Thanks to their portable and convenient design, earbuds and in-ear headphones can be excellent daily options. However, they generally don't have the best microphone quality, especially when relying on a Bluetooth connection. In comparison, Bluetooth headsets designed for phone calls may have better microphones, but they often only have one earbud, making them less than ideal for listening to music during your daily commute or at work. Luckily, there are more and more earbuds on the market that strike a balance between call quality and casual versatility, which is great if you work from home or take calls on the go.
We've tested over 350 pairs of earbuds and in-ear headphones, and below are our recommendations for the best earbuds with mic capabilities to buy. If you're looking for our top picks for other earbuds and in-ear headphones, check our recommendations for the best in-ear headphones, the best true wireless earbuds, and the best Bluetooth headsets for phone calls.
Quick Look
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Best Earbuds With A Mic
WirelessTruly WirelessNoise Handling7.0Recording Quality5.2Sports And Fitness8.1Travel8.6Office Work7.9Wireless Gaming (In Development)6.1Wired Gaming (In Development)5.9Audio Reproduction Accuracy8.5Noise Isolation9.1Microphone (In Development)6.2See all our test resultsFrequency Response Consistency8.9The best earphones with mic capabilities we've tested are the Technics EAH-AZ100. These buds are true all-rounders, featuring a mic that allows you to take calls on the go. While their mic performance might seem a little underwhelming based on our tests, it's worth noting that the mic employs a noise gate that negatively interacts with our test, lowering their recording quality score. In practice, your voice is clear and easy to understand, sounding distinct from busy backgrounds. There's a lot going for these buds if you plan on making them your daily drivers: a bass-heavy tuning (with adjustable EQ and presets via the app), great build quality, and three-way Bluetooth multipoint, allowing you to keep all your devices connected simultaneously.
They're even equipped with active noise cancelling (ANC) that does a superb job of blocking out external noise. In practice, you'll be able to hear the person you're talking to in a virtual meeting, even when located in a busy office. Their continuous battery life is longer than that of most of the competition, lasting 12 hours, with an additional 1.5 charges available in the case. If you need lower latency for gaming while on a Discord call, the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds feature a USB-C dongle that allows you to connect to phones, computers, and PlayStation consoles for reduced delay. However, they can't remain connected to three devices at once and can't block out noise as well as the Technics can.
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Best Mid-Range Earbuds With A Mic
WirelessTruly WirelessNoise Handling7.4Recording Quality6.0Sports And Fitness7.9Travel7.9Office Work7.6Wireless Gaming (In Development)5.8Wired Gaming (In Development)5.6Audio Reproduction Accuracy7.8Noise Isolation8.2Microphone (In Development)6.8See all our test resultsFrequency Response Consistency9.0The best earphones with mic capabilities we've tested in the mid-range are the CMF Buds Pro 2. While they don't support multi-device pairing with as many devices as the Technics EAH-AZ100, they make up for it with their edge in microphone noise handling. Your voice sounds less distant thanks to their stick design, and your speech remains easy to follow even in noisier environments. They have a bass boost, making them more well-suited for bass heads, but you can tune down their low-end with the OS-agnostic phone app.
These comfortable buds are equipped with a very good ANC system. They don't block out quite as much noise as our top pick, but you can still tune out chatty coworkers with ease. With the ANC on, they last over six hours, and there are three extra charges in the case if they need a small boost to get through the day. While their touch controls can be a bit fussy compared to our top pick, the CMF's case has a nifty control dial that serves as an additional configurable control input.
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Best Budget Earphones With A Mic
WirelessTruly WirelessNoise Handling6.5Recording Quality7.8Sports And Fitness7.2Travel7.0Office Work6.9Wireless Gaming (In Development)6.3Wired Gaming (In Development)6.1Audio Reproduction Accuracy7.7Noise Isolation6.3Microphone (In Development)7.1See all our test resultsFrequency Response Consistency8.5If you're on a budget, the best earbuds with microphone capabilities are the JBL Vibe Beam True Wireless. They offer better microphone recording quality than the picks so far: your voice is clear and easy to understand over the phone. However, the JBL headphones lack ANC and have worse mic noise handling, making them less adaptable in noisy or suboptimal calling conditions. They aren't the worst performers in noise isolation and mic noise handling, though. The JBL keep you isolated from most background chatter, and their mic system isolates your voice passably, provided you aren't enveloped in the noise of a subway platform at rush hour.
Unique to this list, these earbuds have a balanced default sound profile that you can adjust with an in-app parametric EQ. They also last approximately eight hours of continuous use, allowing you to get through a workday without needing to recharge. While they also aren't as comfortable as previous picks and can fall out of your ears after a while, their lower price and balanced sound make them a worthwhile purchase, depending on your needs.
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Best Premium Earbuds With A Mic
WirelessTruly WirelessNoise Handling7.8Recording Quality6.6Sports And Fitness8.1Travel8.3Office Work8.1Wireless Gaming (In Development)6.2Wired Gaming (In Development)6.1Audio Reproduction Accuracy7.5Noise Isolation9.4Microphone (In Development)7.3See all our test resultsFrequency Response Consistency8.9Like the Technics EAH-AZ100, the Devialet Gemini II True Wireless are earbuds with outstanding ANC that do an incredible job blocking out sounds across the full frequency spectrum, including chatty coworkers and airplane cabin noise. Where they differ from the Technics is their premium price point, which gets you a more consistent sound and slightly better noise cancelling than our top pick. If you find yourself in long conversations, though, the Devialet's battery will tap out just under five hours, while the Technics lasts over twelve. That said, the onboard microphone performance of the Devialet is on par with the top performers on this list; the decent recording quality and very good noise handling ensure that whoever you're speaking to will be able to hear you clearly, even in a loud environment.
There's no shortage of good ergonomics on these premium buds; they're comfortable, have great build quality, and offer stability, allowing you to wear them for hours. If you take a break from long meetings and want to listen to some tunes, these buds can utilize the aptX codec to stream Hi-Res audio, and they have excellent control of their sound profile. Ultimately, the choice is down to personal preference, but if you're looking for earbuds to make calls with and are willing to pay a premium for remarkable ANC performance, the Devialet are worth considering.
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Best Wired Earbuds With A Mic
WirelessNoNoise Handling6.0Recording Quality8.7Commute/Travel5.4Sports/Fitness6.7Office5.9Wireless Gaming4.8See all our test resultsWired Gaming6.8If you prefer a wired design, consider the SteelSeries TUSQ, the best wired earphones with mic capability we've tested. They're a pair of gamer-centric buds. They come with a boom mic for clearer recording quality, so you're easy to follow. Since the boom is flexible, you can position the mic closer to your mouth than integrated mics like those of our other picks. However, it still struggles to separate speech from ambient noise. But casual users, fear not! These buds also feature an in-line mic, allowing you to use them in a less gamer-centric way. The in-line mic differs in performance in noise handling since it sits further from your mouth and has a harder time capturing speech clearly.
These earbuds have a decently comfortable fit and are lightweight. Their excited sound is well-suited for genres like rock and pop, with plenty of extra thump, rumble, and boom to accompany bright vocals and instruments. However, voices also sound muddy, and the earbuds lack customization features. They also struggle to block background sound, so it can be hard to hear your conversations clearly in a noisy environment.
For something even cheaper, try the Apple EarPods. These classic one-size-fits-all buds have an in-line mic with better noise-handling performance. However, they aren't as well-built and have a significantly less stable in-ear fit.
Notable Mentions
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Turtle Beach Battle Buds:
The Turtle Beach Battle Buds are wired gaming headphones featuring a detachable boom mic, like the SteelSeries TUSQ. The mic's noise-handling performance is better; however, the headphones aren't as comfortable or well-built.
See our review -
Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro:
The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro are Samsung's most recent flagship earbuds. They don't lose out in ANC performance when compared to other entries on this list, like the Devialet Gemini II True Wireless, but their microphone can't handle noise nearly as well; instead, they rely on the software noise reduction capabilities of devices within their ecosystem.
See our review -
Apple AirPods Pro 3:
The Apple AirPods Pro 3 are earbuds intended for use within the Apple ecosystem. By default, they're less customizable compared to most flagship earbuds, like the Technics EAH-AZ100, and can't be modified on Android devices without the use of a third-party application. However, their microphone system performs amazingly well when paired with Apple's proprietary 'Voice Isolation' calling features (available on newer Apple devices).
See our review
Recent Updates
Jan 08, 2026:
We've replaced the Samsung Galaxy Buds FE with the CMF Buds Pro 2 as our mid-range pick in response to accumulated reports of microphone issues. We've also made minor edits to the article, adding both the Apple AirPods Pro 3 and SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds.
Sep 19, 2025:
Due to dwindling stock levels, we've replaced the Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 with the Technics EAH-AZ100 as the top pick for this article. Otherwise, we've made minor changes to the text throughout this article to ensure everything is up-to-date.
Mar 05, 2025:
We've removed the Logitech G333 from the Notable Mentions due to their limited stock. While our picks haven't changed, we've updated the text for accuracy.
Dec 09, 2024:
We've adjusted our picks and minor text edits for clarity. The Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 replace the Razer Hammerhead Pro HyperSpeed as our top pick, with the latter included as a comparison for users who care about latency. We removed the upper mid-range and noise cancelling picks, as the top pick is now cheaper and has top-tier ANC. The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro Truly Wireless are now a Notable Mention as they have good recording quality.
Aug 20, 2024: We've rejigged this article slightly. We changed our top pick to the Razer Hammerhead Pro HyperSpeed True Wireless because it has a better microphone than our previous choice, the Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless. The Jabra Elite 8 Active True Wireless is our new upper mid-range pick because of its very good battery life. Finally, the Devialet Gemini II True Wireless are now our Premium Pick because they have a better microphone performance than the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Truly Wireless, but at a higher price point.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the top earbuds with a mic to buy for most people. 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 would like to choose for yourself, here is the list of all earphones we've tested with a mic. Be careful not to get caught up in the details. There are no perfect headphones. Personal taste, preference, and listening habits will play a greater role in your selection.