Best new budget open earbuds

Amazon Echo Buds 2023

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$39 at Amazon

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$180 at Amazon

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$17 at Amazon

Good for kids and those with small ears

1More ComfoBuds 2

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$99 at Amazon

Apple’s most affordable AirPods

AirPods (2nd Gen)

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$80 at Amazon

Unique design

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live

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$170 at Amazon

Best-sounding open-style earbuds with ear hooks

Cleer Audio Arc 2 Sport

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$30 at Amazon

Best value open-ear neckband-style headphones

Soundpeats RunFree Lite

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The majority of earbuds on the market these days have a noise-isolating design with silicone ear tips that seal off your ear canal. Such a design is required for active noise canceling, a popular feature, but not everybody likes the feel of having ear tips jammed in their ears and prefer a bud with a open or semi-open design that can offer a more comfortable fit. Apple’s third-gen AirPods are the most popular open earbuds option out there at the moment, but we’ve rounded up our top picks of all the best open earbuds on the market right now below. 

Amazon’s 2023 Echo Buds impressed me in a few ways that I wasn’t expecting. For starters, they sound good for inexpensive open earbuds, delivering decent clarity and ample bass. But they also have a robust feature set, including multipoint Bluetooth pairing, hands-free Alexa and ear-detection sensors that pause your audio when you take one or both buds out of your ears. 

Their sound falls short of that of Apple’s AirPods 3, which deliver fuller bass and overall fuller, smoother sound (they’re better at handling more complicated music tracks with a lot of instruments playing at the same time). But the AirPods 3 cost around $150 and offer only about 15% to 20% better audio. In short, if you’re looking for open earbuds — or “semi-open” as these types of earbuds are sometimes called — the Echo Buds are good value at their $50 list price and even easier to recommend when they go on sale.

Pros:

• Well-designed inexpensive earbuds
• Good sound for open earbuds
• Strong feature set, including hands-free Alexa

Cons:

• May not fit everyone’s ears comfortably
• Not a ton of bass
• No ANC (they’re open earbuds)

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Battery life Rated up to 5 hours

Noise Canceling No

Multipoint Yes

Water-Resistant Yes (IPX2– splash-proof)

Battery life Rated up to 5 hours

Noise Canceling No

Multipoint No

Water-Resistant Yes (IPX4– splash-proof)

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. Battery life is rated at 5 hours at moderate volume levels, and these are IPX4 splash-proof.

And be sure to activate the instant 15% off coupon to save a few bucks at checkout.

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Battery life Rated up to 5 hours

Noise Canceling No

Multipoint No

Water-Resistant Yes (IPX4– splash-proof)

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. Battery life is rated at 5 hours at moderate volume levels, and these are IPX4 splash-proof.

And be sure to activate the instant 15% off coupon to save a few bucks at checkout.

Take one look at the new design of the third-gen AirPods ($179), and the first thing you’ll probably think is: “Those look like the AirPods Pro without ear tips.” You wouldn’t be wrong. While they’re more fraternal than identical twins, the third-gen AirPods are shaped like the AirPods Pro, with the same shorter stems and same pinch controls as those of the Pro. Aside from the design change, which should fit most ears better than the second-gen AirPods (though not very small ears), the biggest change is to the sound quality: It’s much improved. Also, battery life is better, and the AirPods 3 are officially water-resistant and support Apple’s spatial audio virtual surround feature (for Apple users only).

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Battery Life Rated up to 6 hours

Noise Canceling No

Multipoint No

Headphone Type Wireless earbuds

Water-Resistant Yes (IPX4 — splash-proof)

$2 at Amazon

Most comfortable open earbuds with ear hooks

Shokz OpenFit

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Most comfortable open earbuds with ear hooks

Shokz OpenFit

Battery Life 5.5 hours

Noise Canceling No

Multipoint No

Headphone Type Wireless earbuds

Water-Resistant Yes (IPX4 — splash-proof)

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Most innovative design

Sony LinkBuds

The LinkBuds are, in a sense, Sony’s answer to Apple’s standard AirPods. While they don’t sound as good as Sony’s flagship WF-1000XM4 noise-isolating earbuds, they offer a discreet, innovative design and a more secure fit than the AirPods, as well as good sound and very good voice-calling performance.

Like the third-gen AirPods, their open design allows you to hear the outside world — that’s what the ring is all about. That makes them a good choice for folks who want to hear what’s going around them for safety reasons or just don’t like having ear tips jammed in their ears. They also have a few distinguishing extra features, including Speak to Chat and Wide Area Tap. Instead of tapping on a bud, you can tap on your face, just in front of your ear, to control playback.

They’re IPX4 splash-proof and thanks to their fins — Sony calls them Arc Supporters — they lock in your ears securely and work well for running and other sporting activities.

$0 at Amazon

Good for kids and those with small ears

1More ComfoBuds 2

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Good for kids and those with small ears

1More ComfoBuds 2

Pros

• The second-generation AirPods add a couple of small but key improvements to the original, including always-on voice recognition and a wireless charging case option. They’re a top-notch headset for making calls, indoors and out. Apple’s new H1 chip also allows for faster connections with all of your Apple devices, rock solid wireless connectivity, and an hour more talk time.

Cons

• No design changes to help them fit more ears securely; their sound hasn’t improved, and their open design allows for a lot of ambient noise to leak in.

Battery Life Rated up to 5 hours

Noise Canceling No

Multipoint No

Headphone Type Wireless earbuds

Water-Resistant Yes (IPX4 — splash-proof)

The new AirPods (third gen) are a nice upgrade over the second-gen AirPods. That said, the AirPods 2, which came out in 2019, are now selling for around $100 and sometimes a little less. While they don’t sound as good as the AirPods 3 and have a longer stem, they fit some people’s ears better. Those with smaller ears may prefer these older AirPods due to their slightly smaller design. 

Show less Pros

• The second-generation AirPods add a couple of small but key improvements to the original, including always-on voice recognition and a wireless charging case option. They’re a top-notch headset for making calls, indoors and out. Apple’s new H1 chip also allows for faster connections with all of your Apple devices, rock solid wireless connectivity, and an hour more talk time.

Cons

• No design changes to help them fit more ears securely; their sound hasn’t improved, and their open design allows for a lot of ambient noise to leak in.

Battery Life Rated up to 5 hours

Noise Canceling No

Multipoint No

Headphone Type Wireless earbuds

Water-Resistant Yes (IPX4 — splash-proof)

The new AirPods (third gen) are a nice upgrade over the second-gen AirPods. That said, the AirPods 2, which came out in 2019, are now selling for around $100 and sometimes a little less. While they don’t sound as good as the AirPods 3 and have a longer stem, they fit some people’s ears better. Those with smaller ears may prefer these older AirPods due to their slightly smaller design. 

Pros

• Unique, eye-catching design
• Comfortable ergonomic fit
• Compact charging case with wireless charging
• Open sound with good bass and detail
• Good noise reduction when making calls
• IPX2 water-resistant

Cons

• Noise canceling is comparatively mild
• Open design lets some ambient sound in
• Little bit of distortion at high volume

Battery Life Rated up to 8 hours

Noise Canceling Yes (ANC)

Multipoint No

Headphone Type Wireless earbuds

Water-Resistant Yes (IPX2 — sweat-resistant and protection against light splashes)

Say what you will about the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live’s bean-shaped design, but it’s certainly innovative. Like the standard AirPods, they have an open design, so you don’t jam an ear tip into your ear. They’re comfortable to wear and fit my ears more securely than the AirPods. These wireless buds are discreet and basically sit flush with your ear, which reduces wind-noise while biking. I regularly use them for running and biking, and they’re great for sporting activities if they fit your ears well. But one warning: Some people won’t get a secure fit, so buy them from a retailer that has a good return policy.

They deliver good sound and work well as a headset for making calls, with good background noise reduction so callers can hear you clearly even when you’re in noisier environments. While they feature active noise canceling, it’s mild compared to the noise canceling in earbuds that have a noise-isolating design. In other words, buy them for their design and sound, not their noise-canceling features.

Show less Pros

• Unique, eye-catching design
• Comfortable ergonomic fit
• Compact charging case with wireless charging
• Open sound with good bass and detail
• Good noise reduction when making calls
• IPX2 water-resistant

Cons

• Noise canceling is comparatively mild
• Open design lets some ambient sound in
• Little bit of distortion at high volume

Battery Life Rated up to 8 hours

Noise Canceling Yes (ANC)

Multipoint No

Headphone Type Wireless earbuds

Water-Resistant Yes (IPX2 — sweat-resistant and protection against light splashes)

Say what you will about the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live’s bean-shaped design, but it’s certainly innovative. Like the standard AirPods, they have an open design, so you don’t jam an ear tip into your ear. They’re comfortable to wear and fit my ears more securely than the AirPods. These wireless buds are discreet and basically sit flush with your ear, which reduces wind-noise while biking. I regularly use them for running and biking, and they’re great for sporting activities if they fit your ears well. But one warning: Some people won’t get a secure fit, so buy them from a retailer that has a good return policy.

They deliver good sound and work well as a headset for making calls, with good background noise reduction so callers can hear you clearly even when you’re in noisier environments. While they feature active noise canceling, it’s mild compared to the noise canceling in earbuds that have a noise-isolating design. In other words, buy them for their design and sound, not their noise-canceling features.

Cleer’s original Arc earbuds were solid sport earbuds that featured decent sound for open-style buds that sit on top of your ears and fire sound into them. This new-for-2023 model steps up the sound quality and offers additional refinements and feature upgrades, including a new “enhanced” charging case with UV sterilization and multipoint Bluetooth connectivity (Bluetooth 5.3), all of which makes for a significantly improved product.

Cleer says the Arc 2 Sport buds feature “greater flexibility for improved comfort,” and I did find them more comfortable to wear than the original Arcs. That said, not everyone loves this style of open earbuds, which lets sound in so you can hear ambient sound around you for safety purposes.

With a new six-axis motion sensor, you can actually control the buds with head gestures — you answer calls by nodding and skip tracks forward by turning your head to the right and skip a track back by turning your head left. Thankfully, those motion controls can be turned off if you don’t want to use them. 

These are among the first buds to support Qualcomm’s aptX Lossless format, if you’re one of the few to have an Android device that supports that audio codec (plenty of Android phones support aptX Adaptive). Since these aren’t high-end noise-isolating earbuds, you probably won’t be able to tell the difference in sound quality — I couldn’t — but all that aside, these do sound very good for open-style earbuds. They lack a bit of oomph to their bass but they’re punchy enough, offer good clarity and didn’t distort at higher volumes. They also played sufficiently loud. 

They have an IPX5 water- and sweat-resistance rating, which means they can withstand a sustained spray of water, and battery life is very good at up to eight hours on a single charge, plus there’s a little more than three additional charges in the slim but still somewhat bulky charging case. It’s big compared to an AirPods charging case, but svelte compared to other cases that house this style of earbuds.

These offer respectable performance for voice calls, but callers did say they heard a certain amount of white noise when I spoke to them from the noisy streets of New York — that whooshing sound is the by-product of the earbuds’ noise-reduction efforts. 

Pros

• Improved design with smaller charging case
• Very good sound for open earbuds
• Good battery life and support for aptX Lossless
• Option to control buds with head gestures 

Cons

• Pricey
• Lack a bit oomph to their bass
• Voice-calling performance is decent but not great

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Best value open-ear neckband-style headphones

Soundpeats RunFree Lite

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Best value open-ear neckband-style headphones

Soundpeats RunFree Lite

Like some of the other open-ear neckband style options on this list, the Soundpeats RunFree Lite buds sit just outside your ears and fire sound into them from small speakers with 16mm drivers. The sound quality isn’t the greatest — it lacks some clarity — but it’s better than I expected given the price of these headphones (there’s a reasonable amount of bass), and they’re just fine for casual listening.

They’re nice and lightweight and fit my head securely and comfortably, but I could see how they might not fit folks with larger heads so well. Equipped with Bluetooth 5.3, they’re IPX4 splash-proof and are rated for up to 17 hours of battery life at moderate volume levels (expect to get less than that because you will likely play these at high volume levels, especially outdoors where you’ll encounter more ambient noise). They also work decently for making voice calls but don’t expect business-class performance. 

They’re already $10 off, and you can save an extra $3 when you activate the instant coupon on the product page. 

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