Best Cheap Headphones 2025: The top budget efforts for less than £100

The WF-C510 take what made the C500 model so good, refines it and makes it better with the addition of a few new features and even better sound,.

The build quality is solid. They’re look simple and functional, but they offer a great fit that blocks out most sounds and they feature physical controls, which we feel are better than relying on touch controls at this price. An IPX4 rating means they’re protected against some sweat and water, so you could take the C510 for a run or wear them to the gym.

Battery life has gone up from 10 to 11 hours and 22 hours in total. In our tests we found the battery life was in line with the original, which is no bad thing as 10 hours is a long to last. There is fast-charging support but no wireless charging.

There’s no ANC support but they do come with an Ambient Sound mode that lets outside sounds in. We found the performance on the ambient mode to be loud and clear, making it easy to catch announcement and get a better sense of what’s around you. Bluetooth 5.3 covers SBC and AAC streaming, so these headphones lack wireless Hi-Res Audio but we don’t that’s a big miss at the price point.

The sound of the WF-C510 is a spacious and balanced performance. We compained about the lack of bass oomph with the previous model but this pair delivers more weight and punch. The mid- to high frequency range has good clarity and detail and while they’re not the most dynamic sounding pair, they are wholly enjoyable for the money.

We tend to think of gaming earphones as ones that have lots of LED lights on them, boom mics, and other fancy paraphernalia. The Final VR500 keep things every simple.

For one, they’re not wireless but a pair of in-earphones, meant to connect to your controller through the port. Secondly, they’re lightweight at only 15g, the general build quality is sturdy and feels as if it’s meant to last, despite the inexpensive asking price.

The sound quality is where the VR500 excel. It’s a large, open, and organised sound with high detail levels and a good sense of positioning effects within the soundstage. They offer plenty of dynamism too, but where they struggle is in the bass department. Our reviewer found that while bass is decently controlled, low frequencies are short of heft and impact.

Otherwise there’s very little to argue against for the sum of £30. If you’re after an inexpensive pair of gaming in-ear monitors, the Final are a mostly excellent pair of headphones to game with.

The WH-CH720N offer a strong overall performance for the asking price. They’re the best noise-cancelling headphones for less than £100 / $100.

Build quality is decent even though the headphones’ frame and earcups are made from recycled plastic, with no noticeable creaks or groans when we bent the frame. The use of plastic also keeps the headphones lightweight at 192g. We didn’t experience periods of discomfort wearing the headphones, thanks to the use of padding on the headband and earcups.

Battery life can go as far as 40 hours from our tests with noise-cancelling on, better than the EarFun Wave Pro. They include active noise-cancellation and transparency mode, as well as Bluetooth multipoint, app support (which provides more customisation) and voice assistants in the form of Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

The noise-cancellation is solid for the price, focusing on culling low frequency sounds and clearing away ambient noise so it’s less of a bother. We wouldn’t say that these headphones clear away every noise they come across, but they’ll make the daily commutes and journeys in cities feel less chaotic and disruptive.

The sound quality is similar to the WH-CH520 on-ears in that it takes on a smooth and bassy tone. Bass is punchy, the midrange is clear and detailed, and the upper frequencies and bright and clear enough to have some impact. The Final UX300 offer a more insightful performance (at least with its noise-cancelling off), but they aren’t as affordable, nor do they boast as many features for day-to-day use either.

Alternatives include the award-winning EarFun Wave Pro, Soundcore Space One and the Edifier W830NB, but none of them sound as good as the Sony, nor do they cancel noise as well.

In the past SoundMagic have been specialists with affordable earphones, but they’ve been making inroads with wireless headphones, and at £49.99, the P23BT are another pair that offer excellent value.

These are on-ear design, which comes with a few inescapable issues. One we experienced is the headphones can pinch around the ear, resulting in a little bit of discomfort after prolonged use. Another is that noise from the outside world leaks through, but some may actually like awareness of what’s around them.

However, their compact, lightweight and foldable frame makes them, in our opinion, easy to wear and even easier to stow away when not in use. They integrate physical and touch controls, which work surprisingly well in terms of their responsiveness. They headphones also have a 3.5mm jack in case you want to connect to a source.

They are short of features but what is provided is very good, especially for the price. Battery life is claimed to be around 54-60 hours, which is long though not as extensive as the Marshall Major IV‘s 80+ hours. They also feature aptX-HD Bluetooth for playback of wireless Hi-res audio streams from the likes of Tidal and Qobuz. By comparison, the Sony WH-CH520 have Bluetooth multipoint, though they don’t support higher quality Bluetooth streaming.

It’s the sound quality that impressed us most when reviewing the P23BT. It’s well balanced, with a detailed midrange, a big soundstage, and a clear, bright high frequency playback, plus bass that offers a decent amount of depth. They sound clearer and more detailed than the WH-CH520, and more balanced the the Major IV; though if you like plenty of bass with your music, you might want to give the Marshall pair a closer look.

The Nothing Ear (a) are a great-looking pair of true wireless earbuds, with the yellow colourway offering a vibrant option for those looking to stand out. If you find the Sony WF-C510 plain in terms of appearance, these buds are a much more colourful alternative.

They have transparent build, allowing you to peer inside the ear stems and creating a retro look that matches Nothing’s other devices. The case is also transparent and smaller than the case that houses the higher-end Nothing Buds. The earbuds are rated IP54 for sweat and water resistance, though the case only carries an IPX2 rating so you’ll want to avoid dropping it in water.

The gesture controls are on the earbud stem, allowing you to skip tracks and switch on active noise-cancelling with a series of pinches. You can customise these gestures in the Nothing X app, though we found the volume gesture controls unreliable. The Nothing Ear (a) aren’t the comfiest wireless earbuds, with the design digging into our ears, though there are three ear-tips included to customise the fit.

The earbuds have a considerable amount of features for their price, including adaptive ANC, a transparency mode, in-ear detection for auto play/pause, and a low lag mode for gamers. Bluetooth multi-point audio allows the buds to connect to two devices at a time, and LDAC support for higher-quality streaming on Android devices. There’s also an EQ with four presents in the app, along with the usual SBC and AAC codec support.

Nothing claims the Ear (a) should last 5.5 hours per charge with ANC switched on (or 9 hours with ANC off), with five charges in the case. We found similar results in our own tests, though the earbuds offered a little under 5 hours of playtime with the ANC set to High. There’s no wireless charging support on the Ear (a) with Nothing reserving this feature for the Nothing Ear.

In terms of audio the Nothing Ear (a) deliver a thoroughly impressive sound, with crisp vocals and plenty of bass when required. The earbuds offer a pleasing sense of neutrality and while they aren’t as clear as more expensive earbuds, the Ear (a) boast an endearing, expansive sound that gives real depth to songs. There’s also the cheaper CMF by Nothing earbuds to consider, but the noise-cancellation isn’t as good.

We’ve seen more and more true wireless adopt noise-cancelling for less than £100, and the EarFun Air Pro 3 are one of the best examples we’ve tested in terms of performance and price.

They are stacked with an impressive number of features with support for the Bluetooth 5.3 and aptX Adaptive, which aids the EarFun’s impressive wireless connection in busy signal areas. Call quality is solid with decent voice pick-up (though it could be better by being a bit louder), and battery life is good although not as long as EarFun claims in our tests (five hours compared to the claimed seven).

We were very impressed by the noise-cancellation, better than the award-winning Soundcore Liberty 4 NC. The design helps with its snug fit, with the hybrid ANC thinning out people’s voices and dealing well with public transport and larger gatherings of people. It won’t clear out every noise, and we did find on the Underground it struggled with loud noises, but upping the volume helps in reducing the intensity of external sounds.

The EarFun Air Pro 3’s sound have a bassy register that gives them a richer presentation. It’s not the sharpest, clearest or most detailed audio performance we’ve heard at this price. Nonetheless, in terms of features and the value the Air Pro 3 offer, they’re an impressive pair of budget ANC wireless earbuds. There are similarly priced/cheaper options in the Urbanears Juno and Ugreen HiTune T3 but we feel the EarFun offer better noise-cancellation and better sound than either pair. Be sure to keep an eye out for our review of the EarFun Air Pro 4.

If there’s one complain we’ve heard many times about true wireless, is that they don’t always fit in the ear. With the Jabra Elite 3, we don’t think you’ll have as much difficulty trying to fit them in or staying in the ear.

Jabra has developed a reputation of developing headphones that not only fit in the ear but are comfortable to wear as well, and that’s what the Elite 3 offer. They’re a lightweight, unobtrusive true wireless that offer a fantastic seal thanks to their shape. A range of ear-tips can help make the fit and seal better for your ear, and with an IP55 rating they’re resistant to water and dust. Physical buttons also mean a tacile, responsive feedback from your button pushes.

Through our testing, we found battery life to best Jabra’s own claims with over eight hours of battery possible on a single charge. With 28 hours in the charging case, there’s plenty of life in these earbuds.

Convenience is provided in Google Fast Pair (for Android users), Spotify Tap, and Alexa support for those who use the voice assistant. There is the HearThrough mode for those in need of more awareness of their surroundings, and we found thta this feature was reasonably effect in distinguishing between various sounds and hearing what was around us.

The sound quality is warm in tone but maintains a good balance across the frequency range, with treble that sparkles, bass that pounds (with the right track), and encouragig levels of clarity and detail. There’s also good levels of dynamism, providing energy to tracks where needed. There’s no support for noise-cancellation, but in terms of audio, we’d put these above the less dynamic EarFun Air Pro 3.

With Jabra pulling out of the consumer true wireless market, you won’t see another version of this pair. If comfort is of great importance, you should consider the Elite 3 as one of the best budget options.