10 Best Budget Noise-Cancelling Headphones Under $100

If you’re on a tight budget but still want to enjoy the peace and quiet that only noise-cancelling headphones can provide, fear not! Plenty of options available for under $100 will make your noisy coworkers, loud neighbors, or chatty family members a distant memory. These headphones offer a variety of features, including comfortable ear cups, clear sound quality, and effective noise-cancelling technology that will make you feel like you’re in a serene, peaceful bubble. Plus, they won’t break the bank, so you can save money for more important things – like buying more headphones to replace the ones your annoying partner keeps stealing.

But seriously, if you’re looking for a budget-friendly option to help you block out the world and focus on your music or work, these noise-cancelling headphones are the way to go. And if the noise-cancelling technology doesn’t do the trick, remember: duct tape works wonders on both headphones and annoying people. Happy shopping!

Our 10 best budget noise cancelling headphones

1. Anker Soundcore Life Q30

The Anker SoundCore Life Q30s offers the best sound, build quality, and comfort for under $100. Although it doesn’t have the clarity and the bass of some of the more premium models, it comes at less than 75% of the price.

These headphones give a well-balanced sound with punchy bass and a clear high-end. Anker even has an app that lets you play around with the sound settings.

The noise cancelling is obviously not on the level of the Sony WH-1000XM4 or Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, but the quality is exceptional for the price you’re paying. It even features three different active noise cancelling modes, each designed to block out different environmental noises.

The v-shaped sound profile offers an intense low-end, while vocals and lead instruments sound bright and punchy. However, some users report that the headphones sound hollow when the ANC is disabled, but luckily you can customize their sound profile in the app.

The plush earcups make the Q30s very comfortable, even when you wear them for longer. The battery life of these headphones is rated at an impressive 40 hours of playback with noise-cancelling enabled, eliminating the need to charge these often. When these headphones run out of battery, you can fast-charge them with the USB-C cable in the box.

The only area where we found the Q30 lacking is voice calls. It does a good job picking up your voice in quieter environments, but when it’s a bit noisier around you, it has a hard time reducing the background noise.

The sound quality has improved slightly compared to its predecessor, the Q20 (see below). It also offers a more premium, sturdy design than the Q20s.

At around $80, we consider the Anker SoundCore Life Q30 to be one of the best budget noise-cancelling headphones you’ll find under $100.

2. Philips PH805

The Philips PH805 shares the throne of being the best noise cancelling headphones under $100 with the Anker Soundcore Life Q30. They combine comfort and quality to establish themselves as one of the best budget noise cancelling headphones.

These headphones, part of the Philips 8000 series, are over-ear wireless headphones that deliver quality sound through their 40mm drivers. In addition, the Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity gives you a range of 10 meters, perfect if you want to take a leak while working but still want to listen to some tunes.

The design isn’t groundbreaking, but at 280 kilograms, they are light and come in a sleek grey/black design. The earcups are lined with memory foam, making these headphones comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. In addition, the cups seal around your ears nicely to ensure passive isolation without feeling cramped.

It takes some time to fully adjust to the controls of these headphones. They have physical buttons to turn them on or off, enable Bluetooth pairing and take or end calls. The right earcup also has touch control, so you can swipe up and down to increase or decrease your volume and control your sound modes.

The battery life of the PH805s is rated at 25 hours with noise cancelling enabled and up to 30 hours with it disabled. While the battery life isn’t that impressive compared to the Q30s, these cans fully charge from empty in around 90 minutes. The only downside is that you can’t use them while charging.

3. 1More SonoFlow

The 1More SonoFlow is the king of battery life. It is the only pair of cheap noise cancelling headphones (as far as I know) that can get you 50 hours of playback time with noise cancelling enabled. Disabling it extends the battery life to a whopping 70 hours. If you finally have to charge these cans, you can use the USB-C cable in the box.

The minimalistic, matte black design is appealing and shares similarities with some of the current premium headphones. The headband is soft and won’t hurt your head after wearing it for long. The rotating earcups also feature comfortable, soft cushions.

The controls on the headset itself are limited. 1More opted for no touch control. Instead, they give you four buttons on the right earcup and a complementary app for controlling the headphones.

The SonoFlow’s noise cancelling system goes by “QuietMax” and offers good results. It significantly reduces static and low-frequency rumble, providing peace in busy environments.

These headphones aren’t the ones to pick for true audiophiles. Obviously, there is a clear gap between these headphones and more premium ones. That being said, these cans are a solid budget choice for everyday use.

At $99, the 1More SonoFlows are the perfect headphones for casual everyday use without needing to charge too often.

4. Anker Soundcore Life Q20

Anker’s SoundCore life Q20 are, without a doubt, the best noise cancelling headphones for their value. Considering the list price of around $50, they sound very decent and offer fantastic comfort thanks to their soft earcups.

The audio quality of the Q20 is really good. It obviously isn’t up there with the quality of the more premium models, but what do you expect at this price point? The sound profile is well-balanced, offering clarity and deep bass.

The noise-cancellation of the Q20 effectively reduces noise and blocks ambient sound, making it a decent headset to take on commutes and make calls.

The battery life of these headphones is rated at 40 hours, which is impressive. However, when you need to charge them, you’ll have to do it with an outdated micro-USB cable. The controls on these headphones are pretty simple. It doesn’t feature touch controls or an app, just labeled buttons at the bottom of the earcups.

As far as budget noise cancelling headphones go, the Anker Soundcore Life Q20 is a really solid pick at around $50.

5. Status Core ANC

The Core ANC is one of Status’s earlier creations, showing they know how to develop a pair of quality noise cancelling headphones. With their technology, these headphones can block up to 70% of ambient sounds.

These headphones offer great clarity and depth from their 40mm drivers, and Bluetooth 5.0 does a good job. It allows good voice and video calls with minimal dropout.

The battery of the Core ANC gets you up to 30 hours of playtime without noise-cancelling and a decent 20 hours with noise-cancelling enabled. You can use the USB-C cable in the box to charge the headphones.

The Core ANC can be controlled with touch buttons. They can also be paired with a voice assistant of your choice to control them.

These headphones will be fine for listening to music, gaming, and even taking calls at work, even though they won’t offer the detailed audio quality as some other cheap noise-cancelling headphones.

One major downside of the Core ANC is that the clamping force is too tight and can cause discomfort. It also lacks the deep bass resonance that other headphones on this list do have.

6. Edifier W820NB

Edifier is well-known as a brand for its quality PC speakers and true-wireless earbuds. They have done an excellent job with the W820NB noise-cancelling headphones.

The nicely cushioned earcups are one of the first things you’ll notice when putting on these headphones. They ensure the headset is comfortable and fits snugly on your head and around your ears.

The sound quality is decent for the price you’re paying. It gives you enough clarity and upright bass. It won’t blow you away at first, but you’ll start to notice how pleasant they sound after you’ve listened for a while.

Besides noise-cancelling mode, which does a decent job at blocking out external noise, these headphones also offer an ambient mode that lets in outside noise and a low-latency gaming mode for a smoother audio experience when playing games.

A fully charged W820NB gives you around 40 hours of playback time without ANC and 29 hours with ANC.

7. Wyze Noise-Cancelling Headphones

Wyze is better known for its offer of inexpensive smart-home accessories and security systems, but they brought their ingenuity to the market with these great budget headphones. These over-ear noise cancelling headphones offer a solid all-around performance and are very comfortable due to their memory foam earpads.

The noise cancelling on these cans is quite good, partly because of the earcups’ passive isolation. The downside is that your ears will get hot when it’s warmer outside.

These headphones offer Alexa as a built-in voice assistant, so you can control numerous things using your voice. Not only which song you want to be played, but you can also ask questions and even control smart home features.

The sound quality of the Wyze Noise-Cancelling Headphones is on the warmer side. They offer a lot of bass and an open soundstage. However, they need some clarity and definition that you would get from higher-end models. So, the sound is quite good for the money, but it isn’t amazing.

The battery life is rated at 20 hours at moderate volumes, and Wyze states you can get four hours of playback on a four-minute charge. A cloth traveling pouch is included in the box, as well as a USB-C charging cable and a cord for wired listening.

If you want headphones that can do a little bit of everything without spending more than $100, these cheap noise cancelling headphones might be the right pick.

8. JLAB Audio Studio ANC

There aren’t many on-ear noise-cancelling headphones when you’re on a budget. Of course, you can opt for the Beats Solo Pro, but these are about five times as expensive as the JLab Audio Studio ANC.

These headphones from JLab feature ‘cloud foam’ earcups with an adjustable headband. When you first put these on, they feel snug and comfortable. However, after you’ve been wearing them for some time, you’ll notice that the headphones will create more pressure than necessary.

The battery life of these headphones is respectable. 34-plus hours without noise cancelling and 28 with noise cancelling is a big claim for headphones at this price point. However, JLab delivered and gave these headphones a decent battery life.

Let’s talk about sound quality. Despite having great features and reasonable comfort on a budget, the sound of the Studio ANC sounds exactly like you’d expect from a pair of $60 headphones. They don’t sound bad, but they’re not great, either.

The noise-cancelling does what it needs to do. The Studio ANC only has two modes, you either turn noise cancelling on or you turn it off. It doesn’t offer ANC modes for multiple environments, and there is no ambient sound mode.

These headphones aren’t for true audiophiles. But for $60, you get a pair of decent cans that last almost an entire workweek without needing to charge.

9. Treblab Z2

The Treblab Z2 isn’t the flashiest pair of headphones out there. Instead, Treblab opted for a minimalistic look that appeals to users who don’t want to draw too much attention to themselves. As a result, these headphones only have two finishes: an all-black look with the Treblab logo on each earcup, either in black or white.

Like the design of these headphones, the controls are also fairly simplistic. You’ll find a button on the right earcup to toggle noise-cancellation and playback controls on the left earcup. It also features an aux port to use these headphones in wired mode. And, even though the Z2 is from 2020, you’ll also find a micro-USB port here.

The Z2s are lightweight, and because of that, they’re also really comfortable to wear. It features a good amount of padding on the earcups, as well as on the headband. They also feel sturdy, breaking them free from the expectation that low prices typically get you low quality.

The 40mm drivers deliver a solid bass. So solid that it often overpowers every other aspect of the audio you’re listening to. If the songs you’re playing don’t have a heavy bass, the mid-range is well balanced, with a decent amount of low mids and more laid-back high mids.

The battery life is rated at 35 hours without ANC enabled and 28 hours with ANC enabled. So although it isn’t the most impressive battery life money can buy, it is definitely decent if you consider the price.

10. Monoprice BT-600ANC

Just like the Z2s mentioned above, the Monoprice BT-600ANC doesn’t show obnoxious logos and is very minimal in design, making them discrete and expensive looking.

What sets these headphones apart from comparable ones is the aptX Bluetooth codec. This codec gives a smoother wireless audio experience since it can transmit more data. It also gives you multipoint pairing, which lets you pair these headphones with two devices simultaneously. Remember, though, that you can only listen to one device at a time.

The BT-600ANC doesn’t have to be charged every day, maybe not even every week. Monoprice claims these headphones can last up to 40 hours on a single charge. In reality, this number is slightly lower, around 36 hours, which is still very impressive at this price point.

What’s also impressive is the noise cancellation on these headphones. It blocks noise better than most ANC headphones at a higher price point. Even without noise cancellation, these headphones do a good job of blocking noise, thanks to their passive isolation.

Besides active noise cancelling, the BT-600ANC offers an ambient and normal listening mode.

Unlike the noise cancellation, the sound quality is exactly what you’d expect at this price point. It lacks accurate frequency response and is by no means something you should consider for serious audio work. Still, considering the price, these headphones provide an enjoyable listening experience when you’re on a budget.

The best budget noise cancelling headphones: Honorable mentions

• AKG N700NC M2: The N700NC M2 is the successor to AKG’s original entry-level noise cancelling headphones. Even though these are currently priced just above $100, these cans are still worth considering thanks to their overall balanced sound and competitive noise-cancelling performance.
• AUKEY EP-N12: If you want super cheap ANC and aren’t too fussed about perfect audio, the EP-N12 offers impressive noise cancellation and long battery life for well under $100.
• Sony MDRZX110NC: Looking for a wired ANC experience? These cans get you a high-resolution experience by using a headphone jack and a AAA battery for the ANC.

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