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Reviews ethics statementDavid Carnoy Executive Editor / Reviews
Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks.
Expertise Mobile accessories and portable audio, including headphones, earbuds and speakers Credentials
- Maggie Award for Best Regularly Featured Web Column/Consumer
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Our Picks
Best new budget wireless earbuds
Earfun Air Pro 3
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Best AirPods Pro alternative for less
JBL Live Pro 2
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Best new Soundcore by Anker buds
Soundcore by Anker Liberty 4
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Good value wireless earbuds from 1More
1More Aero earbuds
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Lightweight noise canceling earbuds with LDAC support
Soundpeats Capsule3 Pro
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Top budget noise-canceling earbuds
Earfun Air S
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The second-genAirPods Proare some of the best wireless earbuds available right now. We gave them a CNET Editors' Choice award because they perform so well for their size and weight and because of how well they fit a lot of people's ears. Apple has now updated the case design to replace the lightning port with Type-C, so you can now charge the AirPods Pro 2 with the same cable as most other devices at home.
However, they cost a lot, so not everyone can afford to pick up a pair. Which is why we've put together this list of budget-friendly noise-canceling earbuds that offer a decent listening experience for a lot less money. These are some of the best AirPods Pro 2 alternatives out there, but keep in mind, the experience won't be exactly the same.
Though none of these are going to be quite as good as the AirPods Pro 2 and are missing the AirPods Pro 2's bonus features, like hands-free Siri or Apple's spatial audio virtual surround mode for watching movies and TV shows, the picks listed below deliver strong performance for their relatively modest price and are very good values. They also feature decent active noise canceling, are well designed and fit comfortably. Note that all these picks work with both iOS and Android devices and aren't Apple-centric like the AirPods Pro.
I'll be updating this list as new models arrive, but here are the best "cheap" noise-canceling, true-wireless earbuds I'm impressed with right now.
Read more: Best Cheap True-Wireless Earbuds Under $100 for 2023
Pros
- Relatively inexpensive
- Good sound and overall performance for their price
- Wireless charging and support for new Bluetooth LE Audio standar
Cons
- Voice calling performance is only OK
Battery life Rated up to 7.5 hours
Noise Canceling Yes
Multipoint Yes
Water-Resistant Yes (IPX5-- splash-proof)
Full Review Read full review
Earfun has put out a series of wireless earbuds over the last couple of years with one important commonality: They're very good values, made more so by frequent discounts. The company's new-for-2023 Earfun Air Pro 3 earbuds feature the latestQualcomm QCC3071system-on-a-chip with aptX Adaptive for Android and other devices that support the newLE Audio standard and LC3 audio codec, which is superior to the SBC codec (they also support AAC for Apple devices).
Lightweight and comfortable to wear -- I got a good seal with the largest ear tip size -- these aren't a huge upgrade over theEarfun Air S, but they are better. They have slightly larger wool-composite drivers (11mm versus 10mm), slightly improved noise canceling and better battery life (up to seven hours with noise canceling on, according to Earfun).
In short, the Earfun Air 3 deliver strong performance for their modest price, with robust bass, good clarity and a relatively wide soundstage. They also pack in a lot of features, including a wireless charging case and "multidevice" connectivity. (I could pair them to two devices simultaneously but had to pause the music on one device and hit play on the other for the audio to switch.) They're IPX5 splash-proof and also work well (though not exceptionally well) as a headset for making calls.
Note that adding the codeEAP3CNET at checkout will give you a nice little discount, bringing the buds' price down to $60.
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Battery Life Rated up to 10 hours
Noise Canceling Yes (Adaptive)
Multipoint Yes
Headphone Type Wireless earbuds
Water-Resistant Yes (IPX5 -- protection against low-pressure water streams)
Full Review Read full review
Over the years, JBL has put out some decent true-wireless earbuds, but nothing that really got me too excited. That's finally changed with the arrival of the Samsung-owned brand's new
The Live Pro 2 and Live Free 2 are equipped with the same 11mm drivers, six microphones, oval tubes and oval silicon tips. Aside from the design, the biggest difference between the two buds is battery life; the stemless Live Free 2 is rated for up to seven hours, while the Live Pro 2 is rated for 10 hours. The Live Pro 2 is available in four color options.
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While their sound isn't quite up to the level of higher-end buds likeApple's AirPods Pro 2and theSennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3that cost significantly more, the Soundcore by Anker Liberty 4 earbuds have a strong set of features, including a spatial audio mode with head tracking, multipoint Bluetooth pairing, up to nine hours of battery life, wireless charging and support for Sony's LDAC audio codec that can offer sound improvements if you have the right setup.
Compared to top-sounding buds I've reviewed, they lack a bit of overall clarity, accuracy and bass definition. But most people will think they sound quite good -- they play plenty loud and deliver strong bass -- and you can tweak their sound profile in the app or create a personal HearID Sound profile (it's also for noise canceling).
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The 1More Aero earbuds carry a list price of $110 but Amazon often has an instant coupon on them that brings their price down substantially. They're essentially a more premium version of 1More's ComfoBuds Pro and feature a better charging case (the Aero does have wireless charging) and improved noise canceling and slightly improved sound.
I can't say these offer exceptional sound quality and noise-canceling for the price and the touch controls are a bit limited. But they do sound decent, they're comfortable to wear and the noise-canceling power is respectable. (You can tweak the sound profile in the companion app and adjust noise-canceling levels.) There's also a spatial audio mode with head-tracking -- you have to activate it in the companion app -- that expands the soundstage.
You'll also need to activate multipoint Bluetooth pairing, or "dual-device connection" as 1More calls it, in the app. It's under the experimental features section. Ear-detection sensors pause your music when you take the buds out of your ears.
Battery life is rated at up to 7 hours on a single charge, but don't expect to get that if you listen to your music at higher volumes. They have an IPX5 water-resistance rating, which means they can withstand a sustained spray of water. Equipped with Bluetooth 5.2, they support the SBC and AAC audio codecs but not aptX. Voice-calling performance is above average though not exceptionally good.
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Pros
- Good sound quality with a comfortable fit
- Decent call quality
- Support Sony's AptX audio codec for Android devices
- Multipoint Bluetooth
Cons
- No ear-detection sensors
- Only SBC audio codec for iPhones (no AAC support)
Jabra has replaced its entry-level Elite 3 buds with the new-for-2023 Elite 4, which offer active noise canceling and multipoint Bluetooth pairing. What's confusing is that Jabra also sells the
The lightweight Elite 4 fit my ears comfortably and offer good, well-balanced sound with punchy bass and decent clarity. They support Qualcomm's aptX audio codec (for Android and other devices that support aptX) but only the SBC codec for iPhones, meaning there's no AAC support. The Elite 4 are missing premium features such as ear detection sensors, and they have a four-microphone array for noise canceling and voice calls. (Voice-calling performance is good but not exceptional.)
Battery life is rated at up to 7 hours at moderate volume levels and the buds have an IP55 water-resistance rating, which means they can take a sustained spray of water and are also dust-resistant. As with a lot of other new buds, you can use either bud independently in a mono mode.
The Elite 4 are a good set of earbuds but do look for them on sale.
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The Soundpeats Capsule3 Pro are the successor to the company's Air 3 Pro earbuds. While they're lightweight like those buds, they have more of a premium look to them. They also offer good sound and noise canceling for their modest price. While they work fine with iPhones, they're more geared toward Android because they support Sony's higher-resolution LDAC audio codec for devices that support LDAC Bluetooth streaming.
Just how good they sound will depend somewhat on how tight a seal you can get from the included ear tips (the largest tips fit my ears well but I got a better seal from another set of tips in my collection). If you do get a tight seal, they deliver big, bold sound with strong bass, which only lacks that extra bit of clarity and definition that higher-end buds offer.
Equipped with Bluetooth 5.3, they're IPX4 splash-proof and have a battery life rating of around 6 hours with noise cancellation on (it drops to 4.5 hours if you are using LDAC). There's an additional 5.5 charges in their charging case. The Capsule3 Pro worked decently for making voice calls, though their reduction of background noise wasn't quite as good as with some buds I've tested. They're also available in white.
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In the past, we've recommended Earfun's AirPro SV and
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More headphone recommendations
- Best True-Wireless Earbuds Under $100
- Best Noise-Canceling Headphones Under $100 for 2023
- 5 True Wireless Earbuds Worth Buying for Under $40
- Best Cheap Earbuds and Headphones
- Best Apple AirPods Max Alternatives for Less: Sony, Bose, AirPods Pro and More
- Best AirPods Max Accessories for 2023
Watch this: These Are the Absolute Best Earbuds of 2022