8 best noise-cancelling headphones to buy on Prime Day

Read our full review of the AirPods Pro (Generation 2).

Who it's for:

If you want ANC without all the bulk, the AirPods Pro are small, discreet, and (thanks to the their long-awaited USB-C charging port) easier to charge. Though over-ear headphones typically provide superior ANC, these AirPods have impressive noise cancellation for a pair of buds. You'll probably enjoy them a little extra if you have other devices within the Apple ecosystem.

Why we picked this:

Are they pricey? Absolutely. Is their ANC worth it? Here's what Mashable Senior Editor Stan Schroeder had to say: "These are the first pair of earbuds I'd actually consider taking on an airplane (instead of my much larger and clunkier over-ear headphones)." Though these aren't the only Apple headphones with ANC, we highly prefer these over the AirPods Max, which we think are way overpriced (they're double the cost of these Pros) and don't have the performance to justify that price tag.

Other than that killer ANC, AirPods are great for travel because they take up minimal space in your carry on, they sound great, and they have a Conversation Awareness mode which automatically lowers the volume when you're talking, so placing a drink order is easy as can be. And with their new USB-C port, you can charge them directly from an iPhone with a USB-C port.

To get a perfectly snug fit to maximize your listening experience, you'll have your choice between four ear tips. Apple claims these buds support lossless audio, but as of right now, only with the Apple Vision Pro, so you'd have to shell out an additional $3,500 for that experience.

You can find AirPods on sale with some regularity if you shop from Amazon or Walmart — we recommend waiting until they at least drop down to $199 at either retailer before buying a pair. If that's the best price you see them at during Prime Big Deal Days, wait until Black Friday. These earbuds should drop to at least $189 before they become worth adding to your cart during the sale.

Read our full review of the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones.

Who it's for:

If you want good ANC, but especially value clear and well-rounded sound, these are your headphones. Whether you really like to blast your music, or just want to hear the lows, highs, and mids of a song, the WH-1000XM5s are the headphones on our list most likely to deliver.

Why we picked this:

Sony's flagship noise-cancelling headphones produce a balanced sound that let your music shine, while giving you enough ANC to block ambient noise.

Here's what Mashable Deputy Reviews Editor Miller Kern had to say about listening to Brandi Carlile’s “Right on Time” on the XM5 headphones: "The vocals and instruments all got to shine, and the headphones made it feel like I was there in the studio. These are probably the best-sounding headphones I’ve ever tried." That audio quality, combined with their comfort and effective noise cancelling, are what earned them a Mashable Choice Award. And if you're intimidated by messing around with an equalizer, the app presets along with the "Find Your Equalizer" feature make it easy to find the sound settings that hit just right.

Their portability factor could be a little better — the ear cups don't fold in — but chances are, you'll want to be listening to them most of the time, anyway. When you are on the go, the microphone is another standout feature. Kern relayed that even on a walk home in New York City, she could hear who she was calling perfectly, and be heard herself without any background noise getting in the way. As an added bonus, they have a battery life that beats the Bose QC Ultras by a good six hours, offering some of the best battery we've seen from premium over-ear headphones.

At full price, you'll be shelling out $399 for these headphones, and while this is already lower than the QC Ultras at full price, these headphones typically drop down to a much more competitive $299 around shopping holidays. They have fallen to this price several times throughout the year already though, so we're hoping that at least one retailer decides to up the ante during Black Friday, especially since these headphones came out in 2022.

We're currently evaluating whether the new AirPods 4 are a better fit for the best mid-range pick. We'll update this post accordingly, but in the meantime, check out our full review of the AirPods 4.

Who it's for:

We don't think these earbuds perform quite as well as the newest AirPods Pro, but they also cost $80 less. If you're trying to get quality ANC earbuds for under $200 (but are willing to spend more than $50), then the Beats Studio Buds+ are the way to go. Plus, with Google Fast Pair support, they're better suited for Android users than the AirPods Pro.

Why we picked this:

We love a good dupe, what can we say? While these Beats aren't a one-to-one match for the AirPods Pro, they give a lot of the same basic functionality at a much more affordable price. And at six hours per charge with ANC, they match the Pro's battery life exactly.

As for how they sound, these are Beats headphones, so expect the bass to come through nice and clear. They're not too bass heavy though, and they give plenty of balance on higher frequencies. Their ANC definitely isn't at the same level as the Pros, so having a well-rounded sound is nice, as playing music in tandem with ANC will give you your best shot at blocking out the world around you.

You'll have your choice between four colorways, including black, silver, ivory, and transparent. During our testing, we also found these earbuds fit more comfortably than the AirPods Pro, so if you tend to have trouble getting AirPods to stay in your ears, these are a better option for you. If you can, we recommend waiting for these earbuds to go on sale — you can often find them for $149.95 or $129.95, especially during sales like Prime Day.

Read our full review of the Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra headphones.

Who it's for:

Over-ear headphones can be great for blocking out noise, but less great for comfort when they're too heavy or squeeze your head too much. If you're someone who wants to wear your headphones all day, the Bose QuietComfort line was made for you. We've previously tested the QuietComfort 35 IIs and the QuietComfort 45s, and the QuietComfort Ultra was easily the most comfortable of the three.

They're also the most expensive at $429, so you will be paying a premium, but with Black Friday approaching, we've seen them drop down to $329, so grabbing them during the shopping holiday season is a good bet for saving money.

Why we picked this:

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones up the ante on the long-popular line from the brand, giving you all-day wear with spatial audio.

We don't know how Bose improved on the design as much as they did, but we wore these headphones for hours — on flights, with glasses on, all day — and they wore through it all without squeezing or feeling heavy. To drop the royal Mashable we for just moment, I (Lead Shopping Reporter Bethany Allard) can attest to these easily being headphones I could wear all day, and I wasn't alone in that feeling. Shopping Reporter Sam Mangino also recently tested out these headphones, and found that their biggest draw was their comfort, noticing that she didn't experience the same ear aches she might get after wearing her Sony WH-1000XM4 for the same amount of time.

She did say, however, that their active noise cancellation and sound profile were good, but not great. In her opinion, she found them to be a bit lacking, noting that the ANC "is really good at blocking out low-pitched noises, [but] it can't wholly block high-pitched sounds unless you turn up the sound to unhealthy volumes." Personally, I found the ANC to do the job for me, but most of the noise I block out on a day to day basis isn't super high-pitched.

Where Mangino and I really agreed is that the ear cup controls and multipoint pairing leave much to be desired, especially at this price point. It can be difficult to easily connect with the button that acts as the on/Bluetooth pairing button — sometimes it's immediately responsive, and sometimes you have to press it a few times, and wait in between for it to properly turn on and connect. Like past QC headphones, these also can be touch and go with multipoint pairing, but I found them to function better at

If you want the brilliance of Sony headphones but without paying a premium price, look no further than the Sony Ult Wear, a new mid-range offering from the brand. The big selling point is what Sony calls the Ult power experience — a combination of clarity, noise cancellation, and thunderous bass. The bass has two modes — Deep Bass and Attack Bass, both of which are activated with the push of a button. In fact, the bass might be overpowering for some when it's activated — these headphones are best for listeners who are all about bass.

Bass aside, they're a solid pair of headphones with a selection of advanced features. All of which makes them well worth the mid-level price point. You can adjust the EQ and noise cancellation (including the amount of ambient noise you want to let in) via the Sony app.

Elsewhere you'll find support for the latest Bluetooth and codec technologies. Add to that multipoint pairing and clear call quality — achieved by the use of beam forming microphones and voice pickup technology.

As well as all that, the Sony Ult Wear look great — a classic Sony design to go with the brand's trademark sound. Indeed, these might be missing the more advanced features of Sony's more premium models, but the sound is more than reliable — not to mention malleable if you don't mind playing around the EQ levels to get it absolutely right.

Who it's for:

People who enjoy great active noise cancellation and even better sound quality will appreciate the Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds — the full package.

Why we picked this:

Even if you're not a full-blown audiophile, we're betting you'd be impressed by just how good these earbuds sound. Though they're great when you plug and play, the highly customizable equalizer allows these earbuds to really shine. If you're not quite sure what you enjoy when it comes to EQ, no problem.

The companion app has a "find your equalizer" feature that lets you play a song and select between six EQ settings to find the one that sounds best to your ears. Once you do, you get more options to select, with that choice marking the "custom" EQ you like best. To make sure you're satisfied, the app then lets you easily compare the new and original settings side by side. That's just one of several sound features built into the app that allow you to customize your experience, far surpassing every other pair of earbuds on this list.

Wear-wise, the ear tips on these buds forego the usual silicone for a foamier alternative that's more reminiscent of the material you might expect from earplugs. We found this material to wear comfortably and snugly, staying in place in your ear better than AirPods typically do. On a further design note, these are also a great option for folks who don't like the stemmed look made popular by AirPods.

Finally, the ANC. You're paying high-end prices for these earbuds, and they do deliver on high-end ANC. If noise cancellation is your biggest concern, you might want to go for the Bose earbuds instead, but these still do an excellent job (plus, their multipoint pairing actually works, unlike Bose's). We will say that with ANC on, we did tend to get closer to seven hours of listening time before running out of juice, instead of the eight Sony claims.

Who it's for:

If you're on a tight budget but still want to enjoy noise cancellation, the Anker Soundcore Life P3i earbuds offer a surprisingly solid performance. Don't expect elite ANC, but these affordable earbuds don't require too much of a sacrifice in sound quality.

Obviously, these headphones are already priced on the affordable side, but we have seen them get on-page coupons and drop down around $10 less during past shopping holidays.

Why we picked this:

We're going to start with the major hitch of these earbuds: switching between devices sucks. They don't have multipoint pairing, and if you want to use them with your phone after using them with your laptop, you have to manually disconnect them (or in our experience, sometimes outright unpair them), with your laptop first. It's easily their biggest flaw, and where we most obviously felt their price point during testing.

With that out of the way, these earbuds still have a lot going for them. For starters, they cost $50 and can often be found on sale for even less. Though inexpensive, these earbuds are comfortable to wear all day, have a custom equalizer in the app plus 21 presets (we're fans of the Treble Booster), customizable touch controls for each earbud, and a battery life that outdoes the Apple AirPods Pro. You won't have extras like spatial audio, and the ANC leans on background hiss more than premium models, but not terribly so.

For a pair of $50 earbuds, we're impressed. We recommend them for anyone who doesn't want to shell out $100 plus for a pair of noise-cancelling earbuds.

Check out our full review of the Dyson OnTrac headphones.

Who it's for:

The Dyson OnTrac headphones aren't perfect, but if long-lasting battery life is your top priority and you're willing to pay for it, these provide the best battery life we've ever seen on a pair of noise-cancelling over-ear headphones. They're also extremely comfortable, too.

Why we picked this:

Short answer: 55 hours of battery life with noise-cancelling turned on.

That's what Dyson claimed with these headphones, and what Mashable contributor Timothy Beck Werth confirmed when he tested them out over the period of a month. And that noise cancellation works well.

As for the longer answer, let's begin with a couple of questions: Are these headphones Dyson-level expensive? Yes (though they're still $50 cheaper than AirPods Max, which max out at 20 hours of battery life). Is the Dyson logo on the headband kind of tacky? Also yes. And the multipoint pairing is lacking, which really shouldn't be an issue on a pair of $500 headphones. However, if you can live with that, you'll get headphones that Werth called "the best...I've tested yet," with excellent sound quality, solid ANC, swappable ear plates (for a price), and again, 55 full hours of battery life with the active noise cancellation turned on.

They certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea (or in everyone's budget), but if you want the best battery life money can buy, Dyson's OnTrac headphones are for you. If you're hoping to see them go on sale for Black Friday, you'll have to wait and see. As these headphones are so new, we didn't see them go on sale during October Prime Day, but Dyson products do typically get markdowns during shopping holidays, so we're hoping Black Friday brings these headphones their first major discount.