I hold a bachelor’s degree in both music performance and audio production from Ithaca College, and I’ve tested more than a thousand pairs of headphones and earbuds while working for Wirecutter. I’ve been in and out of top recording studios for more than a decade—as a radio producer, on-air talent, and professional voice actor.

We’ve also engaged the ears of experts—including audio reviewers, musicians, and composers—to get feedback on the various earbuds we’ve tested.

This guide is aimed at the person who wants great, all-purpose wireless earbuds that are good for listening to music, making phone calls at a desk, commuting, or taking the dog for a walk. We have other guides for those who are seeking earbuds that excel at a specific task—such as noise cancellation, gym workouts, and running.

If you prioritize product longevity or eco-friendliness, you may prefer wired earbuds. Read this article to find out why.

True wireless earbuds (Bluetooth earbuds that aren’t tethered together with a cable) are now the most popular style because of how light and unobtrusive they feel.

To find the best wireless earbuds for everyday use, we use the following criteria:

• Great sound quality means a balanced sound that doesn’t over-emphasize a particular frequency range, as well as a sense of space. You can read more about how we evaluate sound quality in this article.
• A secure, comfortable fit is crucial. If earbuds hurt, you won’t wear them. If an earbud falls out while you’re commuting, it could be one wrong bounce away from being gone for good. We looked for earbuds with a variety of tips and/or stabilizing designs, and we considered how securely each pair fit a variety of ears.
• Good battery life is a minimum of five hours per charge for true wireless designs that come with a charging case.
• Voice clarity is essential for phone calls and video chats.
• Water and sweat resistance is a nice perk. You never know when you’ll get caught in a drizzle on your commute. If you’re specifically looking for a pair to use while working out, we have another guide for that.
• Noise cancellation and/or sound isolation will help block out the world when you want to, and a hear-through mode will let in outside sounds when needed. We prefer pairs that do both effectively. Our picks in this guide are not necessarily the top performers at noise cancellation—we have a separate guide for that.

To date, we’ve tested over 400 pairs of Bluetooth earbuds for this guide. In each round of testing, our panelists evaluate sound quality, ease of use, fit, and comfort before ranking their favorites.

Any potential picks receive microphone tests over phone calls in both quiet and noisy environments, with and without wind. We test battery life to ensure it meets or exceeds manufacturers’ claims.

We check Bluetooth signal reliability from a distance, in a pocket, and switching between iOS and Android devices. Many manufacturers will stipulate that their wireless earbuds are designed specifically for use with mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. This doesn’t mean the earbuds won’t work with a computer. However, depending on your computer design or operating system, you could experience a less reliable Bluetooth connection. We discuss this issue in greater detail in the article Bluetooth Headphones Don’t Always Play Nice With Computers. Here’s Why.

Once we have a sense of how each pair performs, we consider price and extra features to choose our picks.

The Soundcore Space A40 is the best pair of true wireless earbuds. That’s because they pack great sound, a ton of features, 10 hours of battery life, and excellent noise cancellation into earbuds the size of slightly squashed marbles—all for under $100.

This pair delivers great sound with minimal effort. The A40 pair sounds quite good right out of the box, though the upper bass is boosted a little too much for our taste, and female vocals lack a bit of presence.

If the default sound profile is not to your taste, the app offers multiple avenues to fine-tune—including a plethora of EQ presets, a manual frequency-range adjustment, and a listening-test-based personalization system. We were pleased with the spacious soundstage, the clarity of the highs, and the bass presence we achieved with some adjustments.

Once you find your favorite tuning, the app saves your settings to the earbuds, so you don’t need to repeat the process over and over.

The fit is comfortable for a variety of ears. The earbuds are not only small but also lightweight—so they aren’t constantly fighting gravity and tugging at your ear canal.

Also, this pair features a smooth, ergonomic design, so they should sit comfortably in a broader range of ear sizes than the vast majority of earbuds we’ve tested. We were able to wear the A40 pair painlessly through an entire workday.

The 10-hour battery life is impressive. The A40 earbuds have the longest battery life of all our picks. Our tests confirmed Soundcore’s claim of 10 hours, though your results may vary based on how you use the earbuds.

The charging case fits easily in most pockets, and it holds an additional 40 hours of playtime. The case itself can be recharged wirelessly or via cable, and the quick-charge feature will power your earbuds for four hours of use after only 10 minutes in the case.

All of the premium features work well. These earbuds employ six microphones, combined with software, to reduce background noise and ensure you sound clear over phone calls, even in breezy conditions.

Dual-device connectivity allows you to pair with two Bluetooth sources simultaneously. This is handy when you're switching back and forth between video conferences on your laptop and streaming music from your phone.

The ANC is among the best we’ve measured. The Space A40 pair can effectively reduce lower-pitched noises, like vacuum cleaners or plane engines, and the included tips do a decent job of dampening higher-pitched sounds, such as babies crying or dogs barking. Using the app, you can adjust the intensity of reduction, or you can choose an adaptive mode that automatically shifts the ANC to match the kind of sounds around you. For folks who are bothered by the phenomenon we call eardrum suck, being able to choose a comfortable ANC level is a nice benefit.

For those times when you want to hear what’s going on around you, the hear-through mode also sounds remarkably lifelike—not tinny or overly muffled. Some earbuds have hear-through modes that are fine for a quick conversation but not tolerable for long-term awareness. By contrast, the A40 pair’s transparency sounds good enough to leave on for situational awareness as you go about your day. Or, if you prefer, you can wear either A40 earbud on its own.

The A40 earbuds can handle a little rain or sweat. These earbuds have an IPX4 water-resistance rating. This is good enough to protect against unexpected rainfall, but it’s not as high as what you’ll get from our favorite workout earbuds.

Should anything go wrong, Soundcore offers an 18-month warranty, and it’s easy to access right in the app. Open “help and feedback,” click on “Space A40,” upload your receipt, and click “start the process.”

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The touch-based controls omit one function. To do things like play and pause, change tracks, call up your digital assistant, toggle between ANC and hear-through, and adjust volume, this pair uses touch-based controls, as opposed to physical buttons.

You can customize the controls using the Soundcore app, but you have to omit one major function. We left out track-reverse so that we could keep volume control. We wish Soundcore had come up with one more gesture so that we could have access to every important control directly from the earbuds.

Also, touch controls are notoriously prone to misfires. This pair provides optional beeps as sonic feedback, to ensure your taps are registering, but we still prefer well-made physical buttons, like those on the Beats Fit Pro.

We also wish Soundcore had included at least one always-listening assistant. However, because that function can drain battery life, we were willing to let it slide, especially since this pair is so affordable.

They’re not great for workouts. In addition to having only a modest water/sweat resistance rating, these earbuds lack wings or hooks to secure them in place. For workouts that involve high-impact moves, we recommend that you take a look at one of the picks in our guide to workout headphones instead.

This is especially true if you have small ears. Because small ears have less surface area to grip, true wireless earbuds are notoriously difficult to hold in place without added support.

The “lost earbud finder” is limited in usefulness. If one of the earbuds takes an odd bounce out of your ear, you can use the Soundcore app to make the earbud beep. But the beeps are high-pitched, so if you’re hard of hearing in that frequency range, it may be challenging to hear your earbud calling to you.

Although this function is nice, it’s less useful than devices that use Tile or your phone’s GPS location to show you on a map where you last connected your earbuds. If your missing A40 earbuds are turned off or stored in the case, you’re out of luck.

To power down, you have to close the case. Make sure you close the lid on the charging case, otherwise the A40 earbuds won’t shut off, and that can drain the battery.

If you’re tied into the Apple ecosystem and willing to pay more to get Apple-only features like “Hey Siri” voice control, the Beats Fit Pro earbuds are a fantastic option. They’re comfortable, stay securely in place, and sound darn good. But the battery life and controls are more limited than those of our top pick, and the price is higher.

This pair is delightful when used with an iPhone. This pair incorporates the primary things that might make you want to own the AirPods Pro—easy Apple pairing and device swapping, touchless “Hey Siri,” head tracking and spatial audio via Apple Music, and the “Find My” function. Yet these earbuds are smaller and fit more securely, and they have physical button controls.

The Fit Pro set links with Apple devices quickly—and, once connected, this set automatically pairs with any of your Apple devices that are signed into iCloud. Android users can also fast-pair using the Beats app. For everyone else, the pairing process is similar to that of other Bluetooth earbuds.

The sound and fit are fantastic. The bass has extra oomph, but it doesn’t overpower vocals or strings. There is a nice sense of space—even without spatial audio turned on. And the highs are clear with no piercing or fatiguing aspects. But, unlike with our top pick, with the Fit Pro earbuds you can’t customize the sound with EQ; what you hear is what you get.

As for fit, the stabilizing wings hold these buds comfortably in place. The pliable wings grip the outer ear without creating too much pressure. However, people with very small or sensitive ears may find that the wings create a “too full” feeling during long listening sessions.

The wings, plus an IPX4 rating, make this pair a good option for workouts.

We appreciate the physical control buttons. Touch-based buttons are all the rage now, but they can be quite finicky and over-sensitive. Here, each earbud has a single physical button that is easy to find and comfortable to press.

Unfortunately, you’ll need to omit either volume control or ANC/hear-through toggle abilities, since there aren’t enough control options to do both.

The battery life is middling. We got six-ish hours of battery life in our tests. The case adds 18 hours and has quick-charge capabilities, so you should still be able to get through a full day of use with no problems.

This pair blocks noise effectively. Although the ANC isn’t the strongest we’ve measured, it noticeably reduces airplane hum and other sustained noise. However, unlike on our top pick, the ANC level is not adjustable.

For higher-pitched sounds, like voices, the Fit Pro pair’s physical noise isolation provides a decent barrier, too—and the hear-through mode is pleasant to use. That makes it easy to have a conversation or maintain situational awareness. Or, if you prefer, either earbud can function solo.

The microphone quality is stellar for calls. In our tests, voices sounded clear in quiet rooms, and the background-noise-reduction technology helped when we encountered wind or traffic—though we did sound compressed.

There is a catch, though: If the noise around you is in the vocal frequency range (like clattering silverware), your caller will hear it. So maybe hold off on doing the dishes until your call ends.

The drawbacks are minor. Unlike our top pick, the Beats Fit Pro can pair with only one device at a time. However, the easy connection swapping makes this less of an issue for Apple users.

The charging case lacks wireless charging and is bulkier than we’d like—too large to fit in a jeans coin pocket. However, the Beats Fit Pro earbuds do have excellent wear sensors, which power the earbuds down when you remove them from your ears. So you can store them temporarily in your pocket without completely draining the battery.

JBL’s Reflect Aero TWS earbuds are ideal for people who want an always-listening Alexa or Google Assistant function, or those who want a workout-centric pair that’s also great for everyday use. The good sound quality, wind-resistant microphones, dual-device connectivity, and effective ANC make the Aero TWS a fantastic set of all-around earbuds.

The sound is fun and adjustable. Out of the box, the Reflect Aero TWS earbuds sound exciting, albeit not completely neutral. There’s some added intensity in the bass, as well as a few added decibels in the frequency range where consonants and cymbals sit.

Many folks will enjoy the sound as is, but we liked it better after doing a little EQ tinkering in the JBL app. Once you’ve found your ideal sound, the tuning is saved to the earbuds, so you need to make this adjustment just once.

Vocal clarity is also good for phone calls and video chats. The six-microphone array picks up your voice accurately, and it helps to reduce background and wind noise. One slight quibble is that, during calls, this pair lacks adequate sidetone (when you hear a bit of your own voice in the earbuds as you talk), which may cause some people to feel the urge to speak more loudly than necessary. If that bothers you, consider the Soundcore Space A40 or Beats Fit Pro, both of which have a greater amplified sidetone.

These are perfect for the gym. The sealed earbuds keep out sound and have a high IP68 water-resistance rating. And they come with three sizes of wings and tips, to help you get a secure fit. They are lightweight, sleek, and minimal in size, with no parts that significantly protrude from the head.

However, if you dislike the feeling of pressure in your ears, or you have very small ear canals, you may prefer a non-winged earbud design.

The battery life is above average. In our tests, we got around eight hours, and the charging case holds 16 hours of additional battery life. Plus, the pocket-sized case features quick-charge capabilities: 15 minutes of charging provides four hours of playtime.

The case does not support wireless charging, though, and it has a wristlet-style lanyard that we wish were detachable.

The touch-based controls take some getting used to. The large controls are easy to find, but mastering the timing of taps takes a few wears. You can control two of the following: playback, ANC/hear-through toggle, and volume. One must be omitted. Alexa and Google Assistant fans may not mind, since they can initiate those commands with their voice. Apple users will need to tap and hold or consider the Beats Fit Pro instead.

This pair’s ANC is impressive. The amount of reduction is competitive with that of the best ANC headphones. If you’d like to be aware of your surroundings or have a conversation, you can use one earbud alone or activate the hear-through mode, which is adjustable and avoids the tinny or muffled quality offered by many competitors.

This pair also has dual-device capability, so you can stay connected to two devices simultaneously without having to muck about in Bluetooth settings.

The manual isn’t written well. We managed to figure out the most important instructions, but the lack of clarity regarding tasks—such as doing a factory reset—is frustrating.

For people with a modest budget, the EarFun Free 2S earbuds provide an experience that’s on a par with—and occasionally better than—that of true wireless earbuds costing twice as much. Though the Free 2S pair can’t rival our other picks in performance, our test panel was impressed with both the sound quality and the number of features these earbuds offer for a low price.

This pair sounds like it costs way more than $50. Bass notes have actual pitch rather than thumps, and the attack and decay of kick-drum hits are clear and defined. There is more detail in the high frequencies than you’ll hear in similarly priced earbuds—but there is a big spike in the range of “s” and “t” sounds or cymbal crashes, which can be fatiguing to listen to at louder volumes. Sensitive folks may find this spike off-putting.

Fortunately, if you don’t like the Free 2S pair’s sound profile, you can adjust it (as well as update the firmware and customize controls) in the EarFun app.

The list of features is impressive for the price—but a few key things are missing. The 2S earbuds offer a seven-hour battery life, and they have a dust-/water-resistance rating of IPX7, which means they can be dropped in a meter of (fresh) water for 30 minutes with no adverse effects.

The charging case can be recharged wirelessly, and it has quick-charge capabilities. Plus, EarFun covers the Free 2S with an 18-month warranty.

On the flip side, there’s no ANC and no hear-through mode to let in outside sounds. However, you can use either earbud independently if you need to stay alert.

The call quality is impressive, but the microphones are not wind-resistant. A solid gust will lead to a buffeting sound, so you’ll want to duck inside to take a call on a blustery day.

The touch controls do everything you need. Though we generally prefer physical buttons, the large touch-surface area on each 2S earbud is less prone to misfires than other similar systems we’ve tested.

And unlike most budget earbuds, the Free 2S earbuds have full controls: play/pause, volume control, track forward/reverse, call answer/end, and digital-assistant activation.

The small earbuds fit comfortably. The 2S earbuds are slightly larger than the diminutive Space A40 pair, and they don’t have wings or hooks to stabilize them. So although the shape is contoured in a way that should make the Free 2S pair comfortable for most people, someone with very small ear canals may have difficulty keeping these earbuds in place.

If you want the best noise cancellation: The Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds have the best combination of active noise cancellation and passive noise isolation of any pair we’ve tested. Read more about them in our guide to the best noise-cancelling headphones.

If your computer or audio player doesn’t have Bluetooth: The JLab Epic Edition earbuds come with a USB-C Bluetooth transmitter that can be stored neatly inside the charging case. This pair’s adjustable ANC is effective, and the microphone sounds super clear on calls, even in wind. The sound is fantastic, especially the “Knowles signature” EQ setting. The earbuds have nine hours of battery life, IP55 water/dust resistance, and a two-year warranty. The Epic Edition would be a pick if the earbuds were more friendly to small ears (they’re a touch chunky, with no additional stabilization).

If you want earbuds in the Samsung ecosystem: For Samsung users who want access to Galaxy-specific features, the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro earbuds offer the best performance for the price. Pair the Pro set to a device signed into your Samsung account, and all of your other Samsung devices will automatically be paired. The microphone quality is impressively clear and can handle gusts of wind. The sound quality, though a touch on the bass-heavy side, is enjoyable. The case is smaller than average, as are the earbuds themselves.

However, the controls are limited, the eartips are too small for people with large ear canals, the noise cancellation is minimal, and the earbuds don’t isolate very well.

If you want voice activation that isn’t tied to internet access: The Skullcandy Grind Fuel set offers unique features—a voice-assistant system that doesn’t require an internet connection to function, hands-free Spotify access, and the ability to use one earbud as a remote to take photos with your phone. This pair sounds decent if you use the hearing-test-based EQ combined with manual adjustments.

Unfortunately, the voice-activation system can be fussy in windy conditions. Also, the microphone sounds somewhat quiet over calls and is adversely affected by wind noise. Although the fit is comfortable, it isn’t as stable as the fit of our picks.

If you want earbuds that provide hearing protection: Active noise cancellation isn’t effective enough to protect during very loud activities, like mowing the lawn or operating a jackhammer. For that, consider the Elgin Rebel. These protective earbuds are comfortable and sound good, and they’re easy enough to use that most people should be able to find an effective (and safe) fit.

Twelve hours of battery life per charge and the IP65 dust- and water-resistance rating means you can work long hours and sweat without worry. The microphone works well for taking calls (in a quieter environment), and the charging case doubles as a flashlight. Elgin includes several pairs of tips; however, the standard silicone pairs are not protective—be sure to use only the yellow triple-flange or foam tips when on the job.

One flaw: The Rebel earbuds lack a hear-through function, which would be helpful for conversations.

We’ve tested more than 400 sets of Bluetooth earbuds to date, so we can’t list every competitor here. Below we discuss some of the newer and more-high-profile earbuds we’ve tested, but we also keep a running list of previously tested earbuds.

The 1More PistonBuds Pro Q30 earbuds aren’t too bad for around $50, but we like our budget pick more. The included tips are small and won’t fit larger ears. The tuning presets all have flaws, though with some effort in the app’s manual EQ, we found a sound we liked. The ANC isn’t overly impressive, and the hear-through sounds as though you’re stuffed up. Plus, this pair lacks full controls.

If you liked the way previous AirPods fit and sounded, you’ll like the improved battery life and water resistance of the Apple AirPods (3rd generation) set. But this pair doesn’t have noise cancellation, has limited physical controls, and lacks bass.

The Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) earbuds offer a few unique features for Apple fans (like the ability to charge the case with your watch charger cable). But most of the specs are similar to those of the Beats Fit Pro earbuds, which have a smaller form, a more secure fit, easier-to-use controls, and a lower price. We recommend these earbuds only for people who use Apple devices exclusively and who prioritize the niceties of staying in the Apple ecosystem. Otherwise, there are better options for the money.

The Beats Studio Buds + are solid earbuds overall, and they share a lot of iOS-friendly features with the Beats Fit Pro. But we like the Fit Pro earbuds better because they’re more secure in the ears, they offer better noise cancellation, and their button design is more ergonomic.

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are excellent at reducing noise, but the way the reduction functions can cause a lot of eardrum suck. You can read more in our guide to noise-cancelling headphones.

The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds’ unusual, cuff-like design is surprisingly comfortable. However, this unsealed pair’s microphone quality is incredibly disappointing. You can read more about these earbuds in our guide to the best running headphones.

The Creative Aurvana Ace and Creative Aurvana Ace 2 are nearly identical. They look slightly different, and the Ace features aptX Adaptive while the Ace 2 has aptX Lossless. The fit is comfortable, and the sound quality is solid but not great. The ANC is quite good for machine hums, but because neither pair offers much physical isolation, they don’t do a great job of muffling voices around you. These flaws are minor in general, but with so much competition, both pairs were edged out as picks.

The EarFun Air 2 earbuds are solid for the low price. With some EQ fussing, we found a sound we enjoyed, and the controls are easy to use. We prefer the design of our budget pick, but if it’s out of stock, or you prefer the stem-style design, this is a solid choice.

The EarFun Free Pro 3 earbuds are very good. However, our top pick has a smaller, more comfortable fit, slightly better ANC, and a longer battery life.

The Final ZE8000 MK2’s ANC is middling. Out of the box, acoustic guitar sounded muffled, female vocals were buried, and the boosted highs caused cymbals and syllables to have a sizzling quality. The EQ in the app isn’t able to adequately address these sonic flaws, and this pair is pricier than our picks.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro pair is packed with features, the earbuds themselves have IPX4 water resistance, the case is IPX2-rated, and the 11-hour battery life is impressive. However, the earbud design is likely to be tricky for people with medium to small ear canals to keep in securely, and the touch-control sensor is easy to activate accidentally. The sound is decent, but we found the peak in the cymbal and consonant range to be fatiguing. Overall, if you have bigger ears, and you want to stay in the Google ecosystem, these earbuds are fine but not excellent.

Although the Jabra Elite 4’s earbud design is comfortable, and the full suite of controls is intuitive, active users might feel as though these earbuds aren’t secure enough in their ears. The noise cancellation is minimally effective, and the sound is just okay—the highs have a sizzling aspect that can’t be fixed via EQ. The 5.5-hour battery life is only half that of the Soundcore Space A40.

The Jabra Elite 8 Active earbuds are built to be comfortable and durable, and we compare them to our workout headphone picks in that guide.

When used for work, the Jabra Elite 10 pair is fantastic. These earbuds sound good, feature dual-device connectivity, have clear mics for calls, and are perhaps the most comfortable ones we’ve tested. However, the six-hour battery life may not be enough for long days, and the noise cancellation isn’t competitive with that of the best options.

Overall the JBL Tour Pro 2 earbuds are fantastic, but they’re pricey if you don’t need the absolute best in noise cancellation. They come with a control-panel case that duplicates app functionality without a phone, which is nifty. The fit is comfortable, and the six microphones reduce wind noise on calls better than just about anything we’ve tested. We like the nine hours of battery, the IPX5 rating, and the sound quality after you adjust the EQ. We wish the touch controls included the full suite (you have to choose one to leave out).

The JLab Work Buds pair has an optional boom mic that attaches to one earbud, reducing background noise on calls. It’s novel, and we like that the boom mic can be stored in the charging case (even if that makes the case quite large). But the controls are fussy, the sound quality is below average, and the earbuds are chunky.

We love the Mixx Streambuds Custom 3’s mini metal charging case, but the sound, less so. Bass notes are prone to distorting, regardless of which EQ preset you try.

The Sennheiser Momentum TW4 earbuds are good but expensive. The ANC and isolation work well to reduce distractions around you, and the touch controls are easy to use. The earbud design is comfortable for medium and large ears, but people with smaller ears may struggle with the fit. Out of the box, the sound is somewhat bass-heavy, but you can adjust the intensity using the manual EQ in the app. High frequencies become sibilant if you boost them more than 2 dB or so, and the case is on the chunkier side—like a Twinkie cut in half. If the TW4 earbuds weren’t so expensive, we would give those minimal flaws a pass.

If you like Olivia Rodrigo or find the lavender earbuds and case to be charming, the Sony LinkBuds S x Olivia Rodrigo earbuds are perfectly good. We’ve tested the LinkBuds S pair before; in our competition spreadsheet, you can read our thoughts on why these earbuds aren’t a pick. This pair has two special EQ settings, both of which sound very good.

Overall, the Soundcore P40i earbuds are nice, with some notable flaws. First, the orientation of the stem on each earbud is such that people with larger ears may have trouble getting the earbuds deep enough to get a seal. The touch controls are customizable but limited. We liked the bass-forward sound, once we adjusted it using the EQ feature in the app. However, the sound loses clarity and balance when played at lower volumes. The ANC is adjustable and performs well, but the “smart” adaptive feature was divisive. Some testers found it to be helpful, and others found it was disorienting.

This article was edited by Adrienne Maxwell and Grant Clauser.