The best open earbuds that stay put, sound great, and keep you...

The best open earbuds that stay put, sound great, and keep you aware of the world around you

Whether you need some exercise earbuds or appreciate not being totally blocked off from the outside world, we've got you covered with these three picks.

Bethany Allard

on May 24, 2025

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Overview

Noise-cancelling earbuds are a popular choice for many people, but if you're someone who wants to hear the world around them or finds an in-ear design uncomfortable, there's a better option out there: open earbuds.

Though open earbuds share the common feature of sitting on the exterior of the ear, they come in many shapes and sizes, from clip models to ear hook models. Some are more geared toward working out, while others are better for everyday use. Below, we've compiled some of the best open earbud models available in 2025. This guide is a work in progress, so we'll possibly be shifting (or expanding) our recommendations as we continue to test pairs.

Our Pick

black shokz opendots one earbuds propped against iphone and composition notebook

The Good & The Bad

Sound quality comparable to Bose earbuds
Impressively long battery life
Clip-design is lightweight and unobtrusive
Multipoint pairing works well
Silicone grip helps keep them in place during exercise
Touch controls are intuitively placed and work well

Can feel uncomfortable after several consecutive hours of wear
Not a ton of extra features

Our review

Check out our full review of the Shokz OpenDots One.

Who it's for

If you plan on using your open earbuds primarily for working out but want the option of a solid pair of earbuds too, the Shokz OpenDots One provide the best bang for your buck.

Why we picked this

Brands tend to market open earbuds to folks who like to exercise, and for good reason: That's where their use case makes the most sense. Priced at $199.95, we find that the Shokz OpenDots One hit the sweet spot between providing some of the best sound you can find on open earbuds, while giving the major fitness features you want, all without breaking the bank.

The clip-on ear design is secure but not too snug, only causing some discomfort after multiple hours of wear (in other words, probably less time than you'll spend working out). The cuff design is helped by a silicone grip on one side of the earbud, which also acts as a touch panel, in addition to the battery barrel.

As great as their design is, Mashable contributor Alex Bracetti found these earbuds really shone in their audio quality, even comparing them to Bose's open earbuds: "Shokz isn’t known for its sound quality, but the OpenDots One leave quite the impression. The 11.8mm drivers deliver crisp and lively sound to keep runners fueled on long runs." Considering these earbuds are $100 less than the Bose, getting comparable sound is no small feat. And if you're not in love with how they sound out of the box, the equalizer settings on the Shokz app allow you to fine-tune your experience.

Where these earbuds definitively beat the Bose Ultra Opens is in their battery life, boasting 10 hours per charge to Bose's seven (and four with immersive audio). Their case also holds significantly more charge: 40 hours, to Bose's 19.5.

However, that is where their feature list pretty much ends. It's not necessarily a negative, especially if you prefer buds that do the basics, but do them well.

Details

blue bose ultra open earbuds on wall in front of greenery

The Good & The Bad

Excellent sound quality
Option to use immersive audio
Comfortable clip design that doesn't pinch, even after hours of wear
Small charging case
Plenty of color options available
Tactile on-ear controls located on battery barrel

Multipoint connection can be touch and go
Battery life could be better, especially compared to other options
Microphone quality could be better
Lowest water and dust-resistance rating of any option on our list
Expensive

Our review

Read our full review of the Bose Ultra Open earbuds.

Who it's for

If you want to use open earbuds but don't want to sacrifice having the best sound quality possible, the Bose Ultra Opens easily compare to in-ear options. You'll just have the shell out.

Why we picked this

It's hard not to be at least a little floored the first time you try the Bose Ultra Open earbuds — they simply sound way better than any pair of open earbuds has a right to. Sure, they can be a little more distant depending on the angle (easily adjustable) and have less of a booming bass than some in-ear designs (a plus for some people), but despite their quirks, they more than deliver on the sound front. Mashable contributor RJ Andersen writes in her review, "The sound was well-balanced, and even with my ear completely uncovered, I didn’t notice any issues with the audio sounding distant or muddy. Instead, the Ultra Open Earbuds sounded clear, natural, and pretty lush."

While they sound great out of the box, Bose gives you the option between stereo and Immersive Audio (aka Bose's spatial audio setting) once you connect it to the companion app. Of course, you'll also have access to four equalizer presets and one custom equalizer setting. For $300, we expected to be impressed, and based on the sound alone, we were.

But Bose didn't stop there. Although the Ultra Opens share the same cuff-like design as our top pick earbuds, we didn't find any uncomfortable pinching or squeezing, even after hours of wear. They stood out as the most comfortable pair of open earbuds we tested. The design thoughtfulness extended to the on-ear controls, which feature a button at the top of the battery barrel that sits on the outside of your ear. The result was a control that was just as easy as a touch control to use, but way less likely to be triggered by accident.

For all their good, the Ultra Open earbuds aren't quite perfect. Their battery life is on the lower end, their mic quality wasn't great on calls, and their IP rating makes them the least outdoor workout-friendly. (As IPX4 earbuds, they have an unknown amount of dust resistance and splash resistance, meaning they can handle sweat fine, but might not fare as well if you're out in heavier rain). Still, while they're not the most rugged pair, they are the most premium sounding — if you mainly work out indoors, and don't find yourself on extra-long runs all that often, these drawbacks are workable.

Details

green soundcore aerofit 2 earbuds on wall in front of tree

The Good & The Bad

Solid sound quality for the price
Tons of equalizer options
Adjustable ear hook helps you find the right fit
Has the best battery life and water and dust-resistance rating of all the earbuds we tested
Case has wireless charging
Customizable touch controls (and option to turn them off entirely)
Impressive language translation feature with companion app

Back and forth conversation with translation feature is a little awkward to use
Sound quality isn't as good as more expensive options
Didn't feel quite as secure as clip-on earbuds

Who it's for

If you want open earbuds that are excellent for workouts, still great for daily use, and don't cost a ton, you want the Anker Soundcore AeroFit 2 earbuds.

Why we picked this

Once you start to get to the budget-friendlier end of open earbuds, you realize that it's not a given that they sound decent. Peaking becomes more common, you lose even more of the detail of a song, and audio leaking is more rampant. We didn't have those problems with the Anker Soundcore AeroFit 2 earbuds.

The newer release from the brand improved upon the older model by making the ear hook adjustable. While most ear hook earbuds come with some degree of flexibility, the AeroFits offer four locked-in angles, making them the most comfortable (and snug) open-ear hook buds we've tried so far. Despite sitting in the large case that comes with the ear hook territory, Soundcore's version here is at least lower profile.

As for their performance as workout earbuds, the AeroFit 2s have the best IP rating of any of our picks, being both dust protected and able to survive jets of water. They have 10 hours of battery life per charge, so even distance runners would be hard pressed to run them down in one use. The touch controls also hit the right mark for sensitivity, making them great to easily pause and play music (if you prefer, you can also turn them, and their sound queue, off entirely).

These earbuds surprised us most with their AI language translation feature that you can use through the companion app. Either in real-time or with a push-to-talk function, the earbuds were able to accurately translate French and Mandarin to English. Soundcore advertises that they can translate into over 100 languages. While we weren't able to get the real-time translation to work to facilitate a back-and-forth conversation, the push-to-talk allows you to speak in English, and the translation in the opposite language comes out through your device's speakers. The other person's dialogue comes through as text on the app and in audio through your earbuds, with only a slight delay. While the use cases for this feature might be more limited, we found it a clever way to leverage the open ear design that lets you engage with another person while still wearing earbuds.

Details

We spent three weeks trying out open earbuds priced for $120 to $300. Here's what we looked at:

Comfort and fit: A major part of open earbuds appeal is that they're less obtrusive than traditional earbuds and headphones, so we made sure that all of our picks were comfortable to wear for at least a couple hours. We also made sure to exercise in the earbuds, including running and yoga, to test how well they stayed put.
Sound quality: As open earbuds project the sound into your ear, we knew these earbuds wouldn't sound the same as in-ear earbuds or over-ear headphones. With that said, we also expected the sound to have some dynamic qualities, come through clearly, and avoid any obvious peaking.
Durability: Open earbuds are a popular pick for folks who like to exercise, so we made sure each pair that we tested (and included on our final list) was at least sweat resistant. We played around with the maneuverability of the ear hooks and cuffs to make sure an accidental instance of putting them on a little too rough wouldn't mean the end of the earbuds.
Battery life: Thanks to the lack of ANC, open earbuds generally get better battery life per charge. Still, we made sure to include pairs with decent case battery life, and that offer quick charge options because nothing is worse than getting ready for a run and realizing your earbuds are dead.

What are open earbuds?

Open earbuds allow you to get as close as you possibly can to the feeling of not wearing earbuds at all. Unlike in-ear earbuds which sit in your ear canal (as the name states), open earbuds sit just outside your ears. Some models hold the speaker component in place with an ear hook while others opt for an ear cuff.

People generally opt for open earbuds for three main reasons:

They provide a private listening experience while leaving you almost completely aware of the world around you. It's like the best transparency mode you've ever used.
For some people, not having an earbud physically in their ear is generally more comfortable.
The hooks and cuffs (along with the general awareness of your surroundings) make them a great option for keeping them in place, and keeping you alert, while you're working out.

What are the drawbacks of open earbuds?

As you may have gathered from the section above, open earbuds don't generally come with active noise cancellation. That's mostly thanks to how much sound they let in (by design) and the difficulty of cancelling out sound without having the device covering your actual ear canal.

Also thanks to the whole open ear-canal situation, these aren't going to be the earbuds for audiophiles. That's not to say open earbuds sound bad — if you've never tried them, we promise they sound much better than you're imagining — but you will lose out on some of the nuance of a song without having the earbud actually in your ear.

That said, many pairs still have equalizers on their companion apps to help you make them sound their best. Our upgrade pick, the Bose Ultra Open earbuds, even have a spatial audio feature that worked surprisingly well.

Most open earbuds will also boast some form of special technology that keeps them from leaking too much sound. While these pairs do pretty well in keeping the sound just to you, most pairs (including our picks) while be prone to some leakage, especially at higher volumes.

Finally, some open earbuds — mainly those with ear hooks — tend to have slightly bulkier cases. If you like to travel light, it's something to be aware of.

What about bone conduction headphones?

Bone conduction earbuds work exactly like the name implies they do — they use your skull to conduct sound waves, instead of projecting the sound into your ear, like most of the picks are on list. Typically, a band runs from either side of the users head to help hold the headphones in place.

Shokz, the brand behind our top pick, is a popular maker of these kinds of headphones. While we do consider them open earbuds, we have yet to test any bone conduction earbuds — look out in the future for that update. On that note:

What's next in our testing pipeline

The open earbuds market is rapidly expanding, so we'll be testing more as we can get our hands on them. Up next, we'll be trying out budget pairs of open earbuds under $100, as well as more pairs from Shokz.

In addition to the earbuds that made our final guide in May 2025, we tested out the Nothing Ear (Open) earbuds ($149), the Sony Linkbuds Open ($199.99), the Anker Soundcore AeroClip earbuds ($169.99), and the Shokz OpenFit Air ($119.95). While none of the above were bad earbuds by any means, we found our picks to outshine them in their comfort and sound quality, especially when considering their respective prices.

Bethany Allard is a Los Angeles-based shopping reporter at Mashable covering beauty tech, dating, sex and relationships, and headphones. That basically means she puts her hair through a lot, scrolls through a lot of dating apps, and rotates through a lot of different headphones. In addition to testing out and rounding up the best products, she also covers deals for Mashable, paying an especially obsessive amount of attention to Apple deals and prices. That knowledge comes in handy when she's covering shopping holidays like Prime Day and Black Friday, which she's now done for three years at Mashable.

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