1. The quick list
2. Best overall
3. Best value
4. Best features
5. Best for style
6. Best for bass
7. Best streaming support
8. Best in-ears overall
9. How to choose
10. How we test
The best cheap noise-cancelling headphones show that active noise cancelation (ANC) can be yours for a reasonable price. Premium capability made affordable? What’s not to like about that?
Although it’s worth remembering that not all ANC implementations are the same, and that most may not be up to the standard of the tested models included in our guide to the best noise-cancelling headphones. However, it certainly is possible to find low-cost headphones or earbuds that effectively reduce the noise of your surroundings, leaving you to enjoy your music without distractions.
Each of our best picks balance effective ANC and great sound for less. Read on to find out our picks of the best cheap noise-cancelling headphones, based on our testing.
The quick list
Best overall
These Cleer Audio noise-canceling headphones gave us 50 hours and 15 minutes of ANC playback time from a single charge in our testing. ANC effective and they deliver a bass forward sound in a foldable design.
Best value
The no-frills design and less than stellar build quality are minor compromises at the price. For the money you get strong sound and ANC performance, upscale features, customizable EQ, and multipoint technology to pair to two devices simultaneously.
Best for features
These Soundcore Space One headphones are a great budget option with effective ANC, strong battery life, and come stacked with plenty of useful features. We're not sure how they do it at the price.
Best for style
Available in four color options, the Urbanista Miami are perhaps the most stylish pair of cheap noise-canceling headphones you can buy, but they're more than just a pretty face.
Best for bass
Bass dominates the soundscape on these cans, though JBL did a better job of balancing frequencies to provide extra room for mids and highs to shine. Battery life lasts for around 40 hours with ANC enabled which blocks out around 80% of ambient sound.
Best streaming support
These come with acceptable noise cancelation and high-quality streaming via LDAC. Sound is punchy with the low end dominating most tracks, and battery life generates up to 40 hours of playtime.
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Best in-ears overall
If you want outstanding ANC and sound in a stylish, affordable earbuds package then look no further. These have strong performance for a third of the price of the AirPods Pro.
About the author
Hi, I'm Lee and I cover all things audio for Tom's Guide, including maintaining the best cheap noise-canceling headphones, best noise-canceling earbuds, best headphones, and best audiophile headphones buying guides (among others). I spend at least 8 hours a day listening to music. Whether I am in my home office, at the gym, or travelling to the Tom's Guide office, you'll find me wearing a pair of my favorite noise-canceling headphones or earbuds. All of these models have been thoroughly tested by myself or one of our audio experts, so you can rest assured that my buying guide picks will get you the best listening experience for your pocket.
The best cheap noise-cancelling headphones to buy right now
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Best overall cheap ANC headphones
The Cleer Enduro ANC offers an almost irresistible combination of affordability, audio richness, active noise cancelation and battery life. During our testing we got more than 50 hours of battery life when listening at mid-volume with ANC enabled, which is strong and the most affordable model to get anywhere close to the 60-hour offered by the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless flagship.
Unlike a lot of low-cost headphones, even cheap ANC headphones, the Enduro ANC also comes with a respectable range of features. NFC pairing comes in handy, for instance, and there's a bundled 3.5mm cable for Hi-Res Audio support. And, unlike the identically-priced Urbanista Miami (below), the Enduro ANC can fold up for easier carrying.
- Read our full Cleer Enduro ANC review
Best value
The 1More SonoFlow SE balance features and performance like no other pair of cheap noise-canceling headphones we've encountered. They may have a no-frills design and build quality may not be the strongest, but for the money you get upscale features, including effective active noise cancelation, customizable EQ, and multipoint technology to pair to two devices simultaneously.
Sound quality is decent and despite the lack of aptX or LDAC support, our reviewer found that they manged to showcase higher quality music streams. The SonoFlow SE's standard noise cancelation managed to block out 85% of incidental sounds in all environments during our tests, and the headphones also had good call quality handling. Best of all though, is the 50-hour battery life with ANC enabled. Turning off ANC extends battery life to 70 hours, and is significantly higher than many flagship models.
- Read our full 1More SonoFlow SE review
Best for features
The Soundcore Space One boast a variety of premium features, including adaptive active noise cancellation, Bluetooth 5.3 with LDAC codec support, customizable sound, multipoint technology, and some of the strongest quick charging out there. Lengthy playtimes, personalized listening modes, and safe volume settings add to the lengthy list of features.
Our reviewer found that the Space One had deep bass, but felt that Anker had tweaked the sound profile to balance mids and highs, and that listening with ANC on upticks the low end. Complementing the Space One’s dynamic sound quality is adaptive ANC that can be personalized and used in different ways. There is Adaptive Noise Cancelling for adjusting performance to your surrounding noise levels or Customize Noise Cancelling for setting noise neutralization to 1 of 5 levels. These are a great budget option available in jet black, latte cream and sky blue colorways and a great buy at the $99 price.
- Read the full Anker Soundcore Space One review
Best cheap noise-cancelling headphones for style
The Urbanista Miami is perhaps the most stylish pair of cheap noise-canceling headphones you can buy, but it’s more than just a pretty face. The sound quality is great, with strong bass that never overwhelms the rest of the mix, and the ANC works well enough to cut out most background noise. There’s a transparency mode too, which you don’t always get on affordable ANC cans.
The real star, though, is battery life. Urbanista promises 40 hours of ANC playback, and the Miami easily achieved that in our own testing. That’s more than double the lifespan of the Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC and almost matches that of the Cleer Enduro ANC, so definitely consider picking these up if you’re a regular traveller.
- Read our full Urbanista Miami review
Best cheap noise-cancelling headphones for bass
Don’t sleep on JBL’s mid-range noise-canceling headphones. The Live 660NC can block out 80% of ambient noise and minimize the presence of high-frequency sounds to keep you focused on what’s currently playing. Bass dominates the soundscape on these cans, though JBL did a better job of balancing frequencies to provide extra room for mids and highs to shine, depending on the songs. Special modes like Smart Audio let you optimize performance based on connectivity or sound, while Video Mode drastically improves lip synchronization when watching videos. Battery life is also top tier with a full charge giving you up to 40 hours of ANC playback.
Be mindful of how long you plan on wearing these headphones because the clamp force is tight and applies unwanted pressure atop the skull and your ears.
- Read our full JBL Live 660NC review
Best cheap noise-cancelling headphones for streaming
Despite earning a lower score than its predecessor, Anker’s latest noise-cancelling headphones are the better value. The Life Q35 is a great option that comes with acceptable noise cancelation and lossless streaming via LDAC codec support. Sound is punchy with the low end dominating most tracks, but it’s the instrumental separation on orchestral recordings that showcase the headphones’ sonic capabilities. Using the Soundcore app expands sound customization by allowing users to choose from over 22 presets that were engineered by some of the industry’s most popular audio engineers. Battery life is the Life Q35’s greatest strength, generating up to 40 hours of playtime, which can extend to 60 hours when ANC is off.
Bass does become overly aggressive when listening to modern tracks and the smart controls could have been better programmed, but these headphones still offer plenty of value for the price.
- Read our full Anker Soundcore Life Q35 review
Best cheap noise-cancelling in-ear headphones
The PistonBuds Pro are a win for budget-conscious consumers who desire outstanding ANC and sound in a stylish, affordable package. Are they going to replace your AirPods Pro? No, but they are easily one of the best AirPods alternatives that can be had for a third of the price.
Okay, battery life isn’t anything to write home about, nor is call quality. But these shortcomings are forgivable when factoring in the audio and noise cancelation. At $69, the Piston Buds Pro are very satisfying.
- Read our full 1More PistonBuds Pro review
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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