Best cheap noise-cancelling headphones
Strong battery, multipoint and usable ANC make the JBuds Lux ANC the cheap pair worth buying first.
Shortlistd Editorial
Editor
Best cheap noise-cancelling headphones
By Editorial Team | April 2026
The cheap ANC market is full of false economy. The pair worth buying is the one that nails battery life, multipoint and decent call quality without pretending to be a flagship.
Our picks at a glance
| Pick | Product | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall | JLab JBuds Lux ANC | £79.99 | Budget commuting, calls and all-day listening |
| Best upgrade | Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 | £629.00 | Audiophile sound and luxury build |
| Best budget | Anker Soundcore Space One | £99.99 | Better value sound and stronger ANC on a tighter budget |
| Runner-up | Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) | £332.11 | Maximum comfort and top-tier ANC for travel |
| Peoples choice | Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless | £199.99 | Strong sound and class-leading battery life |
| Best for open-back home listening | Sennheiser HD 505 | £189.99 | Home listening, study and casual gaming |
| Best for working from home | JBL Tour One M3 | £224.16 | Calls, laptop life and long workdays |
| Best design | Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95 | £861.42 | Premium materials and luxury sound |
| Best for durability | Fairbuds XL | £160.00 | Repairable headphones you can keep for years |
Based on hands-on research, expert review consensus (RTings, Wirecutter, relevant subreddits), and current pricing.
Best overall: JLab JBuds Lux ANC
JLab JBuds Lux ANC — £79.99
This wins because it gives you the basics that matter at the price: real ANC, multipoint and absurd battery life. JLab’s own 7/10 score tells the story — not class-leading, but solid where budget buyers actually feel the difference.
Why we picked it:
- 70+ hours of battery life with ANC off means you are not charging every night.
- 40+ hours with ANC on is unusually strong for headphones this cheap, so commute and travel use is practical, not theoretical.
- Bluetooth 5.3 and multipoint make laptop-and-phone switching painless, which is exactly what you want for work calls.
The trade-off: the ANC is only fine, not brilliant, and the sound is good enough rather than exciting. If you want the best hush or a more polished tuning, you need to spend more.
Buy the JLab JBuds Lux ANC here if you want the cheapest pair that still behaves like proper everyday ANC headphones.
Best upgrade: Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2
Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 — £629.00
This is what you buy when sound quality matters more than value. The Px8 S2 turns wireless ANC headphones into a proper hi-fi purchase, with aptX Lossless, carbon cone drivers and a luxury finish that makes the JLab look brutally practical.
Worth it if: you listen critically, travel often, and want a pair that feels like a long-term buy rather than a bargain.
Best budget pick: Anker Soundcore Space One
Anker Soundcore Space One — £99.99
The Space One is the cheap ANC alternative that keeps showing up in buying guides because it gets the fundamentals right for around a hundred quid. It is the stronger play if you want better sound tuning and still decent ANC without jumping into premium money.
Worth it if: you can stretch a little above the JLab and want the safer all-round value buy.
Also worth considering
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) — £332.11
These are the comfort and ANC benchmark. If you fly a lot or wear headphones for hours, Bose is still the safe choice, but you pay heavily for that extra quiet and plush fit.
Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless — £199.99
This is the people’s choice for good reason: 60-hour battery life, strong sound and a foldable design make it easy to live with. The ANC is not as ruthless as Bose, but the balance is excellent.
Sennheiser HD 505 — £189.99
These are for home only. The open-back design gives you space and detail, but they leak sound both ways and are useless for commuting or office noise.
JBL Tour One M3 — £224.16
JBL’s big selling point is battery and features: 70 hours off, 40 hours with ANC on, multipoint, LDAC and USB-C audio. The problem is tuning — multiple reviews still find the sound less natural than the best Sony and Bose options.
Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95 — £861.42
This is the luxury answer for people who care about materials as much as sound. It is gorgeous and expensive, but the ANC is not strong enough to justify the price on silence alone.
Fairbuds XL — £160.00
Repairability is the point here. If you hate throwing away dead headphones, the nine replaceable parts make a real argument, but the ANC and sound are only competent.
How we chose
We prioritised battery life, ANC quality, multipoint connectivity, call performance and real-world comfort, because those are the things that separate useful budget headphones from disposable ones. We also cross-checked current expert coverage from SoundGuys, What Hi-Fi?, TechRadar and PCMag, then matched that against the product specs and current UK pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Are cheap noise-cancelling headphones actually worth it? Yes, if you care more about cutting daily commute noise and getting useful battery life than chasing elite sound. The trick is accepting that the ANC will be good enough, not amazing.
Is the JLab JBuds Lux ANC better value than Bose or Sony? Absolutely — but only because it costs a fraction of flagship models. Bose and Sony still beat it on ANC and refinement; JLab wins on price and battery.
Will these headphones work well for calls and laptop work? Yes, because multipoint and noise-cancelling mics make them genuinely useful for switching between devices and taking calls without a lot of faff.
Products in this article
