The best noise-cancelling headphones of 2024

A red gradient image with three different wireless headphones.
The best noise-cancelling headphones let you listen to music without distractions. Sennheiser/Ankler/Sony/Insider

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When listening to music, there's nothing worse than annoying background noise drowning out your favorite songs. That's why noise-cancelling headphones have become so popular. Using built-in microphones and audio processing, the best noise-cancelling headphones can block ambient sounds so you can focus on your playlist without any pesky distractions.

We put several top models through our testing process to pick the five best noise-cancelling headphones you can buy. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra are a real standout and deliver the most impressive active noise cancellation (ANC) that we've come across. For budget buyers, we also recommend the affordable Anker Soundcore Life Q30, which offer ANC that's way better than we expected for such a low price.   

Below are all five of our recommendations for the best noise-cancelling headphones. Each of our picks has been selected with different needs and budgets in mind, but they all provide a great listening experience.

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Our top picks for the best noise-cancelling headphones

Best overall: Bose QuietComfort Ultra - See at Amazon

Best budget: Anker Soundcore Life Q30 - See at Amazon

Best sounding: Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless - See at Amazon

Best features: Sony WH-1000XM5 - See at Amazon

Best in-ear: Sony WF-1000XM5 - See at Amazon

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Best overall

A pair of white Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones resting on their carrying case on a table.
Bose's QuietComfort Ultra headphones provide the best noise-cancelling performance we've tested. Ryan Waniata/Insider
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones

Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra once more put the brand on top, with best-in-class noise cancelling wrapped in a sleek and comfy design. It's not uncommon to find them discounted to this price point, so we don't recommend paying a dollar more if you can help it.

What we like
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Class-leading noise cancellation
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Clear and balanced sound
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Premium and comfy design
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Multipoint pairing
What we don’t like
  • con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Spatial audio is a mixed bag
  • con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Battery life is just OK

Bose has the current upper hand in the ongoing race for the best noise-cancelling headphones. The brand's QuietComfort Ultra provide class-leading audio suppression to go along with great features, a comfortable design, and the best sound we've heard from a pair of Bose headphones. 

The Ultra ooze luxury from the moment you pull them from their zippered case. The headphones use sleek and durable materials like dimpled aluminum along the arms and band and plush padding coated in soft protein leather. The ear cups are foldable and fully collapsible, making the headphones easy to pack for travel. Battery life is solid at 24 hours, though we would have liked to see a bit more, given the Ultra's price point.

As for performance, the Ultra's noise cancelling is supremely powerful, edging out everything we've tested. It's fantastic at silencing low-end sounds like fans or street noise but also effective for higher frequencies, wholly eliminating sounds like keystrokes and muffling voice chatter, even without music playing. And when you do want to let in outside noise, the Ultra's Transparency mode is among the most natural sounding we've heard. 

The Ultra's sound quality is also a step up for the series. Music comes through with deft precision, detail, and balance across genres, especially after bumping down the bass a notch or two with the Bose Music app's three-band EQ. As with other Bose headphones, instrumentals can sometimes sound slightly sharp and overly processed, but it's toned down here for an overall pleasing presentation. Calls come through with crystal clarity as well.

The headphones also boast Bose's new spatial audio feature, which includes head tracking that can move the soundstage with you independent of your source device. We had mixed results with this, as the feature can sometimes create an echo effect, especially with video content. The headphones are otherwise well-appointed, with features like Multipoint Bluetooth to connect two devices simultaneously, customizable noise-cancelling modes, and a wind buffering setting.

As for controls, the Ultra's mix of hard keys and a volume slider touchpad work well. We would have liked to see a dedicated key for noise cancelling and transparency mode, but that's a minor complaint. Even with a price that goes beyond any pair of QuietComfort headphones before them, the Ultra are a worthy investment, offering a premium experience and noise cancelling that can't be beaten.

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Best budget

A pair of Anker Soundcore Life Q30 headphones on a table with a phone, watch, passport, and wallet.
The Soundcore Q30 are the best noise-cancelling headphones you can buy on a budget. Walmart
Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Headphones

Anker’s Soundcore Life Q30 headphones offer noise-cancelling performance that’s much better than it should be for the money, alongside solid sound quality and massive battery life. With this discount, they're back down to their all-time low.

What we like
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Great noise cancelling for the money
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Massive battery life
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Comfortable and foldable design
What we don’t like
  • con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Earcup tap control prone to misfires
  • con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Budget build quality

Thanks to the latest advancements in noise-cancelling technology, you don't have to spend a ton of money to get some decent peace and quiet. Anker's Soundcore Life Q30 are a great example, and at well under $100, they're a relatively easy investment. 

The Q30's noise cancelling ranks among the best for their price point, doing an especially good job in the lower registers. It's certainly not as effective as the pricier models on our list, especially in the upper frequencies, but the Q30's ear cups also offer solid passive noise isolation, which helps to defray some of the ambient annoyances in your life.

Anker's Soundcore headphones consistently punch above their weight when it comes to audio performance, and the Q30s hold their own in this department, especially after a few tweaks to their hefty bass in the Soundcore mobile app for Android or iOS. There you can also customize other settings, swap between three noise-cancelling modes, and engage the available sleep mode to activate ambient sounds as you drift off on your commute. 

The Q30s fit comfortably thanks to their solid padding and collapse for travel. Convenience features like Multipoint Bluetooth pairing and the ability to activate transparency mode by holding your hand on the right ear cup recall fancier models that cost double or triple the price, while their massive battery life is among the best you'll find.

If you're after a solid pair of noise-cancelling headphones but simply can't stomach the high prices of other top models, Anker's Soundcore Q30 are a very enticing option.

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Best sounding

A pair of Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones in their carrying case on a desk.
Sennheiser's Momentum 4 headphones are the pair to get if you favor sound quality over noise-cancelling performance. Amazon
Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless

The Sennheiser Momentum 4 offer solid noise-cancelling performance and incredible battery life, but their sterling sonic skills are the real prize

What we like
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Class-leading sound performance
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Fantastic battery life
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Solid call quality
What we don’t like
  • con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Relatively heavy
  • con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Middling ANC for the money

Sennheiser's Momentum 4 Wireless headphones don't have the best or even the second-best noise-cancelling performance on our list. That's OK, though, because once you hear them, you may not care. If you're an audiophile, the great sound quality you get here could be a more than acceptable tradeoff. 

It took Sennheiser three years to update its storied Momentum headphones, doing away with the retro styling that had defined the series up to now. But it was worth the wait and the redesign. The Momentum 4s deliver audio performance that rises above everything we've heard in their class, offering effortless presence, detail, and separation that lets you dig deep into each instrument's timbres and textures with remarkable clarity. 

The Momentum 4s are no slouches in the features department, either, starting with battery life that's double what you'll get from options like Sony's WF-1000XM5. You'll also get features like Multipoint pairing, the ability to adjust noise cancelling and transparency mode based on your environment, a three-band EQ, and great wind buffering that also aids in call quality.

As mentioned, the Momentum 4s' noise cancelling is good-not-great for headphones at their price point. They do a swell job with lower frequencies but let higher register noises like voices slip through more easily than the very best noise-cancelling headphones. Add a bit of music, and that shouldn't be much of an issue in most scenarios, but it's worth considering before you pull the trigger.

Although the headphones are quite comfortable, they're also heavier than some competitors, and they don't fold up completely, making them slightly harder to pack. That said, if sound is your compass, the Momentum 4s are well worth considering, offering a lush sonic experience.

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Best features

The black Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless noise-cancelling headphones.
The WH-1000XM5 headphones are packed with features and are a great alternative to our top pick, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra, if you prefer the Sony brand. Antonio Villas-Boas/Insider
Sony WH-1000XM5 Headphones

Sony’s flagship headphones have excellent noise cancelling along with great audio performance and a truckload of convenient features. They regularly drop to this price, so we don’t recommend paying more than $328 for a pair.

What we like
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Superb noise cancelling
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Loads of features
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Multipoint pairing
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Intuitive and responsive controls
What we don’t like
  • con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Relatively large case
  • con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Can’t fold up for travel
  • con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Battery life is good not amazing

Sitting nearly even with Bose's QuietComfort Ultra when it comes to top-notch noise cancelling, Sony's WH-1000XM5 headphones are an excellent alternative and may even be a better option for some. The M5 (as in Mark 5) may not have the catchiest name, but they make up for it with a formidable mix of brilliant performance and a truckload of great features.

Sony wrote the book on modern headphone design with its WH-1000X series, putting you in the driver's seat for a dizzying array of options. It all starts with the brand's powerful Headphones app letting you control your noise cancelation in multiple ways, including an option based on your environment. You can silence audio with your voice or let in the outside world with a simple hand gesture on the right ear cup. Alexa is available for smart control, and customization of Sony's 360 Reality Audio lets you unlock spatial sound with supported content.

Features aside, the XM5s are as polished as you'd expect a flagship pair of headphones from a market leader to be. Their touch controls are intuitive and responsive. Their noise cancelling is incredibly effective across registers. Sound quality is sweet, smooth, and superbly detailed to the point that you'll likely hear things you've missed in multiple previous listens. Their streamlined design and memory foam padding also make them comfortable for hours (though Bose's Ultras are even comfier).

The only noteworthy issue we take with Sony's latest design is that, unlike the Bose Ultra and Sony's cheaper WH-1000XM4, the M5s don't collapse for travel, making them harder to pack. Frankly, the most convincing argument against these cans is made by Sony's cheaper M4 headphones, which offer a lot of what makes the M5s great for less cash. But if you want Sony's best and all the features that come along, the WH-1000XM5s are a great buy.


Read our Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones review.

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Best in-ear

A pair of Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds in a case on a table in front of a smartphone.
Sony's WF-1000XM5 earbuds use an in-ear design and deliver a compact solution for buyers who want noise-cancelling headphones. Ryan Waniata/Business Insider
Sony WF-1000XM5 Earbuds

Sony’s WF-1000XM5 earbuds deliver excellent sound quality and noise cancelling in a sleek, comfy design that’s tough to beat.

What we like
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Tons of advanced features
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Bluetooth Multipoint
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Sony DSEE Extreme and LDAC
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Light and comfy design
What we don’t like
  • con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Slippery housings
  • con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Volume control is slightly inconvenient

The WF-1000XM5 are our pick for the best wireless earbuds you can buy. They pack what we love about Sony's top-tier over-ear headphones into a micro-sized frame with an in-ear design, offering tons of features, great sound, and excellent noise cancelling in a sleek design that fits neatly in your pocket.

Even for earbuds, the WF-1000XM5 are remarkably small for their class, especially compared to their predecessors, the WF-1000XM4, and top rivals like Bose's QuietComfort II and Ultra buds. Their size is all the more impressive given their exceptional battery life and performance, with noise cancelling that knocks out low-end frequencies and effectively muffles high-register sounds like voices and clattering dishes.

Like their full-sized cousins, the WF-1000XM5 are also packed with features. Opening the Sony Headphones app, you'll find settings to adjust everything from ambient sound and noise cancelling to Multipoint pairing, speak-to-chat (pausing sound when you speak), head gesture controls, and a multi-band EQ.

Sound performance is crisp, punchy, and accurate across genres, with a penchant for instrumental definition. You can raise the sound quality further by activating Sony's DSEE Extreme audio upscaling engine, while supported Android devices can access high-resolution Bluetooth streaming with Sony's LDAC audio technology. The buds also provide good call quality thanks to bone conduction sensors.

With the XM5s, Sony has also improved the physical design of its top earbuds thanks to a more stable and secure fit to go along with basic water resistance for versatile use cases. One complaint about the redesign: these things are slippery, making it challenging to grip or nudge them out of the case. They're also quite expensive, but their fantastic performance and packed set of features make them an excellent option for anyone who wants a compact pair of noise-cancelling earbuds.

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How we test noise-cancelling headphones

The silver Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless noise-cancelling headphones earcups
Antonio Villas-Boas/Insider

When testing headphones for consideration in our guide to the best noise-cancelling headphones, we use them as we would in our daily lives to get a sense of how they'll perform for a typical listener. That includes evaluating features like ease of setup with different source devices, comfort, battery life, and general usability. We assess sound quality by listening to music across multiple genres from the best music streaming services as well as in high resolution. We also play videos and listen to them with each model to test features like spatial audio and head tracking with stereo and Dolby Atmos content.

To evaluate noise cancelling and transparency mode, we conduct real-world testing in natural environments and, whenever possible, in situations like plane flights or train commutes. We also incorporate a sound-treated room and professional stereo monitors to reproduce sounds like airplane noise, voices, and other effects. Battery testing includes putting the headphones on a stopwatch at medium volume to make sure they live up to their manufacturer's claims or come close.

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Noise-cancelling headphones FAQs

The Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless noise-cancelling headphones in black.
Antonio Villas-Boas/Insider

What is noise cancelling?

Noise cancellation, also known as Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) or Adaptive Noise Cancellation, is a technology designed to suppress sounds in your immediate environment. Noise-cancelling headphones are outfitted with tiny microphones which pick up ambient sounds. They then use onboard circuitry to analyze those sounds in real time, flipping the polarity of the frequencies (essentially reversing their waveforms) to "cancel" them. 

Noise cancellation is an imperfect science and, as of yet, it's not able to block out all of the sounds in a given environment. That said, with each iteration, the best noise-cancelling headphones and earbuds increase how much sound they can block, especially at higher frequencies which are generally the hardest to cancel. The better the noise cancellation, the more frequencies are blocked, and the more noise your headphones can reduce.

Are over-ear headphones better than earbuds for noise cancelling?

While the gap between over-ear headphones and earbuds was once more prominent, today's top noise-cancelling earbuds are close to or on par with the best over-ear headphones with ANC. Both types offer good passive noise isolation, and both also use a mix of advanced hardware and software, including multiple microphones. While it varies case by case, you can now get very effective noise cancelling in either over-ear headphones or earbuds.

What is transparency mode?

Transparency mode, also called ambient audio (or sometimes hear-thru), is essentially the opposite of noise cancelling. Using the same exterior microphones, instead of cancelling the sound around you, transparency mode pipes ambient sound into your headphones in an effort to keep you aware of your surroundings. Transparency modes on most headphones can be easily toggled on and off so you can go from listening to music with ANC to letting outside sound in. This is not only a great safety feature, but it can also be helpful for situations like flights or other forms of mass transit where you need to communicate quickly.

What is Bluetooth wireless connectivity?

Bluetooth is a wireless technology that allows for an exchange of data, for our purposes in the form of audio, across short distances. Most Bluetooth devices offer a range of around 33 feet, though some, such as Class 1 Bluetooth devices, can travel 100 feet or more. Improvements in Bluetooth over time have allowed for increased bandwidth and, among other things, higher sound quality that's more reliable. In general, having the latest Bluetooth version can mean speed, efficiency, and reliability improvements.

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Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at reviews@businessinsider.com.

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