Flagship wireless earbuds are great but no everyone can afford them, especially in a cost-of-living crisis. There’s no need to worry though as there are plenty of brillaint sounding, feature-packed earbuds to choose from with budget prices and we’ve tested and ranked the best ones here.
There are loads of models on the market from Sony to Tribit and all have pros and cons. It depends on what elements and features are the most important to you as to which pair will be the best. Do you want ANC and wireless charging, or touch controls and smart features? It’s very hard to find them all on one pair.
The phrase “you get what you pay for” may spring to mind but that doesn’t apply to cheap earbuds, not anymore. It’s often amazing how good some of them are considering how many times cheaper they are compared to their flagship counterparts.
To save you the headache of finding a pair of Bluetooth earphones that impress on more than just price, we’ve gathered our favourite wireless buds here. Our expert team have tested all these options, so you can be sure that you’re getting a truly great deal.
You can also check our main wireless earbuds chart, too and find out how we test audio.
Best budget wireless earbuds 2024
1. Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC – Best Battery Life
Pros
- Good sound and ANC
- Useful app
- Affordable
- Long battery life
Cons
- Only splash-proof
- Poor right/left recognition
Price When Reviewed:
$99.99
We’ve long been fans of Anker products and the Liberty 4 NC are another great pair of earbuds you should consider.
They’re typical earbuds for daily use and we particularly like the blue colour here. More importantly, they offer good sound as well as active noise cancelling like many. However, you get HearID for personalised sound as well as a whopping 50 hours total battery life.
That’s great so if only they had a better waterproof rating than IPX4.
Read our full
Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC review
2. Google Pixel Buds A – Best Smart Features
Pros
- Google Assistant & smarts
- Compact design
- Good sound
Cons
- No ANC
- Short bud battery life
- Can’t customise controls
At the top end of the budget market, the Pixel Buds A have some omissions that might make you look elsewhere. Mainly the lack of noise cancelling and limited battery life of the buds on their own, although fast charging helps here.
However, Google’s cheapest earbuds will appeal to those looking for something a little different to rivals. While they are comfortable and offer good sound quality, it is the smart features that make them stand out.
The Google Assistant is built-in, there’s ear detection, Fast Pair, Adaptive Sound, real-time translation and more.
Read our full
Google Pixel Buds A-Series review
3. Sony WF-C700N – Best for Flagship Features
Pros
- Good sound
- Long battery life
- Nice colours
- Cheap
Cons
- Strange gesture control
- Middling ANC
Price When Reviewed:
$119.99
Though you probably dream of owning some flagship Sony XM earbuds, it’s also a dream come true to get an alternative pair from the brand come in at such a budget friendly price.
And they still come with decent (if not outstanding ANC) as well as plenty of clever features – some from the XM series) you’ll use every day – though we don’t love the touch controls.
Overall, though, there’s little to complain about as the C700N are comfortable, come in a range of colours and importantly sound great with thumping bass. They also offer long battery so what more could you ask for at this price?
Read our full
Sony WF-C700N truly wireless noise-cancelling earbuds review
4. Xiaomi Redmi Buds 4 Pro – ANC & Wireless Charging
Pros
- Adaptive ANC
- Good sound quality
- Hi-Res Audio compatible
- Reliable controls
Cons
- ANC isn’t that powerful
- Need an app to access all features
We’ve been fans of Redmi Buds for a while and following the already excellent 3 Pro, the Redmi Buds 4 Pro are another solid offering.
The tweaked design of the earbuds makes them very comfortable for long periods of listening and the active noise cancelling is improved, too, though still behind some rivals.
There are still premium features you rarely find at this kind of price, too, including wireless charging and now Hi-Red Audio support thanks to LDAC.
It’s frustrating to need the app for certain features but that’s also not uncommon for earbuds. Overall, these are another bargain purchase from Xiaomi.
Read our full
Xiaomi Redmi Buds 4 Pro review
5. Nothing Ear (Stick) – Best Open Design
Pros
- Comfortable & secure
- Good battery life
- Spacious sound
- In-ear detection
Cons
- Bass can be lacking
- No ANC
- Tiny USB cable
Whether the Nothing Ear (Stick) are the right earbuds for you depends on what you are looking for. What these are not, is a replacement for the Ear (1).
The fit and comfort level is very impressive for a ‘half-in’ design with no silicone ear tips to keep things in place. They also sound good without needing to adjust them into a sweet spot, although the Ear (1) certainly offer superior sound.
We love the innovative and interesting case, even if it doesn’t have wireless charging. It’s also worth noting there’s no noise cancelling here but if you want earbuds for long periods without fatigue and a spacious sound where you can hear things around you to some extent then these might be perfect.
Read our full
Nothing Ear (Stick) review
6. Huawei FreeBuds 5i – Best Hi-Res Audio
Pros
- Comfortable & IPX4
- Sound quality
- Adaptive ANC
- High-Res Audio
Cons
- Fragile case
- ANC could be better
- No wireless charging
Huawei continues to offer excellent wireless earbuds at budget prices and the FreeBuds 5i get you an astonishing amount of features for the price.
Headlining the list is support for Hi-Res Audio via Sony’s popular LDAC codec, which is typically reserved for much more expensive earbuds. Sound quality is well-rounded and there’s Adaptive noise cancelling, too, although some rivals offer better performance in this area.
Still, it’s decent and the FreeBuds 5i are comforable and battery life is solid, too. There’s no wireless charging so look to Xiaomi for that and the case isn’t the most durable but Huawei did add IPX4 water resistance which is a step up from the 4i.
Overall, a very good pair of cheap wireless earbuds indeed.
Read our full
Huawei Freebuds 5i review
7. Amazon Echo Buds (2nd gen) – Best for Alexa
Pros
- Alexa works well
- Comfortable fit
Cons
- Battery life isn’t the longest
- ANC could be better
Price When Reviewed:
$99.99 with wireless charging case; $79.99 with wired charging case
You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to true wireless headphones, no matter what size your budget is. Where the original Echo Buds didn’t quite perform well enough to justify their price, the second generation doesn’t have that problem.
They certainly sound better and they have decent, rather than class-leading, noise cancellation.
However, with strong competition, they’re still only a great choice if you really need Alexa in your ears. Make sure you look out for big price cuts during sales events like Amazon Prime Day, making them a more attractive buy.
Read our full
Amazon Echo Buds (2nd gen) review
8. Jabra Elite 4 – Best Transparency Mode
Pros
- Great sound quality
- Impressive ANC
- Solid battery life
- Good companion app
Cons
- Cheap-feeling case
- Annoying controls
- Price rise compared to Elite 3
Price When Reviewed:
$99.99
It’s somewhat more of the same from Jabra here and the Elite 4 sadly cost more than their predecessors.
However, the firm has added active noise cancelling and decent ANC including the best transparency mode we’ve tried on a budget price, so it’s not like the price rise isn’t justified to some degree.
Battery life is solid with up to a total of 28 hours between the buds and case and Jabra’s app is one of the best including a very useful EQ. The higher price just means there’s strong competition from the likes of Google, OnePlus and Nothing.
Read our full
Jabra Elite 4 review
9. Tribit FlyBuds C1 – Cheap & Comfortable
Pros
- Great battery life
- Top-of-the-range audio performance
- Ultra-stable connection
- Comfortable
Cons
- No companion app
- No wireless charging
Price When Reviewed:
$74.99
Tribit consistently makes excellent value for money audio devices and the FlyBuds C1 are no different, sitting in the middle of the category going by price.
Despite this, you still get active noise cancelling as well as excellent sound quality – arguably the two most important things to look for but impressive battery life thrown in makes them very appealing indeed.
That’s if you like the AirPods inspired design which is comfortable for long periods of time and don’t mind not having things like a companion app or wireless charging.
Read our full
Tribit FlyBuds C1 review
10. EarFun Air Pro 3 – Best for Futureproofing
Pros
- Solid audio reproduction
- Light & comfortable
- Long battery life & wireless charging
- Next-gen Bluetooth
Cons
- Skittish touch controls
- Basic active noise cancelling
- No wear detection
Price When Reviewed:
$79.99
While they don’t have the best noise cancelling or touch controls in the budget category, the Air Pro 3 are still interesting and noteworthy earbuds.
They offer good sound qaulity, a decent app with built-in EQ, solid battery life as well as a light and comfortable design meaning they will make for a good travel companion. They have wireless charging to boot.
Most interestingly, they come with next-generation Bluetooth LE Audio which futureproofs them with the possibility of better sound quality even at lower
Read our full
EarFun Air Pro 3 review
Your buying guide to the best budget wireless earbuds in 2022
As mentioned earlier, buying affordable wireless earbuds is very difficult due to a saturated market. To ensure you pick the right pair, here’s some buying advice to answer the main questions.
FAQ
What to expect from budget wireless earbuds?
One of the main things you need to do is reign in your expectations. Budget wireless earbuds are always going to cut corners compared to more expensive flagship models to achieve the lower price point.
Sure, you can find premium features like active noise cancelling (ANC), touch controls, wireless charging, wear detection, digital assistant support and many others.
You might be able to get a few on the same pair, but it’s highly unlikely you’ll get it all so you may need to decide which ones are most important to you.
Which brand of budget wireless earbuds are the best?
Choosing a brand is a bit harder in the budget market for wireless earbuds. There are some familiar names but also lots of lesser-known Chinese brands that undercut the big names.
So while you might see the likes of Google, Jabra and Huawei here there are lots of others and don’t discount them just because you’ve never heard the name.
The likes of Xiaomi, Anker and Mobvoi make decent products and if you’re in doubt, read our full reviews of those products. Our team of experts put every pair through rigorous testing to ensure you’re not buying a dud device.
How much should I spend on budget wireless earbuds?
We can’t answer that for you directly and while our price limit is $100/£100, you might need to spend a lot less than that.
There’s always a range of prices in this chart in the hope there’s something for every budget and our live price tracking will find you the cheapest prices, too.
Of course, just bear in mind that the less you spend, the more likely you are to get lower quality and fewer features.
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