But buying cheap earbuds can be a minefield because you never really know what you’re going to get – especially if it’s from a Chinese brand you’ve never heard of. You could argue that you get what you pay for, except that really isn’t the case, and we’ve found some amazing products at significantly lower prices. The options here are all under $100/£100. To save you the headache of finding a pair of Bluetooth earphones that impress on more than just price, we’ve rounded up some of our favourite wireless buds. 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. Find out how we test audio.
Best budget wireless earbuds 2023
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.
Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation Powerful bass Great battery life
No auto-pause tech Case feels a little cheap No auto-switching of ANC profiles
They might have a slightly cheap-feeling case and no auto-pausing tech but those downsides are massively overshadowed by great performance and a surprisingly comprehensive feature set. As well as powerful bass, the A2 buds have excellent noise cancelling with three presets for different environments and the app offers EQ sound customisation. Throw in touch controls and solid battery life and there’s very little to dislike. These are the best budget noise cancelling wireless earbuds you can get.
Google Assistant & smarts Compact design Good sound
No ANC Short bud battery life Can’t customise controls
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.
Adaptive ANC Good sound quality Hi-Res Audio compatible Reliable controls
ANC isn’t that powerful Need an app to access all features
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.
Comfortable & secure Good battery life Spacious sound In-ear detection
Bass can be lacking No ANC Tiny USB cable
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.
Impressive sound quality Solid ANC Decent battery life Comfortable fit
No wear detection Case feels a little cheap No auto-switching of ANC profiles
Sound quality is solid with rich, detailed audio and thumping bass to boot. Both active noise cancellation modes are effective at blocking out external noise, but it’s great to also have the option to amplify what’s going on around you. However, the fiddly touch controls used to move between these modes are frustating, while much of the impressive app functionality is buried beneath an unintuitive design. But with great battery life and a very comfortable fit, these are budget buds that are worth considering.
Impressive smart features Great audio with strong bass ANC & Transparency mode
Some features exclusive to OnePlus phones Occasional Bluetooth connectivity issues
They are better with OnePlus phones though as features like Dolby Atmos and low-latency are exclusive. Still, there are lots of smart features available regardless such as Fast Pair, multi-device connectivity, wear detection and customisable touch controls. Furthermore, sound quality and ANC are both great and battery life can be long if you don’t use noise cancelling too much.
Solid ANC Good sound Decent battery life
Awkward design App issues Limited controls
The noise cancelling is good and the sound quality is top-notch as well. You’ll also benefit from solid battery life with up to 10 hours from the earbuds alone. The case has quick charging but can’t top the buds up many times. While the buds are comfortable the case design is awkward and the touch controls are limited, too. Although you don’t need the AI Life app for much, getting it from the App Gallery is a pain if you don’t have a Huawei phone so the FreeBuds 4i aren’t a no brainer, especially with Anker’s at the same price.
Good sound quality Voice commands ANC modes
ANC is a little weak No volume control Limited battery life
While the ANC performance isn’t amazing, there is also a useful Sound Pass-Through mode so it’s not simply on or off. Sound quality is overall decent and you can also make use of voice commands and touch controls, the latter being particularly unusual at this price. You don’t have any volume control which is a shame and the battery life of the earbuds alone is limited to under three hours.
Impressive sound quality Comfortable, secure fit Solid battery life
No ANC No auto-pause Fiddly touch controls
For a reasonable price, they offer impressive sound quality for a range of tasks, solid battery life, great call quality and excellent comfort – so much so you might forget you’re wearing them at times. Perhaps enough for most people, but you can get ANC elsewhere for this price and the touch controls are fiddly.
Good sound quality Excellent battery life Gaming Mode
No ANC Tricky to get out of the case Can slip out of ears
There’s good audio performance, comfort and also a Gaming Mode to ensure good sync with your phone (which also helps for streaming video, too). They are undoubtedly a bargain and less than half the price of many rivals, but they don’t justify the ‘Pro’ moniker with no noise cancelling or other typically pro features like wireless charging. 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. 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. 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. Tech Advisor’s Reviews Editor, Chris has been reviewing all kinds of tech for over 10 years and specialises in audio. He also covers a range of topics including home entertainment, phones, laptops, tablets and more.
