Best Noise-Cancelling Headphones for Travel in 2026

By Editorial Team | April 2026

Flights, trains and open-plan offices all punish anyone who tries to work or relax with cheap headphones. The Bose QuietComfort SC is the cleanest all-round answer here because it combines proper ANC with the kind of comfort you can wear for a whole workday.

Our picks at a glance

Pick	Product	Price	Best for
Best overall	Bose QuietComfort SC	£189.00	Commuting, office work and long-haul comfort
Best upgrade	Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)	£284.99	People who want Bose’s strongest ANC and are happy to pay for it
Best budget	Sony WH-CH720N	£69.00	Cheap ANC for daily commuting without travel fatigue

Based on hands-on research, expert review consensus (RTINGS, Wirecutter, relevant subreddits), and current pricing.

Best overall: Bose QuietComfort SC

Bose QuietComfort SC — £189.00

This is the pair you buy when comfort matters as much as noise blocking. Bose’s score here is 7.7/10, which sounds modest until you compare it with how often people actually wear these things: for hours, not minutes. The soft over-ear fit, light 238 g build, multipoint Bluetooth and decent quick charge make it easy to live with, not just easy to recommend.

Why we picked it:

• Strong ANC for trains, offices and flight noise, with Quiet and Aware modes when you want to keep some awareness of what’s around you.
• 24-hour battery life is enough for a full travel day or a couple of long work sessions, and a 15-minute top-up gets you up to 2.5 hours.
• Multipoint Bluetooth and the included wired cable make it practical for laptop-and-phone life and for backup use when the battery dies.

The trade-off: the call quality is good, not class-leading, and Bose doesn’t give you the longest battery life for the money. If calls are your main use case, Sony and some premium rivals do a better job.

Buy the Bose QuietComfort SC here if you want the most comfortable way to shut out commute noise without jumping to Bose’s Ultra pricing.

Best upgrade: Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) — £284.99

The upgrade buys you the best Bose can do: stronger noise cancellation, more features and a more premium experience when you spend most of your day in headphones. This is the one for frequent flyers, people who work in noisy places every day, or anyone who is already annoyed by the limits of mid-tier ANC.

Worth it if: you want Bose noise cancelling at its best and are happy to pay roughly £100 more for the extra quiet and polish.

Best budget pick: Sony WH-CH720N

Sony WH-CH720N — £69.00

This is the blunt value play. You lose some refinement, but you get a lightweight over-ear ANC headset from a trusted brand for less than half the price of the Bose, and that matters if you mainly want to make commutes and desk time less irritating. Reviews consistently place it as one of the better cheap ANC over-ears, even if the noise cancellation and sound do not match the pricier options above.

Worth it if: you want a no-nonsense budget headphone for daily travel and don’t care about luxury comfort or top-tier call performance.

How we chose

We prioritised comfort, ANC performance, battery life, multipoint support and real-world usability for commuting and travel. We also checked current UK pricing and compared the subject product against credible alternatives currently being recommended by RTINGS, What Hi-Fi? and SoundGuys.

Frequently asked questions

Are noise-cancelling headphones actually worth it for travel?
Yes. If you spend time on planes, trains or busy commutes, good ANC makes a real difference to fatigue and listening volume, which is the whole point.

Is the Bose QuietComfort SC worth £189?
Yes, if comfort and easy everyday noise cancellation matter more to you than headline battery life or the very best call quality. If you want maximum value, the Sony WH-CH720N is much cheaper.

How long do these headphones last on a charge?
The QuietComfort SC is rated for up to 24 hours, and a 15-minute charge gives you up to 2.5 hours of playback.