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

On the hunt for a pair of headphones that will deliver satisfying sound without clearing out your bank account?

<![CDATA[ <article> <p>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. </p><p>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. </p><p>If it's true wireless in-ears you're after, you'd struggle to do better than the <a href="https://www.techradar.com/audio/earbuds-airpods/nothing-ear-a-review">Nothing Ear (a)</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 <a href="https://www.techradar.com/audio/wireless-headphones/cmf-by-nothing-headphone-pro-review">CMF Pro</a>. 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". </p><p>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. </p><h3 class="article-body__section" id="section-top-cheap-earbuds-and-headphones"><span>Top cheap earbuds and headphones</span></h3> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_standard" data-id="f4ab9022-8683-11f1-8298-3fc02ccafc1a"> <div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:100.00%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/NSLxC3USyoxkqi78CM7wtZ.jpg" alt="Nothing Ear A on a white background."></p></div> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>Nothing</div> <div class="featured__title">Ear (a)</div> <div class="stars__reviews"><span itemprop="reviewRating" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Rating" class="chunk rating"><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><meta itemprop="bestRating" content="100.0" /><meta itemprop="worstRating" content="0.0" /><meta itemprop="ratingValue" content="100" /></span></div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p><p><a href="https://www.techradar.com/audio/earbuds-airpods/nothing-ear-a-review">Read our full review</a></p></p> </div> <div class="pro-con"><div class="list-pros-wrapper"><h4 class="list-pros-label">Pros</h4><ul class="list-pros"><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Fun, zealous, expansive sound </li><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Vastly improved active noise cancellation</li><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Smaller, more pocketable case </li></ul></div><div class="list-cons-wrapper"><h4 class="list-cons-label">Cons</h4><ul class="list-cons"><li class='list-item list-item-cons'>No wireless charging support</li><li class='list-item list-item-cons'>No flagship sound profile curation</li></ul></div></div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_standard" data-id="f4ab913a-8683-11f1-9392-1fe345c048de"> <div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:100.00%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/QzSfGsBf7jHzwAeQYrS3og.png" alt="JLab Go Pods ANC"></p></div> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>JLab </div> <div class="featured__title">Go Pods ANC</div> <div class="stars__reviews"><span itemprop="reviewRating" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Rating" class="chunk rating"><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><meta itemprop="bestRating" content="100.0" /><meta itemprop="worstRating" content="0.0" /><meta itemprop="ratingValue" content="80" /></span></div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p><p><a href="https://www.techradar.com/audio/earbuds-airpods/jlab-go-pods-anc-review">Read our full review</a></p></p> </div> <div class="pro-con"><div class="list-pros-wrapper"><h4 class="list-pros-label">Pros</h4><ul class="list-pros"><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Solid ANC</li><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Lightweight build</li><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Truly low price</li></ul></div><div class="list-cons-wrapper"><h4 class="list-cons-label">Cons</h4><ul class="list-cons"><li class='list-item list-item-cons'>Poor eartip fit</li><li class='list-item list-item-cons'>Lean battery life</li><li class='list-item list-item-cons'>Aggressive transparency mode</li></ul></div></div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_standard" data-id="f4ab91b2-8683-11f1-8df2-2b228c4b2dd7"> <div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:125.06%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PoaEspRCnuDCMV2B92iPdC.jpg" alt="SoundPeats Clip1 open-ear earbuds"></p></div> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>Soundpeats</div> <div class="featured__title">Clip1</div> <div class="stars__reviews"><span itemprop="reviewRating" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Rating" class="chunk rating"><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><meta itemprop="bestRating" content="100.0" /><meta itemprop="worstRating" content="0.0" /><meta itemprop="ratingValue" content="80" /></span></div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p><p><a href="https://www.techradar.com/audio/earbuds-airpods/soundpeats-clip1-review">Read our full review</a></p></p> </div> <div class="pro-con"><div class="list-pros-wrapper"><h4 class="list-pros-label">Pros</h4><ul class="list-pros"><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Fantastic listening test</li><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Comfortable build</li><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Competitive value</li></ul></div><div class="list-cons-wrapper"><h4 class="list-cons-label">Cons</h4><ul class="list-cons"><li class='list-item list-item-cons'>Low max volume</li><li class='list-item list-item-cons'>Cheap-feeling case</li><li class='list-item list-item-cons'>Touch control issues</li></ul></div></div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_standard" data-id="f4ab90b8-8683-11f1-a749-bf1ecd1958c7"> <div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:100.00%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/g9VYBnQCUPKbc6bShHvUMW.jpg" alt="OneOdio Focus A6"></p></div> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>OneOdio</div> <div class="featured__title">Focus A6</div> <div class="stars__reviews"><span itemprop="reviewRating" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Rating" class="chunk rating"><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star half"></span><meta itemprop="bestRating" content="100.0" /><meta itemprop="worstRating" content="0.0" /><meta itemprop="ratingValue" content="90" /></span></div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p><p><a href="https://www.techradar.com/audio/headphones/oneodio-focus-a6-review">Read our full review</a></p></p> </div> <div class="pro-con"><div class="list-pros-wrapper"><h4 class="list-pros-label">Pros</h4><ul class="list-pros"><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Sensational sound quality</li><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Extensive software features</li><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Comfy, quality construction</li></ul></div><div class="list-cons-wrapper"><h4 class="list-cons-label">Cons</h4><ul class="list-cons"><li class='list-item list-item-cons'>On-ear controls are a little sensitive</li><li class='list-item list-item-cons'>ANC is good rather than game-changing</li></ul></div></div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_standard" data-id="f4ab92ac-8683-11f1-8c06-054990bc9b5f"> <div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:100.00%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qAJeN6aeCeFgoFJcPLBUzD.jpg" alt="cmf headphone pro"></p></div> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>CMF</div> <div class="featured__title">Headphone Pro</div> <div class="stars__reviews"><span itemprop="reviewRating" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Rating" class="chunk rating"><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star half"></span><meta itemprop="bestRating" content="100.0" /><meta itemprop="worstRating" content="0.0" /><meta itemprop="ratingValue" content="90" /></span></div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p><p><a href="https://www.techradar.com/audio/wireless-headphones/cmf-by-nothing-headphone-pro-review">Read our full review</a></p></p> </div> <div class="pro-con"><div class="list-pros-wrapper"><h4 class="list-pros-label">Pros</h4><ul class="list-pros"><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Excellent hearing tests; unexpected at the level</li><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Emotive, circumaural sound</li><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Exemplary battery life</li></ul></div><div class="list-cons-wrapper"><h4 class="list-cons-label">Cons</h4><ul class="list-cons"><li class='list-item list-item-cons'>ANC isn't amazing</li><li class='list-item list-item-cons'>Energy slider feels a tad gimmicky</li><li class='list-item list-item-cons'>No hard carry case or USB-C charger in the box</li></ul></div></div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_standard" data-id="f4ab939c-8683-11f1-88af-f9a1f6f3ff1f"> <div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:100.00%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TAuf9bnLhzcLRnJyxvREpj.png" alt="Huawei FreeArc in green on white background"></p></div> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>Huawei</div> <div class="featured__title">FreeArc</div> <div class="stars__reviews"><span itemprop="reviewRating" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Rating" class="chunk rating"><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star half"></span><meta itemprop="bestRating" content="100.0" /><meta itemprop="worstRating" content="0.0" /><meta itemprop="ratingValue" content="90" /></span></div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p><p><a href="https://www.techradar.com/audio/earbuds-airpods/the-huawei-freearc-are-the-best-sounding-open-ear-headphones-ive-ever-tested-and-theyre-surprisingly-cheap">Read our full review</a></p></p> </div> <div class="pro-con"><div class="list-pros-wrapper"><h4 class="list-pros-label">Pros</h4><ul class="list-pros"><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Top-tier sound</li><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Competitive price</li><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Comfortable fit</li></ul></div><div class="list-cons-wrapper"><h4 class="list-cons-label">Cons</h4><ul class="list-cons"><li class='list-item list-item-cons'>App download pains</li><li class='list-item list-item-cons'>Middling battery life</li><li class='list-item list-item-cons'>Would benefit from ANC</li></ul></div></div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_standard" data-id="f4ab931a-8683-11f1-9fd2-8f02b8c3011c"> <div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:133.33%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/w7Ftt4qFGTjBLjKUHnYN5E.jpg" alt="Sony WH-CH720 Headphones"></p></div> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>Sony</div> <div class="featured__title">WH-CH720</div> <div class="stars__reviews"><span itemprop="reviewRating" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Rating" class="chunk rating"><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><span class="icon icon-star"> </span><meta itemprop="bestRating" content="100.0" /><meta itemprop="worstRating" content="0.0" /><meta itemprop="ratingValue" content="80" /></span></div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p><p><a href="https://www.techradar.com/reviews/sony-wh-ch720n-review">Read our full review</a></p></p> </div> <div class="pro-con"><div class="list-pros-wrapper"><h4 class="list-pros-label">Pros</h4><ul class="list-pros"><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Great sound balance</li><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Lots of detail in audio</li><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Effective noise cancellation</li><li class='list-item list-item-pros'>Full of useful features</li></ul></div><div class="list-cons-wrapper"><h4 class="list-cons-label">Cons</h4><ul class="list-cons"><li class='list-item list-item-cons'>Sound feels constrained</li><li class='list-item list-item-cons'>Noise cancellation leaks in low sounds</li><li class='list-item list-item-cons'>Plastic feels a little cheap</li></ul></div></div> </div> </div> </article> ]]>