The very best headphones for working in 2025

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: In-ear with wingtip | Assistant assist: Google Assistant, Siri | Water resistance: IPX4 | Lively 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 because of their snug, safe design, good sound high quality and transparency mode and normal ease of use, amongst different issues. As Billy detailed in his review, the Match Professional’s wingtip design units them aside from different Beats earbuds and makes them notably good for working and different exercises. The buds are pretty small and light-weight, 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 if 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 degree 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 one in every of my few gripes: unintentional presses of the onboard controls. There have been quite a few 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 more durable to totally interact.

Sound high quality is stable and, because of its punchy bass and total stability, is very appropriate for exercising. Spatial audio assist is nice to have, and whereas Adaptive EQ means you may’t tweak the EQ your self like you may with different buds, it does make for persistently good audio high quality. It’s additionally one much less factor to play with out of the field, which I anticipate many individuals will admire; these earbuds are a real unbox-and-go choice.

ANC can be nice on the Beats Match Professional, however transparency mode is what actually shines. Like I mentioned, full ANC will be harmful if you’re working exterior, 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 happening round you, at the very least a little bit bit, and the Match Professional’s transparency mode was the very best out of the earbuds I attempted. Much like Apple’s AirPods Professional, it sounded extra pure than on our runner-up decide, 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 nicely with iPhones because of 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, nicely, 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 units to nearly immediately pair the buds and get them prepared to be used.

I’ll say, although, that I used to be stunned by one factor after I unboxed the Match Professional: how low-cost their charging case feels. Whereas it offers an additional 21 hours on high 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 alternate options felt extra substantial than the Beats Match Professional’s, however I acknowledge that it received’t deter most individuals (together with me). Except for that and the contact controls, the Beats Match Professional gives an entire bundle for runners and different athletes alike, one which can be utilized all day, not simply throughout coaching periods. Plus, their normal $200 worth isn’t too cost-prohibitive, they usually can usually be discovered on sale for much less.

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: In-ear| Assistant assist: Siri, Google Assistant | Water resistance: IP68 | Lively 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 received because of their wingtip design and extra natural-sounding transparency mode. However apart from these two issues, the Elite 8 Lively are simply pretty much as good, if not higher than, the Match Professional.

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

That further safety doesn’t make the Elite 8 Lively cumbersome or unattractive as one would possibly assume. These buds are among the most snug 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 degree of luxurious that almost all others I examined didn’t have, too. There are onboard controls as nicely, they usually’re not as vulnerable to unintentional presses as these on the Beats Match Professional.

As one in every of Jabra’s costlier units, the Elite 8 Lively have an incredible sound profile out of the field however when 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 even save personalized presets. The app gives six preconfigured settings, and I discovered myself utilizing Bass Increase 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 Lively an edge over the Beats Match Professional for some. On high of all that, Jabra’s buds assist spatial sound with Dolby Audio.

The Elite 8 Lively supply adaptive noise cancellation, they usually do an excellent job of analyzing your setting and blocking out interferences. “HearThrough” is Jabra’s model of transparency mode, and it’s helpful when working exterior in a metropolis or an space with plenty 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 may hear your podcasts irrespective of how gusty the setting. I ran in some notably windy climate whereas testing these out, and I had persistently good listening experiences with each HearThrough and ANC activated.

As for battery life, the Elite 8 Lively will get eight hours on a cost with ANC on, and an extra 24 hours within the charging case. You may rise up to 56 hours of whole use when you’re not utilizing ANC, which is exceptional. The case additionally feels extra substantial than that of the Beats Match Professional, and you may wirelessly cost it (a characteristic that’s unnoticed on Beats’ buds).

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

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

The Jabra Elite 4 Active supply the very best worth for the cash of any pair of earbuds on our record. 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 Lively, app connectivity and a complete of 28 hours of battery life. These had been among the best buds for me to “decide 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 performed.

Just like the Elite 8 Lively, the Elite 4 Lively is tremendous snug and Jabra has actually gotten the onboard controls proper on this sequence. The buttons should not really easy to press that you just unintentionally set off them everytime you modify the match, they usually present satisfying suggestions if you truly do press them. Sound high quality and ANC are spectacular, and I principally by no means needed to fear about working out of battery earlier than I believed to myself, hey, you would possibly need to high these up.

The principle variations between the Elite 4 Lively and the more-expensive Elite 8 Lively are that the latter have the next IP score, spatial sound assist with Dolby Audio, an extended total battery life (56 hours with the charging case), voice steering and that satisfying soft-touch end. The IP score and prolonged battery life are the 2 principal options that might compel some to splurge on the Elite 8 Lively as a substitute. Additionally, spatial audio is good when you’ve got the buds semi-permanently positioned in your ears always 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 assist: None | Water resistance: IP55 | Lively noise cancellation: No | Battery life: As much as eight hours

In case you have lower than $50 to spend, you may’t go incorrect with the $30 JLab Go Air Sport. I didn’t have excessive expectations going into testing these, however I used to be shortly impressed by their match and sound high quality. Plenty of units billed as workout-friendly headphones have this hook that wraps across the high of your ear, and on the Go Air Sport it does assist maintain issues securely hooked up 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 when you’re new to it, however it’s a surefire solution to get a little bit further stability throughout intense exercises.

Sound high quality is fairly good on these buds as nicely, though not practically as balanced because the Jabra Elite 8 Lively or the Beats Match Professional. I additionally admire which you can cycle by means of three completely different EQ modes — Signature, Balanced and Bass Increase — utilizing the onboard controls. There’s no app to fuss with, and that was a pleasant change of tempo for me after largely testing buds with some type of software program controls.

You may 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 useful, actually must be a USB-C connector as a substitute. The case can be on the cumbersome facet; you may nonetheless throw it right into a backpack or purse simply, however it’s not as svelte as circumstances you’ll see with costlier buds.

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: Open-ear | Assistant assist: None | Water resistance: IP54 | Lively noise cancellation: No | Battery life: As much as seven hours

I used to be apprehensive about making an attempt open-ear headphones, particularly whereas working. However the Shokz OpenFit pleasantly stunned me from the primary time I put them on. Earbuds with open designs like this enable for extra situational consciousness, with the aim being to let noise in relatively than block it out. The OpenFits do an incredible 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 high 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 working, 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 loss of life steel (when you can’t management your self).

Sound high quality is stable contemplating the design, and the OpenFit will get fairly loud as nicely. 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 very best sound high quality and total quantity out of the entire open-ear units I attempted, however when you crank the amount 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 most suitable choice for individuals who dwell in cities or anybody who always runs exterior amongst visitors, pedestrians and different hazards. There’s no query that you just’ll hear what’s happening round you and that may be essential to protecting your self protected on these streets.