Best Affordable Wireless Headphones of 2025

Explore the best affordable wireless headphones that provide great sound quality without breaking the bank in 2025!

Introduction to Affordable Wireless Headphones

The term "cheap" often carries a negative connotation. However, when it comes to wireless headphones, significant progress has been made in recent years. Today’s budget models are no longer mere replicas of their pricier counterparts; instead, they offer amazing features without the hefty price tag. Our list includes models that are genuinely commendable.

In fact, many of these affordable headphones boast similar characteristics and functionalities as their premium siblings. We are witnessing an increasing number of budget-friendly options that include Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), and even models without ANC, like the Sony WF-C510, come equipped with an Ambient mode to help you hear your surroundings better. They often feature app controls, deliver solid comfort levels, and provide impressive sound quality, all for under £100.

Of course, at this price point, there are some real duds, but you won’t find any in our selection. Each pair has been rigorously tested in various situations while playing different genres of music. We ensure that we evaluate all their features, confirming their capabilities.

Quick List of Recommendations

Best Overall Headphones

Sony WF-C510

The C510s are the successors to the WF-C500 in Sony’s product lineup and stand out as the best overall choice. They feature improved battery life, a new ambient sound mode, a lower starting price, and enhanced sound quality. It’s a win-win situation.

Best Budget Headphones

Earfun Air

Earfun Air is the cheapest of the cheap. If you need something more affordable, you might have to look further afield, likely compromising on sound quality. Nonetheless, they offer a fantastic price-to-performance ratio.

Best ANC Headphones

Sony WF-C700N

These are comfortable, ear-covering headphones with superb sound quality, making them the best noise-cancelling headphones you can purchase at this price point.

Best Over-Ear ANC Headphones

Sony WH-CH720N

While there are more advanced ANC earbuds, you won’t find them at a better price. These handle noise cancellation effectively and sound fantastic for their price.

Best On-Ear Headphones Without ANC

Sony WH-CH520

The WH-CH520 are some of the most affordable on-ear headphones from a well-known brand. They feature fantastic battery life, neutral and pleasant sound, and a highly useful Sony mobile app, all at a great price.

Recommendations for 2025's Best Budget Wireless Headphones

Best Overall Headphones

Sony WF-C510

These wireless headphones are unmatched in terms of price.

Specifications

• Type: In-ear
• Bluetooth Version: 5.3
• Noise Cancellation: No
• Built-in Microphone and Controls: Yes
• Water Resistance: IPX4
• Battery Life: 22 hours (11 hours for the headphones; 11 hours for the case)
• Weight: 4.6 g each

Pros:

• Compact and comfortable design
• Energetic, well-balanced sound
• App for precise control

Cons:

• Average battery life
• Slightly limited sound depth
• Numerous serious competitors

If you need affordable wireless headphones, Sony should be your first choice. They replace the award-winning WF-C500 with significant improvements. Most importantly, they now have extended battery life, often a primary compromise for budget headphones. They also introduce a new ambient sound mode, allowing you to hear some external sounds to better navigate your surroundings.

As expected, they look as you would expect for their price. However, when the starting price is significantly lower than their predecessors, we can forgive that. They fit snugly and are comfortable to wear, making them perfect for sports, especially with their IPX4 rating.

The Bluetooth Multipoint feature allows connecting to two devices simultaneously, letting you switch from listening to music on your phone to a Zoom call on your laptop without wasting time reconnecting. You can also use each earbud independently.

Fortunately, Sony didn’t just boost specs and think “that’ll do.” They also enhanced sound quality. You wouldn’t expect overly analytical sound from a pair at this price point, and that’s not what you get. The C510 headphones are fun, engaging, and musical without sacrificing Sony’s signature sound. "You can tell the WF-C510 belongs to the Sony family; they are so musical and rhythmic— even complex compositions sound distortion-free, and their rhythmic feel and ability to simply groove with the song fit any music you play through them,” we wrote in our review.

Compared to the C500, they sound a bit richer and fuller.

Best Budget Headphones

Earfun Air

These are the cheapest wireless headphones we can wholeheartedly recommend.

Specifications

• Type: In-ear
• Bluetooth Version: 5.0
• Noise Cancellation: No
• Built-in Microphone and Controls: Yes
• Water Resistance: IPX7
• Battery Life: 35 hours (7 hours for the headphones; 28 hours for the case)
• Weight: 5.35 g each

Pros:

• Punchy, expansive sound
• Excellent feature set
• Stylish build and finish

Cons:

• Highs need more work
• Naturally limited given the price

All headphones on this list are relatively cheap, but the Earfun Air is the most affordable. These are the most budget-friendly headphones in any style that we can confidently recommend.

Prior to Earfun Air, we never awarded five stars to budget wireless headphones, despite testing models from well-known and respected audio brands.

This lesser-known company has produced comfortable, well-constructed headphones that also boast excellent battery life, wireless charging support, and a presentable appearance.

"Fans of energetic, immersive sound that can help you during your workouts will find plenty to love here," we noted in our review. "While similar budget earbuds may sound somewhat congested, the speaker and earbud design here (which doesn’t go too deep into the ear canal) provides a pleasant, spacious sound."

The Earfun Air features an IPX7 waterproof casing, allowing them to be submerged in water up to a meter deep for 30 minutes maximum. They also offer an impressively long battery life of 35 hours. The earbuds are equipped with touch controls and ear-detection technology that pauses playback when you remove them.

If you're looking for affordable wireless headphones for everyday music listening, the Earfun Air might be your ideal choice.

Best ANC Headphones

Sony WF-C700N

These five-star wireless headphones combine comfort, noise cancellation, and outstanding sound quality.

Specifications

• Type: In-ear
• Bluetooth Version: 5.2
• Noise Cancellation: Yes
• Built-in Microphone and Controls: Yes
• Water Resistance: IPX4
• Battery Life: 7.5 hours (+7.5 hours with the charging case)
• Weight: 4.6 g each

Pros:

• Very comfortable fit
• Refined presentation for the price
• Detailed, dynamic, musical sound

Cons:

• Battery case lacks a charge
• No aptX or LDAC support

These excellent Sony wireless headphones sit between the budget WF-C510 (lacking noise cancellation) and the premium WF-1000XM5.

They are excellent headphones that justify their price. They are very small, and their lightweight design makes them more comfortable than some much more expensive models. Battery life is about 7.5 hours.

They lack aptX HD and LDAC, but they do feature noise cancellation, which the cheaper WF-C500 lacks. The Adaptive Sound Control feature automatically switches listening modes depending on your location, while Sony’s DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) enhances the quality of low-resolution digital audio files. A software update has added a Bluetooth Multipoint feature, allowing you to connect to two devices simultaneously and switch between them effortlessly.

Sony’s sound quality is also incredibly balanced: deep, detailed bass, expressive mids, and engaging highs. For the price, these are very musical earbuds that are clearly a step up from the cheaper WF-C510.

The lows are particularly impressive, even in a complex composition like "Angel" by Massive Attack. "It’s not just the weight, depth, and solidity of the notes that impress, but also the detail that Sony reveals and their ability to reproduce notes with credible texture," we remarked in our review.

Any drawbacks? The charging case provides only one additional charge, which seems a bit scant. But superb sound and excellent performance at an affordable price make these earbuds some of the best available.

Best Over-Ear ANC Headphones

Sony WH-CH720N

If you're looking for affordable over-ear headphones with good sound and excellent noise cancellation, search no further.

Specifications

• Type: Over-ear
• Bluetooth Version: 5.2
• Noise Cancellation: Yes
• Built-in Microphone and Controls: Yes
• Water Resistance: No
• Battery Life: Up to 50 hours (ANC and BT off), 35 hours (ANC/BT on)
• Weight: 192 g

Pros:

• Lively sound presentation
• Decent ANC for the price
• High build quality

Cons:

• Slightly excessive enthusiasm in the bass
• No case or folding capability

The WH-CH720N headphones were designed as an affordable over-ear model with a wide feature set and a focus on budget noise cancellation. In that regard, they deliver exactly what Sony intended, providing reliable headphones with good sound at a very reasonable price, though they may occasionally overdo it on bass.

Much of the appeal of the CH720N lies in their noise-cancelling capabilities at a low cost, and these headphones do not disappoint. While more expensive models, like the full-sized WH-1000XM5 or Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones, block out external noise more effectively, we find that these affordable Sony headphones do an admirable job of muffling, if not completely eliminating, external noise and distractions. Additional features, including multipoint Bluetooth, voice calling, long battery life, and Sony’s DSEE sound enhancement, only improve their appeal.

In terms of sound, the CH720N performs exceptionally well for the price, and while headphones at higher price points become more refined and balanced, these budget models sound as though they spoil you for just 13,000 rubles.

"They don't shy away from expression, filling their music with power and conviction, working ahead to ensure an instant, punchy sound with an emphasis on powerful, heavy bass,” we noted in our review. Their energetic, lively style pairs best with rock, pop, and hip-hop genres.

Sony may have focused on features, but the sound these full-sized headphones deliver is detailed, powerful, and engaging, with worthy texture and presence across all ranges. Job well done!

Best On-Ear Headphones Without ANC

Sony WH-CH520

Of course, cheap and certainly fun is the least compromising compromise.

Specifications

• Type: On-ear
• Bluetooth Version: 5.2
• Noise Cancellation: No
• Built-in Microphone and Controls: Yes
• Water Resistance: IPX4
• Battery Life: 50 hours
• Weight: 147 g

Pros:

• Balanced and appealing sound
• Excellent battery life
• Useful and extensive control app

Cons:

• Slightly dynamically sluggish
• Potential for more insight

The WH-CH520 earbuds are undoubtedly one of the less attractive products in Sony’s seemingly endless catalog. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be taken seriously.

You can’t expect much when paying 6,000 rubles for a pair of headphones, so don’t set your expectations too high. If you do, you’re likely to be impressed by the feature set of the WH-CH520. Wireless connectivity is via Bluetooth 5.2 (with quick pairing for Android devices). Sony’s headphones support multipoint connectivity and are compatible with SBC and AAC codecs. They can work for up to 50 hours without recharging, which certainly exceeds our expectations at this price.

The Sony WH-CH520 quickly established themselves as well-balanced, informative, and pleasant-sounding headphones. They may not be the most expressive headphones you’ve ever heard, but they transmit details across all frequencies well, even if we would have liked a bit more dynamic variation.

Their lows are “solid, deep, and well-controlled at the front ends,” we noted in our review. "They are powerful enough and keep the low frequencies in their zone where they don’t interfere with the mid-frequencies higher up." As for the mids, they are informative, expressive, and well-reproduced, which is impressive for headphones at this price.

Ultimately, what’s remarkable about these Sony headphones is that they don’t require any compromises regarding sound quality or ergonomics. They are an excellent purchase.

Additional Considerations

Best Budget Alternatives to Wireless Headphones We’ve Tested:

• Panasonic RZ-S500W Headphones: Formerly award-winning, the RZ-S500W were Panasonic’s first attempt at releasing wireless headphones with noise cancellation, and they do the job superbly. Sound quality and noise cancellation are top-notch.
• JBL Live Pro 2 TWS: If you prefer a "stem" design over a rounded one, these are for you. They offer all the features you might need and perform excellently.
• Sony WF-C500: While these wireless headphones are soon to be outdated, if you can find them at a low price, they represent a good buy. Of course, they fall short of the C510 in almost every respect, but for the money, they are reliable, comfortable, and sound great.

How to Choose the Best Cheap Wireless Headphones for You

Best Cheap Wireless Headphones Come in Various Shapes and Sizes

You can get quite decent wireless over-ear and in-ear headphones for little money. Not sure which ones to choose? Check out our guide comparing headphones and earbuds.

Long Battery Life Should Be a Priority

Around 20 hours and more for over-ear headphones and over six hours for in-ear headphones (plus battery life from the charging case).

If you are a fitness enthusiast and need a secure fit with water resistance, you should opt for sports headphones with sweat and water protection. Look for headphones with a rating of at least IPX4, which means they can withstand splashes but not immersion in liquid.

You may also want to check what Bluetooth version is installed. Currently, we're using Bluetooth 5 (5.4, to be precise). Newer versions may offer performance improvements over older versions regarding wireless range, so it's worth digging into the specifications of any pairs you are considering. Multipoint Bluetooth is another feature to look out for. It allows you to connect to multiple devices at once and then easily switch between them as needed.

Some budget models feature Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), while others may have an ambient sound mode that allows some external sounds to help you navigate better. ANC in budget models will be simpler than in pricier headphones. If you need more advanced features, you’ll need to pay for them.

You should also think about comfort, especially if you're going to wear them for long periods. Finally, you definitely need good sound quality for the money. All the headphones mentioned above have passed our tests with flying colors.

F.A.Q.

• What are good quality cheap headphones? It depends on what you are looking for, but you can't go wrong with any pair from this list. The best overall is the Sony WF-C510, but if you need noise cancellation and/or over-ear headphones, there are options above for you.
• Is it worth buying wireless headphones? We think so. Sound quality—especially in this price range—is not much different from wired headsets, and the added convenience is a find (no more tangled wires).
• Why do people still use wired headphones? Some prefer wired connections because they are more reliable (though all pairs on this list have stable wireless connections). In higher-end models, wired headphones deliver better sound quality. Or perhaps they just haven’t switched to new wireless headphones yet.

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