Best wireless earbuds under $50

True wireless earbuds (aka wireless earbuds) are great. They’re portable, convenient, and you never have to worry about wires getting caught on something and ripping them out. But these things can get a little pricey, and sometimes you don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars, or even $100 USD. We’ve gathered this list of the best wireless earbuds under $50 USD to accommodate the most readers’ budgets.

Editor’s note: this list of the best wireless earbuds under $50 USD was updated on May 23, 2022, to replace the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air with the newer Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2, update prices, and add in-line FAQs.

Why is the Anker Soundcore Life A1 the best pair of wireless earbuds under $50?

For a budget pair of wireless earbuds, the Anker Soundcore Life A1 destroys the competition with a battery life of 8 hours, 23 minutes. With a consumer-friendly bass boost, you get decent sound quality with the A1. It also possesses upgraded features like mono listening, and onboard tap controls.

The A1 has an IPX7 rating so you can confidently work out with it. You don’t get the bells and whistles, like automatic ear detection, that you might find on a pricier set of earbuds, but it is a good gym companion. At this price, Anker has not included any active noise cancellation, but the passive isolation is pretty good. It comes with a variety of ear tips and wing tips to improve stability and ensure a solid fit.

For a hair under $50 USD, Anker packs in three EQ presets (though two are quite bassy), and you get the standard fare AAC and SBC Bluetooth codecs. While you might find yourself missing app support and memorizing tapping patterns to access controls, the A1 ought to satisfy most.

iPhone owners should get the Beats Flex

For a budget pair of wireless earbuds, the Beats Flex is a great option for anyone with an iPhone because of its W1 chip integration. The W1 chip isn’t quite as fancy as the H1 chip, so you don’t get hands-free Siri access, but you get other Apple-centered features like automatic device switching (within the Apple ecosystem) and improved power efficiency.

With its 10-hour, 24-minute battery life and fast charging capabilities, you can listen to music for just over 10 hours straight. Just 10 minutes on a USB-C cable supplies the neckbuds with 90 minutes of playtime. This is the main benefit of traditional wireless earbuds, though you don’t get the perk of portable battery power from a case with the Flex.

You can take advantage of auto-pause with the Beats Flex by snapping the magnetic housings together. If you separate the buds when you receive an incoming call, the headset will automatically answer the call. This can be useful, but if you get a lot of spam calls, you may want to disable this feature.

The JLab GO Air is an excellent value set of wireless earbuds

The JLab GO Air is another no-frills option for the best cheap true wireless earbuds. This headset has an IP44 rating, so it can withstand sweat but shouldn’t be submerged in water. It shouldn’t break but if it does, it’s cheap enough to replace without breaking the bank.

While the open design of the case itself is a little odd, the unconventional integrated charging cable is one of the most convenient things about the JLab GO Air. You don’t need to worry about being able to charge your computer at the same time as your earbuds, and, according to JLab, the cable itself can be bent 10,000 times before showing signs of damage.

The JLab GO Air has solid connection strength, and a 4 hour, 5-minute battery life along with quick charging capabilities. The sound quality of the GO Air isn’t the best you’re ever going to hear because it heavily emphasizes bass frequencies. However, for budget true wireless earbuds it sounds fine, and it gets the job done.

The 1MORE PistonBuds does the stemmed design well

The 1MORE PistonBuds may mimic the AirPods’ stemmed design, but 1MORE adds a twist with its stout stems. This makes it easy to insert and remove the PistonBuds without drawing too much attention to the ear pieces. The headset features an IPX4 rating, making it resistant to most splashes that come its way.

You can use either earbud for mono listening, which is a must-have feature for anyone who lives with a hearing impairment. The sound quality is consumer-friendly: bass notes are amplified and sound twice as loud as midrange notes. This makes it easier for you to hear that beloved oomph from your favorite songs, but can also make it difficult to hear musical nuances.

The earbuds last 3 hours, 32 minutes on a single charge, which is slightly below average for wireless earbuds. You can’t fast charge the earbuds in the case, though it only takes 90 minutes to complete a full charge cycle. Said case provides an extra 4.7 charges to your earbuds, so you don’t have to look around for that USB-C cable too often.

The OnePlus Buds Z is dust and water-resistant

If you’re looking for cheap true wireless workout earbuds, look no further. The OnePlus Buds Z has an IP55 rating, so it’s great for exercise. It comes with three sets of ear tips, so you can find the right fit and ensure maximum isolation.

Battery life is about average; it lasts 4 hours on a single charge, but the case boasts some of the most efficient fast charging we’ve seen. When you place the buds in the case for 10 minutes, you get 180 minutes of playtime. You can’t charge the case wirelessly, for that you need the unsealed OnePlus Buds.

OnePlus tuned the Buds Z to please most listeners, so bass notes sound twice as loud as low-mids. The frequency response slightly under-emphasizes upper-midrange notes, but this is a good thing because it reduces unwanted resonances that naturally occur within the human ear canal. The downside of this tuning is that you might notice some “missing” detail due to the boosted bass.

Isolation is pretty good for a pair of budget earbuds, but it can’t compare to a good pair of noise cancelling earbuds like the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds, Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro, or even the Apple AirPods Pro. If you only have $50 USD to spend, the OnePlus Buds Z is a great option.

The JBL Tune 125TWS occasionally drops below $50

Since the JBL Tune 125TWS is a few years old, and JBL churns out true wireless earbuds regularly, you can find this headset for less than $50 USD, originally $99 USD. The earbuds have an 8-hour standalone battery life with another 24 hours from the USB-C case. You can use either earbud in mono mode, which is great for exercising outside or if you have a hearing impairment.

JBL teamed up with Google on this one so you get Google Fast Pair, making it a cinch to set the earbuds up with your Android phone. You only get SBC and AAC Bluetooth codec support, but this is typical of JBL earbuds.

The Edifier TWS1 supports aptX for less than $50 USD

The Edifier TWS1 is a truly no-frills pair of wireless earphones with SBC and aptX support. It’s lightweight and has an IPX5 rating, so it’s not afraid of a little sweat. Lasting 7 hours, 10 minutes on a single charge, you shouldn’t run into any issues with battery life. Unfortunately, because the Edifier TWS1 doesn’t support fast charging with its microUSB port (and takes 90 minutes to charge completely), you’ll have to leave the case charging for quite a while once it does tap out.

The best wireless earbuds under $50: Notable mentions

• Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2: These earbuds have great sound quality, mic quality, battery life, and an IPX5 rating, but they no longer have the auto-pause capabilities they once did. Still, they have aptX Bluetooth codec support and come at an absolute bargain of around $39 USD.
• Anker Soundcore Life Dot 2: This set of buds costs just under $50 USD and boasts an 8-hour standalone battery life, and with the case, you get up to 100 hours of playtime. Each bud houses an 8mm dynamic driver and uses ear wings to keep the buds secure during all sorts of activities.
• Jabra Elite Active 65t (Renewed): This headset is the predecessor to the Elite Active 75t, and despite its age, it’s a great option for athletes on a budget. Plus, these buds now cost around $40 USD.
• JLab JBuds Air Sport: These are another great pair of workout earbuds. They have an IP66 rating and a stable fit with the ear hook design. They also have good isolation and decent sound quality, and you can cycle through a few EQ presets straight from the earbuds.
• Skullcandy Indy: These earbuds sound very good for Skullcandy’s brand, though bassheads may find the frequency response to be a bit underwhelming. They are IP55 certified with a stable fit and have a strong connection. They also have solid isolation and are portable and easy to use.
• Skullcandy Sesh Evo: If you want rugged earphones with an IP55 rating, this is another Skullcandy pick that proves popular. With the Sesh Evo, you get a more traditional earbud shape without stems. The company partnered with Tile to make it easy to track the buds and you can use either earbud in mono mode.
• Urbanista Libson: The Urbanista Libson is a great pair of unsealed earbuds under $50 USD. You get Bluetooth 5.2, a wireless charging case, and ear wings to secure the buds in place.
• 1MORE Stylish True Wireless: These don’t quite fit under the budget of $50, but we’re mentioning them anyways because of their style, battery life, and comfort.

Some people may be more inclined to get over-ear or on-ear headphones than earbuds, in which case we recommend you check out our list of the best headphones under $50.

What you should know about the best true wireless earbuds under $50

What makes a pair of true wireless earbuds good? This can be an especially Ultimate headphone buying guide when you’re shopping with a budget. Keep an eye out for a few key features that will help you make the right decision for you.

What is a Bluetooth codec?

True wireless earbuds don’t have wires, so they operate via Bluetooth wireless technology. A Bluetooth codec determines how data is transmitted from your source device to your headphones. Every Bluetooth product supports the SBC codec, but there are some higher quality options out there if your earphones support them.

Android users will want to keep a special eye out for earphones supporting the aptX codec, and if you have an iPhone, you’ll want to look for the AAC codec. These codecs are great for reducing audio-visual lag and streaming high-quality audio, but it’s also possible that you won’t be able to tell the audio quality apart unless you have very good ears.

How should your earbuds fit?

If you’re shopping for earbuds, chances are you want them to sound good (who wants earphones that sound bad?). Both the passive isolation of your earbuds and the frequency response are important factors to sound quality, and they play off of one another.

Passive isolation refers to how well your earbuds can block out external noise. Unless your buds have active noise cancelling (ANC) technology, their passive isolation will depend almost entirely on the way the buds fit in your ears. If your earbuds create a seal at your ear canal, they will be more effective at blocking external noise than earbuds that don’t. Many of the best true wireless earbuds under $50 come with several options for ear tip sizes to help you find the best possible fit, but some people may want to look into third-party ear tips.

What is a good frequency response?

The frequency response of your earbuds determines how different frequencies are reproduced. Many of the best true wireless earbuds under $50 have at least slightly bass-heavy responses, so low frequencies will sound boosted compared to higher ones. This isn’t necessarily a problem, because many average consumers prefer this sound signature. All this is to say, don’t expect studio sound out of cheap earbuds.

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Frequently asked questions about true wireless earbuds