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Noise canceling is no longer a luxury for those who can afford to spend hundreds of dollars on the latest headphones from Sony and Bose. There are some great options out there if you're after ANC and don't want to break the bank, with cheap noise canceling headphones galore if you look in the right place.
Finding the best cheap noise-canceling headphones, though, is more of a challenge. So I'm here to tell you that the 1More Sonoflow Pro are the best noise canceling headphones under $100, their excellent features and comfortable fit letting them cut through the competition with relative ease.
About the author
I love headphones. Taking my audio on the go and making it personal is incredibly important to me, and helping people find the best headphones for them is one of my favorite parts of my job. All of the options on this list have been used and tested by myself and the reviews team here at Tom's Guide, so you can rest easy knowing you're getting the best advice around.
Best cheap noise canceling headphones overall
You would have thought that there would be loads of compromises when buying cheap headphones. If you want good sound, the ANC will be bad. Want a nice protective case? Then the build will be bad. The 1More Sonoflow prove that it’s entirely possible to build a pair of headphones that don’t compromise on build, sound, features, or even livability extras like a decent case. That’s something that can’t be said of headphones that cost 5 times as much, in some cases.
The protective case that comes in the box with the Sonoflow Pro is better than the AirPods Max’s weird suide diaper, for example. Sure, the cables aren’t secured inside, but your headphones are nicely protected from anything in your backpack. The build of the headphones is good too. It's not premium, per se, with an entirely plastic construction, but they feel like they can take some punishment.
Sound is nice and detailed, while retaining solid bass reproduction. You’d have to spend $150 or more to get something that sounds better, and that’s a big bonus when you’re only spending around $80. There’s a helpful EQ in the app as well, and I found it easy to adjust the sound without issue. Spatial Audio is there too, and while it doesn’t float my boat, it’s nice to have and works better than most implementations below $100.
Battery life with ANC off is 100 hours — that’s top-notch. Turn the (also very solid) ANC on, and it drops to 40 hours. We found that those numbers matched with real-world use during our testing, which is very impressive. Are they as good as Sony’s range toppers or Bose’s noise-cancelling heroes? No, but they’re also less than a fifth the price. And that’s pretty special.
- Read the 1More Sonoflow Pro review
Best cheap noise canceling headphones under $60
Finding something solid under $60 is tricky — but it's not possible. Taking both the first and second spot on this list is 1More, a manufacturer that knows its way around a budget. The SE HQ31 are the successor to the previous holder of this spot, bringing great features and sound to a bargain price. They’re not quite the step up we were hoping for, but they’re still the best you can get at this price range.
Somehow, despite their low price, 1More has still managed to pack plenty of features into the HQ31. So many, in fact, that you’d have thought they’d have cost a whole lot more money. There’s spatial audio on board, an eminently adjustable EQ, as well as LDAC codec support for more impressive musical fidelity. The app you use to access them isn’t fantastic, but it’s liveable considering how little they cost.
Battery life is the standout here for the price. You get 90 hours of ANC off time, beating out things that cost 10 times as much as the HQ31. Turn the solid ANC on and you get 60 hours, which is still more than even the flagship headphones from much bigger brands. Very impressive battery life.
Sound is slightly compromised. The soundstage isn’t particularly wide, and you’ll quickly find that detail has taken a hit. Still, they sound great for something at this price. If you’re looking to really stretch those dollars, you can do a whole lot worse than the HQ31.
- Read the 1More Sonoflow HQ31 Review
Best cheap earbuds
Just look at these heroic orange earbuds. You could buy four of these buds before you’ve spent the same as you would for the Bose and Sony flagships, and still have a little cash left over to grab a family meal at Burger King. You might think that the price might hold them back — but no, CMF has proved that you don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on earbuds to get something excellent. They’re the whole package, fully featured and ready to block out the sound of your commute.
That’s thanks to the ANC, which found to be up there with the AirPods Pro 3 for noise canceling ability. It’s excellent, blocking out any sound that we threw at it without problem. With music playing you’re going to be completely sealed into your own little musical world, nothing to bother you. Transparency mode was similarly excellent.
Then there are all the extra features that CMF has packed in. There’s a solid Spatial Audio setting, which makes music sound much wider. The sound quality itself is very good too, with loads of detail and some very groovy, dynamic bass to keep things moving. There’s little to complain about sonically when you pop the CMF Buds Pro 2 in your ears.
Battery life is good too, with 11 hours on tap. Pop them in the case, and you’ll find that the battery recharges around 4 times with 43 hours of life to keep you going. We found the battery numbers accurate when we tested the buds too, giving them more staying power than buds with a higher sticker price. If you’re in the market for some budget buds, these are the way to go.
- Read the CMF Buds Pro 2 review
Best cheap noise canceling headphones for style
These are another $80 wonder. Before I go over the rest of their features, there’s just one thing to bear in mind — there’s no protective case in the box. With that out of the way, I can reiterate what we already said in our in-depth review. The JLab JBuds Lux are a really good pair of ANC headphones, with a bunch of helpful features that make for an excellent noise-cancelling experience. They only really lose out to the 1More because of two things: the lack of LDAC support, and the omission of a hard case.
One of the best things about the JBuds Lux is just how incredibly comfortable they are. The foam used in their padding is wonderful, and the leatherette material that covers them is soft and supple. They’re light too, so you can wear them for a long time without feeling fatigued or like you want to tear them off and hurl them across the room after half an hour.
ANC is the highlight. It does an incredible job of keeping noise at bay, especially at this low, low price. There’s not really anything else that costs a similar amount that does as good a job as the JBuds Lux. Transparency mode is very good as well, making sure that your conversation partners don’t sound like robots.
Sound quality is similarly excellent, with Spatial Audio support if you want your music to sound a little wider — no matter how artificial it might sound in the long run. Still, fans of all genres are going to be pleased with the audio experience you get from the JBuds Lux. As an $80 spend, they’re a great pair of headphones that leave little to complain about.
- Read the JLab JBuds Lux ANC review
Best cheap noise canceling headphones for sound
The Moondrop Edge are a handsome pair of headphones which hide a wonderful sonic secret — they sound really, really good. Like a pair of headphones that costs hundreds more dollars type good sound. Sound that, for their sub-$100 price, will blow you away. I know I was, and I’d been forewarned that they might blow my socks clean off. And then they did, and now I’m putting them here so you can put them in your list of considerations.
The sound is great if you like detail. There’s buckets of it, really showing off your music and all the finer moments that you might not have noticed before. Bass is clear and well defined, and the mids are smooth and stable. Bassheads might miss some bass volume, but for everyone else, there’s a whole load to love about this pair of headphones.
Build has been sacrificed on the altar of sound. They’re a bit wibbly and plasticy, and there’s no protective case to keep them safe in your backpack. Treat them with a bit more care, though, and you won’t have any problem at all with them breaking or becoming damaged. That build does make them light, though, so they’re pretty comfortable to wear for long periods of time.
40 hours of battery life is fine, and the noise canceling is good enough to keep most unwanted sounds at bay when you want to relax to some Backstreet Boys. If you’re looking for the best cheap noise-canceling headphones and want the best sound around, these are the wireless cans for you.
- Read the Moondrop Edge Review
Also tested...
Tom's Guide's tests a wide range of noise-cancelling headphones and not all models make it into a buying guide. That's not to say that they're not great performers, just that they're beaten by rival models with a stronger set of features or performance. Our picks are the very best we've tested and have all been given full reviews. With a category becoming more competitive, we want to make sure that you consider these also tested options. The alternatives below have all been through our rigorous testing processes, but didn't quite make the grade to rank among the top tier.
How to choose the best cheap noise-canceling headphones for you
The term cheap often has negative connotations, but as we’ve learned through our testing, there are plenty of cheap noise-canceling headphones that are just as good, if not better than some of the industry’s more premium offerings.
1. Active vs. passive noise cancelation: The first item to check off the list when shopping for the best noise-canceling headphones is active noise cancelation, which shouldn’t be confused with passive noise cancelation. What are the differences?
Active noise canceling (ANC) headphones use an 'active' combination of hardware (microphones) and firmware to make external sounds or noises sound quieter when you’re listening to your favorite music or podcasts, say. Unlike passive noise isolation, which simply muffles those sounds by forming a seal around your ear with headphone ear cups or inside the ear canal with in-ear tips, active noise cancelation listens out for background sounds and uses clever audio trickery to “cancel” out these potentially disruptive sounds. For a more in-depth explanation see ANC explained.
2. Battery life: Noise-canceling headphones have a reputation for sucking up lots of power, so you’ll want a pair that holds a charge long enough to get you through a long business flight or weekly commutes. Thanks to the arrival of Sennheiser's Momentum 4 over-ear headphones battery life standards have increased up to 60 hours, although more typical figures are anywhere between 15 to 30 hours. Noise-canceling wireless earbuds are usually rated for 4.5 to 8 hours.
3. Sound quality: ANC technology can compress sound and reduce dynamics, which may affect audio performance when turned on. In some cases, you’ll notice a background hiss when listening to music. However, there are noise-canceling headphones out there that limit these disruptions to deliver full, crisp sound.
4. Design: The look, build and feel of a pair of headphones is massively important when selecting the best noise-canceling headphones, so consider how it looks and feels and whether the style is right for you. The type of headphone is also important when it comes to the most effective noise canceling models. Over-ear headphones tend to give the best noise cancelation, though some of the more recent wireless on-ear and in-ear models are proving to be just as effective.
5. Pricing considerations: Obviously, price is a big consideration when looking for the best noise-canceling headphones. Although there are always exceptions, big-name brands will typically command a bit extra, but generally speaking, the less you spend on a pair of headphones the greater the chance that sound and features will be compromised. Going for a budget option isn't always the best choice, as any money you save on your purchase won't do you much good if you're constantly needing to recharge your audio gear, or the sound quality is poor.
As the saying goes: timing is everything; and right now many of our favorite models are being discounted at online retailers, meaning you can bag a bargain for even less. Bookmark our best tech deals pages to keep on top of the best deals.
How we test the best cheap noise canceling headphones
We've judged the best cheap noise-canceling headphones on several factors: audio performance, battery life, Bluetooth range, call quality, comfort and fit, and the effectiveness of the noise cancelation. We also weigh special features, such as included apps, and how easy they are to use.
Our reviewers wear each pair of headphones for 2 hours at a time over the course of a week. Tom’s Guide also employs a thorough review process that compares products with similar fit, features, and price to determine the best options.
ANC, meanwhile, is tested in both indoor and outdoor environments where ambient sounds are produced at high levels. This includes airplanes, city parks, convenience shops, offices, and public transportation. ANC headphones programmed with transparency modes are also tested thoroughly to determine how well the listener can hear their surroundings.
For sound quality, we listen to many different sample tracks and span as many music genres as possible, including hip-hop, rock, jazz, classical and R&B, while evaluating volume, clarity and fullness. Find out what we listen for during our testing process and how to get the best headphone sound for you.
And now that more streaming music services are offering high-resolution audio, be sure to read our audio codec FAQ for all you need to know about FLAC files, MP3s and everything in between.
Once we complete our testing, we rate headphones based on our five-point system (1 = worst, 5 = best). If a product hits nearly every mark, it’s awarded an Editor's Choice badge.
Contributions from: Alex Bracetti
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