Then there’s our panel of experts, including Brent Butterworth, a Wirecutter staff writer with decades of experience, and John Higgins, a session musician, sound editor, and occasional Wirecutter writer (and Lauren’s spouse) with a music master’s degree from the University of Southern California.

Wireless earbuds are for people who want to listen wirelessly and who want their money to go toward convenience, sound, comfort, and call quality rather than other features such as heavy sweat resistance or the best noise cancellation. Whether you’re sitting at your desk, in a plane or train, or in the back of an automobile, any of these wireless earbud picks should offer a reliable way to transmit great-sounding music to your ears and a clear-sounding voice to your phone-call recipients. On- or over-ear Bluetooth headphones are also capable of hitting these points, but they can get in the way of glasses and are quite bulky compared with earbuds.

This best in-ear headphones guide covers both traditional Bluetooth earbuds, in which the two earbuds are connected via a cable (usually referred to as a collar or a neckband), and what we call “true wireless” Bluetooth earbuds, which look a little like hearing aids and don’t have a cord connecting them either to your music device or to each other. The microphones are built into the earbuds themselves, as are any track and volume controls, since no cable is available to support a traditional in-line remote. Because these earbuds are small, many don’t have more than a five-hour battery life, although the new Bluetooth chipsets that started being used in late 2019 allow for longer battery life. Most recharge in their carrying case.

True wireless earbuds have become increasingly popular because of how light and unobtrusive they feel. As such, many manufacturers are now focusing their attention on releasing new earbuds in this style, which is why all of our best earbuds are true wireless. However, if you prefer a connected-earbud style, we recommend some traditional Bluetooth earbuds in the Other wireless earbuds we like section.

Many of the headphones in this category are resistant to water or sweat but aren’t designed for high-impact or very wet conditions. For workouts, we suggest looking at our guide to the best workout headphones.

Although we did take active noise cancelling into account as a bonus feature for the models in this guide, if you fly a lot or need earbuds with the very best noise cancelling possible, check out our guide to the best noise-cancelling headphones.

Keep in mind that most manufacturers design their wireless earbuds to work specifically with mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. If you’re planning to use your wireless earbuds with a computer, you may find it difficult, if not impossible, to get a reliable Bluetooth connection, depending on your computer’s operating system. We test wireless earbuds using an Apple laptop and generally have success pairing them. However, occasionally some computers may run into driver issues when it comes to connecting Bluetooth audio devices. Sometimes it is a matter of updating your computer’s driver software or making adjustments in the control panel. But occasionally, no amount of tweaking will make a difference. We recommend testing out your earbuds with your computer within the return-policy window to ensure they’re compatible.

If you want to see what wireless earbud options exist for even less money, you can turn to our guide to the best earbuds under $50; just know that, when it comes to Bluetooth earbuds, you often get what you pay for, especially in audio quality.

How we picked the best wireless earbuds

To find the best wireless earbuds for daily use, we first took into account every Bluetooth earbud model from more than 100 reputable manufacturers that put their focus on audio quality and mic quality. But that was simply too many to test, even for our dedicated panelists. So we narrowed down the list using some key criteria:

• Great sound quality and a secure, comfortable fit are of utmost importance for wireless headphones you’ll use throughout the day. We noted which earbuds got the worst reviews from the pros and disregarded any with consistently poor reviews. Our panelists generally prefer the comfort and convenience of true wireless designs over the feel of collar-style wireless earbuds, and that’s reflected in our main picks. But fit is even more crucial with true wireless designs: If a true wireless earbud falls out while you’re on the go, it’s just one wrong bounce away from being gone for good.
• Voice-call quality is also key for daily-use earbuds, since you’ll likely be taking a lot of calls on them. In this regard, they should ideally match or beat the corded earbuds that came with your phone.
• Good battery life is another must-have feature in a set of Bluetooth earbuds that you’ll use every day. That means at least seven hours for traditional earbuds and four to five hours for true wireless designs with a charging case—the more, the better.
• The earbuds should also be splash and sweat resistant. Although these headphones aren’t designed for working out, you never know when you’ll get caught in a heat wave or a downpour on your commute.
• Finally, we think you should spend less than $250 for a set of true wireless headphones with these features and around $100 for wireless headphones where the two earbuds are connected by a wire or collar (although we allow a price closer to $150 for extra features such as active noise cancelling). That’s enough money to obtain high build quality as well as good sound from a company with a decent track record and reliable customer support.

We also checked out professional reviews of wireless earbuds from outlets such as CNET and PCMag as well as customer and fan reviews on websites like Amazon, Best Buy, and Head-Fi to further fine-tune our list. Over the past five years, we’ve spent 100-plus hours testing more than 200 pairs of wireless earbuds.