Affordable headphones typically cost between $50 and $100. There’s a significant difference between a set of ANC headphones under $100, especially when it comes to build quality.
If you want to take your audio performance to the next level, it’s best to go for something higher in your budget. Here are our top picks for headphones under $100.
1. Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless
The best over-ear headphones under $100 are the Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless. These headphones are lightweight and sturdy, making them a great choice for casual use.
They’re comfortable to wear, and with a battery life of around 44 hours, they’ll last you through long flights or days of work.
The ANC system can be set to different modes to suit different types of noise.
The ‘Transport’ mode effectively blocks out engine noise and ambient noise with excellent noise isolation, making it the best ANC headphone on this list.
The V-shaped sound profile emphasizes booming, thumping, and thumping sounds, while vocals and lead instruments are delivered clearly.
This sound is suitable for genres such as rock and pop, and can be adjusted via the graphic EQ and presets in the app that comes with the headphones.
However, the ANC does affect the sound signature of the headphones, and when ANC is off, the sound can sound hollow and hollow.
The headphones also leak a lot of sound, so if you’re listening to music in the office, people around you may hear it.
If you’re working in a quiet place, you may prefer the Wyze Noise Cancelling Headphones Wireless. This one leaks much less sound, but has a shorter battery life and weaker ANC performance.
2. QCY H3 Pro
QCY, like many Chinese brands like Tribit and Earfun, is a brand that makes budget headphones that offer great sound quality for their low price (QCY explains that Q stands for quality, C stands for creativity, and Y stands for youth).
The 2024 H3 Pro headphones are similar to similarly priced models like 1More, Tribit, and Edifier, but they sound better and are relatively comfortable to wear thanks to their lightweight design and memory foam ear pads.
The sound quality of these budget models varies slightly from song to song.
There is occasional distortion on poorly recorded audio sources, and the treble doesn’t quite have the clarity and detail you get from high-end headphones, but overall, the sound quality is pretty good.
The noise cancellation is also pretty good. QCY’s iOS and Android apps have a few modes, and while the interface looks simple, the internals are solid enough.
Callers also reported that the voice call performance was excellent, especially considering the price of these headphones.
There’s multipoint Bluetooth pairing that lets you connect two devices at once (you have to enable it in the app), but there’s no wear sensor or anything like that to pause your music when you take the headphones off.
You can also set the headphones to turn off automatically after a certain amount of inactivity (I set mine to 15 minutes), but they didn’t seem to realize I was wearing them during long calls.
3. EarFun Air Pro 4
These affordable wireless earbuds deliver great sound quality, clear calls, and noise isolation that’s just as good as earbuds that cost twice as much.
If you’re looking for a pair of true wireless earbuds and want the most features for the least amount of money.
The EarFun Air Pro 4 true wireless earbuds pack great sound, great noise isolation, dual-device Bluetooth connectivity, and AuraCast compatibility into a compact, convenient design. All for less than $100.
The EarFun app offers a variety of ways to fine-tune the frequency response to your liking, including over a dozen EQ presets, manual frequency range adjustment, and a personalized tuning system based on listening tests.
The earbuds are small and lightweight, and four sets of eartips ensure a more personalized fit.
The ANC is on par with many noise-canceling earbuds that cost twice as much, and I was impressed with how the Air Pro 4’s microphones handled persistent noise, like wind noise, during calls.
They have an 11-hour battery life, and a fully charged case provides a total of 50+ hours of listening time. The charging case is small and can be charged via USB-C or wirelessly.
4. JBL Tune 760NC
In our testing, the JBL Tune 760NC is the best over-ear Bluetooth headphone for calls under $100.
These headphones come in a variety of price ranges, but if you can get them for under $100, they offer better microphone performance than the others listed here.
The built-in mic delivers your voice clearly and naturally, and isolates it well from surrounding noise.
Noise from outside traffic or the hum of an air conditioner won’t affect your calls much. Onboard controls let you answer or end calls without having to take your phone out.
Unfortunately, the ANC (wireless noise cancellation) isn’t great, so if you work in a busy office, you might want to consider our recommended Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless.
They have a comfortable design, but they might feel tight, especially for those with larger heads.
The 760NC boasts a long battery life of over 40 hours, which is enough for several days of use without recharging. It also has a balanced sound profile, with a midrange that delivers detailed and clear vocals.
However, it lacks software and customization features. If these are important to you, consider the JBL Tune 770NC.
The 770NC offers a very similar feature set to the 760NC, with an app that lets you customize your sound using a graphic EQ and presets.
Unfortunately, the mic performance of the 770NC is slightly lower than that of the 760NC. Overall, however, the two headphones perform similarly.
5. Earfun Wave Pro
Earfun has been making some very solid budget earbuds, and now they’ve entered the full-size ANC headphone market with several over-ear models, including the Wave Pro.
While they don’t sound as good as premium noise-canceling headphones from Bose or Sony, they’re comfortable to wear, offer punchy bass, and decent audio quality (though they lack clarity and bass definition compared to more expensive models).
They also offer excellent noise-canceling and voice call performance, with the ability to switch between two levels of ANC (noise cancellation).
It comes with a cable that lets you listen to music via a wired connection to the in-flight entertainment system, but unfortunately, the noise-cancelling function is turned off in wired mode.
For less than $100, you get a decent-sounding pair of headphones with effective noise-cancelling, a comfortable fit, and long battery life. They’re also one of the few budget headphones that come with a carrying case.
6. Sony MDR-7506
Long-time audiophile favorites, the Sony MDR-7506 delivers superior stability, comfort, and better sound than headphones costing twice as much.
A great choice for any listener (or musician, podcaster, or recording enthusiast) who wants accurate sound.
For a reasonable price, it’s better to invest in great sound quality than extras like Bluetooth or noise cancellation.
Since their introduction in 1991, the MDR-7506 headphones have been a staple in recording studios and live audio.
Not only do they deliver a neutral sound across the entire frequency range, but they also deliver more spaciousness and dynamics than headphones costing twice as much.
They’re durable, comfortable, and reliable, and at under $100, they’re also very affordable.
7. 1More SonoFlow
The design of the 1More SonoFlow headphones is reminiscent of older Sony headphones and the recently released Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 4.
They look somewhat plain, but they’re stylish enough and, most importantly, comfortable to wear. The sound quality is also very good.
They don’t quite match the sound quality of higher-end models like the Momentum Wireless 4, but they’re not far behind.
The SonoFlow headphones offer a smooth sound, a clear sound, and relatively well-defined bass (though not as rich and dynamic as the higher-end models I mentioned). They also support the LDAC audio codec.
The noise-cancelling is less powerful than the Sony and Bose models, but it does block out ambient noise effectively and also supports transparency mode.
Voice call performance is similarly solid, but not quite as good.
The included cable allows wired use, but the noise-cancelling feature only works in wireless mode. This could be a problem for frequent flyers who want noise-cancelling when connected to the in-flight entertainment system.
Also read: Best In-Ear Monitors Under $30