Tech & Audio Updated Oct 7, 2026

Cheaper noise-cancelling headphones: premium picks and their alternatives

Noise cancelling is the headline, but everything in this class cancels noise well enough that it is rarely what decides. What separates these is what you notice after an hour: the weight sitting on your head, how many hours you get before the battery quits, and whether a pair will hold your laptop and your phone at the same time.

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Premium noise-cancelling headphones we map

Premium pick

Spec leaders

Best published figure in each scored spec, across every noise-cancelling headphone we track.

Longest battery

Tribit QuietPlus 81 Wireless Over-Ear Headphones

70 hr Tribit QuietPlus 81 Best of 14 noise-cancelling headphones that list it Lightest

Sony WH-CH720N Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones

192 g Sony WH-CH720N Best of 9 noise-cancelling headphones that list it Highest bluetooth

Soundcore Q31i Adaptive Noise Cancelling Over-Ear Headphones

6 Soundcore Q31i Best of 12 noise-cancelling headphones that list it Highest driver

42 mm Sennheiser Momentum 5 Best of 10 noise-cancelling headphones that list it

Every noise-cancelling headphone we track

All 14 side by side. A green cell is the best published figure in that row.

Spec	Premium AirPods Max 2	Premium Sony WH-1000XM6	Premium Bose QC Ultra 2nd Gen	Dyson OnTrac	Sennheiser Momentum 5	Beats Studio Pro	Sennheiser Momentum 4	Soundcore Space One Pro	Sony WH-CH720N	Soundcore Q31i	1MORE SonoFlow Pro	Tribit QuietPlus 81	Soundcore Q20i	Philips H8000
List price	$549	$459.99	$449	$499.99	$399.95	$349.99	$299.95	$199.99	$179.99	$89.99	$87.99	$79.99	$69.99	$69.83
Battery, noise cancelling on	20 hr	30 hr	30 hr	55 hr	57 hr	24 hr	60 hr	40 hr	35 hr	50 hr	65 hr	70 hr	40 hr	50 hr
Weight	386.2 g	254 g	264.4 g	451 g	Not listed	260 g	Not listed	286.2 g	192 g	265 g	Not listed	283 g	Not listed	Not listed
Holds two devices at once	Not listed	Yes	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not listed	Yes	Yes	Yes
Listens wired	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not listed	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not listed	Yes	Yes	Not listed	Not listed	Yes	Yes
Case in the box	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not listed	No	Not listed	Yes	Not listed	No	No
Bluetooth	5.3	5.3	5.4	5	5.4	Not listed	5.2	Not listed	5.2	6	5.4	6	5	5.4
Driver	Not listed	30 mm	Not listed	40 mm	42 mm	Not listed	42 mm	Not listed	30 mm	40 mm	40 mm	40 mm	40 mm	40 mm

Noise-Cancelling Headphones head to head

AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6 Sony WH-1000XM6 leads 2⁠–⁠0 AirPods Max 2 vs Soundcore Space One Pro Soundcore Space One Pro leads 2⁠–⁠0 AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-CH720N Level on specs, 2⁠–⁠2 AirPods Max 2 vs Bose QC Ultra 2nd Gen Bose QC Ultra 2nd Gen leads 3⁠–⁠0 AirPods Max 2 vs Sennheiser Momentum 4 Level on specs, 1⁠–⁠1 AirPods Max 2 vs Sennheiser Momentum 5 Sennheiser Momentum 5 leads 2⁠–⁠0 AirPods Max 2 vs Beats Studio Pro Beats Studio Pro leads 2⁠–⁠0 AirPods Max 2 vs Soundcore Q20i AirPods Max 2 leads 2⁠–⁠1 AirPods Max 2 vs Philips H8000 Philips H8000 leads 2⁠–⁠1

Show all 88 comparisons