Best Budget Earbuds for 2024: Cheap Wireless Picks (2024)

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Best wireless earbuds under $25

Baseus Bowie MA10

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Good-sounding cheap wireless earbuds under $40

Tranya T20

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Best budget earbuds from Jabra

Jabra Elite 4

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Top budget open-ear sports earbuds with ear hooks

Soundpeats GoFree 2

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Best Anker wireless sports earbuds

Soundcore by Anker Sport X10

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Battery life Rated up to 7.5 hours

Noise Canceling Yes

Multipoint Yes

Water-Resistant Yes (IPX5-- splash-proof)

Earfun has put out a series of wireless earbuds over the last couple of years with one important commonality: They're very good values, made more so by frequent discounts. The company's new-for-2024 Earfun Air Pro 3 earbuds feature the latestQualcomm QCC3071system-on-a-chip with AptX Adaptive for Android and other devices that support the newLE Audio standard and LC3 audio codec, which is superior to the SBC codec (they also support AAC for Apple devices).

New for 2023, the Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC earbuds carry a lower list price than last year's Liberty 4 buds and are arguably better. They have improved noise canceling and better sound quality, along with support for the LDAC audio codec for devices that support it. (Many Android smartphones do, and in theory, it offers slightly improved sound quality when paired with a music streaming service that offers high-res tracks.) They're lightweight buds that should fit most ears comfortably with four sizes of ear tips to choose from.

Tranya's Nova earbuds not only sound surprisingly good but also offer good noise-canceling performance for their modest price. Although you can tweak their sound with the equalizer in Tranya's companion app, at their balanced setting, they seem a bit more tuned to today's popular music, including a hip hop and rap, delivering a full dose of bass (the buds have 12mm drivers) while not sounding boomy. Equipped with a Qualcomm 3072 chip that supports Qualcomm's AptX Adaptive audio codec and LE Audio, they're IPX5 splashproof and also have an ambient mode that lets sound in, plus a low-latency gaming mode. Multipoint Bluetooth pairing is supported as well.

Battery life Rated up to 5 hours

Noise Canceling No

Multipoint Yes

Water-Resistant Yes (IPX2-- splash-proof)

Amazon's 2023 Echo Buds impressed me in a few ways that I wasn't expecting. For starters, they sound good for inexpensive open earbuds, delivering decent clarity and ample bass. They also have a robust feature set, including multipoint Bluetooth pairing, hands-free Alexa and ear-detection sensors that pause your audio when you take one or both buds out of your ears.

Battery life Rated up to 5 hours

Noise Canceling No

Multipoint No

Water-Resistant Yes (IPX4-- splash-proof)

What makes these Soundpeats Air3 Deluxe HS buds special is that they sound surprisingly good for open earbuds -- they're pretty close to what you get from Apple's AirPods 3 for sound. On top of that, they support Sony's LDAC audio codec for devices that offer it. Not too many cheap open earbuds have good sound but these Soundpeats have good bass response and clarity. They're also good for making calls and have a low-latency gaming mode. Battery life is rated at five hours at moderate volume levels, and these are IPX4 splash-proof.

Priced at just $23 after you click an instant $9 discount coupon on Amazon, the Baseus Bowie MA10 delivers surprisingly good sound along with active noise canceling for its low price (you just don't see too many active noise canceling earbuds at this price). They're IPX6 water resistant (can withstand a strong spray of water) and also have multipoint Bluetooth pairing and connect to a companion app. They stick out of your ears a bit but they did fit my ears comfortably.

Battery Life Rated up to 8 hours

Noise Canceling No

Multipoint No

Headphone Type Wireless earbuds

Water-Resistant Yes (IPX7 -- can be submerged for 30 minutes up to 1 meter)

The Tranya T20 reminds me a little of a cheaper version of Samsung's Galaxy Buds 2 without the noise canceling. They're pretty no-frills and missing more premium features such as an ear-detection sensor that automatically pauses your music when you take a bud out of your ears. They sound surprisingly decent for their modest price, if you get a tight seal, they sit pretty flush with your ears (they don't really stick out much) and they have decent battery life -- up to eight hours at moderate volume levels. They also work pretty well for making calls and are IPX7 waterproof.

The case feels a little cheap and the buds are lightweight. The Galaxy Buds 2 definitely feels more premium. The buds are well-tuned and have a relatively wide soundstage. Don't expect the world from them and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Jabra has replaced its entry-level Elite 3 buds with the new-for-2023 Elite 4, which offer active noise canceling and multipoint Bluetooth pairing. What's a little confusing is that Jabra also sells the Elite 4 Active, a slightly more ruggedized version of the same buds that carries a list price of $120 but sometimes sells for less than the standard Elite 4. Get the Elite 4 Active if it costs less.

The lightweight Elite 4 fits my ears comfortably and offers good, well-balanced sound with punchy bass and decent clarity. They support Qualcomm's AptX audio codec (for Android and other devices that support AptX) but only the SBC codec for iPhones (no AAC support). The Elite 4 is missing more premium features like ear detection sensors and has a four-microphone array for noise canceling and voice calls (voice-calling performance is good but not exceptionally good). Battery life is rated at up to seven hours at moderate volume levels and the buds have an IP55 water-resistance rating, which means they can take a sustained spray of water and are also dust-resistant. As with a lot of other new buds, you can use either bud independently in a mono mode.

I didn't try the original Soundpeats GoFree earbuds, but the second-gen GoFree 2s deliver a good value, with decent sound for open earbuds that sit on top of your ears -- there's a touch of distortion at higher volumes, but they have ample bass. While they don't quite look or feel like premium buds, they also don't look or feel cheap. They're missing premium features like ear-detection sensors (when you take one off, your music doesn't automatically pause), and their companion app for iOS and Android is a bit underwhelming. But I found them pretty comfortable to wear (they fit securely) and their touch controls worked well. They're equipped with Bluetooth 5.3, have support for the LDAC audio codec for devices like Android phones that support it, and they are IPX5 splash-proof. Battery life is rated up to nine hours at moderate volume levels and their case is one of the more compact cases I've seen for these types of earbuds.

I thought voice-calling performance was acceptable, though not great. These are open earbuds, so they do let sound in, and it can be a little hard to hear callers in noisier environments.

The Soundcore Sport X10 have an interesting design with rotating swiveling ear hooks that flip up when you're using them and flip down when you want to set them in their charging case, which has a smaller footprint than a lot of buds with ear hooks.

As long as you get a tight seal, they sound good, with powerful, punchy bass and good detail. They also have active noise canceling, which is effective, but not as good as Sony or Bose's noise canceling. They're also fully waterproof with an IPX7 rating, which means they can be fully submerged in up to 3 feet of water for 30 minutes. Battery life is rated at up to 8 hours with an additional three charges in the charging case.