The very best headphones for operating in 2025

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: In-ear with wingtip | Assistant help: Google Assistant, Siri | Water resistance: IPX4 | Energetic noise cancellation: Sure | Battery life: As much as six hours

Read our full review of the Beats Fit Pro

The Beats Fit Pro got here out on the head of the pack due to their comfy, safe design, good sound high quality and transparency mode and common ease of use, amongst different issues. As Billy detailed in his review, the Match Professional’s wingtip design units them other than different Beats earbuds and makes them notably good for operating and different exercises. The buds are pretty small and lightweight, and the wingtip on every is versatile sufficient to hug your ear snugly with out an excessive amount of strain. This helps them really feel safer once you’re shifting round so much, be it throughout a morning jog or whereas taking a HIIT class. The buds are additionally rated IPX4 — not the best stage of safety out of every little thing I examined, however sufficient for even my sweatiest periods.

Because it had been, the Beats Match Professional stayed put throughout each single run and exercise. Nevertheless, adjusting their place on the fly can result in considered one of my few gripes: unintended presses of the onboard controls. There have been a variety of instances after I went to maneuver a bud and I ended up pausing my music within the course of as a result of the buttons are really easy to set off. Whereas I do choose the tactile suggestions of a bodily button versus the contact controls on different earbuds, Beats ought to have modified their place on the buds or made them a bit tougher to totally interact.

Sound high quality is stable and, due to its punchy bass and general steadiness, is particularly appropriate for exercising. Spatial audio help is nice to have, and whereas Adaptive EQ means you possibly can’t tweak the EQ your self like you possibly can with different buds, it does make for constantly good audio high quality. It’s additionally one much less factor to play with out of the field, which I anticipate many individuals will recognize; these earbuds are a real unbox-and-go choice.

ANC can also be nice on the Beats Match Professional, however transparency mode is what actually shines. Like I stated, full ANC may be harmful once you’re operating outdoors, whether or not you’re in the course of a metropolis or on a path. It pays to have the ability to hear what’s occurring round you, at the very least a bit bit, and the Match Professional’s transparency mode was the perfect out of the earbuds I attempted. Much like Apple’s AirPods Professional, it sounded extra pure than on our runner-up choose, and it’s straightforward to activate or off both with onboard buttons or from the management panel in your iOS or Android smartphone.

Talking of, the Beats Match Professional works notably effectively with iPhones due to the built-in H1 chip, however Android customers can obtain the companion app to entry issues like fast pairing, management customizations and a battery standing indicator. I didn’t get into element concerning the setup course of as a result of, effectively, there isn’t a lot of 1. As quickly as you unbox the Match Professional and open the case, the H1 chip communicates with iPhones and different iOS gadgets to nearly immediately pair the buds and get them prepared to be used.

I’ll say, although, that I used to be shocked by one factor after I unboxed the Match Professional: how low cost their charging case feels. Whereas it supplies an additional 21 hours on prime of the buds’ promised six hours of life, the construct high quality of the case itself seems like an actual step down in comparison with the buds themselves. Some charging circumstances on a lot inexpensive options felt extra substantial than the Beats Match Professional’s, however I acknowledge that it gained’t deter most individuals (together with me). Other than that and the contact controls, the Beats Match Professional affords an entire bundle for runners and different athletes alike, one which can be utilized all day, not simply throughout coaching periods. Plus, their commonplace $200 value isn’t too cost-prohibitive, and so they can usually be discovered on sale for much less.

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: In-ear | Assistant help: Siri, Google Assistant | Water resistance: IP68 | Energetic noise cancellation: Sure | Battery life: As much as eight hours

The Jabra Elite 8 Active nearly bested the Beats Match Professional, however in the end the latter gained due to their wingtip design and extra natural-sounding transparency mode. However except for these two issues, the Elite 8 Energetic are simply nearly as good, if not higher than, the Match Professional.

In the beginning, the Elite 8 Energetic has one of many highest sturdiness scores of any earbuds we examined. Rated IP68, it’s protected in opposition to every kind of mud and particles and it’ll survive being submerged in water at excessive strain. Jabra additionally subjected the Elite 8 Energetic to military-grade testing, defending them from extreme humidity, excessive temperature, rain and altitude. That is extra safety than most individuals want, however it would probably give some individuals peace of thoughts to know that these buds can take a beating. For runners, you gained’t have to fret should you get caught in a sudden downpour throughout your closing mile.

That further safety doesn’t make the Elite 8 Energetic cumbersome or unattractive as one would possibly assume. These buds are a few of the most comfy I attempted, with a light-weight design and a safe match. The soft-touch end on the buds themselves and their charging case provides a stage of luxurious that almost all others I examined didn’t have, too. There are onboard controls as effectively, and so they’re not as susceptible to unintended presses as these on the Beats Match Professional.

As considered one of Jabra’s dearer gadgets, the Elite 8 Energetic have an important sound profile out of the field however should you choose, you should use the corporate’s app to tweak the EQ utilizing a line graph that spans bass, mid and treble. You can too save custom-made presets. The app affords six preconfigured settings, and I discovered myself utilizing Bass Enhance and Energize most whereas exercising (they’re fairly related with sturdy bass, however Energize emphasizes highs a bit extra). These personalization choices will give the Elite 8 Energetic an edge over the Beats Match Professional for some. On prime of all that, Jabra’s buds help spatial sound with Dolby Audio.

The Elite 8 Energetic provide adaptive noise cancellation, and so they do job of analyzing your atmosphere and blocking out interferences. “HearThrough” is Jabra’s model of transparency mode, and it’s helpful when operating outdoors in a metropolis or an space with a lot of visitors even when it’s not as natural-sounding as the identical mode on the Beats Match Professional. Jabra’s is designed to neutralize wind noise whereas additionally letting you keep conscious of your environment, so you possibly can hear your podcasts irrespective of how gusty the atmosphere. I ran in some notably windy climate whereas testing these out, and I had constantly good listening experiences with each HearThrough and ANC activated.

As for battery life, the Elite 8 Energetic will get eight hours on a cost with ANC on, and an extra 24 hours within the charging case. You possibly can stand up to 56 hours of complete use should you’re not utilizing ANC, which is outstanding. The case additionally feels extra substantial than that of the Beats Match Professional, and you’ll wirelessly cost it (a characteristic that’s unnoticed on Beats’ buds).

Finally, the Beats Match Professional and the Jabra Elite 8 Energetic are neck and neck in our prime picks checklist. However whereas the Jabras provide a bit extra customization and extra sturdiness, not everybody will want these bonuses. Nevertheless, should you’re an athlete who likes to mess around with sound profiles otherwise you need a few of the most sturdy wi-fi earbuds out there as we speak, the Jabra Elite 8 Energetic are those to get.

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: In-ear | Assistant help: Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant | Water resistance: IP57 | Energetic noise cancellation: Sure | Battery life: As much as seven hours

The Jabra Elite 4 Active provide the perfect worth for the cash of any pair of earbuds on our checklist. For $120, you get an IP57-rated design, stable sound high quality with adjustable EQ, good ANC, the identical HearThrough transparency mode because the Elite 8 Energetic, app connectivity and a complete of 28 hours of battery life. These had been a few of the best buds for me to “choose up and go” with, whether or not it was for an impromptu stroll across the block, a sweaty HIIT session in my basement or an hour of labor throughout which I actually wanted to dam out distractions and get issues executed.

Just like the Elite 8 Energetic, the Elite 4 Energetic is tremendous comfy and Jabra has actually gotten the onboard controls proper on this collection. The buttons should not really easy to press that you simply unintentionally set off them everytime you regulate the match, and so they present satisfying suggestions once you really do press them. Sound high quality and ANC are spectacular, and I mainly by no means needed to fear about operating out of battery earlier than I believed to myself, hey, you would possibly need to prime these up.

The principle variations between the Elite 4 Energetic and the more-expensive Elite 8 Energetic are that the latter have a better IP score, spatial sound help with Dolby Audio, an extended general battery life (56 hours with the charging case), voice steerage and that satisfying soft-touch end. The IP score and prolonged battery life are the 2 primary options that might compel some to splurge on the Elite 8 Energetic as an alternative. Additionally, spatial audio is sweet if in case you have the buds semi-permanently positioned in your ears continually pumping out tunes, whatever the exercise. In any other case, although, you’re getting a ton of fantastic options with these $120 earbuds.

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: In-ear with hook | Assistant help: None | Water resistance: IP55 | Energetic noise cancellation: No | Battery life: As much as eight hours

When you’ve got lower than $50 to spend, you possibly can’t go improper with the $30 JLab Go Air Sport. I didn’t have excessive expectations going into testing these, however I used to be rapidly impressed by their match and sound high quality. Plenty of gadgets billed as workout-friendly headphones have this hook that wraps across the prime of your ear, and on the Go Air Sport it does assist maintain issues securely connected to your head. The hooks on these buds specifically are fairly versatile and have a soft-touch end, which makes them extra cozy (I attempted just a few equally designed buds with a lot stiffer hooks that had been a ache in additional methods than one.) Admittedly, a hook design will take some getting used to should you’re new to it, nevertheless it’s a surefire method to get a bit further stability throughout intense exercises.

Sound high quality is fairly good on these buds as effectively, though not practically as balanced because the Jabra Elite 8 Energetic or the Beats Match Professional. I additionally recognize that you may cycle via three totally different EQ modes — Signature, Balanced and Bass Enhance — utilizing the onboard controls. There’s no app to fuss with, and that was a pleasant change of tempo for me after principally testing buds with some type of software program controls.

You possibly can anticipate eight hours of playtime on the Go Air Sport, plus one other 24 hours of battery life with its charging case. Whereas the USB-A cable constructed into the underside of the case is helpful, actually needs to be a USB-C connector as an alternative. The case can also be on the cumbersome aspect; you possibly can nonetheless throw it right into a backpack or purse simply, nevertheless it’s not as svelte as circumstances you’ll see with dearer buds.

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: Open-ear | Assistant help: None | Water resistance: IP55 | Energetic noise cancellation: No | Battery life: As much as 11 hours

The Shokz OpenFit 2 are the most recent iteration of those open-ear headphones, with our earlier prime choose right here being the unique OpenFit. Earbuds with open designs like this permit for extra situational consciousness, with the purpose being to let noise in reasonably than block it out. In my expertise, the OpenFits do an important job of this with out skimping on sound high quality or consolation.

The buds themselves nearly float over your ear cavern and Shokz’s soft-finish “dolphin arc” hook is versatile sufficient to securely wrap across the prime of your ear with out placing an excessive amount of strain on it. There’s a bud-like portion on the different finish of the hook that acts as counterbalance, leading to a dependable match that by no means faltered throughout all types of actions together with operating, energy coaching and indoor biking. Granted, none of these workout routines contain shaking your head an excessive amount of; perhaps don’t put on the OpenFit to hearken to head-banging dying steel (should you can’t management your self).

Sound high quality is stable contemplating the design, and the OpenFit will get fairly loud as effectively. These buds have Shokz’s Direct Pitch expertise, which makes use of reverse sound waves to optimize the gap and angle to your ear canal. The corporate claims this helps cut back sound leakage. In my testing, I discovered that true to a sure extent. The OpenFit had the perfect sound high quality and general quantity out of the entire open-ear gadgets I attempted, however should you crank the quantity as much as the max (or shut), the individual subsequent to you’ll undoubtedly hear what you’re listening to.

As I alluded to beforehand, these aren’t for anybody who desires to dam the world out throughout train (or in any other case). However the OpenFit is likely to be the best choice for individuals who reside in cities or anybody who continually runs outdoors amongst visitors, pedestrians and different hazards. There’s no query that you simply’ll hear what’s occurring round you and that may be essential to protecting your self protected on these streets.

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: Over-ear | Assistant help: None | Water resistance: None | Energetic noise cancellation: Sure | Battery life: As much as 50 hours

Some choose to put on over-ear headphones all day, each day, and if that sounds such as you, there’s probability you already use your daily-driver headphones on the gymnasium. However should you’re noticing elevated wear-and-tear on these cans resulting from sweat or prolonged intervals of use, chances are you’ll need to take into account a pair of over-ear headphones particularly for understanding.

In that case, take into account the H2O Audio Ript Ultra. Whereas these wi-fi headphones don’t have a particular IP score (they’re not designed for the pool, to be clear), they do declare to be “one hundred pc sweatproof” thanks partly to their detachable and washable earcups. They survived a few of my hardest runs and strength-training periods with out challenge, and the earcups are fairly straightforward to take away once you need to give them a wipe-down. There’s additionally a second pair of earcups included within the field so you possibly can swap them in when the originals ultimately hand over the ghost.

Sound high quality is respectable, nevertheless it needs to be higher on a pair of $250 headphones. The Ript Extremely has customized 45mm drivers and lively noise cancellation as much as 30 dB. Whereas the general sound high quality isn’t higher than our prime choose, it’s greater than sufficient to get your blood pumping throughout a exercise. However extra importantly, you’ll probably get higher sound high quality on a pair of Bose or Beats headphones on the similar value vary; you’re actually paying for the improved sturdiness with the Ript Extremely. Finally, if you’d like a pair of headphones for the gymnasium that may deal with sweat and (doubtlessly) last more than different cans in the identical value vary, the Ript Extremely is an efficient alternative.