Whether you work from home, find yourself on an airplane more often than not, or simply want to turn down the volume of the outside world, noise-cancelling headphones are exactly the tool you need.
Even the best value headphones will feel lacking if they don't come equipped with halfway decent noise cancellation. Besides, there are simply too many headphones on the market (our testing pool gets bigger month by month) for you to pay hundreds only to get subpar ANC.
To help you pick the right model, Mashable editors and reviewers tested dozens of headphones and earbuds and picked out the best noise-cancelling headphones of 2024. And with Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days right around the corner, we've also added some buying tips for the sale on each of our picks below.
Do noise-cancelling headphones actually work?
There's a big difference between outside noise being blocked and music simply being loud enough to drown it out. If you're looking for the maximum amount of noise cancellation, you want to go for headphones that have active noise cancellation.
Active noise-cancelling headphones electronically cover up the sounds coming from your surroundings by using internal microphones that listen to what's happening in the world around you, then invert the noise and send it to the speakers. The idea is that both the output and the input will cancel out, leaving you with near-silence. Over-ear headphones also create a tight seal around your ears that adds another layer of sound blocking.
If you've tried a pair of noise-cancelling headphones before and haven't been impressed, don't be discouraged. It's partially about finding the headphones that match your preferences, as not all ANC performs equally. For instance, cheaper ANC headphones may have a more noticeable hissing sound that you'll hear when the noise cancellation is turned on, which can be distracting for some folks.
Other headphones may be great at blocking at low tones, but more prone to letting high-pitched tones in. Typically, more premium headphones will yield better results, but we have budget picks below that still do a solid job.
In the past, not many earbuds featured active noise cancellation that was comparable to over-ear headphones, but newer iterations like the AirPods Pro and Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds hold their own in the ANC space. However, even these earbuds can't quite get the same seal that headphones can, so if you're looking for maximum silence, you might be happier with over-ear headphones. However, if you want to cut down on the bulk, earbuds make for great alternatives.
What are the best noise-cancelling headphones to buy?
Bose and Sony are both top names when it comes to any type of audio, but especially when it comes to noise cancellation. Both brands feature industry-leading ANC on top of superb sound quality. There are also some other brands and models worth checking out, so if you want to tune out ambient sound, we've laid everything out for you below, from your more premium options to your budget picks.
