Blog

Oct 31, 2024

Best sport headphones 2024 for motivational workouts | Tom's Guide

Long lasting, durable wireless buds When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. The best sports headphones are ideal if you do a lot of

Long lasting, durable wireless buds

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

The best sports headphones are ideal if you do a lot of outdoor activities, like running, cycling, or hiking. They're designed to be durable, long-lasting, and still let you hear what's going on around you with a transparency mode.

Like many of the best workout headphones, these sports headphones help you keep motivated with your favorite music, audiobooks, or podcasts, and are comfortable to wear, even for extended periods.

But you can't really know what they're like until you get them in your ear, so we the best sports headphones to the test so you can find the right set for your training. We also checked the sound quality, battery life, and fit of each pair.

After testing each set, we felt that the Beats Fit Pro were the best sports headphones for most people, but we've also included Shokz headphones that are perfect for running, and several other alternatives to get you moving.

Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you. Find out more about how we test, analyze, and rate.

Our expert review:

It's hard to find a better designed, more comfortable set of sports headphones than the Beats Fit Pro. These earbuds have small wings on each bud to keep them locked in place, making them ideal for working out.

However, that's not the only reason to like them. We were impressed by the noise cancelation, which easily blocked out unwanted distractions like background and traffic noise. And they have Apple's H1 chip, which means they integrate seamlessly with your other Apple devices, like your Mac.

And the chip helps power Siri's hands-free commands, and the Find My feature that allows you to recover misplaced buds. Of course, many of these features only work with Apple products, but you can still get a well-fitted, high-performing set even if you use an Android phone.

Our expert review:

If you like the design of Apple's Beats brand, but prefer the security of over-ear hooks, then the Beats Powerbeats Pro may be the best sports headphones for you. These sweat-resistant buds have Apple's H1 chip, so they play well with other Apple devices.

But, importantly, they also work with Android phones too, ideal if you're a fan of the Beats sound profile, although you don't get access to some iPhone-specific features like Siri and Spatial Audio.

However, whichever device you use, we found that the Powerbeats Pro have a well-balance audio output — gone is the super-heavy-bass approach found in older Beats sets. You get 24 hours of battery with the case, and 9 hours per bud.

Our expert review:

The Shokz OpenRun Pro are a bit different to the others on this list. Rather than popping the buds into your ear, the OpenRun Pro wrap around your head and sit on your cheekbones, and use vibrations to create sound.

Of course, this will never sound quite the same as in-ear buds, but, depending on how you like to exercise, it could be a lot more practical. And, like the best bone conduction headphones, since you don't have an obstruction in your ear, you can still hear everything around too.

This makes them an ideal choice if you're into running, hiking, or cycling — activities where you need to keep an ear out for road traffic or other people. And because of the headband-style design, we found they are some of the comfiest sports headphones to wear as well.

Our expert review:

Apple doesn't aim the AirPods Pro 2 at exercise — they have the Beats Fit Pro and Powerbeats Pro for that — but the popular buds do come with many of the same features and that distinctive Apple-white stemmed design.

And just because they're not workout-themed, doesn't mean you can't use them for exercise too. In fact, we took the AirPods 2 out on a run and found that the combination of changeable ear tips and a dynamic Adaptive Transparency mode make them ideal for indoor and outdoor workouts.

As with Apple's original ANC buds, the AirPods Pro 2 are sweat and water resistance to IPX4, but slippage has been improved to feel more secure whether you're on a run or working out, plus Apple’s Ear Tip Fit Test helps achieve optimal fit

Battery life has been increased compared to the first-gen AirPods Pro, with 6 hours on the earbuds and 30 hours from the wireless charging case. And the noise cancelation is easily some of the best we've ever used.

Our expert review:

The Jabra Elite 8 Active are some of the most durable sports headphones we've tested. The materials don't chip or fade, the ShakeGrip ear tip design stops them from falling out on runs and high-intensity workouts, and they come with an IP68 rating for water resistance.

They have Jabra’s warm sound signature to jumpstart workouts the moment you press play, along with adaptive active noise cancellation (with a transparency mode), spatial audio, and some of the longest battery life available.

Noise cancelation does a fantastic job of reducing unwanted sounds, be it on runs or during video chats. The Elite 8 Active are one of the strongest pairs of workout headphones we've seen, and benefit from solid feature support across both iOS and Android devices.

Our expert review:

These excellent value sports headphones don't come with a charging case, noise cancellation or many other premium features, but the Beats Solo Buds excel at the basics; great sound quality and a comfortable, secure fit.

We wore them for several weeks, covering low-intensity walks, high-intensity workouts, strength training sessions, and for daily use. We even began to default to the Solo Buds over the, technically superior, Jabra Elite 8 Active.

Not in every situation — without noise cancellation, they're not ideal for busy environments like the gym, especially when listening to podcasts or audiobooks — but whenever we need a dependable pair we could throw in our bag.

While it's not ideal that the carry case doesn't have a battery (each bud lasts up to 18 hours, 15 hours in the real world before you need a top up) but it does mean that it's really convenient to keep with you, as the case only weighs 22g and 5.7g per bud.

They fit well too without any adjustments. Although we wore them for a variety of workouts and training sessions, it was only during walk in the middle of a heatwave we actually found they slipped a bit and needed readjustment.

Our expert review:

The Shokz OpenSwim Pro are easily some of the best swimming headphones around. These bone conduction headphones sit comfortably around your head, with vibrating pads on each cheek bone to generate sound and leave your ears open.

This is partly how the headphones got their IP68 water resistance rating, since there are no exposed electronics and the charging cable magnetically attaches to the right side pad. And the open-ear design means that you can still hear what's going on around you, including lifeguard whistles.

The headphones are equipped with Bluetooth, so you can stream your favorite music and podcasts from a nearby phone, but you also get 32GB of onboard music storage if you want to leave your phone in the locker as you swim.

You can't download music from your chosen streaming service, so you need to plug the OpenSwim Pro into a computer, then drag and drop files — a process we found a bit on the slow side and fiddly. Plus, how many people own MP3 files now?

But it's a useful addition if you're after a way to keep motivated in the water. We found the headphones fitted well even under swimming caps and goggles and were comfortable to wear for extended swims. And we were big fans of the Swimming sound mode, which boosts volume and clarity for voice-based audio.

There are a lot of great sports headphones out there, but you can make it easier to narrow down your options by keeping in mind a few important considerations to help you find the best sports headphones for your workouts.

Firstly, they need to be durable enough to handle all-weather outdoor exercise and sweaty indoor workouts. So you should aim for a set with an IP rating suitable for your training style, generally IPX4 or higher.

Plus, they need to stay securely in place while you move. Some come with over-ear hooks to stop them escaping, while others use balanced in-ear designs to achieve the same result. Which you choose will come down to preference.

None of us want to recharge our devices several times a day. Fortunately, many of the best sports headphones last up to 8 hours, with three or four full recharges in the case.

However, it's still important to factor battery life into your decision. If you plan on a multi-hour run or all-day hike, you'll want a set that can last the duration. Or if you're more into short, high-intensity workouts, this might be less of a problem.

To make sure we test the best sports headphones thoroughly, we wear each set for at least two hours at a time to check for comfort, battery life and performance. We look to see how securely they fit during exercise and how they handle background noises, like oncoming traffic or chatter and machines at the gym.

We also download any companion apps and test to see how much you can customize the audio and overall experience. Plus, we check if the buds have on-ear buttons and whether these are easy to use, even when you're sweaty or moving.

And even though you'll be using these during sports and exercise, we also test each pair for audio quality, listening to a range of genres, music styles, podcasts, and phone calls for volume, clarity, and fullness of sound.

We test a lot of sports headphones, but not all of them will make our roundup. That doesn't make them bad options though, so if you're after more choices, here are some that didn't quite make the cut.

JBL SoundGear SenseIf you're looking for a set of headphones you can use for outdoor workouts, the open-ear design on the JBL SoundGear Sense make them a good option. However, in noisy environments, we found that the audio would get drowned out. But they are comfortable and durable and good for indoor exercise.

Jabra Elite 7 ActiveBefore Jabra made an exit from the consumer market with the Elite 8 Active, the 7 Active were some of the best sports headphones around. They're two generations old now, so are harder to find, but have similar ANC performance, great audio, and an incredibly comfortable design.

Read our full Jabra Elite 7 Active review

JLab Epic Air Sport ANC (2nd Gen)Before the Beats Solo Buds came along, these were our top sub-$100 sports headphones, thanks to the ear hook-based design to keep them in place, the impressive 70-hour battery life, good audio, and support for wireless charging.

Read our full JLab Epic Air Sport ANC (2nd Gen) review

OpenRock XOn paper, these open-ear sports headphones seem ideal. They feel premium (with a price tag to match) and are comfortable to wear for extended periods (unless you use glasses). But we found the sound quality wasn't up to scratch for the price, and the design allows too much wind noise to disrupt your audio.

Read our full OpenRock X review

During competitive events and races, athletes don't typically wear headphones. However, like many other people, athletes need to train and use music to keep motivated during their workouts.

However, there's no one-size-fits-all answer here, as its often down to personal preference. That said, runners will often default to bone conduction headphones so they can keep aware of their surroundings.

In fact, England Athletics even notes that: "Bone conduction sports headphones are the only headphones that are approved for use in all road races under the UK Athletics Rules of Competition.

"The Rules are clear that “in ear” headphones cannot be used in events where roads are open to traffic." The organization partners with Shokz, but you can use any bone conduction headphones to meet the requirements.

Here at Tom’s Guide our expert editors are committed to bringing you the best news, reviews and guides to help you stay informed and ahead of the curve!

James is Tom's Guide's Fitness Editor, covering strength training workouts, cardio exercise, and accessible ways to improve your health and wellbeing.His interest in fitness started after being diagnosed with a chronic illness, and he began focusing on strengthening his core, taking regular walks around the city, and practicing meditation to manage the symptoms. He also invested in fitness trackers, home workout equipment, and yoga mats to find accessible ways to train without the gym.Before joining the team at Tom’s Guide, James was the Fitness Editor at Fit&Well, where he covered beginner-friendly exercise routines, affordable ways to boost your wellbeing, and reviewed weights, rowing machines, and workout headphones.He believes that exercise should be something you enjoy doing, so appreciates the challenge of finding ways to incorporate it into everyday life through short muscle-building sessions, regular meditation, and early morning walks.

I ran 50 miles in the Hoka Skyflow — here’s my verdict

I did 50 hamstring curls every day for a week — here's what happened to my lower body

Save over $1,100 on Nolah's luxury mattress for back pain in early Black Friday sale