When you’re working out, listening to music can be a huge motivator. The Journal of Sports Exercise Psychology published research indicating that motivational music can help exercisers push through their fatigue. Meanwhile, the American Council on Exercise recently published an article stating that music can increase endurance during a workout by up to 15%. In short, if you’re not listening to music when you’re engaged in exercises, you probably should be. The best headphones for working out will keep you pumped with great audio while ensuring sweat and cords won’t impede your progress.
Of course, choosing the right music that'll motivate you is essential. Equally important, however, is selecting the best way to listen to that music—using a pair of high-quality, comfortable, sweat-resistant and durable over-ear headphones or wireless earbuds. Wireless earbuds, like Apple AirPods Pro, are popular for many types of workouts—from cycling and running to lifting weights—but there are a number of different options to consider. There are also specific situations when you might prefer over-ear headphones instead of earbuds.
While you can save money purchasing wired headphones or earbuds, when it comes to wearing them while engaged in almost any type of physical activity, you’ll definitely want to go wireless for the added comfort and convenience. Let’s take a look at nine of the best workout earbuds and headphones in 2022 that are ideal for highly active and fitness-minded people.
- Best Workout Earbuds Overall: Apple AirPods Pro
- Best Over-Ear Workout Headphones: Sony WH-1000XM4 Headphones
- Best Budget Workout Earbuds: OnePlus Buds Z2
- Best Wireless Earbuds For Sports: JBL Live 300TWS
- Best Earbuds For Runners or Cyclists: Bose Sport Earbuds
- Best Earbuds For The Gym: JBL Endurance Peak II
- Best Earbuds For Sweating: Under Armour True Wireless Flash by JBL
- Best Earbuds For Longer Workouts: Beats by Dr. Dre PowerBeats Pro
- Best Swimming Headphones: HydroActive Premium Short-Cord Headphones
Best Workout Earbuds Overall
Apple AirPods Pro Offer Bonus Features For Apple Users
If you’re an avid iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and/or Mac user, these earbuds are designed to automatically pair with all of your compatible Apple equipment when each is being used. The AirPods Pro will switch between devices the moment you do. This is a feature that’s unique to the AirPods Pro when used with other Apple equipment. However, these earbuds do work with almost any mobile device or computer that uses Bluetooth.
AirPods Pro are water and sweat resistant, super comfortable to wear for extended periods and feature active noise cancellation. However, using the “transparency mode,” you can just as easily listen to your audio and hear what’s going on around you. (A feature that’s useful when biking or running on roadways with other traffic, for example.)
Automatic EQ, up to 4.5 hours of battery life per charge, spatial audio with head tracking and a wireless charging case round out the other appealing features of these earbuds.
The AirPods Pro earbuds also work seamlessly with Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Siri, Apple Fitness+ and the Find My app on an iPhone (if you misplace one or both earbuds).
Best Over-Ear Workout Headphones
Sony WH-1000XM4 Headphones Offer Comfort And Superior Sound
Whether you engage in guided meditations that involve listening to someone speaking or you want to immerse yourself in soft music while drowning out the outside world, these over-ear headphones from Sony provide superior quality sound, an extra-long 30-hour battery life, and superior noise cancellation that will allow you to escape into your thoughts.
The Sony WH-1000XM4 provide adaptive sound control for a personalized listening experience. When you remove the headphones from your ears, they automatically pause whatever pre-recorded content you’re listening to. Their overall design provides long-lasting comfort. They’re also great for wearing on long flights or during train or bus ride, or any other time you want to bathe your ears in whichever content you fancy.
Best Budget Workout Earbuds
These OnePlus Earbuds Offer Everything You Could Want For Less Than $80
Think about everything you’re looking for in a pair earbuds. A long list of features will likely come to mind, like noise cancellation, a comfortable and secure fit, a long battery life, water and sweat resistance, Dolby Atmos support, and a three-microphone setup that’ll eliminate wind noise and other unwanted distractions.
It wasn’t along ago that you were looking at paying $200 for all of that, but what if you could get these same sought after features and functions around $80? Well, you can. Check out the OnePlus Buds Z2. These wireless earbuds use their built in microphones to continuously analyze your surrounding area and generate noise-cancelling counter-frequencies (up to 40 dB noise reduction) that virtually kills ambient noise. But if you want to hear what’s happening around you, switching to transparency mode requires just a few taps.
Using the earbuds alone, you get up to five hours of continuous listening. When you take advantage of the quick-charge case, a 10-minute charge will give you up to five hours of additional listening or up to 38 hours of total listening time. These earbuds are an excellent value and sound great for the price. Check out Forbes Vetted’s full review.
Best Wireless Earbuds For Sports
The JBL Live 300TWS Earbuds Are Built For Active People
The JBL Live 300 earbuds are fantastic running companions. They don't have any unsightly tails dangling from your ears or vestigial wire holding them together. They snugly fit in your ear and are designed not to pop out. The gesture controls can be fiddly at times, but once you get the hang of them, they're perfect for running.
You only have to poke at them for a second or two to change the volume, skip to the next track, answer a call or access your smartphone’s voice assistant. In addition to active noise cancelling, the earbuds have an “Ambient Aware” feature, so if you choose, you can hear what's happening all around you.
You'll get up to six hours of playback on a single charge or up to 20 hours of power with the included charging case. These earbuds offer IPX5 waterproofing for sweat and water, so you don't have to worry about getting caught in the rain. What you can count on when wearing these earbuds is sound that is crisp and clear.
Best Earbuds For Runners Or Cyclists
Bose Sport Earbuds Are Ideal For Highly Active Audiophiles
If you’re looking for high-quality earbuds from a premium audio brand and are designed for active individuals, then these Bose Sports Earbuds will serve you well. They’re ideal companions when running, cycling, or working out outdoors. The Bose Sport Earbuds are designed to offer the premium, clear and crisp audio you’d expect from Bose. They offer a housing that’s comfortable, rugged and sweat/water resistant.
You'll discover features like volume-optimized Active EQ, along with several sizes of soft silicone tips that fit comfortably in your ear. You'll get up to five hours of battery life per charge. You’ll also have no trouble paring these wireless earbuds with up to seven Bluetooth-compatible devices, including any smartphone or smartwatch.
Best Earbuds For The Gym
These JBL Endurance Peak II Earbuds Stay In Place During Workouts
For people who are extremely active and engage in activities where their head isn’t always right side up and pointed straight ahead, these JBL Endurance Peak II earbuds are ideal. They include loops that comfortably fit around your ears to keep them stable, no matter what you're doing.
The Endurance Peak II earbuds offer a bass-heavy sound, with a battery that lasts up to six hours (28 hours with the charging case). You also get IPX7 waterproofing, so they’re sweat and water resistant. What’s super appealing about these earbuds is their low price. Unfortunately, they lack noise cancellation, but this might not be a feature you need when engaged in many workout or exercise activities. In a nutshell, these earbuds are the perfect gym companion.
Best Earbuds For Sweating
Under Armour True Wireless Flash By JBL Earbuds Are Sweat And Water Resistant
The folks at Under Armour have teamed up with JBL to create a pair of wireless earbuds designed for active people who regularly get sweaty. As you’d expect, these earbuds are sweat and water resistant. They’re also designed to fit well within a variety of ear types while providing really good audio quality.
These earbuds offer soft “Sport Flex Fit” cushioning to keep them securely in your ears. This makes them particularly ideal for working out or when engaging in almost any fitness activity. They continue to provide clear audio even if you get caught in a surprise downpour.
Each pod features a 5.8mm driver and a five-hour battery life. The included aluminum case can recharge the set, giving them up to 25 hours of power. From these earbuds, you’ll also get features like "Bionic Hearing" (for hearing speech more clearly when it’s mixed with music or sound effects) and “Ambient Aware” (when you need to hear what’s happening around you).
The physical buttons on the earbuds make it easy to control playback or activate the voice assistant when your hands are slick. If water and sweat are a regular part of your workout, then these earbuds will serve you well.
Best Earbuds For Longer Workouts
Beats By Dr. Dre PowerBeats Pro Are Exceptionally Comfortable
When Dr. Dre and Apple teamed up to create a line of higher-end headphones and earbuds, the focus was on providing a superior listening experience at a premium price point. However, in the process of designing the Powerbeats Pro, the end result became earbuds that are ideal for wearing over extended periods of time—especially while working out or engaging in fitness-oriented activities.
The Powerbeats Pro loop around each ear to provide a comfortable and secure fit. They’re also water and sweat resistant, plus provide a nine hour battery life between charges. Unlike Apple’s AirPods Pro, the Powerbeats come in a variety of colors. Each pair includes four ear tip sizes to ensure the perfect fit. Whether you're streaming content from an Apple or Android-based device, these earbuds will perform well at the gym and throughout your day.
Best Swimming Headphones
Short-Cord Headphones Are The Ideal Companion For Swimmers
The HydroActive Premium Short-Cord headphones feature a wraparound design. While the earbuds create a comfortable seal within your ears to keep audio in and water out, they’re worn more like over-ear headphones. To accommodate underwater listening (they’re IPX8 rated), these headphones are not wireless. It has a traditional cord with a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack built-in. This cable is designed to attach to a music player that clips onto your goggle strap (such as the Syryn Swimbuds Flip Bundle waterproof music player).
These headphones nicely accommodate the unique needs of swimmers, but can easily be used for aqua-aerobics and other aquatic activities where your head will often be fully submerged in water. Weighing in at just 3.52 ounces, these headphones come with 11 different earbud tips in four styles to ensure a proper fit and to accommodate a variety of water and land-based activities.
What To Consider When Buying Workout Headphones Or Earbuds
There are a variety of things to consider when choosing headphones or earbuds that’ll perfectly meet your day-to-day needs, but that’ll also provide superior audio when you’re engaged in various workouts or physical activities. Beyond just personal preference when it comes to aesthetics and design, here are some specific things to look for.
Activity
Consider what activities you’ll be engaged in and what environments you’ll be exposed to when wearing the headphones or earbuds you choose. The best headphones or earbuds for you will vary greatly based on how active your head and body will be while you’re wearing them. If your head will be in constant and rapid motion, a secure fit is essential.
Style
After determining if you want over-ear headphones or in-ear earbuds, focus on the unique style, appearance and fit each option offers. Keep in mind, functionality (based on what you'll be doing while wearing the headphones or earbuds) is as important as how they look on you when you’re wearing them.
Wired Versus Wireless
While virtually all earbud options are wireless and rely on Bluetooth, headphones typically offer a wireless or wired option. When you’re dealing with wireless options, consider the Bluetooth version the headphones or earbuds support. If you wind up choosing a wired option, consider the length of the cord and whether it supports a 2.5-millimeter, 3.5-millimeter or .25-inch plug.
Noise Cancellation With Transparency Mode
One recurring feature you’ll find in many earbuds and headphones is noise cancellation—a feature that literally removes the ambient noise wherever you are. This allows you to focus entirely on the audio you’re listening to and create an immersive listening experience, especially if a spatial audio feature is also utilized.
If you’re working out at home, listening to a guided meditation or want to eliminate the loud sounds at a busy gym, noise cancellation is a great feature. However, if you’ll be running or cycling outside, in and around traffic or other people, blocking out all outside noise can be dangerous. Thus, a feature like “Transparency Mode” will allow you to focus on the audio you’re listening to while still being able to hear what’s happening around you.
Water And Sweat Resistance
If you’ll be in or around water or will be sweating while wearing the headphones or earbuds you choose, sweat and water resistance is essential. Otherwise, even a little bit of moisture could damage your equipment.
Comfort
For people who work out for extended periods on a regular basis, the overall comfort of the earbuds or headphones is an important consideration. Focus on how the equipment feels in or around your ears. You’ll want to ensure a snug fit so you can move freely without the headphones moving around or the earbuds falling out of your ears.
Battery Life
Any headphones or earbuds that are wireless rely on internal batteries to function. Pay attention to how long the headphones or earbuds last per charge, keeping in mind that headphones will have a much longer battery life than earbuds.
When evaluating earbuds, you want to know the average battery life using just the earbuds, how much listening time you get after a five or 10-minute quick charge in their case, and how much overall listening time you get when the earbuds can fully recharge within their case.
Audio Playback Technology
Being able to experience stereo sound from earbuds or headphones is a given. However, some are equipped with added features like adaptive EQ, spatial audio, dynamic head tracking and Dolby Atmos support. Each of these features will directly impact your immersion when listening to audio, as well as the audio quality generated by the device.
Fit
Especially when the headphones or earbuds offer noise reduction, a perfect fit is essential. Otherwise, sounds from around you will interfere with what you’re listening to. At the same time, if you’ll be active when wearing headphones, you don’t want them to slide around or get too warm on your ears. When wearing earbuds, if they don’t fit properly, then they could easily fall out and get lost, and your sound quality won’t be as good.
Most earbuds come with multiple ear tips, so you can choose the ones that offer the best fit. When it comes to headphones, most can be adjusted to properly fit your head. They also include ear cups that’ll surround your ears with a sound-dampening cushion.
Price
Thanks to sales, technological advancements and competition amongst manufacturers, the price of high-quality earbuds and headphones continues to drop. Meanwhile, the features and functionality built into these devices are becoming more advanced.
Thus, for around a $200 investment (often much less), you’re virtually guaranteed to get a high-quality pair of earbuds or headphones that’ll be an ideal workout companion at the gym or wherever your fitness activities take you.
That said, you’ll typically pay a premium for name-brand headphones or earbuds from companies like Apple or Bose. While these companies offer excellent-quality products, you can typically find similar products with compatible features and technologies built in for less money.
Is It Better To Work Out With Headphones Or Earbuds?
This is a matter of personal preference, but your decision should be based on the specific activities you’ll be engaged in and what you’ll personally find the most comfortable. While some over-hear headphones are extremely lightweight, if your head will be bouncing around a lot during a workout, these could easily fall right off your head. Earbuds often provide a more secure and snug fit, but not everyone likes the feeling of having objects stuck in their ears.
If you’re on a stationary bike, for example, wireless headphones offer a longer battery life and often a more comfortable fit. However, if you’ll be participating in aerobics or yoga, earbuds will likely be more secure.
Do Headphones Get Damaged By Sweat?
Unless headphones or earbuds are specifically designed and rated to be waterproof and sweat resistant, yes, they could easily be damaged by moisture. While most earbuds are sweat and water resistant (which is different from waterproof), most headphones are not (unless they’re designed specifically for it, such as headphones for swimmers).
Basically, waterproof means the earbuds can be submerged in water and will function flawlessly. Water resistant, however, means the equipment can get wet, but need to be dried off promptly and should not be submerged in water for any length of time.
As a general rule, each time you sweat or wear earbuds (or headphones) for an extended period of time, you should clean them off after each use. Follow the cleaning directions provided by the equipment manufacturer when it comes to maintaining and disinfecting your equipment. For example, Apple’s website explains how to safely clean the AirPods Pro.
