Best Headphones under $100 is harder to find than you think. At WIRED, part of our job is to listen to music all day, often on extremely fancy and expensive models. We have playlists for bass testing, for granularity evaluation, for dance parties—we’re in. But believe it or not, we also love experimenting with cheap stuff. It’s like a treasure hunt to find the ones that contain the most technology for the money. And they are getting better and better every year.
That doesn’t mean our work is done; retailers are still flooded with cheap headphones sound prices, so we’ll continue to listen and update our selections every few months. While you’re looking for the next great pair, be sure to check out our many more shopping guideincluding The best wireless headphones, The best wireless workout headphonesand Best phone with headphone jack.
Updated November 2022. We have added Audio-Technica ATH-M20xBT and JLab Go Air Pop.
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