The 7 Greatest Open Ear Earbuds and Headphones of 2024

If you are going to buy an independently reviewed services or products by way of a hyperlink on our web site, Rolling Stone could obtain an affiliate fee.

One of the best noise-cancelling headphones are designed to insulate you from distractions, however there are occasions when tuning out your environment isn’t an possibility. From working outside to listening for the subsequent station on a prepare commute, the very best open ear earbuds and headphones enable for situational consciousness with out compromising audio high quality.

At a Look: The Greatest Open-Ear Earbuds

It’s a distinct segment however rising market, with manufacturers providing extra open-ear choices than ever. Open-ear earbuds comprise a broad vary of types, with designs starting from ear cuffs, earbuds with ear hooks, and bone-conduction headphones. What they’ve in widespread is leaving the ear canal open.

There are a selection of benefits to open ear earbuds. The most important benefit is permitting the wearer to be attuned to their environment, which is why they’re notably standard with runners and cyclists who work out outside. They’re not only for athletes, although — staying conscious could be helpful at work, on commutes, or whereas merely strolling across the neighborhood. Along with consciousness, open-ear earbuds could be helpful for many who battle to seek out snug becoming in-ear earbuds.

To search out the very best open ear earbuds, we began with manufacturers we belief and have used previously. The entire choices beneath we put to the take a look at ourselves. We used them in quite a lot of settings, starting from out of doors bike rides to workplace work, evaluating them on audio high quality, consolation, workout-friendliness, and portability. These are our prime picks for the very best open-ear earbuds of 2025.

The Greatest Open-Ear Earbuds and Headphones

The steep price ticket could trigger hesitation amongst runners and cyclists fearful about dropping these down a runoff grate, and the IPX4 ranking is middling. However regardless of these drawbacks, Bose’s Open Earbuds had been the pair I reached for most frequently, together with for exercises.

These earbuds are surprisingly safe, regardless of the weird match that clips across the ear. They had been in a position to deal with sweaty bike rides throughout uneven terrain with minimal motion, and the comparatively compact case makes them simple to tackle the go.

The earbuds have a bodily playback button, which turns out to be useful in stopping unintended touches throughout exercises. The drivers do a superb job of angling the sound towards the ear whereas leaving the ear canal open. Crucially, Bose put audio high quality first in designing the Open Earbuds, that means they’re not only for exercises.

The weird design could take some getting used to — they will exert some stress on the outer ear, however they get extra snug with put on. The most important downside is the value — $300 at retail is steep for a pair of earbuds. It’s the identical value as Bose’s QC Extremely earbuds, which have noise cancelling.

The robust audio efficiency, portability, and usefulness for exercises and on a regular basis put on in the end put the Bose Open Earbuds excessive, regardless of their steep price ticket.

Shokz earbuds have been standard with runners and cyclists for over a decade, and the model pioneered the bone conduction class. The model’s OpenFit 2 earbuds, launched in 2025, use “air conduction” as an alternative, primarily a driver positioned close to the opening of the ear canal. The result’s a crisper, much less muddy sound in comparison with the considerably muffled efficiency of true bone conduction headphones.

The OpenFit 2 earbuds are available a compact charging case that’s simple to tackle the go, in contrast to the model’s OpenRun headphones, which have a band connecting the 2 earbuds. They’re among the many best-sounding earbuds on this class, however you lose out on some constancy like several open earbuds.

The OpenFit 2 earbuds are designed with exercises in thoughts, however that’s not their solely use case. They’re snug sufficient for all-day put on on the workplace, and the open design retains you conscious of any conversations. Plus, multipoint compatibility makes it simple to remain related to your cellphone and laptop computer for any calls.

The standout function for me is the controls. Shokz added each a contact sensor and a bodily button. The sensor could be turned off or used for a voice assistant, whereas the customizable button controls (on every bud) management playback and quantity.

Nothing is understood for its use of clear, see-through plastic that creates a boldly minimalist look, and so they utilized that design to the Nothing Ear (Open) earbuds. They’re among the many best-sounding open-ear earbuds, and at $149, they’re extra reasonably priced than Shokz or Bose.

The case is lengthy however impressively slim, making it pretty simple to slide right into a pocket. The earbuds themselves additionally really feel light-weight, and the earhooks maintain them safe. That mentioned, the drivers are inclined to jut out from the ears, making them barely conspicuous.

Like my different favourite earbuds from Shokz and Bose, the Nothing Ear (Open) earbuds function a bodily, tactile button. It’s a welcome function on any exercise earbud, because it helps forestall unintended touches. The button is considerably small and laborious to seek out at first, however the controls are simple to get used to, and so they’re additionally customizable.

The earbuds have an honest 8 hours of playback with the earbuds or 30 hours with the case, and the IP54 water resistant ranking is adequate for many exercises.

Soundcore, frankly, would possibly make too many earbuds. However the AeroClip earbuds are successful, and a real shock. They’re much like the C40i earbuds or Bose’s Extremely Open earbuds, with a clip-on design that grips the ear’s antihelix. The clip-on fashion is a superb possibility in the event you really feel like earbuds with ear hooks compete with the valuable ear actual property that’s shared with glasses.

What makes these stand out is the sound high quality. Whereas Anker’s earbuds have all the time excelled in battery life, consolation, and options, sound high quality wasn’t all the time its strongest go well with. With the AeroClip earbuds, Anker has stepped up its sport, delivering impressively crisp audio efficiency for a pair of open-ear earbuds.

They’re additionally surprisingly snug, exerting minimal stress on the ear with out sacrificing a safe match. A number of ear grips are included to go well with completely different ear sizes. The case itself is just too cumbersome for a pair of pants pockets, though it may moderately match right into a jacket pocket.

The controls are on the cuff itself, with a customizable double or triple faucet. There’s no single faucet possibility, and the earbuds are considerably sluggish to answer faucets, making the controls considerably awkward.

The AeroFit 2 options ear hooks for a safe, workout-friendly design. The earbuds have a formidable battery life, and so they’re snug, too, due to the versatile silicone hooks and contoured design that alleviates stress on the tragus.

The earbuds are additionally adjustable, with 4 positions that click on distinctively, making it simpler to seek out probably the most snug place. They’ve quite a lot of options that you just may not anticipate finding on $100 earbuds. The case options wi-fi charging and the earbuds have multipoint pairing for seamless connections with a number of units like laptops and telephones. The intuitive app additionally options customizable EQ and quite a lot of sound profiles.

Like all earbuds with ear hooks, they will intrude with eyewear, although I discovered these to be comparatively simple to put on with sun shades. Soundcore’s audio high quality didn’t blow me away, but it surely wasn’t tinny, in contrast to different finances earbuds.

The comfortably designed earpieces contour to the form of the ear, and the earbuds sound clear sufficient for out of doors exercises with out compromising consciousness. Mixed with Soundcore’s nice app options, the AeroFit 2 is a prime contender for the very best open ear earbuds.

Sony’s LinkBuds Open options one of the distinctive designs, with a donut-shaped driver that leaves the ear canal open however solves the too-distant sound of some open-ear earbuds. The physique of the earbud has a smooth silicone wing to suit securely within the ear.

The case could be very compact, too, making these a terrific choice to tackle the go. They arrive in a variety of colours (together with an Olivia Rodrigo-approved purple colorway).

The earbuds are extra inconspicuous than the statement-making Bose Open Earbuds or the aggressively workout-coded Shokz headphones. These are additionally the uncommon open-ear earbuds with in-ear detection — popping an earbud out pauses the music.

They provide strong sound high quality, although the audio profile is a bit of thinner than a few of our different picks. The most important downside is the match. There’s only one wing measurement (Sony calls these air-fitting supporters), and so they didn’t sit notably securely in my ear. I wasn’t fearful after I was strolling round or sitting and dealing, however I’d be hesitant to put on these on notably intense exercises.

The redesigned OpenRun headphones have a hybrid design that mixes bone conduction with air conduction — primarily a driver dealing with the ear, which improves the audio high quality. The audio high quality shocked me, in a great way. 

To be clear, there may be nonetheless a trade-off; these received’t sound pretty much as good as the very best in-ear earbuds. However they don’t sound tinny or distant, and if protecting your ears unobstructed is necessary to you, these are as open as open-ear earbuds get, with the drivers not overlaying any a part of the ear. 

These lose some factors within the portability division, because the case is extra akin to a headphones case than an earbuds case (to be honest, Shokz doesn’t name these earbuds in any respect). The shortage of portability is probably not a problem in the event you’re simply utilizing these as working or biking earbuds and don’t plan to take them off till you get residence. Regardless of the band connecting the drivers, they’re surprisingly simple to put on with a motorbike helmet and sun shades. The Shokz app can be easy, that includes a easy menu of EQ modes, together with customizable settings. 

At $180, these earbuds aren’t the costliest of the bunch, however they’re not particularly low cost, both, notably contemplating they’re not as versatile as others on this listing. They is probably not the primary choose for on a regular basis headphones, however these are a terrific possibility in the event you’re searching for a pair of workout-first earbuds. 

For those who just like the design of Bose’s Open Earbuds however aren’t as eager on the value, Soundcore’s C40i earbuds are a terrific different. The sound high quality isn’t as spectacular, and the earbuds are much less versatile, however they ship a equally unobtrusive design that leaves the ear open for optimum consciousness.

Like Bose’s Open Earbuds, the C40i earbuds have a helpful bodily button to regulate playback. The app additionally permits you to customise the controls, with totally customizable controls that allow you to set the capabilities of a single press, a double press, or a protracted press on the left or proper earbud.

These earbuds even have multi-point pairing to simply connect with a number of units, although the case is just not wi-fi charging suitable. The earbuds sit securely, with out exerting an excessive amount of stress, making them well-suited for exercises and all-day sporting.  

JBL’s Soundgear Sense earbuds have a sturdy construct, with an IP54 ranking for mud and water safety. The hooks present a safe match, making them well-suited to exercises. They’re additionally nice for staying conscious due to the air-conduction design, though they do hinder the opening of the ear greater than a few of our different picks.

The sound high quality is strong, and the customizable EQ in JBL’s app means that you can make fast changes for extra bass or a extra impartial sound profile. Nonetheless, these earbuds are overly delicate and vulnerable to unintended touches.

They’re additionally not as snug because the equally designed Anker AeroFit 2. The laborious plastic physique of the Soundgear Sense exerts stress on the tragus, which Anker cleverly designed round with a contoured silicone construct.  

The Soundgear Sense earbuds sound good, match securely, and aren’t overly costly, however they’re not as snug to put on for prolonged durations and the controls may very well be improved.

How We Discovered The Greatest Open-Ear Earbuds and Headphones

When testing the very best open-ear earbuds and headphones, I began with manufacturers that we’ve trusted previously, together with Bose, Soundcore, and Sony, and in addition sought out manufacturers identified for innovation within the open-ear headphone market, similar to Shokz.

I put every of the headphones to the take a look at, usually in quite a lot of settings like strolling round on a busy road, sitting in an workplace, and understanding, and wore every for lengthy sufficient to guage components like consolation and audio high quality.

I then evaluated tech options and the apps’ performance, noting the Ingress Safety of every, checking which pairs had customizable EQ, and noting bonus options like wi-fi charging.