Best Headsets for Working From Home in 2024 [CNET]

Our Experts

What’s the best headset or headphone for your home office?

If you’ve been working from home, you know it comes with its own unique set of challenges. From random interruptions and loud background noises to choppy audio connections, working from home can be tricky to navigate. However, a good pair of headphones could make your experience a little bit easier. Of the many headsets we tested, the Jabra Evolve2 65 Flex were the best headphones for working at home. From active noise cancellation to excellent call quality, we found plenty of other headphones for working, too.

Over the last few years, I’ve tested dozens of headsets as more people have shifted to working from home. When we test headsets for working from home, we evaluate not only how well they perform for calls (and how well they reduce background noise when on a call) but how comfortable they are, how they sound when you listen to music and what extra features they might have. Those extra features can include active noise cancellation and multipoint Bluetooth pairing, which allows you to pair the headset with two devices at the same time (a phone or computer, for example) and switch audio between them. Strong battery life is also important.

You may specifically be looking for headphones designed to work with Unified Communications applications and certified for Skype for Business, optimized for Microsoft Lync and suitable for softphones from Cisco, Avaya and Skype. I’ve included some UC headphones on this list, but the majority of these are mainstream consumer headphones that also work well on the go.

Read more: Best Earbuds for Phone Calls for 2024

Best headsets and headphones for working from home of 2024

OpenRun (formerly Aeropex) bone-conduction headphones into a more communications-friendly headset with an integrated boom microphone called the OpenComm ($140), which remains available. The second-generation OpenComm 2 UC costs more than the original, but it has an upgraded Bluetooth 5.1 chipset that improves performance a bit and now allows for the firmware upgrades that are required for Zoom certification. Additionally, the microphone has moved from the left ear to the right and a convenient mute button has been added to the boom microphone — an important addition. 

Since these leave your ears open — the sound is conducted through your cheekbone — they aren’t for people who want to seal their ears out from outside noise. Rather, the idea is that you can hear everything around you without having anything covering your ears or jammed inside them. The headset is quite comfortable to wear. Some folks find that liberating and these do feature excellent noise reduction for calls, as callers told me they heard very little background noise even when I was out on the noisy streets of New York. 

While the Shokz are arguably the best-sounding bone-conduction headphones, they aren’t great-sounding for music because they’re lacking in the bass department. But they’re great for speech, so they work very well as a headset for making calls and listening to podcasts or audiobooks. These also have multipoint-Bluetooth pairing, so you can pair them with your phone and PC and easily switch to your phone if a call comes in while you’re on your computer. And they come with either a USB-A or USB-C wireless dongle (you choose) that you plug into your computer for quick and reliable wireless connectivity.  

As long as you don’t mind the boom microphone, you can use the OpenComm 2 for sporting activities as well and are favorites for runners who want to keep their ears open to hear the outside world for safety reasons. They’re also water-resistant. The only downside is they require a proprietary charging cable instead of USB-C. Battery life is rated at 16 hours of talk time and 8 hours of listening.

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A few years ago Shokz turned its OpenRun (formerly Aeropex) bone-conduction headphones into a more communications-friendly headset with an integrated boom microphone called the OpenComm ($140), which remains available. The second-generation OpenComm 2 UC costs more than the original, but it has an upgraded Bluetooth 5.1 chipset that improves performance a bit and now allows for the firmware upgrades that are required for Zoom certification. Additionally, the microphone has moved from the left ear to the right and a convenient mute button has been added to the boom microphone — an important addition. 

Since these leave your ears open — the sound is conducted through your cheekbone — they aren’t for people who want to seal their ears out from outside noise. Rather, the idea is that you can hear everything around you without having anything covering your ears or jammed inside them. The headset is quite comfortable to wear. Some folks find that liberating and these do feature excellent noise reduction for calls, as callers told me they heard very little background noise even when I was out on the noisy streets of New York. 

While the Shokz are arguably the best-sounding bone-conduction headphones, they aren’t great-sounding for music because they’re lacking in the bass department. But they’re great for speech, so they work very well as a headset for making calls and listening to podcasts or audiobooks. These also have multipoint-Bluetooth pairing, so you can pair them with your phone and PC and easily switch to your phone if a call comes in while you’re on your computer. And they come with either a USB-A or USB-C wireless dongle (you choose) that you plug into your computer for quick and reliable wireless connectivity.  

As long as you don’t mind the boom microphone, you can use the OpenComm 2 for sporting activities as well and are favorites for runners who want to keep their ears open to hear the outside world for safety reasons. They’re also water-resistant. The only downside is they require a proprietary charging cable instead of USB-C. Battery life is rated at 16 hours of talk time and 8 hours of listening.

Vision Pro, Apple’s upcoming wearable headset that’s set to be released in early 2024 and costs $3,499. Is it possible that new acoustic architecture makes the buds sound subtly different with current devices like the iPhone? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, the AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C) are easy to recommend to Apple users despite their high price.

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Apple not only swapped in USB-C for Lightning connectivity in its new iPhone 15 models, but it made the switch with the AirPods Pro (second generation). The new AirPods Pro 2 with MagSafe (USB-C) are nearly identical to their Lightning predecessor, delivering the same excellent sound, noise canceling and voice-calling performance. That said, they offer some other small upgrades, including additional dust-resistance and a new acoustic architecture that allows for Lossless Audio with the Vision Pro, Apple’s upcoming wearable headset that’s set to be released in early 2024 and costs $3,499. Is it possible that new acoustic architecture makes the buds sound subtly different with current devices like the iPhone? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, the AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C) are easy to recommend to Apple users despite their high price.

over-ear Go Work headphone that costs $70 and does sound a little better.

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Best JLab|Solid headphone and headset for its modest price with ample bass and clarity plus an integrated boom microphone and multipoint Bluetooth pairing.

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Known for its value headphones and earbuds, JLab offers a pair of on-ear headphones with an integrated boom microphone (it can be rotated up when just listening to music) and multipoint Bluetooth pairing so you can connect them to your phone and computer simultaneously. JLab’s Go Work headset may not be great, but it delivers better-than-expected performance for a modest price. They’re also comfortable to wear with a lightweight design. You won’t mistake these for premium headphones, but the build quality means that they are among the best headphones for work for around $50.

Battery life is rated at up to 45 hours at moderate volume levels, and you can mute calls using the multifunction button (an LED lights up at the end of the boom mic when the call is muted). I wouldn’t call the sound quality for music listening and the headset performance stellar, but it’s decent, particularly for the price. For music listening, there’s ample bass and clarity and a cable is included for wired use. The headphones charge via USB-C.

Note that JLab also sells on over-ear Go Work headphone that costs $70 and does sound a little better.

JBL’s Tour Pro 2 earbuds, the Poly Voyager Free 60 Plus UC earbuds also have a touchscreen display embedded in their charging case. The display isn’t quite as fancy as the one on the JBL case (it’s mostly monochrome), but these are among the first earbuds to have a case with a mini control panel integrated into it. Additionally, the Free 60 Plus UC case also turns into a Bluetooth transceiver for inflight entertainment systems (you plug the case into the 3.5mm headphone port). I also liked how you can store the USB-A Bluetooth dongle in the charging case when you’re not using it with your computer. 

Aside from the tricked out case, the bigl strengths of the Poly Voyager Free 60 are their comfortable fit, excellent voice-calling performance for video calls (they have three-mic array in each bud), solid noice canceling and very good sound quality. Equipped with 10mm drivers, they might not offer quite as good sound quality for music as other premium earbuds in this price range, but there’s good depth and punch to the bass, decent clarity and they have a pleasant sound profile overall. They support the AAC and AptX audio codecs as well as LC3 when making video calls, Poly says. Battery life is rated at up to 5.5 hours with noise canceling on. 

I was able to easily switch between using the buds with my computer (with the USB dongle) and my iPhone. While they worked well for making cell-phone calls indoors and outdoors in quieter environments, callers said they could hear a good amount of background noise when I was making calls in noisier environments. Poly says it’s working to improve noise reduction for cell-phone calls with a firmware update later this year. The earbuds can be updated via the Poly Lens app for Desktop, iOS or Android that also features a variety of settings you can play around with.

Note that these earbuds are available in a non-UC version with a standard charging case for $200 or $100 less.

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Like JBL’s Tour Pro 2 earbuds, the Poly Voyager Free 60 Plus UC earbuds also have a touchscreen display embedded in their charging case. The display isn’t quite as fancy as the one on the JBL case (it’s mostly monochrome), but these are among the first earbuds to have a case with a mini control panel integrated into it. Additionally, the Free 60 Plus UC case also turns into a Bluetooth transceiver for inflight entertainment systems (you plug the case into the 3.5mm headphone port). I also liked how you can store the USB-A Bluetooth dongle in the charging case when you’re not using it with your computer. 

Aside from the tricked out case, the bigl strengths of the Poly Voyager Free 60 are their comfortable fit, excellent voice-calling performance for video calls (they have three-mic array in each bud), solid noice canceling and very good sound quality. Equipped with 10mm drivers, they might not offer quite as good sound quality for music as other premium earbuds in this price range, but there’s good depth and punch to the bass, decent clarity and they have a pleasant sound profile overall. They support the AAC and AptX audio codecs as well as LC3 when making video calls, Poly says. Battery life is rated at up to 5.5 hours with noise canceling on. 

I was able to easily switch between using the buds with my computer (with the USB dongle) and my iPhone. While they worked well for making cell-phone calls indoors and outdoors in quieter environments, callers said they could hear a good amount of background noise when I was making calls in noisier environments. Poly says it’s working to improve noise reduction for cell-phone calls with a firmware update later this year. The earbuds can be updated via the Poly Lens app for Desktop, iOS or Android that also features a variety of settings you can play around with.

Note that these earbuds are available in a non-UC version with a standard charging case for $200 or $100 less.

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