A pair of quality noise-canceling cans can isolate you from the outside world and give you that serene feeling of seclusion where there’s just you, yourself, and your favorite music, podcast, or audiobook.
Update 03-08-2025:We’ve reviewed our recommendations, and these are still the best noise-cancelling headphones you may buy.
Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)
Features to Focus on When Choosing Noise-Cancelling Headphones
The most important feature to look out for when in the market for a pair of noise-canceling headphones is, of course,active noise cancellation(ANC). In general, the better the ANC, the pricier the cans, but the good news is that you don’t have to pay a fortune for quality ANC.
Some budget and a number of mid-range options have good enough ANC for most scenarios, even those that include long flights inside stuffed planes. Note that ANC headphones found at lower price levels tend to be pretty good at blocking less noisy sounds, such as those of your office colleagues and the quiet but nagging sound of A/C fans.
Higher-end noise-canceling headphones sometimes include adaptive ANC tech, which adjusts the noise cancellation level depending on your surroundings, the type of noise, and your hearing acuity. This results in impressively effective active noise cancellation that can also prolong the battery life when used in low-noise environments.
Next up are comfort and sound quality. While the sound quality is very important, we’d put comfort first in case you plan on frequently wearing the headphones for hours on end. Havingthe best-sounding headphonesout there is pointless if you may’t wear them for longer than half an hour because the top of your head is sore or because your ears have turned into ovens due to the clamping force being too tight.
Sound quality-wise, the price is usually positively correlated with sound quality. The pricier the pair of headphones is, the better their sound, but there are some nuances here you should look out for. For instance, some headphones offer neutral sound where no specific part of the spectrum is boosted. Others offer a warm, bassy sound that’s great for bass-heavy music genres. And then there are so-called sharp headphones that push treble at the front, which some people prefer, but most don’t.
That said, you may adjust the sound output via your phone’s built-inequalizeror a companion app if the headphones come with one.
Battery life is also important, especially for ANC headphones, as active noise-canceling consumes a lot of power. Virtually every model has two battery life values listed: the amount of time you can use them with ANC turned off and on. Since you’re perusing this guide, it’s safe to assume you’re interested in battery life with ANC, so make sure to check how long the headphones you’re eyeing last with ANC turned on.
Other things to look out for when shopping for noise-canceling headphones include the ability to use the headphones with multiple devices simultaneously, known asmultipoint Bluetooth, exclusive features tied to the manufacturer ecosystem, such as the spatial audio feature on some AirPods you can only use with Apple devices, and the ability to use headphones with a cable while turned off.
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✓ Industry-leading noise cancellation
✓ Impressive sound quality
✗ Can’t use them unpowered in wired mode
✓ Sturdy build quality
✗ So-so battery life
✓ Long-lasting comfort
✓ aptX Adaptive support
TheBose QuietComfort Ultraheadphones are hands down the rulers of the ANC headphone realm. Their adaptive noise-canceling tech, known asCustomTune, adapts to your ears' shape, size, and depth and delivers the best possible noise-canceling and sound quality custom-tailored for you.
The result is an impressive ANC quality that can make the sounds of the outside world all but disappear, leaving you immersed in whatever you’re listening to at that moment. But the Bose QuietComfort Ultra has more tricks up its sleeve.
Firstly, their sound quality is impressive. The frequency response curve promotes the lower end of the spectrum, resulting in a bassy, thumpy, powerful sound with detailed bass and trebles. If the default sound profile isn’t your liking, you can download the companion app, which includes a graphic equalizer and various presets you can switch between with a single tap of the phone screen.
Other goodies here include impressive build quality, a cloud-like level of comfort, and support foraptX Adaptive, a Bluetooth audio codec that adapts to what you’re listening to, lowering the latency if you’re using the cans to watch videos or play games.
On the flip side, if your phone doesn’tsupport aptX Adaptive, you’re left only with AAC and SBC support. The battery life could’ve been longer—you can expect about 25 hours of playtime with ANC on—and once the battery dies, you can’t use the headphones, even in wired mode, since they have to be turned on even when hooked to a cable.
If you want similarly impressive sound quality and great ANC, check out theSony WH-1000XM5. These are similarly priced, can work in wired mode even when their battery’s empty, and support theLDACBluetooth codec found on newer Galaxy S phones. Lastly, if you’re an Apple fan or just deeply rooted inside Apple’s ecosystem, you can’t go wrong with theApple AirPods Max.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones dominate the Noise-Cancelling headphone realm. The ANC quality is terrific, the sound output equally impressive, and the build quality and comfort complete the premium package.
✓ Excellent ANC for a pair of budget headphones
✗ Flimsy build quality
✗ Not great for people with larger ears
✗ Cheap-looking
✓ Decent sound quality
✓ USB-C and support for the companion app
TheSoundcore Anker Life Q20iis an updated version of theSoundcore Anker Life Q20, an impressive budget noise-canceling headphones. The Q20i offers USB-C charging, a larger battery, and support for a companion app that lets you control ANC.
Overall, the package here is more than worth the $70 price of admission. The Soundcore Anker Life Q20i offers pretty good overall noise-canceling that can deal with most sounds aside from the rumblings of large engines (bus and airplane), a massive battery that can last for around 40 hours with ANC enabled, and respectable comfort for a pair of budget headphones.
Their sound profile is skewed towards the lower end of the spectrum, offering a bassy image that isn’t as clear as on high-end headphones, resulting in slightly muddy output. Luckily, the overemphasized bass doesn’t drown out mids and highs, allowing you to hear vocals and instruments without getting flooded with all the bass. Oh, and you can use them in wired mode even when unpowered.
While the Soundcore Anker Life Q20i are great budget noise-canceling headphones, they do have downsides that are expected in this price range. Firstly, the build quality is shoddy; the cans are light and cheap. If you have larger ears, the ear cups might be too small for you. I recommend trying out these before buying them or getting them from a place that allows free returns.
If you want similar sound quality coupled with serviceable but not as good ANC, theEdifier W800BT Promight be what you’re looking for. And if you don’t mind the lack of USB-C and don’t care about having a companion app, theSoundcore Anker Life Q20cans are still a great deal, especially if you catch them on sale.
Soundcore Anker Life Q20i
The budget noise-canceling headphones market offers a deluge of options, but one of the best ones, and most affordable ones, you can get are the Soundcore Anker Life Q20i. These headphones offers respectable ANC, solid sound quality, and great comfort for the price.
✓ Competitively priced
✗ Not for people who sweat easily
✓ Attractive design
✗ The default sound profile might not be to everyone’s taste
✗ Very high clamping force
✓ Impressive battery life
✓ Fairly comfortable
TheJLab JBuds Lux ANCcan be yours for $80, and they undercut our budget choice regarding the overall sound quality, the quality of the active noise-canceling, and the built quality. Here, we’ve got yet another pair of headphones with a thumpy sound profile that puts the bass at the front while also boosting high frequencies. If you don’t prefer the default sound output, you may tweak it to your liking in the excellent companion app that comes with a 10-band EQ, lots of presets, and an ANC tweaker.
The battery life here is great. You can expect more than 40 hours of playtime with ANC turned on, which extends to about 70 hours without ANC. The ANC is impressive for a pair of headphones that cost less than $100. It’s fairly effective at drowning out busy traffic, the sounds of a busy neighborhood, and even the annoying rumble of bus and plane engines.
The JLab JBuds Lux ANC are fairly comfortable as long as you aren’t someone who sweats easily since the ear cups are covered with pleather that, in combination with a fairly tight grip, can make you sweat faster than a puddle evaporates in Death Valley. If you aren’t sweat-prone, these cans should be fairly comfortable.
The build quality is satisfactory, but there is nothing to write home about. At least they look fairly attractive, especially in the sage flavor. Regarding downsides, the default sound profile’s high-frequency boost might be grating to some ears. There’s the aforementioned tight grip, and it’s also worth mentioning that you aren’t getting a carrying case, which would be nice to have, considering the price.
If you’d like something a bit more expensive but with better ANC, comfort, and support for LDAC—you’re limited to SBC with the JLab JBuds Lux ANC—take a look at theAnker Soundcore Space One. They will set you back $100, but you’re getting the aforementioned upgrades, a carrying case, and a 40-hour battery life with ANC enabled.
JLab JBuds Lux ANC Wireless Headphones
If you’re in the market for a new pair of Noise-Cancelling headphones and your budget is $100, look no further than the JLab JBuds Lux ANC. They are very comfortable, offer great ANC for the price, and provide pretty decent sound quality.
✗ Pricey
✗ Build quality not as great as on the Sony WH-1000XM4
✓ Very comfortable
✗ Might prove uncomfortable over long periods for people with small heads
✓ Unique features such as ‘Speak-to-Chat’ mode
✓ Solid audio quality when used unpowered in cable mode
While you won’t find a pair of wired active noise-canceling headphones that pack at least decent ANC, many wireless ANC headphones support ANC in wired mode. TheSony WH-1000XM5is the best choice among those.
They offer impressive sound quality that leans slightly towards bass but still delivers clean mids and highs, impressive comfort, and stellar noise cancelation that’s close to the ANC quality found in the Bose QuietComfort Ultra.
The battery life isn’t impressive since the cans can last only about 30 hours with ANC enabled, but at least you can use them in wired mode when the battery dies, albeit without ANC. While some won’t like the sharp design shift from Sony’s earlier high-end ANC headphone models, such as theWH-1000XM4, the boon here is increased comfortability, making the WH-1000XM5 one of the most comfortable pairs of headphones you can get.
The Sony WH-1000XM5 also comes with cool features like the signature ‘Speak-to-Chat’ mode that activates as soon as someone in your vicinity starts talking. You’ve got LDAC support (but no aptX support) and a high-quality carrying case that’s very sturdy and capable of taking a hit or two without damaging the headphones inside.
On the flip side, the build quality doesn’t reach the stellar level of the Sony WH-1000XM4, and while the comfort is great, you might find the cans uncomfortable, especially the headband, after a few hours of wearing them if you have a small head.
If you really want a pair of wired-only headphones with ANC, check out theSony MDRZX110NC. Their ANC setup is pretty underwhelming, ditto for the sound quality, but they’re very affordable and offer decent passive sound isolation.
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones
You won’t find a better pair of Noise-Cancelling headphones that offer ANC with wired mode than the Sony WH-1000XM5. They offer premium sound quality, impressive comfort, cool features, and active noise cancellation that can fully isolate you from the outside world.
✓ Best Noise-Cancelling earbuds, period
✗ Other earbuds have better sound quality
✓ Pretty good sound quality
✗ Some features don’t work on non-Apple devices
✓ Lots of extra features for Apple fans
✗ The built-in mic could’ve been clearer
✓ Great battery life
✓ The case comes with USB-C and supports wireless charging
If you want the best ANC quality in wireless earbuds, get theApple AirPods Pro 2. While not as effective as the active noise-canceling found in premium over-ear headphones, the AirPods Pro 2 offers impressively effective noise-canceling when pitted against thebest wireless earbuds.
They also sound fairly pleasant, with just a tad elevated bass but slightly sunken highs, resulting in lightly muffled sibilant sounds. Overall, though, the sound quality is pretty good for a pair of true wireless earbuds.
The battery life is another win for the AirPods Pro 2. With ANC enabled, you’ve got six hours of battery life, along with about 24 hours of charge provided by the carrying case. The case comes with a USB-C port, supports wireless charging, and features a speaker that works withApple’s Find Mynetwork, allowing you to easily locate the case when you misplace it. Just don’t forget toadd your AirPods to the Find My networkfirst.
Another plus is the awe-inspiringTransparency modefeature, which mops the floor with every other pair of true wireless earbuds that includes it. Nothing’s perfect, though, and in the case of the 2nd-gen AirPods Pro, you won’t be able to access some features when using the earbuds with non-Apple devices. This includesSpatial Audio, the Find My service and automatic ear detection. We also don’t like that you cannot manually tweak the equalizer to your liking. Lastly, the built-in microphone could’ve been clearer.
If you aren’t knee-deep in Apple’s ecosystem and are looking for a pair of earbuds with great ANC and impressive sound quality that allow you to use their full range of features on any device, check out theJabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2or theBose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds. Samsung phone owners should also take a look at the recently releasedSamsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, which doesn’t offer the same level of ANC but trumps the AirPods Pro 2 with regards to sound quality.
When it comes to Noise-Cancelling earbuds, the second generation of AirPods Pro are unbeatable. The quality of their ANC implementation is matched only by high-end over-ear headphones, with a splendid audio quality to boot.
