These Are the Best Budget Headphones Under $150

Let’s face it: while some of the best headphones we’ve tested sound incredible, they don’t come cheap. Believe it or not, there are plenty of affordable options out there that sound good and don’t require you to spend hundreds of dollars.

This list specifically shouts out all the best headphones that are under $150. There’s something for gamers, Android users, or consumers who are looking for good ANC out of everything else.

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Best Overall — Sony WH-CH520

Image: Amazon

Think of the Sony WH-CH520s as a modest, decent pair of headphones that fulfill all your needs without making a big deal about it. They don’t offer much frills, nor are they even close to being flashy. They’re your everyday pair of boring but extremely functional cans.

At just 0.3 pounds, these might be one of the most lightweight headphones you can find, which makes them extremely comfortable to wear all day long. The clamping force is quite decent, too, which adds to their comfortability. There are only buttons—no touch-capacitive controls—on these headphones. Some folks prefer physical controls for their reliability, while others are bothered by compromising their fit a little each time they have to press a button. You should have nothing to worry about unless you belong to the second category.

Sound-wise, don’t expect to be blown away by $60 headphones. The sound is good but won’t push you out of your seat. The same can be said about calls on this device. You can rely on them for basic everyday call needs for less than $100.

Best for Android Devices — Anker Soundcore Space One

Image: Amazon

Anker’s $80 Soundcore Space One over-ear headphones offer a surprisingly fair amount of features for the price. They sport impressive ANC, a comfortable fit, and a decent design, but they also offer some bells and whistles that you’d expect from more expensive headphones.

You get multi-point connectivity for up to two devices and support for AAC, LDAC, and SBC codecs. The LDAC support allows for hi-res streaming on Android devices, but it isn’t common at this price point. The Space One lasts 55 hours on a full charge, but with LDAC enabled, that number goes down to 46.

Best for Comfort — Sennheiser Accentum

Photo: Chris Neill / Gizmodo

The Sennheiser Accentum is best known for its comfort. In terms of design, the Sennheiser Accentum looks like a pair of Momentum 4 but slightly scaled down, with smaller ear cup housings. While the headphones were quite stiff out of the box, thanks to the sturdy headband, I didn’t experience any discomfort after wearing them for prolonged periods of time. That stiffness lends to a firmer seal for the ear cups. The headphones are quite light, which definitely helps with their comfortability.

Performance-wise, there was a nice balance to everything I listened to. The highs and mids were bright and crisp, while the bass was quite robust and thick. Listening to songs like ‘Bombs Over Baghdad’ by Outkast and ‘You Got Me’ by The Roots, I’m struck by how punchy the kick drums are. I couldn’t detect much distortion even when pushed to a higher volume. Read More — Chris Neill

Best for Gaming — SteelSeries Arctis 5

Image: SteelSeries

SteelSeries claims it’s specifically designed the Arctis 5 with PC gaming in mind. You get separate game and chat controls, DTS surround sound, and dual-zone RGB lighting on this $100 headset. It’s a pretty no-frills headset that has a fairly simple but aesthetically pleasing design. It sports a lightweight body which is something gamers look for since they know they’re going to be wearing their gaming headset for hours.

The Arctis 5 sports S1 speaker drivers guarantee low-distortion audio, so you can hear the details better during your game. In terms of compatibility, the Arctis 5 works with PC, Mac, and gaming consoles with a Type-A or 3.5mm connection. Its ClearCast mic is Discord-certified and promises “studio-quality voice clarity” along with ambient sound cancelation. It’s also retractable, so you won’t look like a shoutcaster when you’re not using it for gaming.

Best for ANC — Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless

Image: Amazon

Anker’s Soundcore Life Q30 headphones offer shockingly good ANC, considering their very cheap $80 price. Their earcups do an excellent job at passive noise isolation, even without enabling ANC. However, the earcups alone are better at canceling high-frequency sounds. The ANC, when activated, is great at picking up and muting most of your low and mid-frequency noise.

The Life Q30 headphones are very serious about silencing your surroundings. They offer three ANC modes: indoor, outdoor, and transport. Indoor and outdoor modes provide relatively weaker canceling compared to the transport mode, which is able to catch everything the passive noise isolation on the headphones misses.

This list is updated regularly with new recommendations and product forecasts.

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