Open-ear earbuds can be a great option on outdoor runs, that open office co-working space, or if you simply want your ears unobstructed by a silicon or memory foam ear tip lodged inside your ear canal. It's just that you might encounter an issue called “auditory masking.” Simply put, when listening to a pair in a quiet environment, they may sound great but as soon as you introduce city traffic noise, or indoor cafe/restaurant noise, those new sounds tend to drown out the music. Bass response all but goes away. Vocals become hard to hear. Traditionally, those have been the trade-offs for having nothing sitting in your ear canal.
This collection of the best open-ear earbuds, led by the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, stands out from a growing pack now that various brands are entering the fray as well. They are the best picks for your ears when you want to set your ear canals free.
Meet the best open-ear earbuds
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Best overall
Bose Ultra Open Earbuds’ feature an extremely comfortable, eye-catching design, and their “Immersive Sound” setting blew me away! Battery life is rated for seven and a half hours but one of their best features, Immersive Audio, cuts that almost in half to four and half hours. A quick 10-minute charge in the case gives you two hours of playtime. No wireless charging or multipoint.
Best for outdoor adventures
Our review of the Shokz OpenFit 2 open earbuds stand out because they come with improved IP55 dust and water resistance. Plus, they sound much better than their predecessors, not only for music but also for call quality. Multipoint lets you stay connected to two devices simultaneously. A physical button replaces the previously finicky touch controls, while battery life goes up to 11 hours, depending on listening conditions.
Best budget pick
The JLab Open Sport open earbuds get you decent sound in a very flexible form factor. There’s no companion app and the touch controls are very simple and intuitive. Best for glasses wearers because you can slide the hooks off and exchange them for a pair of included clips, then mount them directly to the arms of your glasses.
Best alternative style
The Sony LinkBuds Open skirt the line as open earbuds by nestling in your ear but without actually pushing into your ear canal. The unique design pays dividends with excellent passive isolation and surprisingly good audio quality. Bluetooth LE support for Android devices also cuts down latency when watching shows or gaming, which helps when battery life remains steady at 8-9 hours per charge.
Best for hi-res
The Beyerdynamic Verio 200 made themselves easy to like in our review. Already solid sound quality and bass response get a boost with hi-res audio thanks to aptX Lossless codec support. You can always tune the sound yourself through the EQ in the accompanying app to personalize it even further. The lack of wireless charging for the case is vexing but at least the earbuds can play for up to eight hours per charge.
Best workout earbuds
1MORE Fit S50 have some of the longest battery life at up to 11 hours of use. Their IPX7 water resistance rating makes them great for workouts, so they’ll handle the sweatiest workouts, light rain, and some submersion. Some folks may experience fit issues with the ear hooks if they have smaller ears. 1More's penchant for delivering good sound shows itself here as well, making these buds easy to appreciate.
Best battery life
The Soundcore AeroFit Pro open earbuds will get you an impressive 14 hours of playback time with a total of 46 hours if you include the case charging — all verified throughout our review. The Volume Booster EQ helps deliver improved sound quality at lower volumes, though the Soundcore app gives you plenty to work with. These are unique open earbuds in that they also let you attach/detach the neckband.
Most noticeable
In fairness, it's the red variant of the Cleer Audio Arc II Sport that will stand out most but even the black ones are lookers. IPX5 protection focuses on water and sweat so Cleer Audio has runners in mind, just as onboard sensors work to keep your hands off them as much as possible. AptX Adaptive support extends to hi-res audio and the Cleer+ app offers some custom choices as well.
Best budget clip-on
If the clip-on design appeals to your sense of style and comfort, you can get that with a less expensive option in the Soundpeats PearlClip Pro. You sacrifice bass response pretty much anytime you listen through them but you also get consistency and stability that's reasonable for the price. Battery life holds up at up to six hours per charge, while a quick 10-minute charge can get you up to two hours playback in a pinch.
Picking what works for your open ears
Auditory masking is the biggest issue you’ll encounter when deciding which open-ear style earbuds you’re going to rock with. You’re more likely to be listening to them at lower volumes so you don’t dull your situational awareness, and that's why it's important they perform well under those conditions.
This list is a clear example of how this particular earbud category is growing more popular. Improvements are obvious when hearing the Shokz OpenFit 2 or Sony LinkBuds Open. Not to mention admirable performance from the 1MORE Fit S50 and Soundcore’s AeroFit Pro.
What sets Bose apart in terms of situational awareness is that they don’t cover your ear canal at all, allowing for the most unobstructed environmental sound. Since open-ear style ‘buds are so niche, the primary consideration in choosing a pair is likely going to be battery life. Since 11 to 14 hours is far more than you’re going to get out of any active noise canceling earbuds, some shoppers may look at those with battery life comparable to the best ANC earbuds and ask, “What’s the point?” A fair question.
Though Bose had the shortest battery life with Immersive Audio turned on, they are the best overall because when off, they get 7.5 hours (depending on listening conditions). Just 10 minutes in the case gets you two more hours of playback. So, even at 4.5 hours with Immersive Audio on, 20 minutes of case time gets you four more hours, getting you through an eight-hour workday. If you don’t want to fuss with that though, you have my insights and battery stat info to power your purchasing position.
