The JBL Vibe Buds True Wireless are budget-friendly buds. Like the JBL Vibe Beam True Wireless, they have a customizable performance, thanks to their companion app. That said, they don't have any extra features like active noise cancelling or multi-device pairing.
Our Verdict
The JBL Vibe Buds are good for sports and fitness, provided you aren't doing intense workouts. They have a decently comfortable fit and are certified IP54 for resistance against dust and water splashes. However, their in-ear fit can fall out if you move your head vigorously.
- Decently comfortable and well-built.
- IP54 rating for water resistance.
Earbuds come loose over extended periods.
The JBL Vibe Buds are okay travel earbuds. These buds have a decently comfortable fit and last over eight hours continuously, with an additional three charges in their carrying case if needed. Unfortunately, they lack active noise cancelling (ANC) and struggle to block out the low rumble of bus and plane engines. Luckily, they do a better job of reducing passenger chatter.
- Decently comfortable and well-built.
- Can reduce mid to treble range noise well.
- Really struggles to block out the low rumble of bus and plane engines.
Earbuds come loose over extended periods.
The JBL Vibe Buds are alright for office use. These decently comfortable buds have over eight hours of continuous playback time, and if that isn't enough to get you through your day, their carrying case holds an extra three charges. Although they don't have an ANC system, they can block out chatty coworkers well, as well as the high-pitched hum of A/C units. Unfortunately, they don't support multi-device pairing, though, so you can only stay connected to one device at a time.
- Decently comfortable and well-built.
- Can reduce mid to treble range noise well.
- Mic has decent recording quality.
- No multi-device pairing.
- Mic has sub-par noise handling performance.
Earbuds come loose over extended periods.
The JBL Vibe Buds are truly wireless buds; you can't use them wired.
The JBL Vibe Buds are Bluetooth earbuds, and even though they have a 'Video Mode' in their companion app to help lower latency, audio lag is still high enough to cause slight lip-sync mismatch.
The JBL Vibe Buds are a good choice for audio reproduction accuracy. Their frequency response doesn't deviate much from their warm sound profile, which is well-aligned with the Harman IEM target. The L/R drivers are well-matched in terms of amplitude and frequency, and though there are some phase mismatches, they're not audible with real-life audio content. Group delay mostly falls under the audibility threshold, too, resulting in tight transients across the entire frequency spectrum.
The JBL Vibe Buds have a disappointing noise isolation performance. They lack an ANC system, so while they can passively attenuate some higher-frequency sounds, like background conversations and fridge hum, they struggle to block out low frequencies, like engine roar in an airplane cabin. They don't leak much audio, though, so you can use them in quiet places without worrying about audio bleed.
The JBL Vibe Buds have a passable microphone performance. They have an integrated mic, which can capture your voice well but lacks depth. On the downside, it struggles to separate speech from background noise, so your voice will be easily drowned out by background noise, which can be very frustrating if you're on an important call.
The JBL Vibe Buds have great frequency response consistency. If you're able to take the time to ensure a secure fit, you'll experience consistent audio delivery, even across different reseats.
Performance Usages
Changelog
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Updated Nov 05, 2025:
This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.0, which adds the following tests: Stereo Mismatch, Group Delay, Cumulative Spectral Decay, PRTF, Harmonic Distortion, and Electrical Aspects. We've added new performance usages and updated the text throughout the Sound tests.
- Updated Nov 04, 2025: We've converted this review to Test Bench 2.0, which updates our sound tests and performance usages. You can read more about this in our changelog.
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Updated May 13, 2025:
We've updated the Controls box to reflect the earbuds' control type.
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Updated Dec 13, 2024:
We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.8, which updates some Sound Tests. For more details on the changes, read our changelog. There have also been text changes made throughout the review.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The JBL Vibe Buds come in four color variants: 'Black,' 'Beige,' 'Mint,' and 'White.' You'll also see them sold as the JBL Wave Buds, depending on which region you're in. We tested the 'Black' model; you can see its label here.
If you come across another variant of these headphones, please let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The JBL Vibe Buds are wallet-friendly buds. They have a very similar look and feel to the JBL Vibe 100TWS True Wireless, but like the JBL Vibe Beam True Wireless, they also have companion app support, so you can fine-tune their performance. That said, they don't support multi-device pairing and lack ANC, though that's to be expected from their price point.
Check out our recommendations for the best earbuds and in-ear headphones, the best wireless Bluetooth earbuds, and the best budget and cheap wireless earbuds.
The JBL Vibe Beam True Wireless and the JBL Vibe Buds True Wireless are similarly performing buds with different looks, so depending on your preferences, you may prefer either one. While both buds have a similar battery life and companion app support, the Vibe Beam have an ear stem design, and their carrying case has a lid. Conversely, the Vibe Buds have a pure earbud design, which is more comfortable and stable.
The JBL Tune Buds True Wireless and the JBL Vibe Buds True Wireless perform quite similarly, but the Tune Buds come with some extra features. The Tune Buds have an active noise cancelling (ANC) feature, while the Vibe Buds don't, though it doesn't isolate you from noise that much. They also support multi-device pairing. On the other hand, they do leak a bit more audio than the Vibe Buds do.
The JBL Vibe Buds True Wireless offer a slightly better performance than the Skullcandy Dime 3 True Wireless. While both buds are well-built, the JBL are more comfortable, have a better overall battery performance, and have a companion app, so you can adjust their sound to your liking. Conversely, the Skullcandy support multi-device pairing, so you can stay connected to your PC and smartphone simultaneously and feature slightly better noise isolation.
The JLab Audio GO Air POP True Wireless and the JBL Vibe Buds True Wireless are budget-friendly earbuds with different strengths. If you make a lot of phone calls, the JLab are a good choice because their mic does a better job separating your voice from any noise around you. They're also better at blocking out the sound of chatty coworkers than the JBL. On the other hand, the JBL charge faster and come with a companion app that lets you customize their sound.
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.
Test Results
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