The 6 Best Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds Under $100 – Winter 2019
Reviews

The best Bluetooth earbuds under $100 that we’ve tested so far are the Anker SoundCore Liberty Air 2. These truly wireless in-ears offer great price-to-performance ratio with some premium features, like a case that supports wireless charging, that you'd typically only find on more expensive headphones. They have a fairly good single-charge battery life of almost 6.5 hours but can get five additional charges from their case, giving you a total of almost 39 hours, which is among the longest we've ever tested for truly wireless headphones. They feel surprisingly well-built and premium for their price, and have a design that's very reminiscent of the Apple AirPods, but with a splash of red to give them their unique flair.

Their out-of-the-box sound reproduction is fairly well-balanced, but with a slight extra thump of bass that should please most listeners. They're versatile enough for most genres of music, especially since, unlike the previous model, these now have a dedicated companion app to let you change their sound profile. Unfortunately, Anker doesn't provide a parametric or graphic EQ, but they do supply 20 presets to let you find the sound that best suits you. They also do a very good job of passively isolating background noise, making them a decent option for your daily commute or to use in the office.

Unfortunately, their in-ear fit may not be for everyone, though they aren't nearly as uncomfortable as some other headphones of this type that we've tested. Their microphone performance also isn't very good and won't work well at all in noisy environments, though this is fairly standard with Bluetooth headphones. Overall, these headphones perform much better than their price would suggest, and help blur the line between premium and budget headphones.

For sports, the best wireless earphones under $100 that we’ve tested so far are the Jaybird Tarah. They’re well-designed with an earbud-like fit that makes them a bit more comfortable than many in-ears we’ve tested. They’re rated IPX7 for waterproofing and feel like solid headphones, so you shouldn’t have to worry too much about them when powering through a challenging workout.

They sound decent out-of-the-box but shine when paired with the Jaybird MySound app, which provides access to lots of customizable features. You can manage the auto-off timer, assign specific playlists to the multi-purpose button, and customize the sound of the headphones using a great parametric EQ. You can even share your favorite playlists, EQ settings with the public, and browse other community presets and playlists.

On the downside, their battery performance isn’t as good as that of other sports-oriented wireless earbuds we’ve tested. They provide 6 hours of continuous playback, which isn’t bad but is only half that of the much cheaper Anker SoundCore Spirit X Wireless. That said, these headphones have an auto-off timer to help save power, so they’ll last you a bit longer if you’re not using them for hours on end.

The best wireless earbuds for iPhone under $100 that we've tested so far are the Beats Powerbeats 3 Wireless. Not all colors are available for less than $100, so you might have to do some digging, but it’s possible to find them for a good price. Thanks to Apple's W1 chip, they offer seamless pairing with any Apple devices connected to your iCloud account and feature a stable ear-hook design that helps secure the earbuds in place without putting too much pressure on your ears. They’re very portable, lightweight, and come with a rubberized carrying pouch.

They have deep, powerful bass that brings out the thump and rumble of bass-heavy music like hip-hop and EDM without drowning out the vocals and lead instruments over other genres. They have a pretty good battery for wireless in-ears too, lasting nearly 12 hours of continuous playback with a full charge only taking just over an hour.

Unfortunately, they may not be the best for commuting, since they don’t isolate very much noise. That said, this means they might be suitable for outdoor runners who need to be able to remain aware of their surroundings. Overall, they’re well-designed, comfortable in-ear headphones that will work for many.