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Nov 11, 2024

Best earbuds for working out in 2024 - SoundGuys

All products featured are independently chosen by us. However, SoundGuys may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links. See our ethics statement. Published onNovember 8, 2024

All products featured are independently chosen by us. However, SoundGuys may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links. See our ethics statement.

Published onNovember 8, 2024

Exercising is tough, but finding earbuds that keep up with you shouldn’t be. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the best earbuds for working out that money can buy. We hope these push you through even the most strenuous workout regimen. Whether you’re looking for a pair of affordable buds or the best earbuds for every use case, we hope to have you covered with these picks.

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The Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 takes the crown as our top pick for workout earbuds, offering an impressive blend of durability, sound quality, and versatility. These earbuds feature Jabra’s ShakeGrip coating to prevent slippage during intense workouts, ensuring they stay securely in place without the need for wings or hooks.

Sound quality is a standout, with a bass-forward default tuning to get you moving. The included Dolby Spatial Sound adds depth to your music, while the comprehensive equalizer in the Jabra Sound+ app allows for fine-tuned audio customization. Noise cancelation is highly effective, particularly for low-frequency sounds, making these suitable for gym environments and travel alike.

What really sets the Elite 8 Active Gen 2 apart is its innovative smart case. This feature allows you to connect the earbuds to almost any audio source via 3.5mm or USB-C, effectively turning them into a versatile wireless system for use with gym equipment, in-flight entertainment, or even gaming consoles.

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As you can see, the earbuds under-emphasize low-mid frequencies from 200-500Hz compared to our target, which makes some vocals and pianos sound quieter than you might expect. There is also an under-emphasis in the high frequencies above 8kHz, and a relative over-emphasis in the sub-bass below 100Hz.

The chart below shows how the sound of the Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 was assessed by the Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Score (MDAQS) algorithm from HEAD acoustics.

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The Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 have great noise canceling, though not quite as good as the Elite 10 Gen 2. Most environmental noise is reduced by 80%, with low-frequency noise below 100Hz attenuated by about 30 dB. This easily blocks out most of the rumble from an airplane engine and holds up against the best noise canceling earbuds when it comes to blocking out low-frequency noise.

Anyone who exercises outdoors knows just how vital vigilance is, and the Nothing Ear (Open) allow you to keep an ear on your surroundings while listening to your music. Unlike other earbuds that seal to your ear canal, these open earbuds leave your ears pretty much unoccluded, so it’s easy to stay aware of your surroundings.

Just like all open earbuds, the Nothing Ear (Open) struggle to produce sub-bass. That said, amongst all of the open earbuds we’ve tested so far, the Nothing Ear (Open) have the best sound quality, with an MDAQS rating of 3.6 on a scale from 1-5.

The Beats Fit Pro has active noise canceling (ANC) that rivals the AirPods Pro 2, and when you want to hear your surroundings, you can enable Transparency mode.

The signature “b” logo on each earbud doubles as a multifunction button, which can be preferable to touch controls when exercising because they work reliably, even with sweaty hands. Permanent wings extend from the earbuds, keeping them from falling out while you run, cycle, or rock climb.

Although these earbuds house Apple’s H2 chip for exclusive iOS features like personalized Spatial Audio with head tracking and device switching, they also work on Android. The Beats app for Android lets you customize the press-and-hold command, change listening modes, and view the battery life. Like the iOS Settings app, the Beats app hosts an ear tip fit test and lets you toggle automatic ear detection on or off.

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You get plenty of bass emphasis, which is typical of workout earbuds. Beats keep the treble emphasis pretty consumer-friendly, so you can still hear flutes, violins, and hi-hats amid bassier segments. This kind of frequency response does best with pop, hip-hop, and rap music, and it’s no coincidence that these are the most popular workout music genres.

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The Beats Fit Pro quiets some bass and midrange frequencies and uses adaptive ANC, so it calibrates the intensity in real time.

The Sennheiser MOMENTUM Sport are designed specifically for fitness enthusiasts wseeking a hands-free way to monitor their heart rate and body temperature. These earbuds integrate photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors to provide biometric tracking directly from the earbuds, bypassing the need for a separate fitness wearable. During testing, the heart rate readings were reliable and comparable to an Apple Watch, which instills confidence for general fitness tracking. Additionally, the MOMENTUM Sport earbuds offer excellent stability and comfort during high-intensity workouts thanks to various wing and ear tip options, although individuals with smaller ears might experience discomfort due to the earbuds’ larger size.

The MOMENTUM Sport also boasts IPX5 water resistance, touch controls with customizable sensitivity, and integration with Sennheiser’s Smart Control app, where users can monitor biometric data, adjust sound settings, and even enable automatic settings based on location. Sound quality emphasizes deep bass, suitable for genres like EDM and rap, though high frequencies are less prominent, making them less ideal for critical listening. While these earbuds are on the pricier side, they provide a unique value as a fitness-focused audio and biometric solution, especially if you want a device that combines music playback with health tracking.

According to MDAQS testing, the Sennheiser MOMENTUM Sport get an overall score of 4.2 on a scale from 1-5. This means that most people will enjoy the way that the Sennheiser MOMENTUM Sport sound.

The EarFun Air Pro 4 aim to deliver premium features typically reserved for high-end earbuds at an affordable price point. With good noise canceling, the latest Bluetooth tech, and great sound quality, they pack serious value for anyone looking to maximize their budget. While the earbuds retain the familiar lightweight, comfortable design of the previous model, they now include additional perks, like multiple ANC modes, a low-latency mode for gaming, and robust customization options in the EarFun Audio app. These enhancements offer a seamless experience comparable to pricier earbuds, making the EarFun Air Pro 4 a competitive choice in the sub-$100 category.

Beyond ANC and audio quality, EarFun’s companion app elevates the user experience, enabling customization of controls, access to diverse sound presets, and easy firmware updates. You can adjust tap sensitivity, tailor the equalizer, and use Google Fast Pair and Bluetooth Multipoint for dual-device connections. The earbuds support a wide range of Bluetooth codecs, ensuring high-quality streaming on compatible devices. While the sound balance may shift slightly with ANC turned off, this can be adjusted in the app’s EQ settings. Overall, the EarFun Air Pro 4 deliver impressive quality and feature depth, easily securing a spot among the best affordable earbuds.

According to MDAQS testing, most people will enjoy the sound quality of the EarFun AirPro 4, as they attain an overall score of 4.8 on a scale from 1-5.

The JBL Endurance Peak 3 are durable wireless earbuds with an IP68 rating. These dust-tight earbuds can withstand complete submersion for 30 minutes as long as they don’t sink deeper than three meters. In addition, these buds are affordable and have a stabilizing hook design.

The JBL Endurance Peak 3 supports the JBL Headphones app, which significantly increases the feature set of the earbuds. The app lets you customize on-ear controls, EQ presets (and the ability to make your own), firmware updates, and more. You can also turn on the earbuds’ transparency modes, Ambient Aware (which amplifies all external sounds using the microphone) and TalkThru (which only amplifies the frequencies associated with human speech). However, there’s no ANC, which may make this less ideal in a noisy gym.

Open-ear earbuds often make you aware of your surroundings at the expense of sound quality. Still, the Shokz OpenFit sound decent and feel comfortable as far as unsealed personal audio products go. They stay in place for various types of exercise, and they have an IPX54 dust—and water-resistant build.

In our testing, the battery life measured seven hours, 21 minutes on a single charge, about two hours longer than average. The case supplies an extra 21 hours of playtime and recharges via USB-C. We also like how the case can fast charge these buds: five minutes yields one hour of listening. They also have surprisingly good microphone quality, making your voice sound good even when speaking in a noisy environment.

We rounded out our favorite earbuds for working out, but if you want to consider all options, check out some other noteworthy candidates.

Workout earbuds can be intimidating. After all, you need them to be durable and comfortable, but it’s hard to know what else matters. Well, if you’ve never bought a pair of earbuds for working out before, you may want to study our in-ear buying guide. Those who may not have time to read it can use the table of contents on our site to navigate through the sections below regarding fit, durability, and Bluetooth codecs.

When it comes to earbuds of any kind, particularly wireless workout earbuds, getting a good fit is necessary for the best sound quality.

Auditory masking can negatively affect sound quality if your earbuds don’t fit properly. This is when louder noises mask our perception of quieter ones. Our brains only have so much bandwidth to work with as they process stimuli. If you don’t get a good fit, external noise will make it hard for your brain to process the sound of your music.

Many earbud manufacturers are including ear tip fit tests in their respective apps to make it easy to find the right fit. If your earbuds don’t have this feature, you’ll have to find the best tips manually. A good fit requires a cogent seal from the ear tips. When you get a proper fit, the earbuds should stay in place if you wiggle your ears or move around a bit.

Additionally, a key aspect of the listed best workout earbuds is that they’re, at the very least, sweat-resistant. So here’s a quick rundown of ingress protection (IP) ratings. The X is just a placeholder for a dust resistance rating.

The “IP” in IP ratings stands for ingress protection. You’ll see this rating formatted as IPXX; a common rating is IPX4. The “X” in IPX4 is a placeholder for dust resistance, and the “4” denotes a certain degree of water resistance. All workout earbuds need to be water-resistant. You can’t submerge a headset unless it has an IPX7 rating or higher.

When looking for workout earbuds, you likely prioritize durability and fit over sound quality. High-quality Bluetooth codec support matters less with workout earbuds than it does with premium ANC headphones.

Practically speaking, Bluetooth codec support may impact latency when streaming videos from the treadmill or stationary bike. If you have an Android phone, we recommend picking up earbuds with aptX support, like the Jabra Elite 4 ($79 at Amazon). This will ensure high-quality, lag-free audio from your Android device. LDAC can work, too, but its Hi-Res claims are dubious. iPhone owners will want to look out for AAC.

The workout headphone market is significantly smaller than the workout earbud market. Here are our top headphone recommendations for exercise.

For those who don’t have a good pair of workout earbuds, headphones can offer better stability, comfort, and better noise isolation. However, over-ear headphones can lead to more heat and sweat built up over longer workouts.

For this list of the best workout earbuds, our team tested our curated selection of models. Our team has used the candidates casually around the house, in the office, and generally while out and about. When testing earbuds for workout purposes, I do a bit of cardio, mainly biking and running, paired with weight-lifting and calisthenics. All the products listed were able to withstand various workouts.

We subjected the best workout earbuds nominees to our objective testing, which includes isolation, battery life, and frequency response. After we test all the products and score them, we write a review. You can read all about it here, but the truncated version is as follows.

We’re all fully committed to SoundGuys, and collectively, we have multiple years of reviewing audio products under our belts. We keep pace with the ever-changing world of audio. That way, we can easily separate the diamonds in the rough from, well, the rough.

At the end of the day, we want you to enjoy what you listen to, which means we want you to enjoy what you’re listening through. None of our writers sees a dime from partnership deals or referral purchases, and we absolutely don’t benefit from swaying to one product or another.

To make sure your buds stay in your ears, you’ll want to make sure any earbuds you buy have several options for ear tips, such as what the Anker Soundcore Spirit Dot 2 come with. Also, to avoid pain, we’d recommend avoiding non-removable wing tips that work by pressing out against your ear pinnae and instead opting for buds with removable wing tips or over-ear hooks like the Beats Powerbeats Pro.

How comfortable your earbuds feel depends on your specific ear shape as well as the ear tips you have on your buds. Ear hooks and wing tips provide stability, which factors into comfort because it prevents you from constantly adjusting your earbuds during your workout. We recommend the Bose SoundSport Free from this list if comfort is your main goal. They are stable with wing tips and won’t give you pain after wearing them for a long time. The only thing to note is that they are bulky, so if you have a lot of ear piercings, you’ll want to go with a sleeker set.

The JBL Endurance Peak 3 are notable for their durability with an IP68 rating, meaning they can withstand complete submersion for 30 minutes up to three meters deep. This makes them an excellent choice for gym-goers who need robust waterproof earbuds.

There could be a few reasons why your earbuds are cutting in and out at the gym, such as accidentally activating touch controls, a dwindling battery, or just a shaky connection to your mobile device. Always best to keep them charged and ensure a snug fit with your device.

The Shokz OpenRun Pro is our recommendation for joggers. They allow you to remain aware of your surroundings as they don’t seal to your ear canal, leaving your ears unoccluded. This ensures you can hear traffic and other potential hazards while enjoying your music.

The fit of earbuds can vary based on design and individual ear shapes. Many earbuds designed for workouts, like the Jabra Elite 7 Active, come with features such as the ShakeGrip cover to ensure they stay in place during physical activities. It’s crucial to find earbuds that offer a secure fit, and using the right-sized ear tips can also help prevent them from falling out while running.

We generally don’t recommend using AirPods for the gym. Apple’s own Beats Fit Pro is a far better option that integrates just as well with iOS. But if you have nothing else, the AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) has comparable specs without the secure winged ear tips.

Any of the earbuds highlighted on this list, such as the Jabra Elite 8 Active or the Beats Fit Pro, will suit multiple types of exercise.