WF-1000XM6's.
On the plus side, unlike the Sony, the Technics offer three-way Bluetooth multi-device pairing, which lets you easily switch between a couple of phones and a laptop for calls and meetings. Plus, their 7.3 hours of continuous battery life reduces the risk of a dead battery mid-call. You can also adjust their call controls to suit your needs, including a touch control to mute/unmute the mic, which is handy during group meetings.
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Best Mid-Range Earbuds For Phone Calls
If you're happy with your earbuds' default control setup but still want a good mic, the Nothing Ear are a great option. While they lack the Technics EAH-AZ80's customizable control scheme, the Nothing have a comparable mic performance, as you can hear in this audio sample. They cut out background noise well, so callers can make out your voice even in hectic spaces, though your voice lacks body and sounds a bit harsh. The Nothing also offer a stable fit with dedicated call controls via pressure-sensitive stems, so they won't fall out or accidentally hang up on a call if you brush up against them.
Their frequency response reproduces voices well, so callers sound natural and easy to understand. While their active noise cancelling isn't class-leading, it still handles office and street noise decently well, helping isolate you from your environment and letting you hear the caller better. Their multi-device pairing also enhances their utility, so you can quickly switch between devices for a smooth transition between your phone and laptop.
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Best Budget Earbuds For Phone Calls
A solid pair of earbuds doesn't have to cost you the moon, and the CMF Buds Pro 2 are affordable and versatile all-rounders. These buds have a mic that performs better in calls than our results suggest, accurately rendering the range where human voices tend to reside, as you can hear in our voice sample. They also do a decent job of isolating your voice against external noise, particularly in noisier environments like a subway station. Unlike most earbuds in this price range, they come equipped with a solid ANC system too, which can help you concentrate on the call at hand.
They have over six hours of continuous playback time, shorter than the Nothing Ear's 7.5-hour battery life but still enough to last you through the day if you top them up when you're not using them. They even support multi-device pairing, giving you some options for multitasking. That said, their bulkier design isn't the most ergonomic, and comfort and fit can vary depending on your ear shape. The Samsung Galaxy Buds FE offer a more consistently comfortable fit, though they lack multi-device pairing. While their mic performs better in our testing methodology, your voice sounds muddier and less clear in real life.
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Best Cheap Earbuds For Phone Calls
If you want a budget-friendly pair of buds for calls without giving up features like ANC, the Anker Soundcore P31i are a great option. They're not always cheaper than the CMF Buds Pro 2, and when they're not on sale they don't offer as good value. But you're usually never more than a couple of weeks away from a sale, and if you're looking to spend the lowest amount for the best mic performance, these are the earbuds to get. Their ANC system doesn't compete with premium flagships, but it still does a decent job of reducing office chatter and other everyday background noise while you talk.
The Anker are also very comfortable and lightweight, so they won't put much pressure on your ears over the course of a workday. That said, the buds can slip out a little when you're talking or chewing. Their built-in microphone performs well for the price. It captures your voice in a natural, understandable way and does a great job separating speech from busy backdrops, so whoever you're talking to shouldn't have much trouble hearing you clearly. They're also highly customizable via their companion app, and their 7.3-hour battery life is enough to get you through most of the day, with four extra charges in the case.
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Best Wired Earbuds For Phone Calls
Wired earbuds are worth checking out if call quality is your top priority. While they're more unwieldy than their truly wireless counterparts and usually lack useful features like an EQ or noise cancelling, they have in-line mics rather than integrated ones. This design puts the mic closer to your mouth, making it easier for the mic to separate speech from background noise. Enter the Apple EarPods. Even though they're much older and less refined than other buds on this list, their mic delivers great recording quality. It can also separate speech from ambient noise so you're heard clearly.
These budget-friendly buds may not be as well-built or as customizable as the CMF Buds Pro 2 since their cable is pretty flimsy, but some people may find their one-size-fits-all design more comfortable than a deeper in-ear fit. They also have a relatively well-balanced sound that ensures voices sound clear and natural. That said, they have an open-back design and lack low-bass, so they may not be ideal if you want to listen to genres like EDM or hip-hop in your downtime. For the same reason, they don't block out much background noise, so it can be harder to hear your conversation well if you're calling from a noisy office.
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Best iOS Earbuds For Phone Calls
Given the ubiquity of iPhones and iOS devices, it can be important to choose earbuds that work well with the Apple ecosystem. The Apple AirPods Pro 3 are Apple's flagship earbuds and feature the H2 chip for seamless pairing with iOS devices. As with some of our other picks, their mic performance tends to vary depending on the device you're using with the headphones. Our testing indicates that mic quality improves when connected to an iPhone compared to our usual testing rig, as you can hear in this audio sample. The mic can isolate your voice from its background fairly well.
Their incredible ANC performance is also a strong asset during calls, as it effectively blocks external noise across the entire frequency spectrum. On top of that, they offer the winning combination of a very comfortable fit, an IP57 rating, and more than nine hours of continuous battery life. If you're looking for buds with a mic that also perform well on your work PC, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) are also worth considering. Their mic renders your voice with plenty of detail, regardless of the device you're connected to. While their ANC performance lags slightly behind that of the Apple earbuds, it's still stellar. They have a shorter battery life, though, and lack Apple's IP57 rating against water and dust.
Notable Mentions
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Devialet Gemini II True Wireless:
The Devialet Gemini II True Wireless are premium earbuds with superb ANC performance that rivals the Sony WF-1000XM6. But the Devialet's five-hour continuous battery life is a few hours shorter than the Sony's
See our review -
SteelSeries TUSQ:
The SteelSeries TUSQ are wired gaming earbuds with a detachable boom mic. While their mic offers a better overall recording quality, they're not as comfortable as the Apple EarPods.
See our review
Recent Updates
Apr 13, 2026:
The Sony WF-1000XM6 are our new top pick for their superb ANC and solid mic performance. We've also slightly rejigged the rest of this article, so the Technics EAH-AZ80 are now our upper mid-range pick, with the Nothing Ear our mid-range pick, and the CMF Buds Pro 2 our budget pick. The Anker Soundcore P31i replace the JBL Vibe Beam True Wireless as our cheap pick. Finally, we removed the Turtle Beach Battle Buds and TOZO T6 Truly Wireless from our Notable Mentions.
Feb 10, 2026:
We removed our 'Best Premium Earbuds For Phone Calls' pick, as our existing picks offer similar performance at more affordable prices. That said, we added the Devialet Gemini II True Wireless to our Notable Mentions for anyone interested in premium earbuds with very good microphone noise handling.
Oct 24, 2025:
We've made some major changes to this article, including adding a new iOS pick which features the Apple AirPods Pro 3, with the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (Gen 2) as an alternative. We've also replaced the Samsung Galaxy Buds FE with the CMF Buds Pro 2, as user reports and our own mic recordings indicate the Samsung headphones don't live up to their mic recording score. Otherwise, we've made minor changes throughout the text.
May 22, 2025:
We've adjusted some of our picks to reflect Jabra's exit from the consumer space and dwindling stock availability. Notably, we replaced our top pick, the Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2, with the Technics EAH-AZ80.
Feb 14, 2025:
Our picks haven't changed, but we've updated the text in the article for clarity and accuracy.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best earbuds for calls for most people. We factor in price (cheaper headphones beat pricier ones if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our visitors, and availability (no headphones that are hard to find or almost out of stock everywhere).
If you'd like to choose for yourself, here's the list of all earbuds sorted by phone call usage. Be careful not to get caught up in the details. There are no perfect headphones. Personal taste, preference, and listening habits will matter more in your selection.