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TechRadar
TechRadar
Ruth Hamilton

Hunting for a pair of headphones that won't break the bank? These sub-$70 / £65 pairs all punch above their price tag

Three pairs of affordable headphones.

On the hunt for a pair of headphones that will deliver satisfying sound without clearing out your bank account? Good affordable headphones are tricky to come by, but they do exist — you just need to know where to look.

Here at TechRadar, we test dozens of pairs of headphones every year, and in amongst them we've unearthed some wallet-friendly wonders. I asked TechRadar's audio specialists which headphones they'd recommend to buyers on a budget, and rounded up their suggestions for this article.

If it's true wireless in-ears you're after, you'd struggle to do better than the Nothing Ear (a) buds, which Audio Editor Becky Scarrott awarded a perfect five stars, calling them "a resounding home run" for the British startup and praising the noise cancellation, sound quality and battery life in particular. In the over-ear arena, Becky loves the CMF Pro. In her tests, she was impressed with the "superb" sound quality, and pleasantly surprised to discover "the sort of... personal sound profile curation [we're] more used to seeing in headphones much higher up the food chain".

Read on for more budget-maximizing buys — and hit the 'View details' button for a summary of what we thought of them in our tests, plus links to the full reviews.

Top cheap earbuds and headphones

Nothing Ear (a)

Read our full review

Pros

  • Fun, zealous, expansive sound
  • Vastly improved active noise cancellation
  • Smaller, more pocketable case

Cons

  • No wireless charging support
  • No flagship sound profile curation

JLab Go Pods ANC

Read our full review

Pros

  • Solid ANC
  • Lightweight build
  • Truly low price

Cons

  • Poor eartip fit
  • Lean battery life
  • Aggressive transparency mode

Soundpeats Clip1

Read our full review

Pros

  • Fantastic listening test
  • Comfortable build
  • Competitive value

Cons

  • Low max volume
  • Cheap-feeling case
  • Touch control issues

OneOdio Focus A6

Read our full review

Pros

  • Sensational sound quality
  • Extensive software features
  • Comfy, quality construction

Cons

  • On-ear controls are a little sensitive
  • ANC is good rather than game-changing

CMF Headphone Pro

Read our full review

Pros

  • Excellent hearing tests; unexpected at the level
  • Emotive, circumaural sound
  • Exemplary battery life

Cons

  • ANC isn't amazing
  • Energy slider feels a tad gimmicky
  • No hard carry case or USB-C charger in the box

Huawei FreeArc

Read our full review

Pros

  • Top-tier sound
  • Competitive price
  • Comfortable fit

Cons

  • App download pains
  • Middling battery life
  • Would benefit from ANC

Sony WH-CH720

Read our full review

Pros

  • Great sound balance
  • Lots of detail in audio
  • Effective noise cancellation
  • Full of useful features

Cons

  • Sound feels constrained
  • Noise cancellation leaks in low sounds
  • Plastic feels a little cheap
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