Best wireless earbuds for noise cancellation

When you get one of the best wireless earbuds for noise cancellation, you get to block out (most) of the noise around you, thus making listening to music and taking calls a much better experience. There are hundreds of options available out there, so whether you want a budget-oriented product or a top-tier one, there's surely going to be something that'll work for you. Of course, having so many choices can often get quite confusing, which is why I've shortlisted some of the finest true wireless earbuds that you can take a look at.

The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds rightfully earn the top spot, thanks to incredible ANC performance and overall good call quality. That said, the Sony WF-1000XM5 are ideal if you value battery endurance and customizable sound profiles. There are many other solid alternatives from brands like Samsung, and even Apple, so you'll certainly find something that fits your requirements.

At a glance

Best overall

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra arguably have the best ANC of any model of true wireless earbuds I've recently tried. Honestly, it isn't even close. You can chalk this up to the software that drives ANC plus the quality of the hardware, but I've used hundreds or pairs of ANC earbuds and headphones, and Bose does it the best.

It's assumed you want the best ANC you can find, but other things are important too, and Bose has you covered. Although they are chunky lil' fellows, the in-ear fit is surprisingly better than you'd expect when looking at them. That's important, because everyone hates earbuds that don't fit well in their ears.

The sound is pretty good as well. Yes, they are still earbuds with tiny drivers and you're playing back via Bluetooth so it's not the best audio ever, but as far as ANC earbuds go, you'll have no complaints. These buds handle most ranges of sound from bass to treble well, and the mids sound exceptionally good.

Even the app is really good. It's modern and allows you to tune the sound to your liking while still trying to make things easy; not everyone wants to fiddle with a 10-band virtual equalizer.

If you only care about getting the best ANC earbuds you can buy, these are going to be very good for you.

Best budget

Apple loves to use plenty of superfluous language to describe all its products, but the fact remains that (most of them) are quality gear. The Apple AirPods 4 are no exception. When it comes to the best bang for your buck, nothing matches up to these. No, they're not the newest thing out there, but you aren't paying the price that the newest check in with, either.

The thing is, you'll either love or hate the way they fit. Apple redesigned the way AirPods fit with the 4th generation, and a lot of folks say they nailed it. Others say it is still terrible. Since they don't use interchangeable parts for fitting, they either fit you or they don't, and nothing can change that.

Next, I have to talk about battery life. If you need ANC earbuds with a long-lasting battery, these probably won't work for you. You can stretch it a bit with the case, but with ANC running, don't expect these to last more than four hours even on the best of days.

If you're Ok with the battery life and the AirPods 4 fit you well, you'll love the value you're getting. I've often seen these on sale for as low as $100, so they're definitely better than most $100 noise-cancelling earbuds. The sound is good (not the best, but far from the worst) and features such as transparency and conversational awareness are not expected at this price.

If good, cheap earbuds with ANC are what you're after, you have to check out the AirPods 4 before you make any buying decisions.

Best battery life

Sony is a big player when it comes to consumer audio, and its products come in at every price point. The Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds are among the brand's best products for most of us out there, even if they've now been superseded by a new model. Almost everything about these earbuds is good. Not the best and far from the worst, but just good. You'll have no complaints about the audio quality, the connectivity, the fit inside your ear, or the noise cancellation itself.

Then we have to talk about the battery life, which is simply phenomenal. As per Sony, these are rated at about 6 hours with ANC, and that's right in line with what you're going to get. Six hours doesn't sound like a whole lot (and really, it's never enough) but when you're talking about earbuds with tiny batteries and a power-hungry real-time process like ANC, you won't find long battery life on spec sheet. These are the best of the best when it comes to the time between charges.

The only real issue I've found is with low-latency audio using Sony's LC3 codec, as it can drop audio from time to time. This is a niche use case anyway; for everyday needs, they connect easily and stay connected without a whole lot of fuss.

Best Sound

I have a love/hate relationship with the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro 3. While I love the audio quality they pack (with or without ANC), I hate that high-quality codec support is limited to newer Galaxy Devices. As a matter of fact, the newer Galaxy Buds 4 Pro continue this trend as far as codec support is concerned.

That's the rub—if you use a smartphone like the Galaxy S26 or Galaxy S26 series, you can use Samsung's proprietary SSC Ultra-High-Quality audio codec, and the sound the Galaxy Buds Pro 3 deliver is, well, better than any true wireless earbuds should be able to output. It really is that good and frankly, better than anything Qualcomm or Sony bring with AptX and LDAC, respectively.

Part of the reason is the big (for wireless earbuds) 10.3mm drivers that are used for low and middle-frequency sounds, paired with a 6.1mm planar audio driver for higher-frequency sounds, but Samsung's audio codec does all the heavy lifting here. There's also no support for LDAC HQ audio on other Android smartphones.

Still, there is no denying how good these earbuds sound with the right source. I tested with a Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus once it was updated to support the SSC codec and could not believe the difference.

They also sound good without a supported device and all around, audio quality, ANC, fit, and app (which you really need for best results) are great. With the right Samsung phone, they go from great to unbelievable. Now that the newer model is here, you can grab these for much less during sales.

Best features

Google doesn't make the best wireless earbuds for everyone, but if you're really into the brand's ecosystem of products and AI, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 might just be what you're looking for. They sound good, not great. The ANC is good, but not the very best. The battery life is OK for some, terrible for others, and somehow listed by Google at up to 8 hours with the ANC turned on. They do have an excellent fit though, and touch sensitivity is wonderful.

The real star of the show is Google and its plans for the future. We already have transparency mode, conversation awareness, a sensor to relieve in-ear pressure, and tight integration with Google Gemini. But as it is with a Google product, new features or updates to an existing one might be just a software patch away.

Buying based on today, which is what we all should do, is still a good choice if you use Google's Pixel-specific features on your phone or watch. Having said that, you don't need a Google Pixel to make the most out of the Pixel Buds Pro 2, and just about everything works as designed with an Android phone running Android 6.0 or higher.

What's special (and sometimes terrible, too, as is the nature of AI) about these is the Google Gemini integration, which is expected to be updated as time goes by. It makes this set of earbuds a fun choice for any Android enthusiast.

Best value

Just think of the Sony WF-C710N like the little brother to the WF-1000XM5, and you'll have them figured out. They have great ANC, a surprisingly flat and even default sound that is customizable through Sony's app, plenty of volume, and good microphones for taking calls. They don't have wireless charging, support for any HQ audio codecs, and the silicon tips work for most people, but not everyone. But they are about $100 cheaper and come in a bunch of colors (including a cool transparent blue) if you're into something different.

I really enjoy these earbuds and the way they respond to any sort of software-based equalizer. Out of the box, you probably won't love the way they sound, so you really need to use Sony's app to "tune" them to your liking. As a bonus, if you use Amazon Music, you will have full Sony 360 Reality Audio support for excellent spatial audio.

If you aren't looking to spend too much, you should certainly give these a look.

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How to choose

ANC has come a long way, and the latest headphones and earbuds that support it are much better than what was available just a few years ago. For most people, the audible hiss and droning buzz that ANC causes have disappeared, and you'll probably never know that it's turned on and running.

The reasons are obvious: isolate sound coming to your ears and you hear more of what you want to hear. Just having ANC doesn't necessarily mean headphones will block all sounds, so the differences usually come down to variances. Some headphones will drown out more ambient noise than others will. Thankfully, you don't have to buy the most expensive pair of earbuds with ANC to get great noise cancellation; any pair on this list will do the job quite well, even the more budget-friendly picks.

Because they are earbuds, fit and comfort play a big role too. Wireless earbuds nestled into your ears to provide passive isolation to help block ambient noise, so the way your earbuds fit is important. You'll probably have the best luck with a pair that uses silicon tips of various sizes.

Apps and software offer additional benefits for ANC. Some even have "adaptive ANC", which adjusts the feature's efficacy in real-time based on how much noise the onboard microphones detect. You'll find this, if available, in the companion app for your earbuds so be sure to check it out.

How we test

We review plenty of headphones and earbuds because almost everyone with a phone has a set or two. Knowing what's good is important.

I'm also a bit of a headphone addict. I've been known to spend too much time obsessing over the smallest details and have access to most every new product once it's commercially available. So I try them all if I can.

I've personally used each of these, and while ANC isn't for me, I know what to look for and what works. I like and would recommend every pair on this list, and I think it's the right place to start when it's time to buy a little something for yourself.