If you take calls throughout the day, good earbuds need to do two things well: make your voice easy to understand and help you hear the person on the other end. Mic quality matters most, especially if you work from home, join meetings from a laptop, or answer calls while you're out. If you take calls from a noisy office, busy street, or transit stop, background noise handling and noise isolation also become important. This article mostly covers truly wireless earbuds. They usually don't perform as well for calls as dedicated Bluetooth headsets, but they're more portable, versatile, and easy to use for music, commuting, workouts, and everyday calls.
We've tested over 365 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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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 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. Their companion app also gives you lots of control over ANC, sound, and touch commands. If you take a lot of video calls, it's worth noting that their default Bluetooth latency can cause some lip-sync issues depending on your device and app, though enabling Low Latency mode via LE Audio can help reduce delay. You can also enable a mic mute control in the app, but doing so means you can't end calls from the earbuds.
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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 want a capable pair of mid-range earbuds for calls and care more about mic quality and noise isolation than battery life, the OnePlus Buds 4 are the best Bluetooth earbuds for phone calls we've tested at this price. Their mic performs better in real calls than their score suggests, as you can hear in this audio sample. It makes your voice sound clear and full, if not especially lifelike. It also handles background noise well, so you're still intelligible when louder sounds, like a subway train, pass by while you're mid-call. Their excellent ANC is another advantage for calls, since it reduces engine rumble and office chatter, making it easier to hear whoever you're talking to.
Unlike the Technics EAH-AZ80, they don't offer three-way multi-device pairing, and their battery life with ANC on is just under five hours. They support multipoint with up to two devices, but their behavior with a laptop was inconsistent during testing, so they're a better fit if you mainly switch between phones rather than multiple computers. On the plus side, they're comfortable, stable, and very customizable through their companion app, which lets you configure ANC, audio, and control settings. It's worth noting that some extra features, like AI Translation, are limited to compatible OnePlus phones.
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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 an affordable way to get some of the best wireless earbuds for phone calls. 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 ANC. It's not quite on par with the OnePlus Buds 4's ANC system, but it's still impressive enough to help you concentrate on the call at hand.
They have over six hours of continuous playback time, which is actually a little longer than the OnePlus' five hours. 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. The Samsung's mic performs better in our testing methodology, but your voice sounds muddier and less clear in real life.
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Best Cheap Earbuds For Phone Calls
If you want a cheaper pair of buds for calls without giving up features like ANC, the Anker Soundcore P31i are a great option. They aren't always cheaper than the CMF Buds Pro 2, so they're a better buy when they're on sale. But you're usually never more than a couple of weeks away from a discount. If you want strong mic performance for as little outlay as possible, 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 aren't as well-built or as customizable as the CMF Buds Pro 2, and their cable feels 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 them. 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 noise around you 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 the Apple's IP57 rating for dust and water resistance.
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 better overall recording quality than the Apple EarPods, they're not as comfortable.
See our review
Recent Updates
Jun 12, 2026:
The OnePlus Buds 4 replace the Nothing Ear as our mid-range pick for their better-sounding mic and superior noise isolation.
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.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best earbuds for calls for most people. We factor in price (cheaper earbuds beat pricier ones if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our visitors, and availability (no earbuds 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 earbuds. Personal taste, preference, and listening habits will matter more in your selection.