The 6 Best Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds Under $100 – Winter 2020
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.

The best wireless earphones under $100 for sports that we've tested to date are the Jaybird Tarah. These Bluetooth in-ears have a wire to connect the left and right drivers so you can easily hang them from your neck if you need to remove them from your ears. They feel quite well-built and are fairly comfortable thanks to their earbud-like tips that don't enter as deep in the ear canal as most in-ear options. They also feel very sturdy in the ear due to their stability-fin design and are rated IPX7 for waterproofing, though we don't currently test for this.

While their out-of-the-box sound profile is quite well-balanced, they're also compatible with Jaybird's great MySound app, which gives you access to a parametric EQ as well as presets. The app also allows you to customize their multi-purpose button as well as to set the auto-off timer from between 15-60 minutes. They isolate a decent amount of ambient sound and leak almost no audio, making them a good option to use in the office or for your daily commute as well.

Unfortunately, their battery life isn't the greatest at six hours, though that should still be long enough to last most workouts or runs. They also charge via a proprietary cable, which can be annoying. If you want something even cheaper, the Anker SoundCore Spirit X Wireless have a similar out-of-the-box sound profile and double the battery life, but they aren't customizable and don't feel as well-made. Overall, these are a well-rounded pair of Bluetooth in-ears that are comfortable and stable enough for working out but versatile enough to use as your daily headphones as well.

The best wireless earbuds for iPhone under $100 that we've tested so far are the Beats Powerbeats 3. 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.