The best noise-canceling earbuds are indispensable tech we all use daily for listening to any and everything—from phone calls, podcasts, and TV shows to workouts, commuting, and air travel. The list is endless. If you buy only one pair of headphones, you should make it a good pair of noise-canceling earbuds.
Most wireless earbuds come with built-in noise cancellation, but the difference between a good pair and a great pair is vast. Trust me, I’ve tested every one of our top picks in the real world—think busy New York City streets, loud cafes, crowded gyms, and rush-hour subway platforms—and sometimes, the noise cancellation is less effective at doing its one job. My top picks come from brands like Bose, Anker, Apple, and Beats, and while none is best overall, a few great options fit different needs.
For more choices, check out our Best Noise-Canceling Headphones (which includes non-earbuds), Best Cheap Headphones, and Best Workout Headphones guides.
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Featured in This Guide
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Updated September 2026: I've updated WIRED's product recommendations and honorable mentions. I also updated specs, prices, and links.
Best ANC Earbuds
Specs
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Battery life (ANC on) | 6 hours, 24 with case |
| Water/dust resistance | IPX4 |
| Wireless charging | Yes |
If you’re seeking the absolute best active noise canceling (ANC), the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) should be at the top of your shortlist. In all my testing, I've yet to find a pair of noise-canceling earbuds that can knock these off the throne, though some models come close. In any environment, whether it’s a noisy subway platform or an international flight, these earbuds largely block out noise. Plus, they sound great, with most music and TV shows coming in clearly and with ample detail.
This second-generation version improves upon the original in small but important ways, including enhanced ANC, more stable connectivity, wireless charging, better personalized sound tuning, and improved customization options within the app.
All that noise-canceling comes at a cost. These are big earbuds that, while comfortable, wouldn’t be my first choice for working out or keeping things fast and light. The QuietComfort Ultra is also pricey and doesn’t have very impressive battery life (just six hours). But for ANC alone, it is the gold standard.
Best Budget ANC Earbuds
Specs
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 6.1 |
| Battery life (ANC on) | 6.5 hours, 28 with case |
| Water/dust resistance | IP55 |
| Wireless charging | Yes |
It’s hard to find effective noise-canceling earbuds at lower price points, but the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro bucks the trend, delivering excellent ANC for well under $200. They have a similar shape and size to the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (though they are a bit smaller), with similar touch-sensitive controls on each bud.
While the noise-canceling isn’t as ironclad as the Bose, I actually find these earbuds more versatile. They have better battery life, a more secure fit, and a much higher dust and water resistance rating (IP55). But the biggest differentiator is call quality—these are some of the best earbuds for calls, full stop. They outperformed every other wireless earbud I tested them against on noisy city streets. What keeps Bose at the top spot is its more effective noise-canceling and detailed sound.
Best ANC Earbuds for iPhone
Specs
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Battery life (ANC on) | 8 hours, 24 with case |
| Water/dust resistance | IP57 |
| Wireless charging | Yes |
If you have an iPhone, you should probably just get the Apple AirPods Pro 3 earbuds. That’s doubly true if you have lots of Apple gadgets—think iPhone, MacBook, and Apple TV. They offer the easiest connectivity for Apple users, and you can swap between your devices instantly and seamlessly. Plus, they connect to Apple's Find My network for pinpoint location tracking.
But they’re also just good earbuds, with excellent noise-canceling and a particularly impressive transparency mode. They also have heart rate sensors built into each earbud, meaning you can start and track a workout and get accurate, detailed stats without wearing a fitness tracker. I’ve tested them against wearables from Garmin and Google, and they are surprisingly accurate.
Apple recently introduced ANC into its entry-level AirPods 5, which I will be testing soon.
Best ANC Earbuds for Samsung
Specs
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 6.1 |
| Battery life (ANC on) | 6 hours, 26 with case |
| Water/dust resistance | IP57 |
| Wireless charging | Yes |
The Samsung Galaxy Buds4 Pro emulate the magic of AirPods, but only for Samsung fans, says former WIRED reviewer Ryan Waniata. They have a very similar size, shape, and control scheme (pinch-and-slide controls on the stem). They are also strikingly similar in features, including accurate GPS location tracking, seamless swapping between Samsung devices, and ample control through a Samsung Galaxy phone. Where they stand out is a dual-speaker audio system that delivers rich bass and assertive treble, plus availability in multiple colors. I wouldn’t recommend the Galaxy Buds for anyone outside of Samsung’s ecosystem, though.
Best ANC Earbuds for Android
Specs
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.4 |
| Battery life (ANC on) | 8 hours, 30 with case |
| Water/dust resistance | IP54 |
| Wireless charging | Yes |
For all my Google Pixel Phone readers out there, I’d strongly consider the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2. The noise-canceling is excellent, and while not as strong as Bose, Apple, or Sony, these earbuds are much smaller and lighter. They also have a built-in mini wingtip on each bud, making them a bit more secure than AirPods Pro, in my testing. That, plus a long battery life and solid IP54 dust and water resistance, makes them good for commuting, travel, working out, and most anything you can throw at them.
Best ANC Earbuds for Sound Quality
Specs
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.4 |
| Battery life (ANC on) | 8 hours, 24 with case |
| Water/dust resistance | IPX4 |
| Wireless charging | Yes |
If you want excellent noise-canceling and excellent sound quality, the Sony WF-1000XM6 is what you're looking for. With the right fit, they are perhaps the best-sounding wireless earbuds that I’ve tested. They use a memory foam ear tip that, once you dial in the fit, provides excellent passive noise isolation. Combined with the near-Bose-level ANC, you can effectively tune out most of your surroundings.
Still, the crown goes to Bose for the best ANC, simply because the 1000XM6 can be tricky to fit perfectly—I had to swap out ear tips a few times before they felt comfortable.
Best ANC Earbuds for Working Out
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Specs
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Battery life (ANC on) | 8 hours, 36 with case |
| Water/dust resistance | IPX4 |
| Wireless charging | Yes |
The Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 are the long-awaited update to the 2019 originals, with a much-needed redesign and the biggest new addition being strong noise cancellation. A sport-focused design with powerful ANC makes these earbuds excellent for the gym, effectively blocking out most background music and weight-clanging.
The new buds are also smaller, slimmer, and lighter than the originals, but still have an ultra-secure fit thanks to full wraparound ear hooks. I’ve literally smacked my ears around with my hands just to see if they would budge—they did not. The buds also have physical button controls (great for use with gloves), a clear transparency mode, built-in heart rate sensors, and support for both iOS (natively) and Android devices (through the Beats app). For sports earbuds, I do wish they had a better IP rating.
Best Cheap ANC Earbuds
Specs
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.4 |
| Battery life (ANC on) | 6 hours, 21 with case |
| Water/dust resistance | IP55 |
| Wireless charging | No |
Let me level with you: I have yet to find competing noise-canceling earbuds for under $50. These JLab earbuds come close, and while the noise-canceling is so-so, they get everything else right. These buds have stable Bluetooth connectivity, a surprisingly robust app with adjustable EQ and programmable controls, an IP55 dust- and water-resistance rating, and decent battery life. They nail the basics, and for $30, that's a win all on its own.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Noise Canceling and How Does It Work?
When people think of noise cancellation in headphones, two things happen at once. First is passive sound isolation: headphones physically block your ears and block some sound from reaching them. Second is active noise cancellation (ANC), which uses a mix of exterior microphones and software to suppress outside sound before it reaches your eardrums.
ANC has been around since the 1970s, but has been refined to very advanced levels since then. Nowadays, it feels like magic, but the principles of physics haven't changed.
Sound moves through the air as pressure waves. The frequency of a wave (the number of times it oscillates per second) determines the pitch. We perceive low-frequency waves, like from an airplane rumble, as dull, bassy sound. We hear high-frequency waves, like a police siren, as a sharp, treble sound.
ANC uses microphones to hear incoming waves and generate the polar opposite waveform. When you add opposite waveforms together, they cancel each other out, and it's as if there is no sound wave at all, at least to our ears.
It isn't perfect because many sounds surround us at the same time—some constant, like the hum of an AC, while others are varied and sudden, like the human voice. ANC can't cancel every sound in your environment, but the best headphones get impressively close.
What Is Transparency Mode or Ambient Sound Mode?
You don't always want to block out all the sound around you when wearing headphones. That's why most models have a transparency mode (sometimes called ambient sound mode), which does the opposite of noise canceling—it filters in environmental sounds through your headphones so you can hear your surroundings more clearly.
Like with ANC, some headphones accomplish this task better than others. Apple AirPods are some of the best; it can feel like you're not wearing earbuds at all when using their transparency mode.
One limitation with these modes is outside interference, namely wind. I've tried using transparency mode while riding an ebike, and it mostly sounds like a blistering blast of artificial wind noise. If you're looking for headphones for outdoor activities like running or biking, open earbuds are a great alternative, as they leave your ears open to naturally hear the world around you.
How I Test Noise-Canceling Earbuds
I test all kinds of headphones, including noise-canceling ones, the way regular people might use them. I wear them for multiple weeks to test comfort, battery life, ease of use, and onboard controls. I use them to take calls, listen to music, watch TV shows, scroll social media, and listen to my favorite playlists.
For testing noise cancellation, I use headphones in the real world. Luckily, I live in New York City, where loud traffic, subway platforms, cafes, and crowds of people are ever-present. When I can, I take earbuds on long flights to see how they handle jet engine noise.
For audio, I don't have a set playlist I test every single headphone with. I instead try to sample a wide variety of genres and artists. My main streaming source is Spotify Lossless, but I take time to test other lossless formats and high-resolution audio codecs when possible.
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