The 6 best budget earbuds of 2025, tested by audio experts

The EarFun Air Pro 4 earbuds may not come from one of the best-known audio brands, but they have some of the best battery life and noise cancellation we’ve experienced in any earbud, not just those in the budget price range. Plus, at $79.99, they truly embody not sacrificing features while remaining affordable.

Frankly, these headphones don’t offer as many features while costing less than $100 – which is why they’re our top pick.

While it’s possible to use them right out of the box, with the app these headphones offer more, including five different levels of noise cancellation. Although the differences between some modes are negligible, the “strong ANC” setting doesn’t bother (even if it had the the least detectable whistling without music), and the “wind noise cancellation” setting actually attenuates the noise of a bathroom fan and hairdryer even more than standard ANC. Basically noise cancellation work and felt on par with headphones and earphones that cost double their price. Additionally, having different levels of ANC is not a common feature on cheaper models. Or more expensive headphones – neither the Apple AirPods line nor the Bose QuietComfort lines offer these features.

Besides the impressive ANC, these earbuds fit comfortably and stay in place even during runs (which isn’t always easy for earbuds without stems). Battery life lasted an impressive amount of time, allowing us to recharge the case just once after a week of regular use. A light indicator on the case also easily shows you how much juice you have left. While we waited for these headphones to start showing their price, we thought they might struggle with their multipoint connection, but they easily connected and switched between two devices, and easily switched between two selected devices using the app. Oh, and they sounded great, with the app offering custom, preset EQ (which, again, really isn’t a feature given at this price point, or prices $50 higher).

So were there any downsides? The case was a bit bulky and the touch controls remained finicky, even after getting used to how they worked (but you can turn them off). If EarFun switched to one-button for on-ear controls, these headphones might just be perfect, but since they’re at their current price, we’re really not complaining.

These are without a doubt the best budget headphones you can find.