You don't always need to pay a premium price for a good gaming headset. Even budget headphones can be packed with features suitable for your needs. The best entries have all-day comfort for long sessions; a microphone for voice comms or multiplayer games; and solid stereo driver matching, so footsteps and other sound cues are rendered positionally accurate.
We've tested over 890 headphones, and below are our top picks for the best gaming headphones under $100 to buy. Check out our recommendations for the best gaming headsets, the best PC gaming headsets, and the best budget and cheap gaming headsets. If you want to upgrade your whole setup, see our recommendations for the best gaming mice and the best gaming keyboards.
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 Gaming Headset Under $100
Wireless Gaming (In Development)Wired Gaming (In Development)Peaks/DipsRecording QualitySee all our test resultsNoise HandlingConsole Compatibility: PC, PlayStation, Xbox
The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) is the best headset under $100 for gaming that we've tested. It combines low-latency wireless connection via a USB dongle with traditional Bluetooth, making it a flexible option for both casual use and high-paced gaming. While it can't be used wired, it has a long 85-hour battery life, which should last most gamers a week at least. The Turtle Beach also come with a flip-up-to-mute boom mic, which renders your voice more naturally than most integrated headphone mics.
Out-of-the-box, the headphones have a V-shaped sound profile, which means there's both bass and treble emphasis, rendering music and action sequences as excited; you'll notice more pronounced explosions and sharper-sounding shrapnel in most titles. The main downside with the headphones is the variation in how they'll sound on individuals with different head shapes and accessories; if you wear thicker-framed glasses, for example, you'll hear way less bass than our measurements suggest. Still, you can always compensate for this using the companion app's graphic EQ or presets.
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Best Wired Gaming Headset Under $100
Wireless Gaming (In Development)Wired Gaming (In Development)Peaks/DipsRecording QualitySee all our test resultsNoise HandlingConsole Compatibility: PC, PlayStation, Xbox
If you want to circumvent battery and latency altogether, the Glorious GHS Eternal RGB is the best wired gaming headset we've tested for sub-$100. Though its app is much less configurable than our top pick's, the Glorious has a sturdier build and are more comfortable. It features a suspension headband that distributes weight evenly across the top of your head, and the headset has a low clamping force, so it's less fatiguing over long gaming sessions. The Glorious' boom mic sounds just as natural as our top pick's, but it can't handle consistent or loud noise as well (it's still good at separating noise from your voice, though).
The Glorious has a bass range to the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3), but the treble isn't equally emphasized. This gives the headset an overall bass-heavy tuning, which some listeners might find exhilarating in action sequences, but others may find muddy details. Unfortunately, the app only supports preset EQs (all similarly bass-heavy), though if you play on PC, you can use 3rd-party EQ software to tune the sound yourself.
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Best Open-Back Gaming Headset Under $100
Wireless Gaming (In Development)Wired Gaming (In Development)Peaks/DipsRecording QualitySee all our test resultsNoise HandlingConsole Compatibility: PC, PlayStation, Xbox
The best open-back gaming headphones you can get for under the $100 mark are the Philips SHP9500. Open-back gaming headphones like the ASUS ROG Kithara tend to sit beyond this article's price threshold, so we're recommending non-gaming headphones instead. The Philips are affordable, and their open-back enclosure can help make game audio more immersive than most closed-back options. Like most open-backs, they don't deliver much low-bass thump, so explosions and heavy effects lack the rumble you get from closed-back gaming alternatives. But they offer a more detailed mid-range than headphones like the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3), so dialogue sounds true-to-life and subtle environmental cues come through clearly.
These headphones are lightweight and comfortable for long sessions, though their swiveling ear cups feel a little loose, and the fabric on the pads can wear over time. Their wired connection eliminates latency, but means you also can't use them wirelessly. Because they hardly block out ambient noise, they're best used in a controlled environment. You'll also need a standalone mic if you want to use your voice to communicate with teammates or friends.
Notable Mentions
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Razer BlackShark V2 HyperSpeed Wireless:
The Razer BlackShark V2 HyperSpeed Wireless have a more treble-forward, bright tuning than the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3). They're wireless and can be used wired, but their price creeps beyond $100 at times.
See our review -
HyperX Cloud III:
The HyperX Cloud III perform quite similarly to the Glorious GHS Eternal RGB but are a bit more affordable. Their audio cable isn't detachable, which makes them more difficult to repair if you run into connection issues.
See our review
Recent Updates
Jul 03, 2026:
We've trimmed down the article and removed the dedicated Bluetooth pick as the top pick already support the feature. We also replaced our wired pick with the in-stock Glorious GHS Eternal RGB. The remaining picks are available at retailers and still relevant for gaming.
Mar 26, 2026:
All our main picks are still accurate and in stock, but we edited this text for clarity throughout.
Dec 08, 2025:
The Philips SHP9500 replace the Sennheiser Game One Gaming Headset as our 'Best Open Back' pick now that the Sennheiser is hard to find. We also removed our 'Most Durable Gaming Headset' pick. Finally, we removed the SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless and Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 from our Notable Mentions, as they're too expensive for this list, but we added the Razer BlackShark V2 HyperSpeed Wireless.
Apr 10, 2025:
We've removed our 'Most Versatile Gaming Headset Under $100' pick as the Logitech G433 is becoming hard to find and offers no advantages over our existing picks. We also wanted to ensure that more of our picks are permanently priced under $100 and don't fluctuate above $100. We also added the HyperX Cloud III Wireless as an alternative to the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) for gamers who prefer a flatter default sound.
Jan 09, 2025:
We've refreshed our text to ensure clarity and accuracy. There hasn't been a change in our recommendations.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best headphones under $100 for most gamers. 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 our reviews for gaming headsets under $100. Be careful not to get caught up in the details. There are no perfect headphones. Personal taste, preference, and listening habits will matter more in your selection, especially if you don't care about having a microphone or wireless features.