Whether you’re commuting, working in a bustling café or just trying to tune out the world, the best noise-canceling earbuds can help you focus on what matters — your music, podcasts or a bit of peace and quiet. With advanced noise reduction and features like active noise cancellation, these compact in-ear buds are designed to block out distractions and deliver immersive sound, even in the most noisy environments.
Today’s top models offer everything from seamless Bluetooth connectivity and customizable ear tips to long-lasting batteries with a pocketable charging case — some even charge via USB-C and come with added perks like touch controls and water resistance. Whether you’re a casual listener or a true audiophile, there’s a pair out there that fits your lifestyle and budget.
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Best noise-cancelling earbuds for 2025
ANC type: Hybrid Adaptive | Customizable ANC: Yes | Max battery life with ANC: 6 hours | Transparency mode: Yes
Read our full Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds review
Bose’s Immersive Audio feature may be the headline grabber on its QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, but these also come with the company’s stellar noise-canceling abilities. This model is especially adept at battling airplane noise during a flight, a task I typically rely on over-ear headphones for. The QC Ultra Earbuds are slightly less effective on human voices, but that’s true of many noise-canceling earbuds. But with any kind of constant hum, and many irregular sounds, these earbuds will serve you well. Plus, Bose’s CustomTune tool analyzes the shape of your ears and personalizes both sound and ANC.
While the QC Ultra Earbuds offer the best pure noise-blocking performance on this list, the extra audio features mean they have less battery life than the rest of our picks. It lasts six hours with ANC on and Immersive Audio off, but turn on the latter and that number dips to four hours. And although Bose’s take on spatial audio yields mixed results at times, the stock tuning is an improvement over the company’s last model.
- Stellar ANC
- Spatial audio doesn’t require special content
- Upgrades with no price increase
- Earbuds are still big
- Immersive Audio significantly impacts battery life
- Wireless charging costs extra
Sony
ANC type: Hybrid Adaptive | Customizable ANC: Yes | Max battery life with ANC: 8 hours | Transparency mode: Yes
Read our full Sony WF-1000XM5 review
If I could pick two best options, Sony’s WF-1000XM5 would be the…