Best gaming earbuds in 2024 (2024)

The best gaming earbuds offer a chance to experience more immersive audio while gaming portably, since they have a much smaller form factor than your standard gaming headset. Many of the best gaming earbuds don't compromise in terms of audio quality, either, making them a suitable travel companion for your daily commute or any long distances where you don't want to stray too far from your screen.

In addition to being more convenient, the best gaming earbuds are often more cost-efficient too, especially when compared to the bigger and bulkier headsets available for console and PC gaming. Established brands like Razer and Sony are also in the business of manufacturing quality gaming earbuds, so you're bound to find something that suits your preferences and platform of choice.Additionally, that small form factor and convenience makes them perfect for handheld devices like the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck.

That said, if you'd prefer a more traditional gaming headset over a pair of earbuds, we've got guides for the best Xbox Series X headsets and the best PS5 headsets, alongside our top picks for the best Nintendo Switch headphones if you wanted something more specific for the hybrid handheld.

The Quick List

The best gaming earbuds in 2024

Best overall gaming earbuds

The Epos GTW 270 Hybrid Earbuds easily take the top spot as our number-one pick for the best gaming earbuds due to their incredible sound quality, great design, and long battery life. This option can be used both conventionally plugged in and through Bluetooth. We found in our testing that you can expect around five hours of heavy use, with the case itself able to go for three rounds (holding up to 16 hours all told).

Priced at $199/£179, the Epos GTW 270 Hybrid Earbuds are certainly a premium offering, but we think that this price point is certainly competitive when you compare them to what's available from other high-end earbuds from Apple and Samsung. In our testing, we found that these were excellent for both listening to music and gaming alike wired and wireless, which means taking pole position was an easy choice here.

It's in the smaller details that we appreciate these earphones, too. The design truly feels expensive and solid, and that's carried over from the buds themselves to the aluminum charging case. It feels like no expense was spared here. There are even magnets in the case which snap the Epos GTW 270s into place giving you peace of mind that they're actually charging and not just sitting in there at an awkward angle.

• Read more: Epos GTW 270 Hybrid Earbuds review

Best wired gaming earbuds

The cable-packing 1More Triple Driver in-ear headphones are the best wired earbuds you can buy in 2024. The rubber cable can tangle and the remote is a bit plasticky, but it's hard to find a genuine fault at the price here.

For a mere $100 / £100 (around AU$168), you'll be hard-pressed to find a more sonically pleasing pair of earbudsthan 1MORE's Triple Driver.

Those that want a little more luxury from materials in their earbuds can look further down this list for the Quad Driver version – though expect to pay roughly twice as much. The triple drivers tick pretty much every box, though.

After extended testing periods spent with both the 1MORE Triple Driver in-ear headphones and the 1MORE Quad Driver in-ear headphones, we were taken aback by the value of each set of earbuds, given their relatively low price points. These ones give you a lush sound simply by plugging them into the headphone jack on your controller or PC. They punch way above their weight.

• Read more: 1More Triple Driver In-Ear Headphone review

Best budget gaming earbuds

The Turtle Beach Battle Buds are what we consider to be the best gaming earbuds on a budget and that's because of their versatile nature. You've got a detachable mic, and durable build quality, which makes them ideal for carrying around with you on the go. They may not have the absolute highest sound quality as you'll find with more premium offerings in our roundup, but for what they are, they are hard to fault.

That's because the Turtle Beach Battle Buds retail for just $29.99 / £28 but can frequently be found at cheaper rates, too. We don't see many quality branded earbuds aimed at gamers for around the $30 / £30 mark, which makes this offering from a trusted manufacturer well worth considering for those on a budget.

We found that these earphones certainly sounded the part whether speaking or listening. That's because of the detachable mic, which while a little flimsy, was clear where it mattered most. Whether you're aiming to play on the Nintendo Switch or another console of choice through the 3.5mm jack, you'll be happy with what you're paying for here.

• Read more: Turtle Beach Battle Buds review

Gaming earbuds with the best microphone

The SteelSeries Tusq gaming headset is our top choice if you're searching for the gaming earbuds with the best microphone. Although the quality of the microphone here is not quite as high as some of the much more expensive entries on this list, the SteelSeries Tusq presents unparalleled value if your main concern is chatting with friends.

It is a wired pair of gaming earbuds that features a detachable boom microphone in addition to a secondary integrated microphone. With the boom mic attached, you can expect your voice to come through loud and clear with little disruption from background sounds. The earbuds also sound great, offering plenty of clarity and good base.

The use of a 3.5mm jack also ensures compatibility with a wide range of platforms, including all of the major consoles and mobile. The small size of the SteelSeries Tusq means that it can be easily taken out and about too, where you can sacrifice some recording quality in favor of portability by removing the boom mic and relying on the integrated one instead. They're a superb value option if you simply want to listen to your games and talk to your friends.

• Read more: SteelSeries Tusq review

Best gaming earbuds for PS5

Sony has achieved something truly great with the Inzone Buds; our recommendation for the best gaming earbuds for PlayStation 5 use. With phenomenal build quality and intuitive on-board touch controls (customizable via the PC's Inzone Hub app), they're an accessible and sturdy pair of buds that should last any user for years to come.

If they can stomach the rather high price tag, that is. At $199.99 / £179.99 / AU$249.95 they certainly don't come cheap, costing roughly the same as the Apple AirPods 3 and a good bit pricier than the Razer Hammerhead Hyperspeed PS5 gaming earbuds.

We'll confidently say the Sony Inzone Buds are worth that price, however. They offer a crystal-clear sound that helps electronic-focused tracks and vocals really shine through. Their bass profile could stand to be better, but overall sound quality in the highs and mids was excellent. Battery life is also a high point here. You'll get 12 hours of charge via 2.4GHz dongle connectivity, with a further 24 provided by the charging case.

• Read more: Sony Inzone Buds review

Most powerful gaming earbuds

If you've got the cash to splash, the 1MORE Quad Driver in-ear headphones are the best-quality, pound-for-pound, buck-for-buck, wired headphones out there. 1MORE delivered a smashing flagship pair of wired earbuds with the Quad Driver set, thanks to their balanced sound build quality, smartphone compatibility, and price.

These in-ear headphones will make mobile audiophiles very happy and do justice to modern gaming's 3D audio and virtualized Dolby Atmos settings. Priced at $199 / £200, these aren't exactly cheap as far as wired earphones go, but the quality you're getting out of them certainly makes all the difference.

What's more, they're now frequently discounted more commonly to around the $179.99 / £80 mark if you know where to look at certain retailers such as Amazon. Overall we found the voicing and sound profile of the 1MORE Quad Driver in-ear headphones to truly deliver where it matters most, so your gaming experience should be top-drawer with these in your ears.

• Read more: 1More Quad Driver In-Ear Headphones review

Best gaming earbuds for music

The SoundMagic E11C in-ear headphones certainly position themselves as what we think as the best gaming earphones for enjoying music. That's because they have an excellent sound profile and retail for an aggressive price point at just $50 / £49 / AU$90.There's little more you could really want at this wallet-friendly rate all told.

We found in our testing that the SoundMagic E11C earbuds held their own mostly for casual gaming experiences and listening to music, whereas some other models were better for the former. These earphones are made of aluminum, so you're not settling for cheap plastic construction here, which really lends to a premium feel despite the humble sticker price.

What's particularly cool about these over some other options in our list is the silver-plated copper cable with we found to produce far less noise and disruption when in use. The noise isolation on the whole worked exceptionally well, too. The only minor gripe we found in our experience was that the bass could come through a little muddy with certain songs, but we're willing to forgive this fault when factoring in everything else they get right.

• Read more: SoundMagic E11C review

Best gaming earbuds - FAQs

We've put our knowledge and expertise of the best gaming earbuds to answer some of the internet's burning questions. If you're after more of a deep dive then we've got you covered below.

How we test the best gaming earbuds

There's a lot that goes into what makes a product one of the best, and we put a lot of work into testing gaming earbuds to ensure our list is the most truthful representation of the products currently on the market. Of course sound quality is the most important factor, but we take a lot of alternative factors into consideration.

Things like comfort and battery life play a huge part in what makes some of the earbuds designed for gaming perform better over others. If you're trying to immerse yourself into a longer gaming session, the last thing you want is a short battery life to interrupt your playtime, and you also want a product that won't cause any discomfort after a while too.

We update our best of lists regularly to ensure the products we feature are always the best of the best. With new products being added to the market pretty often, especially in a market as broad as gaming earbuds and headphones, it's important to keep up to date with new products to ensure everyone is having the best experience possible regardless of console.

After more handheld-friendly hardware? You may want to check out our guide to the best Nintendo Switch accessories for peripherals designed to bolster your gaming experience on the portable console.