Best cheap headphones under £50, including over-ear and in-ear options

Active noise-cancelling (ANC) is one of those features that tend to add extra expense when you’re comparing different headphone models, so it’s impressive to find it in these Soundcore cans that don’t cost more than £50. These often go on offer, going for as little as £37.99 when on sale.

On test for our Soundcore Q20i review, we liked the capable ANC for silencing background noises during our commute or at the office and the sound quality is excellent for the cost. Its battery life is solid, too, and we’re also happy to report that they’re comfortable to wear for a long time. In fact, they’re more comfortable than the Beats Studio Pro model which costs six times as much.

By default, they’re quite a bass-boosted pair of headphones, but it’s possible to tweak this using Soundcore’s companion app, which gives you many different equaliser options to get the best sound out of the cans. The bass boost makes the thumping overpowering, so we’d switch to “Soundcore Signature” and this sounds great for all our music and podcasts. Of course, it’s not audiophile-level, but it’s excellent for the price.

For a noticeable upgrade, we’d suggest you go with the Final UX2000 – they cost just a little more but are often on offer, so you should be able to pick them up for just over £50 at the moment. On this pair, the comfort, sound and ANC impressed us.

JLab reliably makes some of the best cheap earbuds on the market that aren’t from unknown brands. We like how this no-fuss option comes with a built-in USB-C charging cable, so they’re perfect for anyone who tends to leave their cable at home. This does mean that they don’t have a USB-C port, though, which is a shame.

On test, we’ve been impressed by the slight but noticeable upgrades over the JLab Go Air Pop, which used a built-in USB-A cable for charging. For the same £24.99 price, these ones now connect to JLab’s companion app for extra customisation, include an awareness mode to amplify outside sounds, and a "safe hearing" volume limit. They also have multipoint to stay connected to two devices at once and come in a massive range of 13 different vibrant colours.

Unlike their predecessor, they also now have better battery life and faster charging (you’ll get an hour of playtime from a 10-minute charge), plus better connectivity and customisation. We’ve found the ergonomic design relatively comfortable to wear, and the ear tips deliver a secure fit too. The only thing we found is that they could start to “pinch” after a long listening session.

Even though they don’t have noise-cancellation, we find the tips block out lots of ambient noise as well. Overall, they deliver a decent sound quality, compact size and lots of useful features, making them some of our favourite buds under £25.

If you’re after a set of reliable headphones that have a long battery life, we think the Soundcore H30i on-ears are a good value buy. They’re only £39.99 too — and usually drop significantly during sales periods — so they’re also an affordable option.

The headphones weigh just 183g and stay stable during a gym session. The cushions don’t cover your entire ear either, meaning they’re comfortable to wear for a long time — although more padding would be appreciated. Some included features are typically only found in more expensive models, including the huge battery life (up to 70 hours) and a quick five-minute charge can provide about four hours of playback.

The H30i also delivers solid sound quality from its 40mm dynamic drivers, producing a strong bass and a clear mid-range that was decent for most of the test tracks and podcasts we played. The bass, however, can sound a bit muddy, and we didn’t find that the equaliser presets could remedy this.

For the basics though, they’re a good pick. But it’s worth noting that you’ll hear more ambient noise with an on-ear design and those around you may also be able to hear the music you’re playing, depending on the volume level. These also don’t have any noise-cancellation features, but they do deliver a stable Bluetooth connection and handy multipoint to stay connected to two devices simultaneously.

For the super-low price, this is a seriously well-rounded pair of earphones and the first buds we’d recommend to most people on a tight budget.

There’s no ANC, but they’re small and convenient, with a USB-C connection for fast charging and a solid and fun bass-filled sound. However, you’re not stuck with the sound that you get initially. You can tweak the equaliser via the companion app – that’s where you can also turn on a low-lag mode to help with gaming and video calls. They’re comfortable to wear for a long amount of time and, even without noise-cancelling, they block out more than enough external sounds in our testing.

The P20i is an impressive and affordable little package, and as they also stay in our ears well and come with a good range of ear tips so that you’ll get the right fit, we think they are a decent option for the gym too.

We’re quite impressed by the amount of value Soundcore has managed to pack into its well-rounded P30i budget earbuds. They’re small, they’ve got noise-cancelling and transparency modes, app control with loads of sound presets, customisable controls and seven hours of battery life.

They’ve also got a fun innovative feature, which is that the charging case doubles as a phone stand that can hold your handset in a portrait or landscape orientation – it’s ideal for watching TV shows on the train, following along with a cooking video or propping your phone up for a FaceTime call. We’re impressed by how robust it feels and it never seemed like our phone would be unstable when held by it.

The P30i aren’t without a couple of notable drawbacks. They feel like a cheap and plasticky pair of earbuds, the audio quality is quite bass-heavy and only average when compared to key rivals at this price and they weren’t always comfortable until we gave them a good twist in our ears.

If you’re picking these up as someone’s first-ever wireless earbuds, though, they’re a terrific option. And they’re especially great for on-the-go movie lovers who’ll use the phone stand feature. Read our Soundcore P30i review to find out more.

While it’s rare to find proper active noise-cancelling in earbuds that we’d vouch for at a low price point, this is becoming more available. These buds from CMF (a sub-brand of London-based tech startup Nothing) deliver impressive ANC in an affordable package.

We already like the CMF Buds Pro for £49, but the brand now offers many of the features of those buds in this more affordable pair of CMF Buds for £39. That includes noise cancelling, making these good if your earbuds will accompany you on commuter trains or flights. They won't beat the best. But they do a good job of taking those low-frequency rumbles and transforming them into “anti-noise” that won’t distract you from your playlist or podcast.

The charging case isn’t so large that it’s difficult to carry in your pocket, and the earbuds themselves are small and comfortable to wear for hours on end. They have a shape that’s like the AirPods Pro but at a far lower price. You control them with simple taps and while we find these reliable and customisable, it’s odd that there’s no input for a single tap on the touch surface.

The sound is bass-heavy and booming by default, but you can customise this with the equaliser in the app, and it’s a solid sound for pop and electronic music straight out of the box. We do think the plastic on these feels a little cheap but it’s not a major downside given that they’re comfortable, sound good, cancel a lot of noise and have an impressive battery life.

If you prefer a semi-in-ear fit rather than the style of most wireless earbuds that use silicone or foam ear tips for a tight seal, then Soundcore’s K20i is probably the model for you. They’re affordable, fit just like the original AirPods and offer loads of battery life for uninterrupted listening for up to six hours (with six more charges in the case!).

Of course, the semi-in-ear fit is more designed for a slight awareness of your surroundings, a bit like the best open earbuds, and these don’t have any noise-cancelling and may prompt you to turn up the volume of your music to hear it over external noise. If you do, though, you’ll find that those around you might also be able to hear your playlists. That’s just a slight word of warning.

The sound quality performance is decent for the low price, even if we think it’s important to acknowledge that seated earbuds generally deliver a much more balanced sound. With that said, these have more bass than we expected and they sound good if you’re listening to most music, podcasts or audiobooks in a quieter environment like your home office.

Prepare to be shocked at just how good music can sound. If you’ve been yearning for more nuance from your favourite tracks, these wired over-ear cans are a major improvement that’ll allow you to hear the subtleties of vocalists and the small details you’ve been missing.

You’ll need to connect them to a device with a standard audio jack (like a DAB radio or CD player) or use an adapter to get them connected to your phone or iPad.

We find them comfortable to wear for a long time, they’re lightweight enough to carry in your backpack and the design is understated, even with the large logo on the headband. At this price, you won’t find a better value pair for sound quality.

While they’re similar to the similarly priced P20i from Soundcore, the smaller charging case makes them more pocketable, and the more rounded (rather than stem-style) fit may make them more appealing if you’d after a subtler look. We’re big fans and we think these are one of the best options for great sound quality at a reasonable cost. Just like the P20i, they deliver a fantastic battery life without demanding features like active noise-cancelling, giving you nine hours of uninterrupted listening time on a single charge.

They have the same 22 different equaliser presets via the app, and we like the “Soundcore Signature” approach with the “BassUp” switched off. In this mode, they deliver a pleasing sound that has a satisfying amount of bass rumble while reproducing crisp vocals. The treble from these buds isn’t quite as sparkly as what you’ll get from pricier models, but they’re overall a terrific pair if you want pop music to sound fun and engaging. They’re also ideal if you want to use them for podcasts.

The soundstage is also impressive, and they don’t start to sound crackly at higher volumes. Despite the lack of noise cancellation, we’re pleased with the amount of passive isolation available with the ear tips and find them comfortable to wear for a long time. And, like the P20i, they also come with a handy lanyard included. At this price, there aren’t any major downsides – they’re one of the best options for sound under £50.

Do you wish that wireless earbuds were just that much smaller? Little enough to fit on a keychain, perhaps? These JLab earbuds are the most petite pair we’ve ever come across, and they’re fantastic if you find other rival ones too big for your ears, just want something tiny to keep with you at all times, or if you’re after a backup set of headphones in addition to your main ones.

These are capable and convenient, with a decent sound quality for pop music and podcasts, and an app that allows you to tweak an equaliser, set a safe volume limit and customise the bud touch controls to your liking. They may not have noise-cancelling but they do have a “Be Aware” mode to let in outside sounds, which we’ve found great for maintaining a sense of the world around us while listening.

We like that the case has a little built-in loop so you can put them on your keychain and, even though they're tiny, they still offer a substantial battery life. You’ll get continuous listening for over five hours on a single charge, and up to 20 hours of listening once you factor in the charging case. They’re not the best for blocking outside noises or for audiophile quality, but they’re a brilliant little option that delivers great value for the price.

Several of the best headphones for workouts that you’ll find recommended in guides across the internet come with higher price tags than many of us would want to pay for something that might get mishandled when tossed in a gym bag or hastily scrunched into a pocket after a run.

If you’re keeping the budget low, we suggest checking out this JLab pair that delivers the necessary sweat resistance, battery life and secure fit ear hooks to keep them in place during vigorous exercise.

Not convinced by wireless earbuds that you’re worried you might lose down the drain anyway? We understand. That’s why we’ve included several wired options on this list.

One of our favourites is the E11C from Soundmagic, which fits just into our budget at £49.99, but is also available at £37.99 if you’re happy to skip the in-line remote and microphone. If you go for the model with those, though, they’re fantastic for controlling volume and playback without having to dig your phone out of your pocket, and you’ll get an in-line microphone that’s excellent for phone calls.

When it comes to sound, these are fantastic. They pump out an entertaining and rich music reproduction, with fantastic passive isolation from the outside world and loads of detail and clarity. They’re a well-balanced set, and we’d have no complaints with the sonic capabilities, premium finish and comfortable fit at this price. They’re excellent, and we prefer them when compared to several more expensive wired in-ear headphones.