1. The list in brief
2. Best overall
3. Best value
4. Best for swimmers
5. Best for aquathlons
6. Best for calls
7. Best budget
8. How to choose
9. How we test
10. FAQs
The best bone conduction headphones are ideal if you enjoy exercising outside. These sets use pads to vibrate your cheekbones and deliver audio directly into your ear, helping keep you aware of your surroundings and ears open.
But it's hard to know how they perform until you actually have them on, so we've put a variety to the test, and the Shokz OpenRun Pro proved themselves to be the best for most people, as they're easy to use, lightweight, and great battery life.
Though they're not your only choice. If you're after a more budget-friendly pair, we recommend the Creative Outlier Free Pro. Plus, we've reviewed several other great options to help you find a set that suits your training.
The quick list
The Shokz OpenRun Pro are the best bone-conduction headphones we’ve tested for active lifestyles and awareness. They have a barely-there feel and a stronger-than-most 10-hour battery life. They deliver an all-encompassing sound with all kinds of material but waterproofing can be bettered elsewhere.
The best value bone-conduction headphones overall, the Shokz OpenRun rival the Pro version for sound but aren't as strong for calls. Their light barely-there weight lands perfectly between comfort and the kind of secure fit you want from a set of sports headphones.
Built specifically for swimmers, these have strong waterproofing and the slender titanium frame slips effortlessly under a swim cap. Playback is via a built-in MP3 player that stores up to 1,200 tracks, and sound quality will impress both in and out of the water. Battery life matches the Shokz OpenRun at 8 hours.
Offering Bluetooth and music player streaming in one neat package this hybrid design is suitable for use underwater as well as on dry land. They cost less than Shokz’ OpenSwim headphones, and are built from a mix of titanium and silicone to keep them light and comfortable.
These are the best we've heard for taking calls. They have two microphones to battle background noise so calls come out nice and clear and the cVc noise canceling algorithm detects background sounds. The fast charge mode gets you 2 hours of playback from just a 10-minute charge.
The Creative Outlier Free Pro launched at $129, but have since dropped to $99. That makes them a cheaper alternative to waterproof bone conduction headphones like the Shokz OpenSwim and Naenka Runner Diver and as such are the best budget hybrid model around right now.
The best bone-conduction headphones you can buy right now
Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you. Find out more about how we test, analyze, and rate.
Best bone-conduction headphones overall
The Shokz OpenRun Pro were the first new launch after the company rebrand from AfterShokz and introduced stronger bass performance, improved microphone quality, larger buttons, and longer battery life.
Despite their status as the champion of bone conduction technology, our original review mentioned that the headphones didn't automatically turn off when still wearing them but not listening to music, which causes the battery to run down unnecessarily.
Luckily, a 5-minute quick charge gives around 1.5 hours of listening time should you find the battery depleted. Also, the case is protective, but it doesn’t have built-in charging.
The Shokz OpenRun Pro come the closest of any bone conduction headphones we’ve tested to delivering all-encompassing sound. They excelled with electronic synth riffs, maintaining precision and sophistication throughout Van Halen’s “Jump.” Rihanna’s “We Found Love” sounded sexy, yet still punchy.
During our test we found that vocals weren’t as pronounced as we'd usually like, though the witty verses of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s “Can’t Hold Us” held their own against the soaring piano line.
- Read our full Shokz OpenRun Pro review
Best value bone-conduction headphones
The Shokz OpenRun were originally called AfterShokz Aeropex, and make a great introduction to the Shokz range of bone conduction headphones. Unlike the Shokz OpenRun Pro, these come in four dual-color options, including blue eclipse, cosmic black, lunar grey, and solar red.
They're fraction lighter than the OpenRun Pro, and the barely-there weight lands perfectly between comfort and the kind of secure fit you want from a set of sports headphones.
At the time of testing, our reviewer found they could wear these bone conduction headphones for hours without complaint. It’s worth noting, though, that you can’t adjust the OpenRun in any way but you can get a smaller “Mini” version for the same price if the distance between the backs of your ears is less than 9.3 inches.
In terms of sound quality, the OpenRun exceeded our expectations. Electronic music seems particularly compatible with this type of headphone; the main synth riff in The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” wasn’t diminished at all, and La Roux’s “Bulletproof” was pleasantly punchy.
Vocals are usually nice and clear too, and delivered with enough detail that it’s possible to pick out all the layers of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Certain effects can sound scratchy, though, and the bass never goes truly, powerfully deep.
- Read our full Shokz OpenRun review
Best bone-conduction headphones for swimmers
The Shokz OpenSwim are primarily designed for swimmers who want to zone out and listen to music, podcasts, and audiobooks while going for a dip and getting some laps in. They rank at the top of the best waterproof headphones for swimming, and our fitness editor found they revolutionized workouts.
Crucially though, they don't have Bluetooth connectivity and you only get sound by transferring audio files to the built-in music player, which stores up to 1,200 tracks.
The OpenSwim design doesn't shy too far away from that of the OpenRun and OpenRun Pro headphones, with a slender wraparound titanium frame that slips effortlessly under a swim cap when using them in the water.
Playing back files and a bunch of podcasts with a mix of music and podcast chatter while introducing the earbuds into the water didn’t muddy the sound. They handled bass-heavy sounds well with an enjoyable amount of thump.
A Swimming mode offered a boost for voice-based podcasts where the bump in volume and clarity felt most noticeable. The General mode was versatile enough to work for different types of audio both in and out of the water.
The Shokz OpenSwim are versatile enough whether you're simply walking around, going for a run, or want something that's reliably waterproof.
- Read our full Shokz OpenSwim review
Best bone-conduction headphones for aquathlons
The Naenka Runner Diver offer Bluetooth and music player streaming in one neat package that's even suitable to use underwater. They cost less than Shokz’ swim-friendly OpenSwim headphones and are built from a mix of titanium and silicone to keep them light and comfortable.
Nevertheless, they weigh 1.20 ounces (around 35g) and are bulkiest at the point where the 16GB flash storage for the music player is located. The Runner Diver managed to handle bass-focused sounds without tearing into the treble and mid frequencies.
Our reviewer enjoyed good detail and clarity with both Bluetooth and onboard playback that worked well when switching to more conversation-driven podcasts. The sound wasn’t as murky as our reviewer anticipated during swims, but with only one microphone, these aren't the best for making calls.
The battery life and solid water resistance are major plus points, making the Naenka Runner Driver worthy of consideration for active lifestyles both in and out of the water.
- Read our full Naenka Runner Diver review.
Best bone-conduction headphones for calls
These Qualcomm-powered Haylou PurFree BC01 bone-conduction headphones have an IP67 waterproof rating, meaning they're built to handle seriously sweaty workouts. They have two microphones to battle background noise so calls come out nice and clear, and a fast charge mode gets you 2 hours of playback from just a 10-minute charge.
They weigh just 0.98 ounces (around 28g), so they’re up there with some of the lightest bone conduction headphones. The dual microphone array with a cVc noise canceling algorithm detects background sounds and reduces them when you need to make a call indoors or outdoors, and it works to impressive effect.
If fact, they deliver enjoyable sound whether you choose to exercise with them or use them for taking calls, and are comfortable to wear for long periods.
- Read our full Haylou PurFree BC01 review
Best budget hybrid bone-conduction headphones
The Creative Outlier Free Pro launched at $129, but has since dropped to $99, putting it much closer in price to the Outlier Free ($79.99). That also makes them a cheaper alternative to waterproof options like the Shokz OpenSwim and Naenka Runner Diver.
This make the Creative Outlier Free Pro headphones an affordable route into bone-conduction designs. They are comfortable to wear for long periods, and versatile enough to work with Bluetooth streams on dry land as well as storage playback for pool swims.
Sacrifices have been made where sound quality is concerned though, and you'll need to spend a bit more if you want best in class sound with a similar level of versatility.
- Read our full Creative Outlier Free Pro review
How to choose the best bone-conduction headphones for you
Design: As with shopping for any headphones, you’ve already narrowed things down by deciding on a pair of bone-conduction headphones specifically. But there can still be variation in the design of individual pairs, so you should still look out for factors like the wraparound headband shape and size to judge how comfortable they might be. Don’t be afraid to pass on headphones you don’t like the aesthetics of, too.
Water resistance: One of the most important considerations for anyone choosing a pair of bone-conduction headphones is durability. Whether carrying out activities on land or swimming in water, headphones with the IPX7 grading offer 30 minutes of listening at one meter of depth, while the IPX8 grading provides one hour at two-meter depth.
Audio performance: The very nature of the open-ear design of bone-conduction headphones means they're never going to match the sound quality of the best workout headphones, but sound quality is still important whether you're listening to music or podcasts or taking calls. You can read more about our performance tests below, but you should consider whether you’d prefer a balanced sound or one that favors a particular part of the frequency spectrum — electronic music fans might prefer heavy bass, for example.
Battery life: Think about how much battery life you’ll need as well. Bone-conduction headphones can deliver anywhere between 8 and 10 hours of playback between charges so you may need to recharge more regularly than other wireless headphone and earbud designs. Also, most designs don't have wireless charging.
How we test best bone conduction headphones
Every pair of bone-conduction headphones has been used over the course of a week for 2 hours at a time. This allows the tester to both gauge the performance across a mix of audio material such as podcasts and music at different volumes, and to see how comfortable they are when worn for extended periods.
Although the design of bone-conduction headphones transmit sound vibrations along your cheekbones instead of directing soundwaves into your ear canal to your cochlea, the listening process is similar.
Our full reviews are backed by extensive listening tests covering hip-hop, rock, jazz, classical, pop and more to see how each pair handles a different mix of genres and sounds.
We test any water resistant models in real-life situations just as they would be worn by the user, and we make sure manufacturer claims about battery life and Bluetooth range are accurate. Build quality, the ease of setup and any control schemes — including those involving an app — will also be judged.
FAQs
What do IP ratings mean?
IP-ratings refer to the level of Ingress Protection (IP) from liquids and dirt that a device is protected from. This is part of a device's durability.
IP-ratings explained: The first digit refers to the level of protection from solid particles, such as dust and sand. The scale ranges from 0 (no protection) to 6 (dust-tight) for full protection. For example, an IP6X rating ensures that the device is completely dust-tight, making it ideal for harsh outdoor conditions or industrial settings where fine dust particles are common.
The second digit refers to a devices resistance to moisture, and the scale ranges from 0 (no protection) to 8 for the highest level of protection. For example, with an IPX4 rating, earbuds are protected from water splashes from any direction, while an IPX7 rating ensures that the device can be submerged in water up to 1 meter (around 3 feet) for 30 minutes without any damage.
