Best TWS Earbuds Under $50, Under $100 and Above

TWS stands for true wireless stereo: two earbuds with no cable between them, each with its own battery, paired to your phone by Bluetooth. The pair we would buy is the CMF Buds 2, $29 on Nothing’s US store. Nothing lists 48 dB of hybrid noise cancelling and 7.5 hours per charge with it on, or 32 hours with the case.

Spending more makes sense for two reasons. For flights and noisy commutes, the soundcore Liberty 4 NC at $99.99 has adaptive noise cancelling and lasts 8 hours with it on. For the longest battery, the soundcore P41i from $79.99 has a case that can also charge your phone. And if you own an iPhone, the AirPods Pro 3 at $249 are the upgrade. In Nigeria, look at the Oraimo SpaceBuds N.

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Under $50

$29 is a sale price, down from $49, and it is what makes the CMF Buds 2 the pick. They beat the cheaper CMF Buds 2a in every figure Nothing gives, and the gap is only $4.35: 48 dB against 42 dB, 7.5 hours against 5, and 32 hours with the case against 23. Buy the 2a at $24.65 only if that $4.35 really matters. CMF Buds 2 on Amazon

The CMF Buds Pro 2 at $49 have two drivers in each earbud, 50 dB of listed noise cancelling, and LDAC for higher-quality Bluetooth audio on Android phones that support it. Battery is slightly worse than the Buds 2, at 6.5 hours and 26 with the case, and it falls to 4.3 and 16.6 with LDAC and noise cancelling both on. If the CMF Buds 2 go back to $49, buy these instead. CMF Buds Pro 2 on Amazon

Under $100

The Liberty 4 NC is where we would stop for noise cancelling. soundcore says it cuts up to 98.5% of noise, using a sensor inside the ear to adapt. It lasts 8 hours with noise cancelling on, 40 with the case, and it has LDAC, multipoint for two devices at once and wireless charging. LDAC costs you battery here too, down to 5 hours. soundcore Liberty 4 NC on Amazon

The soundcore P41i is the battery pick, at $79.99 to $89.99 depending on the version. It gives 12 hours per charge and 192 with the case. That case has a 3,000mAh battery and charges a phone at 10W, and soundcore says it takes an iPhone 16 Pro to 50%. Where power cuts are routine, that matters more than a better speaker. The cost is size: the page quotes a reviewer calling the case bulky. soundcore P41i on Amazon

The soundcore P40i at $79.99 is the smaller alternative, at 10 hours per charge and 50 with the case with noise cancelling on, and a case that doubles as a phone stand. soundcore P40i on Amazon

The one we would skip here is Nothing’s own Ear (a), at $59 on sale. It lists less noise cancelling than either CMF pair at 45 dB and the shortest battery of the three at 5.5 hours, and it costs more than both. You are paying for the look.

Battery with noise cancelling on

The headline figure on the box is usually with noise cancelling off. CMF’s 55 hours becomes 32, and the Liberty 4 NC’s 50 becomes 40. These are the figures with it on, as each maker gives them.

The P41i is not in the table because soundcore gives only its 12 and 192 hours and no separate figure with noise cancelling on.

Do not rank noise cancelling across brands by these numbers. Nothing’s decibels and soundcore’s percentage are each company’s own measurement, and Apple and Bose do not publish either. Use them to compare pairs from the same maker.

What $249 and up buys

Mostly a match with your phone, along with whatever the extra noise cancelling is worth to you. The AirPods Pro 3 are the clear choice with an iPhone: Apple says they cancel up to twice as much noise as the AirPods Pro 2, and they last as long as anything else at this price. Apple AirPods Pro 3 on Amazon

With a Samsung Galaxy, the same logic points to the Galaxy Buds4 Pro, because their head-tracked 360 Audio works only on Samsung devices. Which phones get what is set out under spatial audio earbuds. Samsung Galaxy Buds4 Pro on Amazon

Two pairs here are poor value on the numbers we can check. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) at $299 run for 6 hours, less than the $29 CMF Buds 2. The Sony WF-1000XM6, $329.99 on a saved copy of Sony’s US store, match the $99.99 Liberty 4 NC on hours per charge and have less in the case. Buy either only if you already prefer that company’s sound or noise cancelling, because the spec sheet does not make the case for them.

The AirPods 5 at $129 are also hard to recommend off an iPhone. On Android they work only as plain Bluetooth earbuds, and 4 hours per charge is the lowest in the table.

JBL’s own line-up has its own page: JBL headphones.

Best TWS earbuds in naira and rupees

The Oraimo SpaceBuds N are what we would buy in Nigeria. Oraimo’s Nigerian store turns away automated readers. As a search engine holds the page, it shows ₦26,900, down from ₦29,900. Oraimo gives 8.5 hours with noise cancelling on and another 23.5 from the case, or 38 hours in all with it off, and a 10-minute charge gives up to 3 hours. Check the store for today’s figure before you pay.

In India, Nothing’s Indian store sells the same CMF Buds 2 and CMF Buds Pro 2, so the reasoning above carries over. For under ₹2,000, realme launched the Buds T200 at ₹1,999, and realme gives 32 dB of noise cancelling and 35 hours with the case with it on. Neither store’s current rupee price could be read here, so compare them on the day.