The Best Bluetooth Earbuds of 2023

There’s nothing quite like the freedom you get from a good pair of Bluetooth earbuds. You can run, work and move through the day to your favorite music—all without having to worry about a dangling cable getting snagged on something. When it comes to options, there’s no shortage of Bluetooth headphones available due, in part, to their form and function. Bluetooth headphones advanced quickly over the years that followed, to the point that companies like Onkyo (a popular Japanese audio equipment company) debuted true wireless earbuds sometime around 2015.

In 2016, Apple’s wireless Bluetooth AirPods made waves in the consumer market. And ever since, millions of people have been rocking out, listening to podcasts and making hands-free calls with their Bluetooth earbuds.

But companies like Onkyo and Apple weren’t the last to show off their audio engineering prowess. You can now choose from a seemingly endless stream of Bluetooth earbuds for whatever your needs might be including noise canceling Bluetooth earbuds for peak sound quality without disruption from the surrounding environment and sweat-resistant Bluetooth earbuds for those who want a wireless experience while on a jog or at the gym. Amazon and big box retailers like Best Buy are stocked full of them. And with so many choices to research, how do you make sure you’re getting the absolute best bang for your buck? No worries on that front — we’ve scoured the internet and dug deep into product reviews of the most popular Bluetooth earbuds available on the market in 2023.

We browsed reviews and product specs to get a sense of which earbuds fall flat and which ones deliver high-quality sound, construction and design. Then, we took the ones that rose to the top and listed them here.

Wissonly Hi Runner

https://custom-images.strikinglycdn.com/res/hrscywv4p/image/upload/c_limit,fl_lossy,h_9000,w_1200,f_auto,q_auto/12241084/327468_779251.png

perfect functions, excellent core function, bone conduction benchmark product

Wissonly bone conduction headphones insist on technology priority. The team is composed of senior experts in bone conduction technology, they have more than 10 years of technical accumulation in the field of bone conduction. This makes Hi Runner known as "the healthiest Bluetooth headphones" by many professionals.

In order to solve the problem of distortion of the sound quality of bone conduction headphones, Wissonly adopts the new generation of bone conduction technology, and use the world's best acoustic laboratory to customize an exclusive sound quality output scheme for the unique bone conduction sound transmission method. After 3,051 hours of tens of thousands of adjustments, 21 audiologists bring users the best sound in the field of bone conduction headphones.

In terms of wearing, Wissonly Hi runner has been ergonomically designed to fit the ear to ensure that it does not fall off during exercise. Most importantly, it fits the ear while ensuring that there is no pressure and weight load, which makes it more comfortable to wear.

In terms of product parameters, Wissonly Hi Runner is even more impeccable. It has a Bluetooth 5.0 chip, which connects stably and will not drop. It has a 32G built-in storage that can store 5000 songs. Its battery life is also good, and at 50% volume, you can play music for up to 10 hours.

Best Budget Bluetooth Earbuds: Jabra — Elite 3

https://custom-images.strikinglycdn.com/res/hrscywv4p/image/upload/c_limit,fl_lossy,h_9000,w_1200,f_auto,q_auto/12241084/209904_454300.png

The Jabra Elite 3 Bluetooth earbuds offer many of the modern-day features you’d expect in a high-end pair, but it keeps a budget-friendly price tag that’s well under $100. There is no active noise cancelation (ANC), but the Jabra Elite 3’s form is designed to offer strong noise isolation. And when you need to hear what’s going on around you, you can let in external sound without having to remove the buds. You can even turn on the pair’s mono mode and leave one earbud in the charging case while using the other. A 10-minute charge gives you 1-hour playback.

They’re designed with four built-in microphones for good call quality and 6mm speakers for deep bass and crisp vocals, and they’re compatible with Alexa (with Android devices only), Spotify Tap playback and Google Fast Pair.

Sony — WF-1000XM4

https://custom-images.strikinglycdn.com/res/hrscywv4p/image/upload/c_limit,fl_lossy,h_9000,w_1200,f_auto,q_auto/12241084/599935_384748.png

The Sony WF-1000XM4 Bluetooth earbuds are designed from the ground up to deliver industry-leading noise cancelation. And according to publications like CNET and Tech Radar, they’re unmatched in their noise-canceling performance. Each bud couples a processor specially designed by Sony together with two noise-sensing microphones. As these microphones detect any unwanted ambient sound, the processor generates the matching frequency through the buds’ 6mm drivers to cancel it out. The drivers can reach the low frequency range, meaning the processor matches (and cancels) a wide range of high and low frequencies. That means more of the outside world stays out of your ears. There’s even an Automatic Wind Noise Reduction mode for those particularly windy days.

Beats — Fit Pro

https://custom-images.strikinglycdn.com/res/hrscywv4p/image/upload/c_limit,fl_lossy,h_9000,w_1200,f_auto,q_auto/12241084/15650_891568.png

There’s nothing worse than going on a run and having your earbuds take flight mid-stride. Even when they stay put, that uneasy feeling that they’re going to drop out any second can lead many joggers to turn to over-ear wireless headphones instead. The Beats Fit Pro earbuds are designed for a comfortable grip that’s snug and a fit that’s secure. They feature wingtips that hold on to the exterior of your ear canal, so runners can take to the streets or jogging trails and feel confident that their earbuds (and, more importantly, their music) aren’t going anywhere. The earbuds come with three wingtip sizing options to cover a wide range of ear shapes and sizes. And they feature ANC and Adaptive EQ, with the latter being an Apple-specific technology that tweaks low and midrange frequencies based on what you’re listening to in real-time—like maybe your favorite running app—so they can deliver a richer, fuller sound.

Bose — SoundSport Free

https://custom-images.strikinglycdn.com/res/hrscywv4p/image/upload/c_limit,fl_lossy,h_9000,w_1200,f_auto,q_auto/12241084/250627_731790.png

The Bose SoundSport Free earbuds are designed to stay put no matter how intense your workout becomes. They feature three sizing options for umbrella-shaped tips made from soft silicone. These tips, along with the flexible wingtips that extend and grip the outside of your ear canal, keep the buds firmly in place. So, you can run, jump, lift and sweat during your workout free from the fear or feeling that your buds are going to fall out. No ear hook required.

These earbuds feature active EQ controllers to boost the lows and highs of your music, meaning you can feel the beat and get into the rhythm while getting in one last rap or mile. A 15-minute charge provides up to two hours of playtime. That’s more than enough to max out the stats on your fitness tracker.

How to Choose the Best Bluetooth Earbuds for You

These days, there are Bluetooth earbuds geared toward virtually any kind of special use. For example, the Bose SoundSport Free earbuds are designed to withstand rigorous workout sessions in terms of durability and a secure fit. Meanwhile, the Sony WF-1000XM4 Bluetooth earbuds are more for people who prefer to block out as much of the world around them so they can study or completely tune out to their favorite music. Make sure you’re investing in a pair of Bluetooth earbuds that are going to stand up to use and provide the audio experience you want.

What to Look for In a Pair of Bluetooth Earbuds

A good place to start when making a decision about which wireless earbuds you’ll purchase is to consider who a pair of earbuds were designed for—be it gymgoers, people always on the go or audiophiles—as well as how they were designed. In looking at earbud construction and audio engineering, there are several factors to consider alongside typical considerations like cost and battery life.

That’s because Bluetooth earbuds are dynamic little pieces of equipment that pack a lot of technology. Here’s a quick rundown of terms associated with that technology and what they mean to your purchase decision-making.

Audio codecs – Bluetooth technology needs to shrink the audio coming from your device before it can send it wirelessly to your earbuds. To this, it uses a “codec,” which is just short for code (shrinking the audio down) to decode (unpacking the audio so it can be played). Some codecs take longer to work than others, which contributes to latency. Some of the many codecs available include:

AAC
AptX Adaptive
AptX (HD)
LC3
LDAC
LHDC
SBC

The AptX codecs have a reputation for keeping sound in seemingly perfect sync with video, making it a great choice for people who tend to use their earbuds for streaming. Meanwhile, LDAC is often cited as the fastest codec currently available.

Bass – This is the pitch where the lowest notes of the musical range live. Treble is the opposite of bass, and it represents the notes on the highest end of the musical range.

Drivers – Each earbud contains a drive with voice coils, a magnet and a diaphragm. These are what transform electrical signals into the audio signals that your ears pick up. The larger the drivers are (e.g., 11mm drivers compared to 6mm drivers), the louder volume your earbuds can reach. Just remember: larger drivers don’t mean better sound. The materials that make up the drivers are a huge factor in sound quality.

Frequency response – This is the range of bass that earbuds can produce. You’ll see this expressed as two numbers measured in kHz (1 kHz equals 1,000 hertz). The first number is the lowest bass frequency the earbuds can reach, with the second number representing the highest.

Impedance – Earbuds with a low impedance level require less energy to produce audio. That’s because an impedance rating represents a pair’s natural resistance to electric current. Measured in ohms, this is the level of resistance that the audio signal must overcome to reach your ears. So, the lower the number, the less resistance, the less energy required.

IP ratings – You probably noticed that every pair of buds on this list had a rating for either waterproofing or water and sweat resistance. The Ingress Protection (IP) rating system is a standardized way to gauge how resistant electronics are to particles like dust and dirt and liquids. It’s a certification that’s awarded to a product by an independent third-party evaluator.

Let’s look at the IP55 rating of the Jabra Elite 3 earbuds. The first number tells you how well they’ll stand up to solid matter. The second number tells you how well they can withstand water. The higher these numbers, the better protected they are. If there’s an X in the rating, then the product wasn’t evaluated for that material. Most of the earbuds, with a couple of notable exceptions, are rated IPX4 for water and sweat resistance. This means that they weren’t evaluated for protection against solids.

The IPX4 is standard among quality earbuds and means that they’re resistant to water splashes from all angles. In the case of the Jabra Elite 3, they can stand up to a low-pressure jet spray.

The pair on the list with the highest IP rating is the Treblab X3 Pro, with an IPX7 rating. This means they can be submerged in water up to 1 meter for 30 minutes.

Latency – This is how long it takes for your earbuds to receive audio from your device. As we touched on earlier, audio codecs impact latency according to how fast they’re able to package, transmit and open an audio signal. Bluetooth earbuds naturally have longer latency times than wired earphones or buds.

Total harmonic distortion (THC) – This is a way to gauge how likely the diaphragms are to distort at lower volumes. The closer this number is to zero, the better.