Your guide to a better futureOur expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement You don't need to spend a fortune to get a good pair of Earbuds. The best budget earbuds can deliver exceptional audio. Earbuds like the AirPods Pro 2, Sony's WF-1000XM4 or Bose's QuietComfort Earbuds 2 may be excellent, but they tend to cost a lot more than some people can afford. Thankfully with the best budget earbuds, you don't need to own an expensive pair to get decent audio. Not only that, there are a number of affordable and even downright cheap wireless earbuds that perform well overall, with solid battery life, reliable Bluetooth connectivity and good voice call quality for both Apple and Android devices.I've tested a variety of budget true-wireless earphones and found some standout AirPods alternatives for budget-conscious shoppers. All of my picks for the best cheap wireless earbuds cost $100 or less -- and several of these Bluetooth true-wireless earbuds cost less than $50.For these mini reviews, I've included info on battery life, audio quality and key features, including whether they have active noise canceling or not, plus their IPX water-resistant rating in case you're interested in using these for running or working out at the gym. I'll update this list as other top affordable wireless earbuds are released.Read more: Best Wireless Earbuds for 2023Earfun has put out a series of wireless earbuds over the last couple of years with one important thing in common: They're very good values, made more so by frequent discounts. The company's new-for-2023 Earfun Air Pro 3 earbuds feature the latest Qualcomm QCC3071 system-on-a-chip with aptX Adaptive for Android and other devices that support the new LE Audio standard and LC3 audio codec, which is superior to the SBC codec (they also support AAC for Apple devices).Lightweight and comfortable to wear -- I got a good seal with the largest ear tip size -- these aren't a huge upgrade over the Earfun Air S, but they are better. They have slightly larger wool-composite drivers (11mm versus 10mm), slightly improved noise canceling and better battery life (up to seven hours with noise canceling on, according to Earfun).In short, the Earfun Air 3 deliver strong performance for their modest price, with robust bass, good clarity and a relatively wide soundstage. They also pack in a lot of features, including a wireless charging case and "multidevice" connectivity. (I could pair them to two devices simultaneously but had to pause the music on one device and hit play on the other for the audio to switch.) They're IPX5 splash-proof and also work well, though not exceptionally well, as a headset for making calls. Note that after you activate the instant 10%-off coupon at Amazon, adding the code EAP3CNET at checkout gives you an additional 20% off, bringing the buds' price down to $56.Read our Earfun Air Pro 3 review. Here's a deal worth checking out on a set of open earbuds that perform surprisingly well: the Soundpeats Air3 Deluxe HS. 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.In the past, we've recommended Earfun's AirPro SV and Air Pro 2 as excellent budget noise-canceling earbuds choices (they're still good values). But the new-for-2022 Earfun Air S may be the best of the trio, with multipoint Bluetooth pairing and the latest Qualcomm QCC3046 chip with the aptX audio codec for Android and other devices that support it. They have the same 10mm wool drivers as the AirPro SV and feature surprisingly impressive sound for their modest price. They also work well as a headset for making calls with decent background noise reduction. The buds have an IPX5 water-resistance rating, which means they're splashproof and can withstand a sustained spray of water.Note that the earbuds cost as low as $49 when you apply the CNET-exclusive discount code EFAIRS07 at checkout at Amazon, or the code E4AH201 at Earfun's online store.The Tranya T20 earbuds remind me a little of a cheaper version of Samsung's Galaxy Buds 2 without the noise canceling. They're no-frills and don't have features such as ear-detection sensors that automatically pause your music when you take a bud out of your ears. But 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 feel more premium. However, 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.The 1More Aero earbuds carry a list price of $110 but Amazon often has an instant coupon on them that brings their price down substantially. They're essentially a more premium version of 1More's ComfoBuds Pro and feature a better charging case (the Aero does have wireless charging) and improved noise canceling and slightly improved sound.Though I can't say these offer exceptionally good sound quality and noise-canceling for the price (and the touch controls are a bit limited), they do sound quite decent, are comfortable to wear, and the noise canceling is respectable (you can tweak the sound profile in the companion app and adjust noise canceling levels). There's also a spatial audio mode with head-tracking -- you have to activate it in the companion app -- that expands the soundstage. Multipoint Bluetooth pairing or "dual-device connection," as 1More calls it, also must be activated in the app under the experimental features section. Ear-detection sensors pause your music when you take the buds out of your ears.Battery life is rated at up to seven hours on a single charge, but don't expect to get that if you listen to your music at higher volumes. They have an IPX5 water-resistance rating, which means they can withstand a sustained spray of water. Equipped with Bluetooth 5.2, they support the SBC and AAC audio codecs but not AptX. Voice-calling performance is above average though not exceptionally good.   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 if it (the Elite 4 Active) is on sale. But you should also see discounts on the Elite 4, which are available in dark gray, navy, lilac and light beige. The lightweight Elite 4 fit my ears comfortably and offer 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 are missing more-premium features like ear detection sensors and have 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. The Elite 4 are a good set of earbuds but do look for them on sale.Sony's entry-level C500 earbuds don't feature active noise canceling and are pretty basic as far as earbuds go, with no ear-detection sensors or transparency mode. But the buds are compact and lightweight, fit comfortably and sound good for an entry-level model. While these earbuds have background noise reduction during voice calls, they only have one microphone in each earbud. Many earbuds now have two or more microphones to help process ambient noise and capture your voice. In some ways, these are similar to Jabra's Elite 3 earbuds, delivering respectable sound quality for less than $100 (but you'll want to buy them for less than $60). The C500 don't have the richer, more refined -- and dynamic -- sound of the high-end WF-1000XM4, but they have ample bass and decent clarity, as Sony says they benefit from its Digital Sound Enhancement Engine technology that it says helps "restore high-frequency sound to create a more authentic listening experience." The earbuds are rated IPX4, so they're splash-proof, and offer up to 10 hours of battery life at moderate volume levels on a single charge. That's very good.The Sennheiser CX earbuds sound excellent for their price point but do stick out of your ears a little more than some buds. The buds are equipped with Bluetooth 5.2 and battery life is up to nine hours at moderate volume levels (the slightly bulky charging case stores an additional three charges) versus seven hours for the previous model. The CX also adds an extra microphone on each bud, which does improve the voice-calling experience from the earlier CX400 and makes it easier for callers to hear you speak, even in noisy environments. To be clear, however, these are not active noise-canceling earbuds -- they simply offer noise reduction for calls. They have an IPX4 rating and are splash-proof. Read our Sennheiser CX first take.The Soundpeats Air Pro 3 are lightweight buds that sound quite good and offer decent noise canceling for their modest price. They use Qualcomm's latest QCC3046 chipset (Bluetooth 5.2) with the aptX Adaptive Bluetooth audio streaming that's supported by many Android smartphones. They're IPX4 splash-proof and have a battery life of six hours, with an additional three charges in their compact charging case, which is around the same size as the AirPods Pro's case.While the buds' biggest strengths are their lightweight design and sound quality (you get big, bold sound with strong bass that only lacks that extra bit of clarity and definition that higher-end buds offer), the only downside is the voice-calling performance is only so-so -- callers said the microphone pickup and voice clarity just wasn't as good as some earbuds we've tested and reduction of background noise was not great either. In other words, don't buy these if voice calling is a priority.I was a fan of Earfun's earlier Free Pro earbuds, which offer good sound and have little sport fins that help keep them in your ears securely. Now Earfun has released the Earfun Pro 2 buds with aluminum alloy caps, improved noise canceling and a couple of extra microphones that help boost voice-calling performance.The Free Pro 2 deliver good sound for their modest price, with decent clarity and deep but well-defined bass. They produce relatively big, open sound. They don't have such extra features as an ear-detection sensor so your music automatically pauses when you take one or both earbuds out of your ears, or an app that allows you to update their firmware. But they're lightweight, should fit most ears well and have decent noise canceling along with a transparency mode. (It's not as good as the AirPods Pro's transparency mode, which is hard to beat.)I found the voice-calling performance good but not great. They did an acceptable job reducing background noise and picking up my voice in noisy environments but they aren't necessarily top-notch in this department. Battery life is rated at up to six hours, they're IPX5 splash-proof and their elongated case, which charges wirelessly, is compact and lightweight. It's better designed than the Free Pro's case.The Soundpeats T3 buds have two things going for them aside from their modest price tag: They sound decent and work well for making calls, offering good noise reduction. They're also comfortable to wear and have both active noise canceling and transparency mode. The noise canceling is only OK, not great (same goes for the transparency mode), but you can't expect everything for such a low price.Equipped with Bluetooth 5.2, they're IPX4 splash-proof and have a battery-life rating of up to five and a half hours on a single charge at moderate volume levels. They have relatively smooth, balanced sound and ample bass. They're not going to wow you with clarity or dynamic sound, but they're pleasant to listen to, which is all you can ask of a budget set of earbuds. Callers said that my voice sounded clearer when I was using the AirPods Pro but the Soundpeats actually reduced more background noise that the AirPods Pro. I was able to have conversations on the noisy streets of New York without a problem.The Soundpeats Mini Pro have a few things going for them. For starters, they're relatively compact and fit my ears comfortably and securely (I got a tight seal with the largest included ear tips). They also sound surprisingly good, with clear, nice-detailed sound and punchy bass. They sound as good or better than buds I've used in the $100 to $150 price range. Also, since they're powered by a Qualcomm Bluetooth chip (it's Bluetooth 5.2), they have support for Qualcomm's aptX audio codec, which can offer slightly better sound on aptX-enabled devices such as some Android phones. Note: A newer version of the buds, the Soundpeats Mini Pro HS, offers support for the LDAC audio codec but not AptX.These are IPX5 splash-proof active noise-canceling earbuds. While the noise cancellation muffles background noise to a degree, it isn't as effective as what you get with Apple's AirPods Pro or top noise-canceling buds from Sony and Bose. Battery life is rated at up to seven hours with noise canceling off and five hours with it on.On a more critical note, voice-calling performance was only average. In quieter environments they work decently, but outdoors in the streets of New York, callers said they heard a lot of background noise and they didn't do well with wind noise. The Soundpeats T3 ($36) are better for voice calling but these Mini Pro buds sound significantly better.Read our Soundpeats Mini Pro first take. The new 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 for a lot of earbuds 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 though not as good as Sony's or Bose's. 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 eight hours with an additional three charges in the charging case.I was a fan of the original Earfun Free buds, and now there's an upgraded version called the Earfun Free 2 (which has been subsequently upgraded to the 2S). They're not a huge upgrade, but like the originals they fit my ears well and deliver decent bang for the buck with strong sound -- it has just a touch of treble and bass boost (there's plenty of bass) -- and extra features such as wireless charging.Battery life is rated at up to seven hours at moderate volume levels, and these buds are fully waterproof with an IPX7 rating. These are equipped with Bluetooth 5.2 and use Qualcomm's QCC3040 chip that includes support for the aptX audio codec if you're using a compatible device (certain Android smartphones support that protocol).Apple improved the sound quality of the third-gen AirPods so it raised the bar. That said, many true wireless earbuds that cost less than $100 or even less than $50 offer surprisingly good sound for the money and measure up pretty well against the AirPods and AirPods Pro, though not the AirPods Pro 2, which offer significantly improved sound. Often, the biggest difference is build quality. Premium buds tend to feel sturdier and tend to be built with more premium materials. They also have a more premium look and feel to both the buds themselves and their charging case. In theory, premium buds should hold up better over time. Additionally, they tend to have more features such as ear-detection sensors and they pair with a companion app so you can upgrade the firmware (as well as tweak the sound and possibly customize the controls). Finally, while some cheaper buds have active noise cancellation, the performance of the noise-canceling and transparency modes tends to be better with more premium buds.Some do. Many cheaper buds now feature multiple microphones and some do a surprisingly good job when it comes to voice calling. A few models on this list have surprisingly good noise reduction and measure up well against the AirPods, which are known for their strong voice-calling performance.