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The 11 best noise-cancelling headphones we use, love, and recommend

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hip young woman in yellow sunglasses wearing Sony headphones on city street

What are the best noise-cancelling headphones of 2025?

Even the best value headphones will feel lacking if they don't come equipped with halfway decent noise cancellation. Besides, there are simply too many headphones on the market (our testing pool gets bigger by the month) for you to pay hundreds only to get subpar ANC. So, which brand comes out on top?

For most people, we think the new Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) offer the best overall value, with the ideal blend of comfort, sound quality, and ANC. However, if you're looking for the best active noise-cancellation overall, we have to give it up to the Sony XM6 headphones. Fortunately, there are no bad choices here.

To help you wade through the top options from brands like Apple, Beats, Bose, Sony, and Sonos, Mashable editors and reviewers tested dozens of headphones and earbuds. From flagship models to budget buds, we picked out the best options at every price range.

SEE ALSO: How we test headphones and earbuds

How do noise-cancelling headphones actually work?

Even cheap headphones can block some noise from the outside world. And you can always blast your music loud enough to drown out nearby conversations and street noise via passive noise cancellation. However, if you really want to turn the volume of the world down to the limit, then you need headphones with active noise cancellation.

Active noise-cancelling headphones electronically cover up the sounds coming from your surroundings. They use internal microphones to listen to the world around you, then invert the noise and send it to the speakers. The idea is that both the output and the input will cancel out, leaving you with near-silence. The best over-ear headphones also create a tight seal around your ears, providing an extra layer of passive sound blocking.

apple airpods max headphones in mint green
Testing the Apple AirPods Max headphones, which didn't make the final cut for this guide. Credit: Zlata Ivleva / Mashable
close-up view of the ports on the sony xm5 headphones
Getting up close and personal with Sony WH-1000XM5 noise-cancelling headphones. Credit: Molly Flores / Mashable

If you've tried a pair of noise-cancelling headphones before and haven't been impressed, don't be discouraged, as not all ANC performs equally. For instance, cheaper ANC headphones may have a more noticeable hissing sound that you'll hear when the noise cancellation is turned on, which can be distracting for some folks.

Other headphones may be great at blocking low tones, but more prone to letting in high-pitched tones. Typically, premium headphones will yield better results all around, but we have budget picks below that still do a solid job.

In the past, not many wireless earbuds featured active noise cancellation that was comparable to over-ear headphones, but newer iterations like the AirPods Pro and Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds hold their own in the ANC space. However, even these earbuds can't quite get the same seal (or fit as many mics) that headphones can, so if you're looking for maximum silence, stick with over-ear headphones.

Recent testing updates

  • December 2025: We removed the Dyson On-Trac headphones from this guide. While they had unbeatable battery life when they were first released, that's no longer the case.

  • December 2025: We added the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 as the best sports earbuds.

  • December 2025: We added the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones as the best splurge.

  • September 2025: We replaced the original Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds with the updated second-gen model.

  • July 2025: We added the new Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones.

  • February 2025: We added the EarFun Air Pro 4 earbuds as our favorite earbuds pick under $100, replacing the Beats Studio Buds+.

  • August 2024: With a heavy heart, we said goodbye to the Bose 700 headphones as our recommendation for the best noise-cancelling headphones with adjustable ANC.



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