Looking for headphones or earbuds that are well-suited for gym use? These are my current favorites among dozens of sport-friendly models I’ve tested.
While it’s true that you can wear any earbuds or headphones while working out, some are better suited for gym use and other sporting activities than others, particularly when considering their design. Sports buds are not only sweat- and water-resistant but they often have sport fins or ear hooks to help keep them securely attached to your ears. And earbuds with an open design, including new clip-on models that attach to your ears like earrings, allow you to hear the outside world for safety reasons. For even more workout audio options, check out our best bone-conduction headphones, best running headphones, best clip-on earbuds and best true-wireless sports earbuds with ear hooks lists. I’ve tested all the earbuds and headphones on this list and fully reviewed several of them.
While it’s true that you can wear any earbuds or headphones while working out, some are better suited for gym use and other sporting activities than others, particularly when considering their design. Sports buds are not only sweat- and water-resistant but they often have sport fins or ear hooks to help keep them securely attached to your ears. And earbuds with an open design, including new clip-on models that attach to your ears like earrings, allow you to hear the outside world for safety reasons. For even more workout audio options, check out our best bone-conduction headphones, best running headphones, best clip-on earbuds and best true-wireless sports earbuds with ear hooks lists. I’ve tested all the earbuds and headphones on this list and fully reviewed several of them.
Our Picks
Best new wireless sports earbuds with ear hooks
Beats Powerbeats Pro 2
$249 at Amazon
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Top wireless earbuds for runners and bikers
Shokz OpenFit 2
$180 at Amazon
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Best Sony earbuds with a secure fit
Sony LinkBuds Fit
$150 at Best Buy
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Best-sounding noise-canceling earbuds under $100
Skullcandy Method 360 ANC
$88 at Amazon
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Best Apple workout earbuds
Apple AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C)
$199 at Amazon
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HEADPHONE DEALS OF THE WEEK
- Corsair Virtuoso Max Wireless Gaming Headset, Carbon (Revival Series): $150 (save $180)
- Beats Studio Pro Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (Black): $250 (save $101)
- Sonos Ace Wireless Noise Cancellation Over-Ear Headphones (Black): $295 (save $154)
- Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Noise Cancelling Over-Ear Headphones: $278 (save $70)
- Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless ANC Over-Ear Headphones (Black): $280 (save $170)
Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.
Table of Contents
What are the best headphones for working out?
While their design won’t be perfect fit for everyone, I currently have the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 as the top earbuds/headphones for working out. They’re improved in every way from their predecessor and people who liked the originals should be impressed with this next-gen version. That said, plenty of other more affordable workout earbuds options are available, with several models on the list costing less than $100.
What We Updated: August 2025
We added Acefast Acefit Pro and Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active. We also moved the Shokz Open Fit Air earbuds to the other products we tested section and removed the Bose Comfort Ultra Earbuds because they’ve been replaced by the Bose Comfort Ultra Earbuds 2.
Factors to consider when buying workout headphones and earbuds
Budget
Before anything else, you’ll want to figure out how much you’re willing to spend on new workout earbuds or headphones. The quality of value-priced earbuds and headphones continues to improve, so you can find good options for less than $75. But the premium models, which offer better build quality and performance, tend to cost more than $100 and sometimes more than $150.
Noise-isolating or open design
Workout earbuds are available in a couple of styles. Some come with silicone tips that are designed to create a tight seal in your ear and keep sound out (they have a noise-isolating design). Others have an open-ear design with the buds resting on top of your ears, firing sound into them. The noise-isolating style typically gives you better sound with stronger bass while the open-ear design has the advantage of allowing sound in for safety reasons.
Fit (comfort)
It’s key that workout earbuds and headphones fit you not only comfortably but securely. The best headphones should offer a comfortable fit that allows you to wear the earbuds (or headphones) for long periods of time without any irritation.
Durability
You want workout buds or headphones that hold up well over time, so look for models that we note have sturdy build quality and a good water-resistance rating.
Return policy
It’s critical to buy your workout buds and headphones at a retailer that has a good return policy, in case you have buyer’s remorse. Some people who are having trouble deciding between two models sometimes buy both, try them out for a few days and then return one.
How we test workout earbuds and headphones
We test the best headphones and earbuds for working out based on six key criteria and evaluate the models we test in both a gym environment and for outdoor workouts that include a three-mile run. These criteria include design, sound quality, noise-canceling performance, voice-calling performance, features and value.
- Design: Evaluating design, we assess not only how comfortable the headphones and earbuds fit (their ergonomics) but their build quality and how well the controls are implemented. When it comes to earbuds, we also look at water- and dust-resistance ratings.
- Sound quality: We evaluate sound quality by listening to a set playlist of music tracks and comparing the earbuds to top competing products in their price range. Sonic traits such as bass definition, clarity, dynamic range and how natural the headphones sound are key factors in our assessment.
- Noise-canceling performance: We evaluate noise-canceling performance by wearing the headphones in the same spot indoors near a noisy HVAC unit to see how well they do at muffling lower frequencies. Then we head out to the streets of New York to test the headphones in a real-world environment where we see how they do muffling not only street noise but people’s voices.
- Extra features: Some great-sounding workout headphones and earbuds aren’t loaded with features, but we do take into account what extra features are on board. These include everything from quick-access awareness to transparency modes (your music pauses and the headphones open up to the outside world so you can have a conversation) to special sound modes to ear-detection sensors that automatically pause your music when you take the headphones off your ears. We also take a look at the companion app for the headphones if there is one and how user friendly it is.
- Voice-calling: When we test voice-calling performance, we make calls in the noisy streets of New York and evaluate how well the headphones or earbuds reduce background noise and how clearly callers can hear our voice.
- Value: We determine value after evaluating the strength of the headphones and earbuds against all these criteria and what they’re able to deliver compared to other models in their price class. The best headphones balance price, quality, and functionality.
Other workout headphones and earbuds we tested
Shokz OpenFit Air: Shokz, the company formerly known as AfterShokz, has long been the leader in bone-conduction headphones. However, this model, like Shokz’s step-up OpenFit true-wireless earbuds, doesn’t use bone-conduction technology. They have an open design that fires sound into your ears using custom speaker drivers, which Shokz dubs “air conduction” technology. While Shokz’ flagship OpenFit 2 buds sound slightly better, have better battery life (up to 11 hours instead of 6 at moderate volume levels) and a physical control button, the Open Fit Air cost about $60 less and are a tad lighter and quite comfortable to wear. That said, it appears that they are being phased out by Shokz.
Edifier LolliClip: Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds may be the best-sounding and most comfortable clip-on earbuds but they list for $300. In contrast, Edifier’s new LolliClip buds cost $130 and their sound is pretty close to what you get with the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds — and they’re almost as comfortable to wear while fitting my ears securely. They also have some features the Bose buds don’t have, including active noise canceling (it’s not all that effective but you do sense it muffling some noise in the lower frequencies), a heart-rate monitor, blood oxygen sensor and spatial audio with head-tracking. There’s also a low-latency mode for gaming and support the LDAC for Android users.
Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2: Jabra billed these buds, which have unfortunately been discontinued, as the “world’s toughest earbuds,” and based on our tests (they survived several drops without a scratch), that may very well be true. While there are two new color options, the Gen 2 model doesn’t look any different from the original but it includes an LE Audio smart case, allowing wireless streaming from any device with USB-C or 3.5mm port (I tested it with inflight entertainment and it worked well, with no audio lag). The Elite 8 Active Gen 2 also feature enhanced spatial sound powered by Dolby Audio “for a better music experience,” enhanced Natural HearThrough for better awareness when outdoors, and improved noise-canceling performance.
Soundcore by Anker Sport X10: The Soundcore Sport X10 have an interesting design with rotating swiveling ear hooks that flip up when you’re using them and flip down when you want to set them in their charging case, which has a smaller footprint than a lot of buds with ear hooks. As long as you get a tight seal, they sound good, with powerful, punchy bass and good detail. They also have active noise canceling, which is effective but not as good as Sony’s or Bose’s noise canceling. They’re also fully waterproof with an IP rating of IPX7, which means they can be fully submerged in up to 3 feet of water for 30 minutes. Battery life is rated at up to eight hours with an additional three charges in the charging case.
Shokz Open Move: Shokz’ entry-level OpenMove bone-conduction headphone lists for $80, although we’ve occasionally seen it drop below $70. It replaces the older Titanium model and features some small design upgrades. I found it comfortable to wear and while it doesn’t sound great, it sounds relatively good for a bone-conduction headphone — again, keep your sound quality expectations in check or you’ll be disappointed. It’s very good for listening to podcasts, audiobooks and news broadcasts while you run.
Sennheiser Sport True Wireless: The Sport True Wireless bluetooth earbuds (about $130) are essentially Sennheiser’s CX True Wireless earbuds with sport fins — for a more secure fit — and better durability. They have an IP54 rating that makes them splash-proof and dust-resistant. The CX True Wireless, rated IPX4, don’t offer dust resistance.
Skullcandy Push Active : With their ear-hook design, they’re essentially a more affordable version of the Beats Powerbeats Pro and they actually fit my ears slightly better than the Powerbeats Pro — I’m not usually a fan of ear-hook style buds, but these are one of the better models. They also cost a lot less than the Beats.
Cleer Audio Arc 2 Sport: Cleer’s original Arc earbuds were solid sport earbuds that featured decent sound for open-style buds that sit on top of your ears and fire sound into them. The 2023 model (about $170) steps up the sound quality and offers additional refinements and feature upgrades, including a new “enhanced” charging case with UV sterilization and multipoint Bluetooth connectivity (Bluetooth 5.3), all of which makes for a significantly improved product.
Beats Powerbeats Pro: While the Powerbeats Pro remain popular workout earbuds, they’ve been around for several years so it’s best to buy them at significant discount.
JBL Live Pro 2: Over the years, JBL headphones have put out some decent true-wireless bluetooth earbuds, but nothing that really got me too excited. That’s finally changed with the arrival of the Samsung-owned brand’s new Live Pro 2 and Live Free 2 buds. Both sets of buds — the Live Pro 2 have stems while the Live Free 2 have a pill-shaped design — offer a comfortable fit along with strong noise canceling, very good sound quality and voice-calling performance, plus a robust set of features, including multipoint Bluetooth pairing, an IP rating of IPX5 (splash-proof) and wireless charging.
Sony LinkBuds: The LinkBuds are, in a sense, Sony’s answer to Apple’s standard AirPods. While they don’t sound as good as Sony’s flagship WF-1000XM4 or the LinkBuds S noise-isolating Bluetooth earbuds, they offer a discreet, innovative design and a more secure fit than the AirPods, as well as decent sound and very good voice-calling performance. Like the third-gen AirPods, their open design allows you to hear the outside world — that’s what the ring is all about. Read our Sony LinkBuds review.
