Best cheap true-wireless earbuds in 2021: Top AirPods alternatives for $100 or less – CNET [CNET]

If you’re like me, you may have poked around Amazon looking for cheap wireless earbuds in place of Apple’s AirPods, which start at around $120 and jump to around $160 if you want a wireless charging case. Meanwhile, the AirPods Pro, which add active noise canceling, cost around $200 (read our in-depth review of the AirPods Pro). However, there are plenty of bargain wireless earphones out there with high ratings that work with iPhones, Android phones and everything in between. The question is, which of these earbuds are actually any good?

In the past, a lot of discount AirPod Pro or AirPod clones, including sports earbuds, noise-canceling earbuds and other wireless Bluetooth earbuds, didn’t deliver particularly good sound for music listening. Nor were they all that great for making calls. But an increasing number of wireless headphone models beat the “meh” cheap AirPods alternatives classification, and a few are actually quite decent true-wireless headphones. They have surprisingly sound performance (for their low price anyway), filter out background noise during calls, can pair with Android or Apple devices, have good battery life, offer touch controls and more.

Read more: Best open wireless earbuds that aren’t AirPods

Here’s a look at the best AirPod alternatives among the current crop of budget true wireless earphones I’ve tested: All are under $100, several cost less than $50, and all are truly wireless. Equipped with Bluetooth 5.0 or higher, they also all maintain solid wireless audio connections with minimal Bluetooth audio-pairing hiccups. They also worked well for making phone calls, and, in some cases, really well. I’ve also included info on battery life, as well as how water-resistant they are in case you’re interested in using these for running or gym use. I’ll update this “cheap” true wireless ‘bud list as new affordable earphones are released.

Read more: Best noise-canceling true-wireless earbuds of 2021