- Best Budget Noise-Canceling Headphones Under $100 for 2025
- What's the best cheap noise-canceling headphone overall?
- Best cheap noise-canceling headphones for 2025
- Top value Sony midrange noise-canceling headphones
- Best overall budget noise-canceling headphones
- Best value noise-canceling budget headphones
- Best new budget noise-canceling headphones
- Best on-ear headphones from JBL
- Best performing budget noise-canceling headphones
- Best budget noise-canceling headphones from JLab
- Best budget noise-canceling headphones from Anker
- Best feature-packed budget noise-canceling headphones
- Best budget noise-canceling headphones for comfort
- Factors to consider when buying budget ANC headphones
- How we test budget noise-canceling headphones
- Other budget noise-canceling headphones we tested
- Budget noise-canceling headphone FAQs
I've tested hundreds of wireless headphones over the last 10 years, and though I certainly like listening to top premium noise-canceling models from Sony, Bose and many others, they aren't exactly cheap. That's why I'm always on the lookout for less expensive noise-canceling headphones (by that I mean under $100) that are comfortable to wear, offer better-than-expected performance and are good overall values. No, you shouldn't expect fantastic sound quality from budget noise-canceling headphones, but I've found several models that deliver surprisingly decent sound. I also have a list of the best cheap earbuds of 2025 and a list of the best , if over-the-ear headphones aren't what you're looking for.
What's the best cheap noise-canceling headphone overall?
Though the Sony CH-720N lists for $150, it's often discounted to closer to $100. At that price, it's arguably the best budget noise-canceling headphone. But there are several other good cheap ANC headphones on the list that are also good values -- and cost even less.
Best cheap noise-canceling headphones for 2025
Top value Sony midrange noise-canceling headphones
8.0 /10
SCORE
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Pros
- Lightweight and comfortable, weighing less than half a pound with faux-leather padding
- V1 chip offers better digital processing for adaptive noise canceling and sound quality
- Enhanced voice-calling performance with pair of beamforming microphones
- Robust EQ settings in user-friendly companion app
Cons
- No carrying case
- Limited extra features, like ear-detection sensors
- No LDAC audio codec support
- Lacks extra sound clarity and depth
Sony's improved entry-level noise canceling headphones, the CH-720Ns, have a bit of a plasticky budget vibe, but they're lightweight and very comfortable. Part of me was expecting them to sound pretty mediocre, but I was pleasantly surprised. No, they don't sound as good as the WH-1000XM5s. But they sound more premium than they look (and feel), and their overall performance is a step up from their predecessor, the CH-710Ns. Are they worth $150? Maybe -- or maybe not. But the good news is that, like the CH-710N and WH-XB910 before them, these have already seen significant discounts, with prices dropping to as low as $90 during flash sales.
Best overall budget noise-canceling headphones
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Pros
- Sound quite good for their relatively low price
- Lightweight and relatively comfortable
- Decent noise canceling and voice-calling performance for a budget headphone
- USB-C audio (and wired mode with included cable)
- Support for LDAC audio codec
Cons
- ANC cuts off in wired mode
- No carry case or pouch included
QCY is another Chinese brand like Tribit, Earfun and plenty of others that make budget-priced headphones that sound better than you'd think they would for their relatively low price (the company says the Q stands for quality, C stands for creative and Y stands for youth). Its new-for-2024 H3 Pro headphones are similar to models in this price range from 1More, Tribit and Edifier, but they arguably sound a touch better and I found them relatively comfortable to wear, as they feature a lightweight design and memory foam ear pads.
The sound quality on these budget models tends to vary a bit from track to track. While I encountered some occasional distortion on badly recorded material and the treble just can't produce the clarity and detail that you get with more premium headphones, all in all, the sound quality was quite respectable. The noise canceling also is fairly decent -- there are a few different modes to choose from in QCY's companion app for iOS and Android, which has a low-frills-looking interface but is robust enough under the hood -- and callers said the voice-calling performance was also good, especially given the price of these headphones.
You do get multipoint Bluetooth pairing that allows you to connect two devices simultaneously (you have to activate it in the app), but features like wear sensors that pause your music when you take the headphones off are missing. Also, you can set the headphones to automatically turn off after not being in use for a certain amount of time (I set it for 15 minutes), but the headphones turned off in the middle of a long call I was making, not seeming to realize that I was using the headphones. The H3 Pro are decent value for the cost, particularly when their price dips closer to $50.
Best value noise-canceling budget headphones
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Pros
- Affordable
- Lightweight and comfortable
- Good sound quality and ANC for the price
- Strong battery life
- USB-C audio
Cons
- No carrying case
- No 3.5mm jack for wired listening
The W830NB is the successor to Edifier's popular W820NB Plus, one of the better-value noise-canceling headphones of the last few years. The W830NB looks slightly more premium than its predecessor, and like that earlier model, is fairly lightweight (265 grams) and comfortable, with cushy memory foam ear pads. They also sound very good for their price, offering decent clarity and fairly well-defined bass with an amply wide sound stage (they lack the refinement and depth of higher-end headphones, but you can't expect the world from sub-$80 headphones). You can tweak the sound profile in Edifier's companion app for iOS and Android.
The W830NBs do have a few additional improvements over the W820NB Plus. First, you get Bluetooth 5.4 (instead of 5.2). Also, along with the LDAC and SBC audio codecs, the W830NB supports the AAC audio codec. The noise canceling is a tad better (it's decent but not up to the level of what you get with Bose and Sony headphones) and battery life is rated for up to an impressive 54 hours with noise canceling on, up from 49 hours. A couple of things are still missing. There's no official carrying case or headphone jack, although you can connect them to your computer with a USB-C cable (a USB-C to USB-A cable is included but most computers and smartphones have USB-C now).
Best new budget noise-canceling headphones
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Pros
- Good value
- Comfortable fit
- Good sound for their low price
- Decent noise-canceling and voice-calling performance
Cons
- ANC disabled when in wired mode
- Lacking a bit of clarity
Earfun has made some very solid budget earbuds, and now it's entered the full-size ANC headphone space with its new-for-2024 Wave Pro headphones. They list for $80, but click the 20%-off instant coupon on their product page and add the code EWPROCNET at checkout and the price drops to $56. They may not sound as good as premium noise-canceling headphones from Bose or Sony, but they're comfortable to wear, feature decent sound with punchy bass (they're a bit lacking in clarity and bass definition compared to more expensive models) and offer respectable noise canceling (you can toggle between two levels of ANC) and voice-calling performance. I found them to be a step up from the Soundpeats Space headphones, which sometimes cost a little less.
They're rated for up to 80 hours of battery life with noise-canceling off and 55 hours with it on and support multipoint Bluetooth pairing as well as Sony's LDAC audio codec for Android smartphones and other compatible devices. I also like that they come with a hard case and a cable for wired listening (although noise-canceling is disabled when you go wired, which is a bit of a bummer).
Best on-ear headphones from JBL
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Pros
- Comfortable fit for on-ear headphones
- Folding design
- Good sound quality
- Active noise canceling
- Very good battery life
JBL's Live 670NC and Tune 670NC are among the relatively small number of on-ear models that offer active noise canceling. They're both relatively affordable, but the Live 670NC headphones have a more premium look and feel, with better ear pads that are clearly more durable. They also have sound that's a little better, with 40mm drivers that offer good detail and punchy bass. Battery life is rated at up to 65 hours (or 50 hours with ANC on), and an extra four hours of battery with just five minutes of charge. This model includes the latest Bluetooth 5.3 (with LE Audio) and multipoint Bluetooth pairing. It also has JBL's Ambient Aware (transparency mode) and TalkThru features. It's available in black, white, blue and sandstone and comes with a cord for wired listening. The headphones list for $130 but regularly dip to $100.
Best performing budget noise-canceling headphones
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Pros
- Comfortable
- Good sound quality for their price
- Decent noise canceling
- LDAC audio codec support for Android users
Cons
- A bit generic looking
- Noise canceling only works in wireless mode
The design of 1More's SonoFlow headphones reminds me a little of some earlier Sony headphones and also the newer Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 4. They're a bit generic looking but sleek enough and more importantly, comfortable to wear. They also feature very respectable sound quality. It doesn't quite measure up to the sound quality of what'll get with more premium models like the Momentum Wireless 4, it isn't that far off. The SonoFlow headphones deliver smooth sound with good clarity and relatively well-defined bass (they're just not quite as rich or dynamic sounding as those premium models I mentioned). They also have support for the LDAC audio codec.
The noise canceling is a step down from what Sony and Bose models offer but it does a decent job of muffling ambient sound and there is a transparency mode. Voice-calling performance is similarly solid but unspectacular. Note that you can use this in wired mode with the included cable but the noise canceling only works in wireless mode, which is an issue for frequent flyers who like some noise canceling when plugging into an in-flight entertainment system.
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Best budget noise-canceling headphones from JLab
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Pros
- Affordably priced
- Comfortable and well-designed
- Sound reasonably good for their low price
- Noise-canceling does a decent job muffling ambient sound
Cons
- No wired mode
- Clarity could be slightly better
- No carrying case
JLab still sells its older Studio Pro ANC wireless headphones for around $100, but its latest budget noise-canceling model is the Lux ANC Wireless. While they list for $80, they've dipped to as low as $46 during flash sales, and they're a good value at $60. For budget headphones, they look pretty good (they don't stick out from your head too much), are comfortable to wear with nicely padded ear cups and seem pretty well built (they fold up but no carrying pouch or case is included). As far as sound goes, while they just don't offer the clarity of more premium headphones, they sound fairly decent and kick out a good amount of bass. Everything could be a little more well defined, but since they're a bit on the warm side and have no treble harshness, you don't experience any listening fatigue, which is one of the key things you want to avoid with headphones.
Noise canceling performance is decent (you can toggle between "smart" ANC on, ANC off and a transparency mode using the NC button on the headphones) and callers said they could hear me pretty well (though not great) when I used the headphones in the noisy streets of New York. They don't have a port for a headphone cable so you can't listen to them in wired mode (there's no USB-C audio either). But they're simple to use and the JLab companion app for iOS and Android allows you to tweak the sound profile, customize the touch controls and receive firmware updates. There's also Bluetooth multipoint pairing and Android users can take advantage of support for Google Fast Pair and Google Find My Device.
Best budget noise-canceling headphones from Anker
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Pros
- Strong feature set
- Very good sound quality for their price
- Decent noise canceling and voice calling
- LDAC audio codec support
Available in three color options, the Soundcore Space One is Anker's latest noise-canceling headphones. They're a good value for around $100, offering a strong feature set along with good sound quality and performance. They can't quite compete sound-wise with many of the premium noise-canceling models, but you don't feel like you're giving up that much on the sound front to save a good deal of money. They lack a bit of that natural, refined quality you look for in a great set of cans, but the Space One sounds respectable, with decent clarity and bass definition and measures up well to the more expensive Soundcore Space 45.
Noise-canceling and voice-calling performance are also good for headphones in this price range, although the transparency mode is only OK. Anker has developed a version of Sony's Speak-to-Chat feature -- Anker calls it Easy Chat -- that automatically pauses your music and enters a transparency mode when you walk up to someone and start a conversation. The headphones are equipped with wear-detection sensors, a feature not usually found at this price, and include a carrying pouch. LDAC audio codec support is available for Android users.
I found them comfortable to wear, but they do look a bit bulky compared to more premium models.
Best feature-packed budget noise-canceling headphones
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Pros
- Comfortable
- Decent build quality for their price
- Good sound for their price
- Good battery life
Cons
- Voice-calling performance could be better
- Noise-canceling performance is fine but not great
As far as sound, comfort level and build quality go, you'd be hard-pressed to do better than Anker's Soundcore Life Q30 for the money. It doesn't have quite the clarity or bass definition as some of the top premium models, but it's less than a third of the price and gets you about 75% of the way there in terms of sound. It's well-balanced overall, with punchy bass, and there's an app that allows you to tweak the sound. Noise-canceling is good for the price, although certainly not up to the level of the Sony WH-1000XM5 or Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones. Battery life is rated at an impressive 40 hours with USB-C charging.
The only area where the Q30 falls a little short is for voice calls. It picks up your voice fine in quieter environments but it just doesn't reduce background noise all that well.
Compared to the Q20 (see below), the Q30 does offer improved sound (it's not a huge difference, but it definitely is a notch up) and a more premium design. There's also the newer Life Q35 ($100, currently out of stock), which adds support for Sony's LDAC audio codec for high-resolution audio streaming with music services that support it.
Best budget noise-canceling headphones for comfort
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Pros
- Solid build quality with dual-hinge design
- Good sound quality for their price
- Decent noise canceling and strong battery life
- Hard carrying case included
Cons
- A bit bulky-looking (may not fit smaller heads)
- Slightly heavy
The OneOdio A10s deliver more than you'd expect for their relatively modest price. They're not only built better than you think they would be for around $80 and are pretty comfortable to wear. They have a dual-hinge design and feel sturdy, weighing in at 395 grams. They sound surprisingly decent and have reasonably good noise canceling with a transparency mode (which has a slight audible hiss). The headphones also have very good battery life.
No, they're not as comfortable as Bose's and Sony's models (they do feel a tad heavy) and their sound lacks that extra bit of clarity, bass definition and depth that more premium headphones tend to deliver. They did exceed my expectations and come with a decent carrying case, even if the OneOdio logo splayed across it is a bit garish.
How cheap?
Budget active noise-canceling headphones tend to range in price from $50 to $100. The question you'll have to ask yourself is whether you're looking for the cheapest ANC headphones, or are you willing to spend closer to $100? There usually is a significant difference between a set of ANC cans that cost $50 to $60 and ones that cost $80 to $100, particularly when it comes to build quality. If you're looking for a step-up in audio performance, your best bet is to stick to the higher end of a budget price range.
Design
Budget headphones tend to be a little bulkier than more premium models and can also look and feel a little, well, cheap. All our picks on this list offer a reasonably good design (at a minimum), but some are more appealing than others. Finding a design that's appealing to you is obviously important.
Fit
It's key that the headphones you buy fit your head well. The key to good noise canceling headphones is the fit of the ear cups around your head, so the best pair should offer a comfortable fit that's snug, yet not too snug. Ideally, you want headphones you can wear over a day with minimal breaks. Budget headphones can offer a comfortable fit, but more premium headphones tend to feature better memory foam and more ergonomic designs.
Durability
You want headphones that hold up well over time, so look for models that we note have sturdy build quality. Even budget models can come equipped with excellent resiliency in several tougher conditions.
Maximize performance and features for your budget
You want the best-sounding headphones with the best noise canceling, call quality and features like wireless charging for whatever you're able to spend. Be sure to pack in as many features as you think you'll need when choosing a set of headphones, even on a budget.
Return policy
It's critical to buy your headphones at a retailer that has a good return policy, in case you have buyer's remorse. Some people who are having trouble deciding between two models sometimes buy both, try them out for a few days, and then return one.
We test budget noise-canceling headphones based on six key criteria: design, sound quality, noise-canceling performance, voice-calling performance, features and value.
Design
We assess not only how comfortably the headphones fit (their ergonomics) but also their build quality and how well the controls are implemented. Only a few full-size headphones have water- and dust-resistance ratings, so those that are more durable are noted in this list.
Sound quality
We evaluate sound quality by listening to a set playlist of tracks from various music styles and comparing headphones to top competing products. Sonic traits such as bass definition, clarity, dynamic range and how natural the headphones sound are key factors in our assessment, especially as noise-canceling features can sometimes hinder audio production. If your biggest use case is listening to music, this factor will be a key determinant in choosing your new headphones.
Noise-canceling performance
Because each model on this list features Active Noise Canceling (ANC), we evaluate ANC performance by wearing the headphones in the same spot indoors near a noisy HVAC unit to see how well they do at muffling lower frequencies. Then we head out onto city streets to test the headphones in a real-world environment where we see how they do at muffling not only traffic noise but also people's voices.
Additional features
Some great-sounding budget noise-canceling headphones aren't loaded with features, but we do take into account what extra features are on board. These include everything from quick-access awareness with touch controls to transparency modes (your music pauses and the headphones open up to the outside world so you can have a conversation) to special sound modes to ear-detection sensors that automatically pause your music when you take the headphones off your ears. We also take a look at the companion/control app for the headphones (if there is one) and how user-friendly the app controls are.
Voice-calling
When we test voice-calling performance, we make calls on noisy city streets and evaluate how well the headphones or earbuds reduce background noise and how clearly callers can hear our voices.
Value
We determine value after considering the strength of the headphones against all these criteria and what they're able to deliver compared with other models in their price class. Because the models on this list are priced similarly, we're sure to compare each one head-to-head to deliver you the best value.
Sony CH-720N: Sony's improved entry-level noise canceling headphones, the CH-720Ns, have a bit of a plasticky budget vibe, but they're lightweight and very comfortable. Part of me was expecting them to sound pretty mediocre, but I was pleasantly surprised. No, they don't sound as good as the WH-1000XM5s. But they sound more premium than they look (and feel), and their overall performance is a step up from their predecessor, the CH-710Ns.
JBL Tune 670NC: The JBL Tune 670NC is one of a relatively small number of on-ear headphones to offer active noise canceling. It's something of a value model -- no carrying case is included -- but it does have memory foam ear pads that get you a comfortable fit for an on-ear headphone. Deliver clear sound with punch bass, it has 32mm drivers and improves on its predecessor's battery life, offering up to a whopping 70 hours (or 44 hours with ANC on), and an extra three hours of battery with just five minutes of charge.
Wyze Noise-Canceling Headphones: Wyze is known for its value security cams, but it also made a pretty decent pair of budget noise-canceling headphones for less than $75.
Do cheap noise-canceling headphones sound as good as premium models from Sony and Bose?
Alas, no. More budget ANC headphones tend to be a little lacking on the sound quality front. Some budget ANC models that cost less than $100 offer surprisingly good sound for the money. You shouldn't expect great sound, but you can certainly get headphones that sound quite decent.
What are the biggest differences between cheaper noise-canceling headphones and more premium models?
Often, the biggest difference is build quality. Premium headphones tend to feel sturdier and tend to be built with more premium materials. They also have a more premium look and feel to both the headphones themselves and their carrying case (many cheaper headphones don't even include a carrying case or protective pouch). Performance is also a few steps behind. Premium headphones tend to have more advanced driver designs, chipsets and better microphones for voice calling. Finally, some cheap headphones don't link to a companion app that allows you to tweak their sound with EQ settings or upgrade their firmware.
Do cheap budget ANC headphones work for voice calling?
Some do. Many cheaper headphones now feature multiple microphones and some do a surprisingly good job when it comes to voice calling. A few models on this list have decent noise reduction. Some also offer multipoint Bluetooth pairing, which allows you to pair the headphones to two devices simultaneously (such as a smartphone and a computer).
What is the difference between active noise cancellation and noise cancellation?
Noise cancellation is often used as a catch-all term, but it actually refers to two distinct methods - passive and active noise cancellation. Passive noise cancellation relies on the physical design of the headphones -- like dense foam earcups and a snug fit -- to block out external sounds. Active noise cancellation takes things a step further by using built-in microphones to detect ambient noise, then generating sound waves that effectively cancel it out. The result? A noticeably quieter listening experience, especially in louder environments.
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