5 best wireless headphones under $100

Who it's for:

If you don't need all the bells and whistles that come with top-of-the-line headphones, the Sony WH-CH520 will likely check your must-have boxes. To be completely frank, these Sonys look akin to headsets given out on flights — what with their primitive earpads, basic head cushion band, and inability to completely fold into themselves to save space. Yet, functionality sometimes trumps appearances, and this sentiment rings true for the WH-CH520 model.

Why we picked this:

When these babies first come out of their chic packaging, they're juiced up to about 70% power, give or take (a fact announced directly in your ear by a pleasant, Siri-like voice). The learning curve to figuring out how to control them is not steep at all: Press the "+" button twice to skip forward a song, the "-" button twice to go back, and the power button to start or stop.

The compatible Sony headphones app, which you can download thanks to a helpful QR code on the headphones' packaging, is primitive albeit helpful. You can use it to manage connected devices (up to two at once), play around with the sound equalizer, set up "360 Reality Audio" by analyzing your ear shape, and choose whether you want to prioritize sound quality or stable connection. If voice notifications from the Siri-like creature scare you a bit, you can also turn off this function easily on the Sony app.

Beware — the headphones' ear cups are kind of tiny, which can provide an uncomfortable experience for those whose ears are on the larger side. As far as durability goes, we could only infer that snapping the headphones band in two would be an easy task, since this pair felt quite flimsy overall and wasn't all too cushioned. Still, the audio quality of this Sony pair certainly packed a punch. When running in them (pretty comfortable, all things considered), the sound of traffic and the wind was just barely audible — certainly way less audible than you'd expect from such a minimalistic headphone design.

Who it's for:

Retailing at $49.95, the price tag on these JBL Tune 510BT headphones is kind of unbeatable — making them ideal for those who are trying to save money this season. Don't expect them to perform magical acts for you, but also don't underestimate this handy JBL pair. If you're not devoted enough of an audiophile to consider professional-level sound quality (or lack thereof) a dealbreaker, you'll soon find yourself carrying around these headphones with you everywhere, like an emotional support water bottle.

Why we picked this:

The Tune 510BT headphones do everything wireless headphones are supposed to: They provide reasonably good sound quality, allow you to switch between two device audio outputs at once, and last days on end. Each of these points comes with a caveat — to be expected when your headphones come out costing less than 50 bucks.

As for sound quality, these JBLs won't provide active noise cancellation (though their ear cups certainly protect your ears from hearing what goes on in the outside environment). That being said, you'll still hear a bit of outside noise mixed with your favorite song.

When testing out the multi-device connection of this JBL model, we found that it was possible but worked in a much slower fashion than its counterparts. In other words, when stopping a video on YouTube and immediately launching into a song on the phone, the headphones didn't immediately reflect this switch: It took them a good three to four seconds to start playing the second audio input.

In terms of battery life, we were impressed with the fact that these headphones were fully drained only after 38 hours — which comes quite close to JBL's promise of a 40-hour battery life. The device gave off a little tone that signified the battery was almost out, but this feature (in a real-life versus for-testing-only setting) is honestly "too little, too late." Unlike in other headphone models, there unfortunately wasn't a voice that announced the exact battery percentage when powering on the Tune 510BTs. To make up for this small flaw, the headphones are equipped with Quick Charge functionality. Just five minutes of them being plugged in via a USB-C connection adds two hours of power. Pretty sweet.

Who it's for:

Those looking to eliminate the din of their daily life and experience a kind of "sound vacuum" feeling from a pair of headphones will be very happy with the results of the JBL Tune 660NC headphones. They're perfect for savoring the king of all audio features — ANC — without dropping major $$$ on the privilege. Also, this could potentially be the best pick for Android users from this entire roundup, given that they allow you to "Fast Pair" to Android devices. ("Fast Pair" is essentially automatic detection of nearby Bluetooth devices, similar to how nearby AirPods pop up on an iPhone screen, giving you the option to pair without browsing through the chaotic Bluetooth device menu.)

Why we picked this:

JBL literally said: How about we make the JBL Tune 660NC headphones almost identical to the Tune 510BT headphones... but add active noise cancellation for $50 more?

Besides boasting ANC, another perk of the JBL Tune 660NC model is that it has dual LED lights on its exterior: One of which shines white if ANC is connected and the other which either flashes blue or remains solid blue to indicate Bluetooth connectivity status. This truly takes the guesswork out of figuring out whether you've set up your headphones correctly — and is especially handy considering these headphones lack JBL app compatibility. LED lights on the 660NC pair also give battery stats ("Low," "Charging," or "Fully Charged").

Speaking of charging, five minutes provides two extra hours of playback (which kind of seems to be the JBL "Golden Rule"). In terms of battery life in general, if you constantly play music with active noise cancellation enabled, it's gonna cost you: Your JBLs will take 40 hours to drain completely with ANC on and 51 hours with the function turned off. 11 more hours of listening time or a blissful, cocoon-like audio experience — make your choice.

As far as audio quality is concerned, I was satisfied with the "immersive" feel of these headphones' sound and the rich bass/treble contrasts (especially as compared to their JBL Tune 510BT counterparts). The ANC didn't work flawlessly, with some sound still leaking into the headphones with the feature turned on; yet, switching back and forth between "no ANC" and "ANC" made it clear that these JBLs eliminate about 80%, give or take, of the noise in busy environments.

Who it's for:

Anyone who feels slightly uncomfy wearing over-ear headphones (same) will surely enjoy the tiny, lightweight Soundcore by Anker Liberty 4 NC earbuds. These are also for those of us who want the amount spent on a tech product to directly correlate with the number of perks we'll get out of it. The Liberty 4 NCs have no shortage of extra features, from ANC to 3D Surround Sound.

Why we picked this:

Soundcore delivered with these earbuds, which became available for purchase earlier this year. The Soundcore by Anker Liberty 4 NC headphones boast Adaptive ANC 2.0, which basically makes real-time calculations of your external environment and automatically adjusts to the best noise-canceling mode. If you're more of a DIY person, you can manually adjust the level of noise cancellation your earbuds offer, as well as pick the mode of transportation you're currently taking (plane, bus, subway, and car are all options). While the earbuds didn't fully eliminate the din of my city lifestyle when I was testing them out (I could still hear subway chatter even with the "subway" feature turned on), the difference between transparency mode (a-la-AirPods) and ANC mode was noticeable.

Other cool features the headphones come with (accessible via the Soundcore app) include Wind Noise Reduction, 3D Surround Sound, and custom HearID Sound settings which test your hearing sensitivities and also take into account your preferred music genres. The 3D Surround Sound didn't blow me away (though I did feel like my head was almost "wrapped" in the music). Wind Noise Reduction was also imperfect; I took these headphones running on a very windy day and the gusts were audible. However, just the fact that Soundcore even offers these features sets the brand apart from market competitors.

In case you're worried about your new earbuds dying from condensation (cough cough Apple cough cough), don't be. The buds have IPX4 water resistance. Don't go swimming in them, but don't fear breaking a sweat or dancing in the rain while basking in the transformational powers of the Liberty 4 NC headphones' immersive audio.

Who it's for:

These headphones are massive — reminiscent of a gaming headset (think wide and deep ear cups, a thick band, and an undeniable heaviness). That being said, they aren't really meant for working out (especially not running), unless you don't mind wearing something clunky and heavy on your head while boosting those endorphins. If you're planning on wearing them around the house, on a long plane ride, or during your daily gaming ritual, you'll fall in love with these budget headphones. After all, nothing about them screams "budget" and they're super new on the market.

Why we picked this:

Unlike the previously discussed Sony and JBL over-ear headphones, which have ear cups that aren't too accommodating, Soundcore seems to take "accommodation" to the next level with the Space One headphones. With a floating axis design, rotating ear cups, and a comfy headband, anyone and everyone can find a comfortable fit.

The Space Ones outdo the other headphones we tested in two key ways. The first is (and don't laugh) the fact that they come with a cute, color-coordinated carrying bag. The second is that five quick minutes of charging boosts the power of these headphones not by one hour, not by two hours, but by four whole hours. They also have three mics with an AI algorithm that pinpoints your voice and amplifies it on calls. In case you don't want to hear the voices of others, they are specially designed to reduce crowd noise by up to 98%.

In terms of how this crowd noise reduction feature fared IRL, I would say that the passive noise cancellation aspect of the headphones was more responsible for making it feel like you're in your own musical bubble than the ANC.

The (completely free) Soundcore app is chock-full of add-on features that you can enable at your convenience. One of these is currently in beta testing — it's called Easy Chat and lowers your music volume when it detects speech. While this is theoretically good for calls (no more scrambling to turn off your rap/hip-hop song queue when grandma calls to check in), I once started to sing along to a song, which depressingly turned it off thanks to this feature being enabled. Bear that in mind when toying with all of Soundcore's fancy audio offerings.