Top headphones and earbuds compared

About Top headphones and earbuds compared

Headphones and earbuds rarely come with a monthly bill, so the money question is simple: what does the cheapest pair in the range cost, and what do you give up to get there. This ranking puts 71 audio brands side by side on the starting price of each range, the battery figure behind the marketing, the warranty attached to it and the list of countries a buyer can actually order in. The tension runs through all of it. A brand can sit at the cheap end and still hold a long warranty and a broad market list, or it can charge more and sell in only a handful of places. Prices here are one-time hardware purchases rather than subscriptions, so nothing recurs later and the entry figure is the whole commitment. What varies is what you get on day one: noise cancelling across most of the list, high resolution codecs on some pairs, dust and water ratings on a few, and support that ranges from a help centre alone to email, chat and phone together.

How we picked

Every brand is scored on three things, weighted before any spec sheet is read. Cost carries 40% of the score, offer carries 40% and trust carries 20%, so price and what sits behind it do most of the work while warranty and market reach settle the remaining share. Cost reads the starting price of each range, which is why a low entry point lifts a brand even when its top end is expensive. Offer reads the catalogue itself: which product types the brand sells, whether noise cancelling is present, how long the battery runs and which codecs appear. Trust reads warranty length, the support channels on offer and the markets a buyer can order into. Every figure comes from the brand's own store, product pages, warranty terms or delivery information, and each brand is judged on the same fields even when the answer is a simple yes or no. Partners that serve your country are listed first in this ranking, then the rest by score.

Our top picks

1. 6. OneOdio

   OneOdio earns its place in this ranking with a 120 hour battery, near the top of the field, plus noise cancelling, LDAC and a 2 year warranty at an entry price of €29.99. Support runs on email, phone and help centre, with email, phone and a help centre, and the terms sit under OneAudio Co., Limited. Limits shape who buys. The range is headphones only, headphones, so there are no earbuds or speakers to pair with it, and multiroom is not offered. It is also a headphone specialist rather than a global audio brand, which narrows the support network. Skullcandy, ranked next, widens the range and the market list but adds earbuds at a lower price.

   • Price from: €29.99
   • Noise cancelling: Yes
   • Battery life: 120 hours

   Pros

   • Battery life of 120 hours ranks at position 3 out of 61 brands, above the category median of 48.5 hours.
   • Noise cancelling is part of the standard build, so it is not a paid upgrade on the cheaper models.
   • A 2 year warranty places the brand at position 4 out of 56 brands on cover length.
   • Entry price of €29.99 sits under the category median of €60.68 and below CORSAIR's wired headsets at $39.99.
   • Support runs through email, phone and help centre, covering phone and email as well as a help centre.

   Cons

   • Multiroom is not supported, so the headphones stay with a single listener rather than joining a multi speaker setup.
   • The listed product type is headphones only, so shoppers after earbuds need HyperX, which covers headphones and earbuds.
   • JBL lists headphones, earbuds and speakers in the same category, so a shopper who also wants a soundbar or turntable finds more under a single brand name there.

2. E7. Edifier

   Edifier is the cheapest way into this ranking, with entry at $7.99, and unlike the other low priced names here it is an audio specialist rather than a gaming or charging brand. Its range covers headphones, earbuds, speakers, portable speakers, soundbars and hi-fi, noise cancelling is offered, LDAC is supported and the battery figure is 49 hours, the shortest in the field. Founded in 1996, it lists US, CA and AU, a deliberately small market list, and support runs on email, phone and help centre. The warranty is a range, 1 to 2 years, so cover depends on the model. Nothing, ranked next, offers earbuds in a tighter range with a longer battery and a longer warranty.

   • Price from: $7.99
   • Noise cancelling: Yes
   • Battery life: 49 hours

   Pros

   • The catalogue spans headphones, earbuds and speakers, where HyperX lists headphones and earbuds and CORSAIR lists headphones.
   • Entry pricing of $7.99 ranks 2 of 64 brands, near the front of the field on starting cost.
   • Noise cancelling is available and the listed battery figure of 49 hours sits just above the 40 hour median across the site.
   • Warranty of 1 to 2 years reaches the 2 year upper quartile seen across the site.

   Cons

   • Warranty runs 1 to 2 years, so entry models carry the shorter term rather than the longest cover on offer.
   • The direct store serves US, CA and AU, so buyers in other markets buy through a different route to the same range.
   • Turntables sit outside the Edifier line, while JBL covers them within headphones, earbuds and speakers.
   • Battery life of 49 hours ranks 27 of 61 brands, short of the 70 hour upper quartile.

3. 8. PowerA

   PowerA rounds out this ranking as the narrowest specialist on the list. The range is controller and gaming headset, wireless gaming headsets and controllers, priced from $22.99 with a battery of 70 hours. It is the brand here where noise cancelling is absent, so the case rests on the low price and the controller pairing rather than on travel use. The warranty of 2 years is solid, the policy sits under ACCO Brands Corporation, and the market list is US, JP and CN, broad across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Support is the narrowest here at help centre only, and multiroom is not offered. Nothing above it pairs a tighter range with wider codec choice.

   • Price from: $22.99
   • Wireless peripherals: Yes
   • Warranty: 2 years

   Pros

   • The entry price of $22.99 ranks 11 of 47 brands on price from, so the cheapest way into the range is genuinely inexpensive.
   • A 2 year warranty places PowerA 5 of 40 brands on cover, ahead of most accessory sellers.
   • Battery life of 70 hours on the wireless headset is enough for long sessions, and wireless is yes on that model.
   • One brand covers pc, playstation and xbox, where Skullcandy's gaming range is gaming headset only.

   Cons

   • Support runs on help centre only, so a direct line to a person is not part of what the brand states.
   • Noise cancelling is no on the listed headset, which rules it out for anyone wanting a quiet listen on travel or in a shared room.
   • Charging for Xbox Series XS is no on Gan, narrowing the choice for anyone after a compact high-output charger.
   • The $22.99 entry figure comes from the controller range, so headset buyers should not treat it as the headset price.

What to look for

Entry price against the field

The middle starting price in this ranking is €60.68, with the lower quartile at €31.02 and the upper quartile at €103.88. These figures mark the cheapest point of each range, not a subscription, so nothing renews later. Judge a brand on where its entry sits against those markers before you look at anything else.

Battery life against the median

Median battery life here is 48.5 hours, with the lower quartile at 27.25 and the upper quartile at 70. The ceiling is 300. A brand above the median buys fewer charging stops, while one below it means planning the week around a cable.

Warranty length

The median warranty in this ranking runs 1.75 years, from 1 at the low end to 2 at the high end. Longer cover matters more for wireless pairs, where batteries and hinges tend to wear before the drivers do.

Whether noise cancelling is there

Noise cancelling is present on 82.5% of the field. On a train or in a shared office it is the feature most likely to change daily use, so a brand that omits it is selling a different product rather than a cheaper one. Check that the entry model carries it, not just the top of the range.

How you can reach support

A help centre is close to universal at 100%, with email at 77.9% and phone at 60.3%. Community boards sit lower at 35.3%. Self service alone is fine for a spare pair and thin for a daily driver.

Catalogue beyond headsets

Multiroom is offered by 31.8% of the brands, and high resolution codecs are less common, with AAC at 68% and LDAC at 36%. Speaker, soundbar and hi-fi lines tell you whether a brand is an audio company by trade or a gaming one with a headset range attached.

Frequently asked questions

Top headphones and earbuds compared by country

• Australia
• Canada
• France
• Germany
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV