The Best Noise-Cancelling Headphones of 2024

A pair of quality noise-canceling cans can isolate you from the outside world and give you that serene feeling of seclusion where there’s just you, yourself, and your favorite music, podcast, or audiobook.

Features to Focus on When Choosing Noise-Cancelling Headphones

The most important feature to look out for when in the market for a pair of noise-canceling headphones is, of course, active noise cancellation (ANC). In general, the better the ANC, the pricier the cans, but the good news is that you don’t have to pay a fortune for quality ANC.

Some budget and a number of mid-range options have good enough ANC for most scenarios, even those that include long flights inside stuffed planes. Note that ANC headphones found at lower levels of the price spectrum tend to be pretty good at blocking less noisy sounds, such as those of your office colleagues, and that quiet but nagging sound of A/C fans. Still, they tend to be less effective at blocking louder sounds, such as the rush hour traffic racket or the low-pitched yet loud plane engine roar.

Higher-end noise-canceling headphones sometimes include adaptive ANC tech, which adjusts the noise cancelation level depending on your surroundings, the type of noise, and your hearing acuity. This results in impressively effective active noise cancelation that can also prolong the battery life when used in low-noise environments.

Next up are comfort and sound quality. While the sound quality is very important, we’d put comfort first in case you plan on frequently wearing the headphones for hours on end. Having the best-sounding headphones out there is pointless if you can’t wear them for longer than half an hour because the top of your head is sore or because your ears have turned into ovens due to the clamping force being too tight.

Regarding comfort, the three most important things include the overall weight of the headphones, the comfort of the headband and ear cups, and the intensity of the clamping force. If you sweat a lot, you probably want a pair of headphones with light to moderate clamping force that features ear cups covered with breathable material. Also, you should avoid on-ear headphones because they will turn your earlobes into radiators in no time.

On the other hand, if you can’t sweat for the life of it and want the highest level of ANC and passive sound isolation, look for headphones with high clamping force. Be sure that the materials covering the ear cups and headband are comfortable, but don’t focus on their breathability.

Sound quality-wise, the price is usually positively correlated with sound quality. The pricier the pair of headphones is, the better their sound, but there are some nuances here you should look out for. For instance, some headphones offer neutral sound where no specific part of the spectrum is boosted. Others offer a warm, bassy sound that’s great for bass-heavy music genres. And then there are so-called sharp headphones that push treble at the front, which some people prefer but most don’t.

That said, you can adjust the sound output via your phone’s built-in equalizer or a companion app if the headphones come with one.

Battery life is also important, especially for ANC headphones due to active noise canceling gobbling up lots of power. Note that virtually every model has two battery life values listed: the amount of time you can use them with ANC turned off and on. Since you’re perusing this guide, it’s safe to assume you’re interested in battery life with ANC, so make sure to check how long the headphones you’re eyeing last with ANC turned on.

Other things to look out for when shopping for noise-canceling headphones include the ability to use the headphones with multiple devices simultaneously, known as multipoint Bluetooth, exclusive features tied to the manufacturer ecosystem, such as the spatial audio feature on some AirPods you can only use with Apple devices, and the ability to use headphones with a cable while turned off. For example, our top pick, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra, are terrific ANC headphones, but you cannot use them with a cable when the battery’s dead. For more info regarding picking the right headphones for your needs, read our guide on the subject.

Now that we’ve covered the most important things to consider when shopping for noise-canceling headphones, let’s move on to our best ANC headphones recommendations.

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The Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones are hands down the rulers of the ANC headphone realm. Their adaptive noise-canceling tech, known as CustomTune, adapts to your ears’ shape, size, and depth and delivers the best possible noise-canceling and sound quality custom-tailored for you.

The result is an impressive ANC quality that can make the sounds of the outside world all but disappear, leaving you immersed in whatever you’re listening to at that moment. But the Bose QuietComfort Ultra has more tricks up its sleeve.

Firstly, their sound quality is impressive. The frequency response curve promotes the lower end of the spectrum, resulting in a bassy, thumpy, powerful sound with detailed bass and trebles. If the default sound profile isn’t your liking, you can download the companion app, which includes a graphic equalizer and various presets you can switch between with a single tap of the phone screen.

Other goodies here include impressive build quality, a cloud-like level of comfort, and support for aptX Adaptive, a Bluetooth audio codec that adapts to what you’re listening to, lowering the latency if you’re using the cans to watch videos or play games.

On the flip side, if your phone doesn’t support aptX Adaptive, you’re left only with AAC and SBC support. The battery life could’ve been longer—you can expect about 25 hours of playtime with ANC on—and once the battery dies, you can’t use the headphones, even in wired mode, since they have to be turned on even when hooked to a cable.

If you want similarly impressive sound quality and a great ANC, check out the Sony WH-1000XM5. These are similarly priced, can work in wired mode even when their battery’s empty, and support the LDAC Bluetooth codec found on newer Galaxy S phones. Lastly, if you’re an Apple fan or just deeply rooted inside Apple’s ecosystem, you can’t go wrong with the Apple AirPods Max.

The Soundcore Anker Life Q20i is an updated version of the Soundcore Anker Life Q20, an impressive budget noise-canceling headphones. The Q20i offers USB-C charging, a larger battery, and support for a companion app that lets you control ANC.

Overall, the package here is more than worth the $70 price of admission. The Soundcore Anker Life Q20i offers pretty good overall noise-canceling that can deal with most sounds aside from the rumblings of large engines (bus and airplane), a massive battery that can last for around 40 hours with ANC enabled, and respectable comfort for a pair of budget headphones.

Their sound profile is skewed towards the lower end of the spectrum, offering a bassy image that isn’t as clear as on high-end headphones, resulting in slightly muddy output. Luckily, the overemphasized bass doesn’t drown out mids and highs, allowing you to hear vocals and instruments without getting flooded with all the bass. Oh, and you can use them in wired mode even when unpowered.

While the Soundcore Anker Life Q20i are great budget noise-canceling headphones, they do have downsides that are expected in this price range. Firstly, the build quality is shoddy; the cans are light and cheap. If you have larger ears, the ear cups might be too small for you. I recommend trying out these before buying them or getting them from a place that allows free returns.

If you want similar sound quality coupled with serviceable but not as good ANC, the Edifier W800BT Pro might be what you’re looking for. And if you don’t mind the lack of USB-C and don’t care about having a companion app, the Soundcore Anker Life Q20 cans are still a great deal, especially if you catch them on sale.

Best Noise-Cancelling Headphones Under $100 – JLab JBuds Lux ANC

The JLab JBuds Lux ANC can be yours for $80, and they undercut our budget choice regarding the overall sound quality, the quality of the active noise-canceling, and the built quality. Here, we’ve got yet another pair of headphones with a thumpy sound profile that puts the bass at the front while also boosting high frequencies. If you don’t prefer the default sound output, you can tweak it to your liking in the excellent companion app that comes with a 10-band EQ, lots of presets, and an ANC tweaker.

The battery life here is great. You can expect more than 40 hours of playtime with ANC turned on, which extends to about 70 hours without ANC. The ANC is impressive for a pair of headphones that cost less than $100. It’s fairly effective at drowning out busy traffic, the sounds of a busy neighborhood, and even the annoying rumble of bus and plane engines.

The JLab JBuds Lux ANC are fairly comfortable as long as you aren’t someone who sweats easily since the ear cups are covered with pleather that, in combination with a fairly tight grip, can make you sweat faster than a puddle evaporates in Death Valley. If you aren’t sweat-prone, these cans should be fairly comfortable.

The build quality is satisfactory, but there is nothing to write home about. At least they look fairly attractive, especially in the sage flavor. Regarding downsides, the default sound profile’s high-frequency boost might be grating to some ears. There’s the aforementioned tight grip, and it’s also worth mentioning that you aren’t getting a carrying case, which would be nice to have, considering the price.

If you’d like something a bit more expensive but with better ANC, comfort, and support for LDAC—you’re limited to SBC with the JLab JBuds Lux ANC—take a look at the Anker Soundcore Space One. They will set you back $100, but you’re getting the aforementioned upgrades, a carrying case, and a 40-hour battery life with ANC enabled.

Best Wired Noise-Cancelling Headphones – Sony WH-1000XM5

While you won’t find a pair of wired active noise-canceling headphones that pack at least decent ANC, many wireless ANC headphones support ANC in wired mode. The Sony WH-1000XM5 is the best choice among those.

They offer impressive sound quality that leans slightly towards bass but still delivers clean mids and highs, impressive comfort, and stellar noise cancelation that’s close to the ANC quality found in the Bose QuietComfort Ultra.

The battery life isn’t impressive since the cans can last only about 30 hours with ANC enabled, but at least you can use them in wired mode when the battery dies, albeit without ANC. While some won’t like the sharp design shift from Sony’s earlier high-end ANC headphone models, such as the WH-1000XM4, the boon here is increased comfortability, making the WH-1000XM5 one of the most comfortable pairs of headphones you can get.

The Sony WH-1000XM5 also comes with cool features like the signature ‘Speak-to-Chat’ mode that activates as soon as someone in your vicinity starts talking. You’ve got LDAC support (but no aptX support) and a high-quality carrying case that’s very sturdy and capable of taking a hit or two without damaging the headphones inside.

On the flip side, the build quality doesn’t reach the stellar level of the Sony WH-1000XM4, and while the comfort is great, you might find the cans uncomfortable, especially the headband, after a few hours of wearing them if you have a small head.

If you really want a pair of wired-only headphones with ANC, check out the Sony MDRZX110NC. Their ANC setup is pretty underwhelming, ditto for the sound quality, but they’re very affordable and offer decent passive sound isolation.

If you want the best ANC quality in wireless earbuds, get the Apple AirPods Pro 2. While not as effective as the active noise-canceling found in premium over-ear headphones, the AirPods Pro 2 offers impressively effective noise-canceling when pitted against the best wireless earbuds.

They also sound fairly pleasant, with just a tad elevated bass but slightly sunken highs, resulting in lightly muffled sibilant sounds. Overall, though, the sound quality is pretty good for a pair of true wireless earbuds.

The battery life is another win for the AirPods Pro 2. With ANC enabled, you’ve got six hours of battery life, along with about 24 hours of charge provided by the carrying case. The case comes with a USB-C port, supports wireless charging, and features a speaker that works with Apple’s Find My network, allowing you to easily locate the case when you misplace it. Just don’t forget to add your AirPods to the Find My network first.

Another plus is the awe-worthy Transparency mode feature, which mops the floor with every other pair of true wireless earbuds that includes it. Nothing’s perfect, though, and in the case of the 2nd-gen AirPods Pro, you won’t be able to access some features when using the earbuds with non-Apple devices. This includes Spatial Audio, the Find My service and automatic ear detection. We also don’t like that you cannot manually tweak the equalizer to your liking. Lastly, the built-in microphone could’ve been clearer.

If you aren’t knee-deep in Apple’s ecosystem and are looking for a pair of earbuds with great ANC and impressive sound quality that allow you to use their full range of features on any device, check out the Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 or the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds. Samsung phone owners should also take a look at the recently released Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, which doesn’t offer the same level of ANC but trumps the AirPods Pro 2 with regards to sound quality.