The value that you get in the budget earbud market today keeps improving year after year. So today I’ll be scoring and ranking 11 of the best earbuds under $100 across 10 categories. I’ve also created a spreadsheet so you can customize all the scoring to the favorite categories that matter more to you.
All the earbuds in today’s ranking are new, but some oldies do make a return. Now, most of the picks today are well under $100 US. Many are well under $50 US on sale. So, let’s get straight into it.
Comfort
Earphone Air Pro 4
Now, if you’re looking for which bud includes the most ear tips in the box, the Earphone Air Pro 4 consists of five sizes. The benefit here is that you’ll have a higher chance of finding the right size, especially if you have smaller or larger ears.
Soundcore Sport X20
The Soundcore Sport X20 also includes five sizes, ensuring a better fit, particularly for those with unique ear shapes or sizes.
Soundcore Liberty 4NC
The Soundcore Liberty 4NC includes four sizes, which is excellent but fewer than the above two.
Skull Candy Method 360
The Skull Candy Method 360 includes three sizes of wing tips, offering some flexibility in terms of fit.
Galaxy Buds FE
The Galaxy Buds FE include one wing tip, which helps with the security of the fit.
Security
Soundcore Sport X20
The Soundcore Sport X20 gets a 10 as it does have a hook built into the earbud. This is the most secure option for intense training, ensuring it won’t fall out of your ear during any activity.
Soundcore Liberty 4NC
The Soundcore Liberty 4NC scores well here as well, but it doesn’t have a hook or wing tips like some other buds. Still, the fit is quite secure for most people.
Skull Candy Method 360
The Skull Candy Method 360 scores higher than other buds in this category due to its wing tips, which enhance the overall security of the fit.
Galaxy Buds FE
These earbuds also provide a secure fit with the included wing tip. However, they score lower than the previous ones due to their simpler design.
Case and Battery Life
Skull Candy Method 360
The Skull Candy 360 has the highest battery life with 9 hours of battery, and that’s with noise cancelling on. It’s a good pick for those who prioritize battery life.
Sound Piece Air5 Pro
The Sound Piece Air5 Pro has a measly 4.5 hours on the buds, which is a letdown in comparison to other options.
Nothing EA
The Nothing EA has 5.5 hours, which isn’t excellent but still acceptable for those who want something that fits in a thin case.
Earphone Air Pro 4
The Earphone Air Pro 4 stands out with a thin case, a solid battery that provides 7.5 hours of battery life, and wireless charging capability.
Controls
Galaxy Buds FE
They get a score of seven, as you can only customize the long hold. If you want to add a volume or voice assistant, you have to lose your ambient control. The wearing detection only works when you take both buds out.
Soundcore Sport X20
These get a score of 7.5. They’re the only buds on this ranking without wearing detection, and you do miss out on a triple tap, but they’re the only ones with a physical button for complete function customization.
Sound Piece Air5 Pro
The Sound Piece Air5 Pro gets an 8, offering touch controls and complete customization of each function. However, you can’t change the ambient control switching, which might be an inconvenience for some.
Skull Candy Method 360
The Skull Candy 360 gets an 8.5. They have responsive wear detection, and the customization is solid.
Soundcore Liberty 4NC
The Soundcore Liberty 4NC also scores 8.5. They provide full customization with separate single bud controls and excellent wearing detection.
CMF Buds 2 Plus
The CMF Buds 2 Plus get an 8.5 for having great touch controls and everything you need for full functionality.
Earphone Air Pro 4
The Earphone Air Pro 4 also earns an 8.5 for its solid touch controls and complete customization options.
Nothing EA
The Nothing EA scores an 8.5, standing out with its squeeze controls, offering a good balance of customization and wear detection.
OnePlus Buds 3 & 4
The OnePlus Buds 3 and Buds 4 earn an extra half-point for their swipe gesture for volume up and down and track control, making them unique in this category.
CMF Buds Pro 2
The CMF Buds Pro 2 score a 9. They offer the same controls as the CMF Buds 2 Plus but with the bonus of a dial on the case to control volume, track control, and game Mode.
Connectivity
Sound Pets and Earphones
Both the Sound Pets and Earphones get a perfect score of 10. They support every codec that exists, including LDAC, AEX adaptive, and AEX lossless, and they work perfectly with Google and Microsoft Fast Pairing.
Soundcore, OnePlus, Nothing, CMF Buds
These buds don’t work in mono Mode, which can be a dealbreaker for some. However, they are not penalized for it, as it’s a niche feature.
Skull Candy 360 & Soundcore Sport X20
The Skull Candy 360 and Soundcore Sport X20 don’t have any high-res codecs. However, the Galaxy Buds FE with the SSC codec on Samsung provides high-res support.
Call Quality
In this category, I ran three tests: a quiet room simulation, crowd noise, and a simulation of windy city construction noise. Most budget earbuds today have impressive call quality, with some nearing premium models.
Sample Scores:
- Skull Candy 360: Performs decently in a simulation crowd noise test.
- OnePlus Buds 3 & 4: Perform better than average in city noise and windy city tests.
- Soundcore Sport X20: Does fairly well in these conditions, showing solid overall call quality.
App Customization and Extra Features
Skull Candy
Skull Candy earbuds score a 7.5 for decent control customization with a five-band EQ and small extras like photo-taking features.
Sound Pets
The Sound Pets earbuds also get a 7.5 for great control customization, a solid EQ, and a hearing test, although the app is a bit buggy and slow.
Galaxy Buds FE
Galaxy Buds FE get a 7.5, offering limited EQ customization but providing Find My Buds with location, always-on Bixby, and some basic audio accessibility.
Nothing EA
The Nothing EA earns an 8 for using the Nothing X app, which has great UI and reliability. It offers decent customization but lacks a better EQ.
CMF Buds Pro 2
The CMF Buds Pro 2 gets an 8.5, with the same app as the EA but offering extras like spatial audio and sound quality enhancement.
Earphone Air Pro 4
The Earphone Air Pro 4 scores an 8.5 for offering solid features like EQ, low latency, and wind noise reduction toggles.
CMF Buds 2 Plus
The CMF Buds 2 Plus get a 9, with the Nothing X app providing personalized sound through a practical hearing test.
OnePlus Buds
The OnePlus Buds score a 9 for their well-rounded feature set, including a six-band EQ and excellent spatial audio.
Soundcore Sport X20
The Soundcore Sport X20 also earns a 9, with a solid 3D surround sound option and an excellent app experience.
Liberty 4NC
The Liberty 4NC earns a 9.5, offering additional features such as loud volume listening to protect your hearing.
Noise Cancelling
Noise cancelling is tested by playing simulated plane noise and crowd noise. The buds are ranked based on their ability to block out these noises.
OnePlus Buds 4
The OnePlus Buds 4 lead in noise cancelling, with impressive results during both the crowd noise and plane noise tests.
Skull Candy 360
The Skull Candy 360 does well but is not as strong as the OnePlus Buds 4.
Transparency Mode
In transparency Mode, the clarity and naturalness of the Mode, as well as the amount of occlusion and white noise, are taken into account.
OnePlus Buds 4
The OnePlus Buds 4 offer the best transparency Mode with minimal occlusion and an adaptive feature that shifts to noise-cancelling when needed.
Soundcore, Skull Candy, and Others
The other earbuds offer solid transparency modes, with the Soundcore Sport X20, Skull Candy 360, and others being quite usable, though with a bit more occlusion and white noise.
Sound Quality
Sound quality is the most subjective category, and it’s a difficult one to score.
Soundcore Sport X20
The Soundcore Sport X20 gets an 8. The bass is powerful, great for training, but the mids and treble could be more detailed.
Skull Candy 360
The Skull Candy 360 also scores an 8. The mids are great, and the treble could use a boost, but it’s overall a good, balanced sound.
CMF Buds 2 Plus
The CMF Buds 2 Plus score an 8.5, with crisp treble and better detail on high frequencies compared to the Skull Candy 360.
Earphone Air Pro 4
The Earphone Air Pro 4 scores an 8.5, offering a rich, well-balanced sound with solid mids and treble.
Nothing EA
The Nothing EA also scores an 8.5, offering clear vocals and good instrument separation, although the treble is a bit laid back.
Soundcore Liberty 4NC
The Soundcore Liberty 4NC scores an 8.5 with excellent treble detail, a solid bass response, and a rich sound overall.
Galaxy Buds FE
The Galaxy Buds FE score a 9, with better upper mids compared to other buds in this category.
Sound Piece Air5 Pro
The Sound Piece Air5 Pro also scores a 9, offering a solid, well-rounded sound with good bass and treble response.
Eon Air Pro 4
The Eon Air Pro 4 scores a 9, offering clear, rich, and well-balanced sound, much like the Sound Piece Air5 Pro.
OnePlus Buds 3
The OnePlus Buds 3 score a 9 with great treble and upper mids, but the vocals could be more unmistakable.
OnePlus Buds 4
The OnePlus Buds 4 take the win in sound quality with a score of 9.5. The treble is precise, and the overall tuning is solid and well-rounded.
Conclusion
That wraps up all 10 categories. If you want to customize your scoring, be sure to check out my free spreadsheet to compare the scores and personalize rankings.
The final scores are in, and the OnePlus Buds 4 have easily taken the win with 89 out of 100. They’re a solid earbud and, even if you customize the score, they’ll likely come out on top. They’re the best value earbuds right now, offering excellent sound and noise cancellation.
However, there are other great alternatives, like the Earund Air Pro 4 (perfect for gaming), Soundcore Liberty 4NC (good value but with limited call quality), and CMF Buds Pro 2 (often on sale and offering excellent call quality). The Soundcore Sport X20 stands out for its hook and IP68 rating, while the Galaxy Buds FE are a superb option for Samsung users.
The Skull Candy 360 is the only earbud that I’d suggest avoiding, as it’s priced too high for what it offers.