X

Article updated on October 10, 2023 at 11:00 AM PDT

7 Great AirPods Pro Alternatives That Cost a Lot Less

Want a pair of quality earbuds that are also affordable? Here are our favorite budget noise-canceling earbuds that cost much less than the AirPods Pro.

Our Experts

Written by 
David Carnoy
Our 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
David Carnoy Executive Editor / Reviews
Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks.
Expertise Mobile accessories and portable audio, including headphones, earbuds and speakers Credentials
  • Maggie Award for Best Regularly Featured Web Column/Consumer
Why You Can Trust CNET
16171819202122232425+
Years of Experience
14151617181920212223
Hands-on Product Reviewers
6,0007,0008,0009,00010,00011,00012,00013,00014,00015,000
Sq. Feet of Lab Space

CNET’s expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise.

Our Picks

$54 at Amazon
The Earfun Pro 3 include a wireless charging case
Best new budget wireless earbuds
Earfun Air Pro 3
View details
View details
$150 at JBL.com
Image of JBL Live Pro 2
Best AirPods Pro alternative for less
JBL Live Pro 2
View details
View details
$117 at Amazon
Image of Soundcore by Anker Liberty 4
Best new Soundcore by Anker buds
Soundcore by Anker Liberty 4
View details
View details
$110 at Amazon
The 1More Aero earbuds feature spatial audio with head tracking
Good value wireless earbuds from 1More
1More Aero earbuds
View details
View details
$100 at Jabra
Image of Jabra Elite 4
Best budget earbuds from Jabra
Jabra Elite 4
View details
View details
$60 at Amazon
The Soundpeats Capsule3 Pro are a cheap AirPods Pro alternative
Lightweight noise canceling earbuds with LDAC support
Soundpeats Capsule3 Pro
View details
View details
$60 at Amazon
Earfun Air S noise-canceling earbuds and case
Top budget noise-canceling earbuds
Earfun Air S
View details
View details

The second-gen AirPods Pro are some of the best wireless earbuds available right now. We gave them a CNET Editors' Choice award because they perform so well for their size and weight and because of how well they fit a lot of people's ears. Apple has now updated the case design to replace the lightning port with Type-C, so you can now charge the AirPods Pro 2 with the same cable as most other devices at home.

However, they cost a lot, so not everyone can afford to pick up a pair. Which is why we've put together this list of budget-friendly noise-canceling earbuds that offer a decent listening experience for a lot less money. These are some of the best AirPods Pro 2 alternatives out there, but keep in mind, the experience won't be exactly the same.

Though none of these are going to be quite as good as the AirPods Pro 2 and are missing the AirPods Pro 2's bonus features, like hands-free Siri or Apple's spatial audio virtual surround mode for watching movies and TV shows, the picks listed below deliver strong performance for their relatively modest price and are very good values. They also feature decent active noise canceling, are well designed and fit comfortably. Note that all these picks work with both iOS and Android devices and aren't Apple-centric like the AirPods Pro.

I'll be updating this list as new models arrive, but here are the best "cheap" noise-canceling, true-wireless earbuds I'm impressed with right now.        

Read more: Best Cheap True-Wireless Earbuds Under $100 for 2023

$54 at Amazon

Best new budget wireless earbuds

Earfun Air Pro 3

Earfun has put out a series of wireless earbuds over the last couple of years with one important commonality: 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 adding the code EAP3CNET at checkout will give you a nice little discount, bringing the buds' price down to $60.

$150 at JBL.com

Best AirPods Pro alternative for less

JBL Live Pro 2

Over the years, JBL has put out some decent true-wireless earbuds, but nothing that really got me too excited. That's finally changed with the arrival of the Samsung-owned brand's new  and  buds. Both sets of buds -- the Live Pro 2 have stems while the Live Free 2 have a pill-shaped design -- offer a comfortable fit along with strong noise canceling, very good sound quality and voice-calling performance, plus a robust set of features, including multipoint Bluetooth pairing, an IPX5 splash-proof rating and wireless charging.

The Live Pro 2 and Live Free 2 are equipped with the same 11mm drivers, six microphones, oval tubes and oval silicon tips. Aside from the design, the biggest difference between the two buds is battery life; the stemless Live Free 2 is rated for up to seven hours, while the Live Pro 2 is rated for 10 hours. The Live Pro 2 is available in four color options.

$117 at Amazon

Best new Soundcore by Anker buds

Soundcore by Anker Liberty 4

While their sound isn't quite up to the level of higher-end buds like Apple's AirPods Pro 2 and the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 that cost significantly more, the Soundcore by Anker Liberty 4 earbuds have a strong set of features, including a spatial audio mode with head tracking, multipoint Bluetooth pairing, up to nine hours of battery life, wireless charging and support for Sony's LDAC audio codec that can offer sound improvements if you have the right setup.

Compared to top-sounding buds I've reviewed, they lack a bit of overall clarity, accuracy and bass definition. But most people will think they sound quite good -- they play plenty loud and deliver strong bass -- and you can tweak their sound profile in the app or create a personal HearID Sound profile (it's also for noise canceling). 

$110 at Amazon

Good value wireless earbuds from 1More

1More Aero earbuds

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.

I can't say these offer exceptional sound quality and noise-canceling for the price and the touch controls are a bit limited. But they do sound decent, they're comfortable to wear and the noise-canceling power 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. 

You'll also need to activate multipoint Bluetooth pairing, or "dual-device connection" as 1More calls it, in the app. It's 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 7 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.   

$100 at Jabra

Best budget earbuds from Jabra

Jabra Elite 4

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 confusing is that Jabra also sells the , 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, meaning there's no AAC support. The Elite 4 are missing premium features such as ear detection sensors, and they have a four-microphone array for noise canceling and voice calls. (Voice-calling performance is good but not exceptional.) 

Battery life is rated at up to 7 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.

$60 at Amazon

Lightweight noise canceling earbuds with LDAC support

Soundpeats Capsule3 Pro

The Soundpeats Capsule3 Pro are the successor to the company's Air 3 Pro earbuds. While they're lightweight like those buds, they have more of a premium look to them. They also offer good sound and noise canceling for their modest price. While they work fine with iPhones, they're more geared toward Android because they support Sony's higher-resolution LDAC audio codec for devices that support LDAC Bluetooth streaming.

Just how good they sound will depend somewhat on how tight a seal you can get from the included ear tips (the largest tips fit my ears well but I got a better seal from another set of tips in my collection). If you do get a tight seal, they deliver big, bold sound with strong bass, which only lacks that extra bit of clarity and definition that higher-end buds offer.

Equipped with Bluetooth 5.3, they're IPX4 splash-proof and have a battery life rating of around 6 hours with noise cancellation on (it drops to 4.5 hours if you are using LDAC). There's an additional 5.5 charges in their charging case. The Capsule3 Pro worked decently for making voice calls, though their reduction of background noise wasn't quite as good as with some buds I've tested. They're also available in white. 

$60 at Amazon

Top budget noise-canceling earbuds

Earfun Air S

In the past, we've recommended Earfun's AirPro SV and as excellent budget noise-canceling earbuds choices (they're still good values). But the Earfun Air S, which was released in the second half of 2022, is arguably a step up from those models and just slightly behind the new-for-2023 Earfun Air Pro 3. Equipped with a Qualcomm QCC3046 chip, the Air S buds have multipoint Bluetooth pairing and support 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 (but exceptionally 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.