The 7 Best Budget Wireless Earbuds, All Under $50

No other style of headphones lends themselves to EDC quite like earbuds. Super compact, lightweight, and ultra-pocketable, earbuds allow you to never be without your tunes. Whether you’re looking to drown out annoying background sounds, liven up your morning, or bestow your workout or commute with a soundtrack, earbuds provide a convenient means of mobile listening. But sometimes, the price of certain options can turn people away, which is why we’ve gathered a list of our favorite budget choices.

What we sought for this list was companies that could take one of two approaches. We started with designers who didn’t add a lot of frills and unneeded features and instead focused on great sound. Then, we looked at companies who had made earphones with a solid sound that managed to cram in features and Easter egg extras without jacking up the cost. Once these had been parsed, tested, culled, and agreed on, we ended up with the best budget wireless earbuds (all under $50) for our guide.

How we selected (our price range)

With the market containing literally thousands of different earbud models, it can be difficult to find legitimately worthwhile items. With this in mind, we’ve scoured the product space, searching high and low to bring you this condensed, straightforward guide to the best cheap earbuds for under $50. And, while half-a-bill may seem like a fairly limiting price point, the reality is there are several incredibly competent earbuds that come in at under $50, including audiophile-grade studio pairs and cutting-edge true wireless sets.

What to expect from budget earbuds

There are a lot of factors that go into how earbuds are priced. Obviously, the raw materials and audio components play a substantial role, as do supplementary amenities such as Bluetooth connectivity or active noise cancellation. In an effort to distinguish their products from other offerings on the market, electronics manufacturers will routinely bestow gadgets with a host of supplementary selling points to help tip the scales in their favor, with features like built-in tracking devices, internal gyroscopes and accelerometers, integrated microphones, and so on.

And while we’ll be the first to admit that we’re suckers for all the latest bells and whistles when it comes to electronics, the vast majority of them are fairly superfluous. Not only are these extras totally unnecessary for headphones to perform their basic sound playback duties, but they also result in higher price tags. If you’re in the market for a pair of earbuds, and you don’t want to spend a lot, consider the features that you can go without. By eliminating the elements that you don’t want (or can live without), you’ll open the door up to a slew of more reasonably priced pairs that should still be more than sufficient for your needs.

What to look for

While $50 might not seem like a lot to spend on a pair of modern earbuds, the truth of the matter is that if you know what to look for, there are a variety of excellent options. Below, we’ll be walking you through what to consider when buying a new set of earbuds, and, more importantly, how to get the most bang for your buck.

Sound: The sound quality of headphones in this price range has significantly improved over the last decade, and honestly, if you’re not an audiophile and are just interested in getting from audio point A to B, then $50 is enough. Most of them will have clear, balanced sound, but they won’t be as crisp or come with special features like spatial audio.

Battery: Battery life in this budget is also comparable to that of higher-end picks, with ~6 hours being the norm on a single charge. This is plenty for daily activities, and some options may even crack 8-9 hours.

Case Battery: Thankfully, charging cases have also become standard in this price range, and should provide around ~30 hours total of listening time. The listed time will usually include the initial charge of the earbuds on their own.

Brand: Though there are outliers, buying from a respected and reputable usually does come with at least some added assurance of quality. And while buying from a big-name brand has this clear benefit, it also comes at a premium in terms of cost — not unlike when buying a car. Frequently you’ll find that by forgoing items from big-name brands, you can save a significant amount of cash. If you’re willing to do your homework, however, you’ll often find that lesser-known companies will often offer products that are comparable to that of the industry leaders, at a markedly lower price.

Noise Cancellation: ANC (Active Noise Cancellation, which utilizes microphones to produce a frequency that cancels ambient sound) is the standard in quality noise-cancelling headphones. Unfortunately, most of the options in this range won’t have it, but there are plenty with passive noise cancellation (which uses the shape of the headphones to cancel noise), which can still be useful.

Water Resistance: It’s not uncommon for budget earbuds to come with sweat, water, and dust resistance now. If you plan on working out, you’ll want a pair with at least an IPX4 rating, and that’s thankfully not a big ask in this budget as many options feature it.

Features: Speaking of features, gone are the days of cheap options with little in the way of extras; earbuds in this price range often come with EQ settings, touch controls, and LED displays that are commonly found in premium headphones.

JLab Go Air

Best Starter Earbuds: For the best balance of comfort and quality sound for less than a sawbuck, you’re just not going to find anything that can top these comfort-oriented budget earbuds from JLab. Not only that, but these earbuds have a really impressive battery life for the price, with 8 hours on a single charge and 32 total provided by the charging case. You’re getting IPX4 water resistance, so these are definitely equipped for a workout, and the ability to use the earbuds independently to customize your listening/talking. They come with three tips so you can get the fit right, touch controls that allow you to control music and accept calls, and even EQ settings to enhance your listening experience.

TOZO T12

Best Comfortable Earbuds: Too often, budget earbud manufacturers just slap some cheap silicone tips onto a weak speaker and call it a day. These knock-offs are uncomfortable and give you almost no bang, tweet, or mid-range for your buck. In comes TOZO with the T12 earbuds, which are designed with a curve and feature silicone ear hooks to provide all-day comfort and an IPX8 rating which makes them great for getting active, too. Inside, 10mm speaker drivers provide clean sound, and touch controls allow you to control audio and make adjustments on the fly. The LED display lets you know where your battery life is, and the water resistance even extends to the case (which is waterproof for 30 minutes up to 1m).

EarFun Free 2S

Best Earbuds for Calls: If you’re frequently making calls and want a pair of trusty yet affordable earbuds for the job, then look no further than this offering from EarFun. Inside, a Qualcomm QCC3040 chip gives you powerful and dynamic sound, complemented by the Qualcomm cVc 8.0 technology, which works with the four built-in mics to capture your voice clearly. Battery life is solid, with 7 hours of listening time on a single charge and 30 total with the case, and the earbuds come with a generous IPX7 rating. Personalization options for this pick are generous as well, with EQ settings, connectivity to the brand’s app, and a game mode that gives you a low-latency listening option for playing your favorite games.

SoundPEATS TrueFree2

Best Active Earbuds: While most options on this list are great for working out, these headphones have a custom “Ear Fin” design that makes them more comfortable and less likely to fall out. Battery life is decent, with 20 hours total provided by the case, and ~7 hours on a single charge (an indicator inside the case shows you the battery life), with touch controls to navigate your audio. There’s a 6mm bio-compound diaphragm driver that musters solid sound quality with little distortion, and you can use the earbuds independently without fear because they can instantly connect to your devices, and switch to another with no sweat.

JBL Vibe 200TWS

Best Earbuds Overall: Another example of premium levels of sound quality being made possible by higher-end existing technology trickling down to more accessibly-priced offerings, JBL’s Vibe 200TWS sees the American company’s hallmark JBL Signature Sound made available in a bare-bones earbuds model. No active noise canceling, just pure, rich sound, sold at a fair MSRP. Available in blue, purple, black, or white, the Vibe 200TWS consists of 8mm drivers held inside durable aluminum housings giving you deep bass frequencies. The ergonomic fit can be customized with the three ear tips included, and the earbuds are IPX2 water-resistant. This is a stellar choice for general day-to-day use, and even travel — an area furthered by the model’s ergonomic fit and voice assistance.

Soundcore by Anker Life A1

Best-Sounding Earbuds: Anker is truly a leader in the audio technology space, and even the company’s budget options are equipped with premium features and top-notch sound quality. Soundcore is one of Anker’s sub-labels, and the brand’s Life A1 earbuds are affordable, yet capable. Inside, they have oversized 8mm drivers with triple-layer composite diaphragms, giving you powerful bass, clear mids, and clear sound overall. Three modes are built-in that let you customize your EQ depending on the content (like bass boosting for music or a podcast setting). As for the battery, the earbuds give you about 9 hours of listening time, and the case makes it a total of 35. Charging is also made easier with the option to wirelessly charge or via USB-C.

Wyze Buds

Best Noise-Reducing Earbuds: Wyze Labs is a startup founded by former Amazon employees that’s been making consumer electronics since 2017. Although the label may be best known for its smart home tech, the Wyze Buds are just as impressive (especially for the price). It may not be as good as active noise cancellation, but with up to 30 dB of passive noise canceling, you’ll definitely notice a difference. Featuring 10.5mm audio drivers, these buds were designed to give you rocking bass and come with 5 silicone tips so you can get the perfect fit. Using the Wyze app, you can customize your EQ and a host of other settings which add to the personalization, and the IPX5 rating means they’ll feel right at home during a workout.

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