The best headphones for students: Our top 4 picks for back-to-school season

Whether you're trying to block out noisy roommates or people who don't grasp the concept of the quiet section in the library, active noise cancellation as a student is a non-negotiable. I only selected picks with some of the best ANC we've tested on headphones or earbuds, even among the most premium options on the market.

Intuitive design is great for any headphones user, but students in particular likely need headphones that are easily portable, plenty durable, and comfortable enough for long hours of studying (or watching shows — everyone needs to take breaks!). I only chose headphones that stuck out in all three categories.

In the interest of keeping things affordable, I avoided selecting the highest-end sound quality possible — combined with great ANC, that usually meant a price tag of $400 or more. That said, headphones and earbuds tech has come far enough that you shouldn't settle for subpar sound quality, so I made sure to pick options that at least fall in the moderately good range of sound quality.

While everyone can have different budgets when it comes to school shopping, I only selected picks that could be relatively affordable (or reasonable investments). Beyond the initial sticker shock, many an accident can happen in a school bag, so when durability fails or headphones get left behind, I didn't want the pain of a loss to be too deeply felt.

For anyone looking for some serious strength in the noise cancellation department, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better value pair of headphones than the Bose QuietComfort. While they're still an investment, somewhat regular sale prices bring them down to sub-$300, making them much more accessible than most flagship headphones.

Bose is a hard brand to beat when it comes to ANC, and though the QuietComfort headphones aren't the most feature-heavy from the brand, they still pack a punch when it comes to quieting the world around you. These headphones only come with one level of ANC (to be fair, so do several more expensive models, including the Bose QC Ultra and Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones), but that level works. Mashable's Samantha Mangino called the noise cancellation on these headphones "phenomenal," giving her the ability to feel like she was "in [her] own world," during a train ride from Boston to New York — it only showed its weakness in exceptionally loud environments, like the train arriving, which distorted the sound momentarily.

True to both parts of their name, the QuietComfort headphones are also incredibly comfortable to wear for hours on end. Mangino wore them for six hours on a train journey, writing, "Throughout my travels, the headphones were totally comfortable with soft ear cups that still provided a tight seal for passive noise cancellation." This level of comfort has long been a hallmark of this line — a pair of hand-me-down Bose QC 35 II's were my personal headphones during college, and I was always able to wear them for long hours in the library or around campus without a hitch. The form factor on these headphones hasn't changed too much from generation to generation, so it's unsurprising that they're just as comfortable as I remember. They also have an especially portable design that allows you to fold in the ear cups for more compact storage when they're not in use (which isn't always a given with over-ear headphones).

Bose rounds out the performance of these headphones with a well-balanced sound. While you won't have the immersive experience of personalized spatial audio, you do get headphones that can readily blend deep bass, mids, and highs without muddying them. So what's the catch? Well, you do pay for the ANC, the comfort, and the sound quality — at full price, they're a little close to comfort to some of the more expensive consumer models, so I recommend grabbing them on sale if you can. The multipoint pairing on these headphones can also be frustrating — while you can technically pair two devices simultaneously, you'll likely have to toggle one off in the app if you don't love having your audio skip.

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Is it any surprise that our favorite budget headphones are also one of our favorite picks for students? Quality ANC, comfort, and great audio quality don't need to cost hundreds of dollars — in fact, they don't even need to cost $100. For over-ear headphones that won't break the bank, I like the JLab JBuds Lux ANC headphones.

Frankly, the JLab JBuds Lux ANC headphones didn't have to go as hard as they did, considering their price. For starters, they have 40 hours of battery life with active noise cancellation on. Not only does that blow our more expensive pick out of the water by 16 hours, it surpasses most flagship headphones — 25 to 30 hours is generally the standard (though some models deviate).

That kind of battery life lowers the risk of having to recharge these headphones mid-study sesh. Even better, the ANC is actually pretty great, too. While I wouldn't quite say it dampens as much as the Bose (which are more capable of sitting closer to silence on the sound spectrum), these are more than able to lower background noise like people talking, listening to music out loud, or general room sounds like fans and loud AC. Along with the app, you can also adjust the ANC levels with a slider, fine-tuning it to your perfect level of transparency. The app also comes with an equalizer for getting the sound signature just right — the first preset is a little bass-heavy for my tastes — and the option to customize the functions of the three on-ear buttons.

Comfort-wise, I did feel the squeeze of these headphones after a few hours of wear, but it's very possible it's due to the shape of my head — Mashable's Haley Henschel (and several Reddit users) deem these headphones some of the most comfortable they've tried. Henschel calls out the comfort as her favorite feature about these headphones (and she says this as someone who owns the Bose QC 45 headphones).

Along with some creaking that you can hear while moving your head around, these headphones may not be the right fit for everyone. But considering their sale prices have dropped as low as $29 over Black Friday (and $52 more recently), these are flaws that students can look past.

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Check out our full review of the Bose QuietComfort earbuds.

The Bose QuietComfort earbuds feature some of the best parts of the brand, including impressive sound quality and great ANC, for a fraction of the price of other premium noise-cancelling earbuds. These earbuds are for the person who doesn't want to skimp on quality, but isn't quite ready to make a $200-plus investment — turns out, you can have the best of both worlds.

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds are our favorite noise-cancelling model on the market, but at $299, they're not exactly cheap. Enter: the Bose QuietComfort earbuds.

The noise cancellation may not perform at the same level as their Ultra counterpart, but it's hardly worth sneezing at. Whenever I wear these earbuds, I'm surprised by how undetectable the noise cancelling is — no fuzziness or hissing can be detected, which can't be said for all earbuds in more middling price ranges. For situations like working in a café or common area, these earbuds will make a noticeable difference in how much you're taking in.

The sound quality, however, is where these earbuds really start to stand out. Whether you're enjoying some lofi beats or your favorite K-pop playlist, these earbuds deliver. During my testing, I especially enjoyed listening to live sets and Tiny Desks. The equalizer is relatively simple, but serviceable, and in my experience, not entirely necessary — again, these earbuds sound great out of the box.

Another standout category for these earbuds is their battery life. At 8.5 hours per charge with ANC and 31.5 hours in the case, the QuietComforts offer some of the best battery life you'll find on any noise-cancelling earbuds on the market. These pros definitely help make up for the overly sensitive touch controls on these earbuds, which do stand out because of their larger surface area. At their full price, they're the same cost as the Apple AirPods Pro on a good sale day. At their average $149 sale price, they're an excellent value for any wireless earbuds.

As for how they actually fit inside the ear, I found the stability band and ear tip combo to give me a secure and comfortable fit. Mashable's Samantha Mangino, however, found in her testing that the stability band often came loose when she took the earbuds out, and that overall, the QC Ultra earbuds were way more comfortable. It goes to show that fit can be highly personal — and return policies should absolutely be taken advantage of if necessary.

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These noise-cancelling earbuds are regularly on sale for under $60, but outperform noise-cancelling earbuds twice that price. If saving money and space is a priority, the EarFun Air Pro 4 earbuds are an excellent option.

Despite their low price, it was legitimately difficult to find flaws with the EarFun Air Pro 4 earbuds when I tested them out. I'll start with the most obvious: their touch controls suck. They rely on single and double presses for different functions, but they're not exactly successful at distinguishing between them. After giving them the old college try, I decided to toggle the touch controls off in my app during the time I spent testing them.

So that's the bad news. The good news is they perform really, really well in more key areas and are generally great for everyday use. Let's start with the ANC. Like their over-ear budget counterpart, they offer adjustable ANC, where most premium options don't. Even better, I could noticeably tell the difference between the noise-cancelling levels, making it feel like a real feature and not a marketing gimmick. Also beating the gimmick allegations is the way these earbuds sound. Though they're not going to sound like AirPods Pro, they do outperform plenty of mid-range options. I find most headphones and earbuds to be way too bass-heavy out of the box, but the EarFun buds were good to plug and play. However, there is an equalizer on the app if you find the sound needs some adjustments.

Next, the battery life. Anyone who's owned a pair of AirPods for a few years knows the unique frustration of the power down sound after a matter of hours. The EarFun earbuds, on the other hand, have better life than the AirPods Pro and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds — two great noise-cancelling buds whose prices disqualified them from this list.

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