Full-size around-ear or over-ear headphones aren’t everyone’s thing, though they tend to deliver the best sound. It comes down to personal preference, but not everyone wants to walk around wearing bulky headphones with giant, squishy ear pads. On-ear models with smaller ear cups are more compact, travel-friendly and tend to cost less. These headphones have evolved to offer more models with active noise cancellation, noise isolation, a headphone amp and other advanced features that were once found only in larger over-ear models.
You can’t go wrong with a quality pair of headphones, whether they’re full-size or feature an on-ear design. Here’s a look at our current top picks for the best on-ear headphones, based on key factors such as how effective they are at noise cancellation and how good they sound. They’re all wireless headphone models except the Beats EP wired headphones. There isn’t a single earbud on this list, so if you’re looking for in-ear counterparts, check out our wireless earbud list to have music piped directly into your ear canal.
David Carnoy/CNET
Battery Life
Rated up to 22 hours
Noise Canceling
Yes (Qualcomm cVc 8.0)
Multipoint
Yes
Headphone Type
On-ear wireless headphones
Water-Resistant
No IP rating
I was a fan of Creative’s original Sound Blaster Jam headphones that came out in 2015 and had a decidedly retro look and feel with good sound for the money. Now the headphone is available in a 2.0 version that has some key upgrades, including Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C charging, improved call quality and multipoint Bluetooth pairing that allows you to pair it to two devices simultaneously. Battery life is rated at up to 22 hours.
I was able to pair the headphones with a Mac Mini and an iPhone and then switch audio between them. Often when pairing Bluetooth headphones with Mac and Windows PCs, one can encounter some issues, but once I got the headphones paired with both my PC and phone, they made a good pair of work-from-home headphones. Also, the price is right for parents looking for a decent set of kids’ headphones for remote learning and everyday use.
Comfortable for on-ear headphones, the Jam V2 are lightweight and have nicely balanced sound with good detail and bass that’s ample but not overpowering. Call quality was good in my tests with callers saying they could hear me well even on the noisy streets of New York. No carry pouch is included, but you do get an extra set of foam ear pads, which is good because they will wear out over time.
The headphones have physical buttons for controlling volume and playback and there’s aptX support for devices that support the wireless streaming codec.
Battery Life
Rated up to 50 hours
Noise Canceling
No
Multipoint
Yes
Headphone Type
On-ear wireless headphones
Water-Resistant
No IP rating
Released in mid-2020, the Jabra Elite 45h was essentially billed as the best on-ear headphone for the money. While there’s nothing terribly fancy about it is one of the best on-ear headphone values right now, with good sound quality, a sturdy design and comfortable fit (for on-ear headphones, anyway). Additionally, this Bluetooth on-ear headphone performs well as a headset for making calls and includes a sidetone feature that allows you to hear your voice in the headphones so you don’t talk too loudly. Battery life is also good. Available in multiple color options, it lists for $100 but frequently gets discounted to $80 or less.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Battery Life
Rated up to 40 hours
Noise Canceling
Yes (ANC)
Multipoint
No
Headphone Type
On-ear wireless headphones
Water-Resistant
No IP rating
The Solo Pro is the first Beats on-ear headphone to feature active noise cancellation and the first full-size Beats wireless headphone to charge via Lightning. It uses the company’s Pure Adaptive Noise Canceling (Pure ANC headphones), “derived from the over-ear Studio3 Wireless, with updated tuning to accommodate the on-ear form factor,” Beats says. With a tap of a button, you can turn off that noise cancellation to save battery life or hit the button a second time to enter an audio transparency mode that allows you to hear the outside world and ambient sound, not just the music you’re listening to.
Available in multiple color options, the noise-canceling headphone is equipped with six microphones, two of which are beamforming mics designed to hone in on your voice when you’re making calls or talking to your voice assistant (Apple’s H1 chip is on board for always-on Siri). The sound quality of these wireless earphones is smooth and well-balanced, with punchy bass that doesn’t make music sound boomy. It’s comfortable for an on-ear model and its more compact design travels better than some full-size models on this list. I just wish it cost a little less and came with a cable to plug in to in-flight entertainment systems. Alas, the Lightning-to-3.5mm is an optional Bluetooth headset accessory that costs $35, which is ridiculous.
Battery Life
Rated up to 25 hours
Noise Canceling
No
Multipoint
Yes
Headphone Type
On-ear wireless headphones
Water-Resistant
No IP rating
The last few years I’ve written up a fair number of new Sennheiser headphones, most of which have had more premium price tags. But now the company has released a new $70 on-ear wireless model, the 250BT, that should appeal to those on a tighter budget. Equipped with Bluetooth 5.0, its features seem pretty basic, but it does have 25-hour battery life, as well as support for the AAC and aptX audio codecs, and it also taps into Sennheiser’s Smart Control app, allowing you to customize the sound a bit.
Sennheiser describes the 250BT as having club-like sound, and that’s a fairly apt take. There’s lots of energy in the bass and some sparkle in the treble. This is what I like to call an exciting headphone — dynamic, fun. I can’t say it’s got premium build quality (it looks and feels like a more of a budget model). But it’s lightweight and comfortable for an on-ear model, though it lacks any padding on the inside of the headband so I occasionally had to make adjustments to relieve a little pressure on the crown of my head.
You can use the 250BT as a headset for making calls — it works reasonably well for that — but Sennheiser doesn’t really talk up the call quality, mentioning only that the headphones have a built-in microphone. The noise-isolating ear pads cut the background noise, giving you a better listening experience. This headphone is more about the sound and it did grow on me over time.
Amazon
Battery Life
Rated up to 12 hours
Noise Canceling
No
Multipoint
No
Headphone Type
On-ear wireless headphones
Water-Resistant
No IP rating
Skullcandy’s Riff is the spiritual successor to the Grind Wireless, which I liked for the money. Available in multiple color options, it retails for around $50 and has puffy, pillowlike ear cups that make these comfortable headphones for an on-ear model. It also has great sound for its price, with open, detailed sound quality and plump bass that’s relatively well-defined. My only gripes about its ear cup design are that the top doesn’t feature a padded headband (at the crown of your head) and it feels a little cheap, with no metal parts. That said, it’s nice and light and has a dual-hinge that allows the headphone to fold up and fold flat. No carry pouch is included. Battery life is rated at only 12 hours, but a fast charge feature lets you get 2 hours of juice from a 10-minute charge (this has micro-USB charging not USB-C).
Sarah Tew/CNET
Battery Life
NA
Noise Canceling
No
Multipoint
No
Headphone Type
On-ear wired headphones
Water-Resistant
No IP rating
Beats makes plenty of Bluetooth headphones with high price tags, but its entry-level EP wired headphones are a surprisingly good listening experience value. The list price is $100, but you can find it online for closer to $90 and sometimes less. The EP is an on-ear model that isn’t as swanky as Beats’ somewhat forgotten on-ear Mixr, as well as the over-ear Executive and Pro models. But thanks to its reinforced metal frame, it reminds me of low-frills versions of those headphones. By low-frills, I mean it isn’t incredibly flashy and it doesn’t fold up or fold flat for travel (it has no hinges).
I liked the way they sounded and so did Steve Guttenberg, who once wrote CNET’s Audiophiliac blog. These open back headphones exhibit the traits of a good headphone: They’re clean and open-sounding, particularly for an on-ear headphone, and there’s enough treble detail to give them some sparkle. (In other words: They’re not incredibly dynamic.)
The bass is a little accentuated — this is Beats after all — but it’s not bloated or boomy. There’s enough bass here to satisfy a low-end audiophile headphone lover but not so much to turn off someone who’s looking for a more balanced, neutral-sound quality in a headphone.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Battery Life
Rated up to 15 hours
Noise Canceling
Yes (ANC)
Multipoint
No
Headphone Type
On-ear wireless headphones
Water-Resistant
No IP rating
AKG’s N60NC headphones have been out a while, but they’re still good on-ear Bluetooth headphones with active noise cancellation and great audio quality. Samsung now owns Harman, which owns AKG, and Samsung doesn’t really know how to market this venerable Austrian audio audiophile headphone brand (AKG earbuds have been included with Samsung phones). Originally, $300, you can find these wireless earphones for much less. They’re certainly more enticing at that price.
Amazon
Battery Life
Rated up to 25 hours
Noise Canceling
Yes (Adaptive)
Multipoint
Yes
Headphone Type
On-ear wireless headphones
Water-Resistant
No IP rating
Toward the end of 2019, Bowers & Wilkins released its new noise-canceling headphones: The over-ear PX7 and on-ear PX5. Both are great Bluetooth headphones with slick designs, great sound and decent noise cancellation (it’s not as good as the Sony WH-1000XM4’s but it’s not far off). The PX7 has bigger drivers and bolder overall sound, but the PX5 is more compact, easier to travel with (it takes up less room in a bag) and can be had for much less than the PX7.
