Best Wireless Earphones or EarBuds under $250 in 2023

Moderators at OzBargain are now running yearly polls to decide the best products in popular categories that get asked repeatedly in the forum. Our aim is to have a central thread where users can vote on the items, suggest options and also change their vote throughout the year. For more information on how these polls work, or if you want to suggest a new poll that isn't covered already, please refer to our announcement thread here.


Question

What is the best (true) Wireless BT earbuds in 2023?

As more and more phones now come without a dedicated 3.5mm Audio Jack, it's not surprising that wireless audio devices are starting to become more popular. True Wireless earphones (abbreviated as TWS) are also now common as Apple Airpods have ignited a new trend & styling.

Some of the things you need to consider apart from their sound quality:

  • Battery life of both the charging case and earbuds
  • Size of the charging case
  • How well the buds fit in your ear, comfort, could you wear it while jogging or exercising
  • The quality of the microphone for clearer phone calls
  • Active noise cancelling or passive noise isolation
  • Water resistance (for sweaty workouts)

We asked the same Question in 2022 and the Winner of the poll is Apple Airpods 2, followed by the Apple AirPods 3, and Jabra Elite Active 75T took a humble third place at 29 votes.

Remember: You can change your votes at anytime, and suggest more than 1 product over the course of the poll.


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Poll Options expired

This is part of What Should I Buy poll for 2023. Check out other recommendations from the OzBargain community.

closed Comments

  • AirPods Pro 2 of course are overall the best when you factor in features and convenience and cool-factor.

    • +2

      Those are high-end / premium earbuds though, that's normally $399 (on sale for $350~ish). This poll is for lower end options that are under $250.

      • I didn't add it to the poll, I just voted for it. Oh I see it says AirPods 2, not Pro. I can't rescind my vote, maybe I'll add that as an option.

    • So overall just because they are apple?

    • cool factor, lol

  • This is so people can remove their vote if they accidentally vote for something.

    • +1

      There is a button to revoke a vote if you press the wrong button. You can also vote for something else if you change your mind.

      • Oh yeah there is too. I never noticed that before.

  • Suggested Google Pixel Buds Pro

    Pixel Buds Pro can be had on sale for $249, last week I bought one from JB Hifi for $224.10 (with 10% discount coupon on top).

  • https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/11951555/redir
    If you're wanting over-ears.

    Earbuds is very personal, between in-ears which are very un-comfortable but sound louder. Or on-ear buds which sit outside the ear for more comfort, but aren't as loud.

  • Suggested Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro

    Got a pair from Amazon for $169, still not sure if it was a price error.

    Works perfectly for work meetings, games, anything I throw at it. Only concern I had was the eartip was not comfortable - but I replaced it with memory foam tips and my ears stopped hurting.

  • +1
    Suggested Jabra Elite 7 Pro

    Got a pair last black friday for $177, currently going for $241 on amazon but usually drops lower

    • +1

      I got essentially the same deal but from JBHiFi, I wanted pixel buds but certainly at that time it seemed they'd be unlikely to go sub $200 any time soon.
      I find the Jabras are great, they are light enough that I can wear them for hours without getting sore/uncomfortable ears which was an issue I had with the outlier airs I used previously and the noise cancelling, hear through & call quality is pretty great, it's not perfect but for the price I rarely find myself wishing it was better. Having said that it would be great it hearthrough detected when you were having a conversation and automatically cut your music or whatever you are listening to but '1st world problems' lol
      I'd love to try out a set of pixel buds though and see their price in the $150-$200 range which tbh for me is a premium price for earphones. I could never see myself paying more than that unless I had professional reasons for needing some special feature.
      But anyway, I definitely recommend the Elite 7 Pros you won't be disappointed esp if you get them under $180 which to me seems about the right price.

  • +1

    I have the Samsung buds and the buds pro and pixel pro and Samsung is a much better fit

    • There's no doubt that getting earphones that fit well and are comfortable esp after a few hours wearing them in many ways is more important than anything. You could get the best sound quality but if you can't wear them for the time you want it's kindve mute. A couple's of friends have Samsung buds pro 2 and sweat they are the most comfortable they've ever worn but it'll be different for everyone.

  • Suggested Beats Fit Pro

    I think the beats fit pro last went on sale at $229

  • Depends. Are you wanting…
    1. Top notch audio quality, good fit, but (really) not good so good microphone quality - Samsung Buds2 Pro
    2. Damn good audio quality but trashy usability (seriously!) - Sennheiser Momentum TW3
    4. Damn good audio quality, questionable fit, and pretty poor microphone quality - Sony WF-1000XM4

    Holy Grail.
    - Excellent call quality, and excellent audio to boot - Galaxy Buds+ for the win! but not available anymore, so my search continues.
    My use case is - non-Apple with excellent call quality.

    • How about the buds 2? Better call quality, similar sound but the anc is crap compared to the pro.

      • RTINGS has recordings that you can playback. Examples here.
        https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tests/microphone/noise-han….

        FWIW - Bought the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro's this week past. $144 on Amazon. Audio quality is great (exception is muddy bass on LoFi tines). ANC is good and I haven't had any resulting feelings of "pressure". Transparency mode is pretty darn good. The exception is that there's a constant hiss when in a quiet room. The call quality is very clear, however… and BIG however… background noise cancellation seems to be non-existent. Callers don't hear any difference between a pair of LG's and this. Background voices are almost as clear as I am when I'm not speaking. Bought them for calls. RTINGS tests should background noise is well handled. Don't know what the heck is up with these tho.

        FWIW2 - A mate has a pair of Jabra Evolve2 65's on-ear. Don't feel comfortable with on-ear myself, however the microphone quality is exceptional in very loud environments.

        The WF-1000XM5's are apparently out next week. Not sure when they'd land in Aus. Will buy them.

  • Suggested Sony WF-LS900

    Sony Linkbud S

  • What's good for teams calls with background noise?
    Hearing mixed things about Jabra 7s. Sony xm4 and link supposed to not be great mic but then better separation of noise?

    • Buds 2, plantronics c5200 (got a diff name now), sony linkbuds (not s, the donut hole one) all have top tuer microphones and noise cancellation

  • Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro for the price are excellent.

  • Has anyone used the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds ii?

    I know it lacks the features that the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro provide, however Ive been shit out of luck with every Samsung Buds ive owned, for e.g with the Buds Plus the largets wing tips were too small for my big ears! Given the Buds2 Pro dont have interchangeable wing tips im worried ill be stuck in the same situation.

    I belive the Bose Quietcomforts have more flexiblity with sizing.

    If anyones used both; would really appreciate some input before I put $$ down!

  • Half in-ear.
    Bluetooth 5.2
    Cheap

    • SoundPEATS Air3 This exists under another poll for budget sub $80 earbuds, please place your vote there

  • i had the sony earbuds. the microphone is a disaster and it looks weird with its protruding looks.
    noone could hear me on calls. people always say they can hear everything else around me really loud but my own voice.
    got really tired of it, and bought google buds pro!
    honestly, life changer - i can finally cook and chat to my mom or go for a run and receive a phone call. and they look very sleek, impressive ANC, and sound quality

  • Suggested Sony WF-1000XM4

    Great buds imho

  • whats best for both running, and phonecalls?

  • Suggested Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3

    Sennheiser Momemntum True Wireless 3 (MTW3).

    There were deals at $199 and $220. Arguably the best sound quality among them all. I just got mine from Amazon Warehouse (Used: As New) for $260. Impressed so far!
    My journey to the best sounding TWS Earbuds in 2022

  • Suggested Nothing Ear 2

    I would say nothing ear 2 is my fav under $250 I bought it for $175 in a deal. I don't know why it is not in the list

  • If anyone got the refurbished bose free earbuds a few years back, if they're worse for wear like mine were, you can swap them for Bose QC Ultras for $200 via chat.

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