Whether or not you make money working from home, spend loads of time on airplanes, or just wish to flip down the quantity of the skin world, noise-cancelling headphones are precisely the instrument you want.
Even the greatest worth headphones will really feel missing if they do not come geared up with midway respectable noise cancellation. Apart from, there are just too many headphones available on the market (our testing pool will get greater by the month) so that you can pay lots of solely to get subpar ANC.
That can assist you wade by way of the highest choices from manufacturers like Apple, Beats, Bose, Sony, and Sonos, Mashable editors and reviewers examined dozens of headphones and earbuds. From flagship fashions to price range buds, we picked out the most effective noise-cancelling headphones of 2025.
How do noise-cancelling headphones truly work?
Even low cost headphones can block some noise from the skin world. And you’ll at all times blast your music loud sufficient to drown out close by conversations and road noise by way of passive noise cancellation. Nonetheless, in case you actually wish to flip the quantity of the world all the way down to the restrict, you then want headphones with energetic noise cancellation.
Energetic noise-cancelling headphones electronically cowl up the sounds coming out of your environment. They use inside microphones to take heed to the world round you, then invert the noise and ship it to the audio system. The thought is that each the output and the enter will cancel out, leaving you with near-silence. The most effective over-ear headphones additionally create a good seal round your ears, offering an additional layer of passive sound blocking.
Testing the Apple AirPods Max headphones, which did not make the ultimate minimize for this information.
Credit score: Zlata Ivleva / Mashable
Getting up shut and private with Sony WH-1000XM5 noise-cancelling headphones.
Credit score: Molly Flores / Mashable
If you happen to’ve tried a pair of noise-cancelling headphones earlier than and have not been impressed, do not be discouraged, as not all ANC performs equally. As an illustration, cheaper ANC headphones could have a extra noticeable hissing sound that you’re going to hear when the noise cancellation is turned on, which may be distracting for some people.
Different headphones could also be nice at blocking at low tones, however extra liable to letting in high-pitched tones. Usually, premium headphones will yield higher outcomes throughout, however we’ve price range picks beneath that also do a strong job.
Up to now, not many wi-fi earbuds featured energetic noise cancellation that was akin to over-ear headphones, however newer iterations just like the AirPods Professional and Bose QuietComfort Extremely earbuds maintain their very own within the ANC area. Nonetheless, even these earbuds cannot fairly get the identical seal (or match as many mics) that headphones can, so in case you’re searching for most silence, follow over-ear headphones.
What are the most effective noise-cancelling headphones?
Bose is commonly a prime title (and in our prime picks) in relation to noise-cancelling audio, usually main the trade for the most effective ANC out there.
With that stated, it isn’t the one model value trying out. If you need top-notch ANC with nice sound high quality, Sony makes wonderful choices. Alternatively, people searching for a extra inexpensive possibility is likely to be drawn to EarFun, which brings nice worth to the noise-cancelling area. Basically, what makes the most effective noise-cancelling headphones relies on what different options and value vary you are searching for in a pair of headphones — our information beneath lays out the place every of our picks shines.
Latest testing updates
As of Could 2025, we’re contemplating whether or not the Panasonic Technics AZ100 earbuds, Sony WF-C710N, and Skullcandy Technique 360 ANC earbuds deserve a spot on this information.
Our testing in February 2025 noticed the addition of the EarFun Air Professional 4 earbuds as our favourite earbuds choose underneath $100. We determined that they deserved to knock the Beats Studio Buds+ off the record (after the Apple-owned earbuds beat out the newer AirPods 4), as a result of Air Professional’s superior noise cancellation, battery life, and worth. We additionally added the Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones as an alternate choose for the most effective battery life headphones in March 2025.
In September 2024, we tried out the JBL Reside Beam 3 earbuds, and we loved their sound, distinctive design, and touchscreen case that made it simple to examine the headphones’ battery life and management audio. Nonetheless, their noise cancellation wasn’t fairly as much as par for $200 earbuds. We have additionally added the Dyson OnTrac headphones as our choose for the most effective battery life, because of the spectacular 55-hour battery life.
In August 2024, we stated goodbye to the Bose 700 headphones as our advice for the most effective noise-cancelling headphones with adjustable ANC. This was a very long time coming — these headphones have technically been discontinued because the launch of the Bose QC Extremely headphones in September 2023, however remained out there from retailers apart from Bose. We’ll be looking out for any new fashions that match the adjustable noise cancellation that these Bose headphones as soon as provided.
