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These are our top picks
Looking for a reliable pair of headphones to wear as you clock up the miles? We've been putting some of the most popular running headphones on the market through their paces in our in-depth test. And remember that today and tomorrow (October 11 and October 12 2022) are Amazon Prime Early Access Sale days, so you can grab some great bargains on running headphones. Some of the best we've spotted include these JLab Epic Air Sports (were £99.99 now £59.99) which we have tried and tested and rate really highly - and the always popular AfterShokz Aeropex (£119.95 from £149.95)
Look out for our Runner’s World Expert Tested badge, as products with this insignia have been put through the wringer by our lab tester.
This involved seeing how each pair of earbuds performed while stationary and running, to make sure the impact of heels repeatedly striking tarmac didn’t send them tumbling floorward. They were also judged on their design, ease of use and performance, with the final category including criteria such as battery life, comfort and sound quality.
Products were also sent to an independent sound technician to make sure they could provide the crisp treble and powerful bass needed to help us push our pace.
Leaving no stone unturned when it comes to finding the finest earpieces for running, the other products on our round-up have been hand-picked by our editors.
Using their extensive knowledge of running tech – courtesy of countless hours in the gym,
So, without further ado, here's our list of the best running headphones on the market right now.
‘I don't need the things to power the space shuttle, I just want something that doesn’t sound crap, is simple to use, will stay in my ears and doesn’t have to be handled with care.’ Does this sound like something you would say? If so, the CX Sport earphones are for you.
There aren’t many bells and whistles, but the sound is warm, deep and crystal clear. The neck cable is pleasingly flexible (there is a cable organiser that allows you to tailor it to suit) and the control pad and in-line mic aren’t so heavy that they drag on the earphones and pul them out, which can happen with some other brands. The CX Sport can also be quick-charged in 10 minutes for an hour of play.
These are perhaps a touch pricey for what you get, but we think they will see you right for a long time.
Key specifications Type: In-ear, near-wireless Battery life: Six hours Noise-cancelling: No Accessories included: Micro USB charging cable, three differently sized fins and four silicone tips Location of in-line controls: Buttons on cord
These headphones don’t come cheap, but we think they’re worth every penny. The punchy bass is great for pacing and their adjustable hooks fit around the ear to make sure they stay in place throughout any workout.
Despite having a bulkier design than most, courtesy of the aforementioned hooks, we found them supremely comfortable to wear. As they’re manufactured by Apple, they’re definitely best-suited to iPhone users, with the ability to summon Siri and display their battery on your mobile’s home screen.
We were also big fans of the magnetic charging case, which boosts the total battery life up to 24 hours.
Read a full review of the Powerbeats Pro here.
Key specifications Type: In-ear, true wireless Battery life: Nine hours (24 hours with charging case) Noise-cancelling: No Accessories included: Charging case, ear tips in four sizes, USB charging cable Location of in-line controls: Buttons on earbud
Perhaps predictably, the all-conquering tech giant is near the top of our chart with its premier in-ear wireless headphones: the Airpods Pro. Alongside Apple’s signature sleek design, these buds offer exceptional sound quality and allow you to flip between active noise cancellation and transparency modes. As the names suggest, these dictate how much of the outside world you can hear while listening to music — handy when running through busier areas.
The innovative Ear Tip Fit Test is brilliant for making sure your headphones stay securely in your ears when running. All you have to do is wear the Airpods, connect them to your phone and select the test, then your phone will tell you whether the small, medium or large silicone tips (which come with the buds) will be the best fit for you.
Key specifications Type: In-ear, true wireless Battery life: Four and a half hours (24 hours with charging case) Noise-cancelling: Yes Accessories included: Three different-sized silicone ear tips, charging case, USB charging cable Location of in-line controls: On earbud
Giving the pricier Powerbeats Pro and Airpods a run for their money are the Jabra Elite Active 75Ts. The designers clearly had exercise on their mind when crafting these impressive earbuds, which are able to withstand a fast-paced track session thanks to their sweatproof and waterproof capabilities.
They come with a selection of three differently sized sticky silicone tips so you can find a secure fit that won’t come loose mid-stride. Responsive touch and voice controls allowed us to control our music, take calls and more while leaving our phone in our pocket, and (this is one for the true musos among you) you can tinker with the bass and treble settings on the free Jabra app — something we definitely appreciated.
Key specifications Type: In-ear, true wireless Battery life: Seven and a half hours (28 hours with charging case) Noise-cancelling: No Accessories included: Three sizes of silicone ear tips, charging cable, charging case Location of in-line controls: On earbud
The first thing you notice about these is the unusual coil design of the wires. They stretch to fit your head and then sit there snugly, with no irritating flapping on the back of your neck. On-ear fit is secure and there are three buttons on the back of the bar that are extremely easy to locate and use for play/pause/skip/volume control. There is no noise cancellation, which is a good safety aspect on the run, as you’ll hear background noises.
The sound quality is decent, but not amazing; however, our view is that this is a secondary issue on sports headphones, and the comfort and ease of functionality more than make up for this. In short, they're a thoroughly competent, hassle-free delight.
Key specifications Type: On-ear, near-wireless Battery life: Seven hours Noise-cancelling: No Accessories included: Charging cable Location of in-line controls: Buttons on the bar
These earbuds are extremely comfortable to wear, slipping into the ear seamlessly and (most importantly) staying there whether we were doing sprint intervals or slower-paced recovery runs. As an extra line of defence against falling out, they also have clever little hooks that sit against the inside of the ear to keep them secure.
As you’d expect from a brand like Bose, these earbuds offered a brilliant blend of booming bass and crystal clear treble. Put another way: our playlists have rarely sounded better. There’s no active noise cancellation, but if that’s not a dealbreaker for you then we can’t recommend these highly enough.
Key specifications Type: In-ear, true wireless Battery life: Five hours (15 hours with charging case) Noise-cancelling: No Accessories included: Three sizes of silicone ear tips, charging cable, charging case Location of in-line controls: On earbud
Comprehensive touch controls, voice assistant compatibility, a choice of silicone tips for the best possible fit and a compact case for on-the-go charging all contributed to these headphones’ impressive performance.
We found them comfortable to wear and the sound quality was solid, though the bass sometimes sounded somewhat muddy when we cranked up the volume.
However, their sweatproof qualities and the ability to listen through one earbud at a time — handy when you need to be more aware of your surroundings while running — ensured the Jaybird Vistas still took a top score.
Key specifications Type: In-ear, true wireless Battery life: Six hours (16 hours with charging case) Noise-cancelling: No Accessories included: Three sizes of silicone ear tips, charging cable, charging case Location of in-line controls: Button on earbud
These HONOR earbuds prove that your bank account needn’t take a three-figure hit when buying a quality pair of headphones. Despite looking similar to the Apple Airpods Pro and boasting a remarkably well-balanced sound, you can pick a pair up for under £50.
Even before you consider their portable charging case, they offer 10 hours of playback time on a full tank. The noise cancellation feature cut out almost all external audio, minimising distractions (useful if you’re training in a busy gym), and the silicone tips offered an incredibly comfortable fit.
Overall, an accomplished performance, particularly considering their low price point.
Key specifications Type: In-ear, true wireless Battery life: 10 hours (32 with charging case) Noise-cancelling: Yes Accessories included: Charging case, USB charging cable Location of in-line controls: On ear bud
Another sport-specific set of headphones, the JBL Reflect Flows use Freebit technology (a small silicone wing attached to each earbud that presses against the inner ear) to ensure they stay put throughout runs and workouts.
The ambient aware feature is really handy for allowing external noises in without having to pause your music, so you no longer have to choose between ditching your favourite playlist and giving your running partner the cold shoulder. They’re sweatproof too, allowing you to push the pace without worrying about protecting your earbuds.
Key specifications Type: In-ear, true wireless Battery life: 10 hours (30 hours with charging case) Noise-cancelling: No Accessories included: Three sizes of silicone ear tips, three sizes of silicone ear hooks, charging case, USB lead Location of in-line controls: On ear bud
The single biggest annoyance we have found with earphones is their tendency to fall out on the run or in the gym, either because of sweat or the constant jostling of a treadmill session. These stay firmly put, so they get a big tick even before we factored in the rich sound, which can be enjoyed in isolation or with awareness of your surroundings, depending on which buds you fit.
The control panel is small and unobtrusive, and changing/pausing songs or adjusting volume is a cinch, as is answering calls. Bluetooth connectivity is fast and strong, and you get a generous seven hours of power from one charge.
A final neat touch is that the buds are magnetised, so they can be stuck together and hung safely around your neck when they are not in use.
Key specifications Type: In-ear, near wireless Battery life: Seven hours Noise-cancelling: No Accessories included: Magentic pogo pin charger with USB connector Location of in-line controls: Buttons on cord
What sets these apart is the bone-conduction technology, which sends audio vibrations through your cheekbones to your inner ears, bypassing your lugholes. This is great from a safety perspective and comes with surprisingly little compromise on sound quality, which is excellent.
There’s also a comfort bonus – you don’t have to ram and twist them into your ears as you do with some buds. Battery life is solid (roughly eight hours of playback), while a nano protective coating and watertight rubber gaskets make them fully sweatproof and waterproof. Playback and calls are easily controlled by a single multi-function button.
On the downside, our tester found the rocker switch that controls power and volume rather fiddly and had to resort to using their phone mid-run. All in all, though, an excellent package.
Key specifications Type: Bone conduction Battery life: Eight hours Noise-cancelling: No Accessories included: Two magnetic charging cables, silicone rubber case, earplugs Location of in-line controls: Buttons on band
The remarkable sound quality was the standout feature here – every use is like being in a concert hall. And the Mifo's excellent noise-cancelling capabilities totally blocked out the awful, thumpy gym music when we cross-trained: such bliss. Set-up is idiot-proof, with minimalist, Apple-style instructions, so they are perfect for the technically challenged.
Functionality is where these need to be improved: the buttons are ludicrously small, so if you have bigger fingers you’ll find making a track or volume change on the run a bit of a pain. But the battery life (more than 100 hours if you use the charging case) is superb, the durability is good, they’re waterproof and the overall look and feel are premium.
If button functionality had been better, we’d have scored these even higher.
Key specifications Type: In-ear, true wireless Battery life: Seven hours (more than 100 hours with charging case) Noise-cancelling: Yes Accessories included: USB charging cord, seven sizes of silicone ear tips, charging case Location of in-line controls: Buttons on earbuds
Whether we were running hill sprint intervals or grinding through sets of burpees and box jumps, these earbuds didn’t budge. The tips felt tight, comfortable and secure, and we really liked the discreet design that sat flush within our ears.
Our independent audio expert raved about their dynamic range, which lends itself particularly well to heavy guitar anthems (rock fans, rejoice). Happily, there was next to no sound leakage, so you can blast your top tunes on the tube without inadvertently sharing your music taste with fellow passengers.
There’s no noise cancellation, and their five hours of playback time on a full tank isn’t amazing in the grand scheme of things, but this can be boosted to 24 hours thanks to their portable charging case.
Key specifications Type: In-ear, true wireless Battery life: Five hours (24 hours with charging case) Noise-cancelling: No Accessories included: Ear tips with three size options, charging case, USB charging cable Location of in-line controls: On ear bud
Sticky silicone-tipped earbuds may be a mainstay for many runners, but they’re not for everyone. If that’s the case for you, we prescribe these open-ear headphones from Huawei, which are designed to cover your ear lobes without sitting inside your ear canal.
Open-ear headphones don’t fit as tightly as their in-ear counterparts, but we found the FreeBuds to be lightweight, comfortable and surprisingly secure. Our sound expert said the noise cancellation feature made little difference, but he was a big fan of their bass and detailed sound, which made them a great match for electronic music.
Key specifications Type: Open-ear, true wireless Battery life: Four hours (22 hours with charging case) Noise-cancelling: Yes Accessories included: Charging case, USB charging cable Location of in-line controls: On earbud (swipe, tap twice or press and hold)
If you don’t trust true wireless in-ear headphones to stay in your ears while running, try this near-wireless pair from Adidas instead. The two earbuds are connected by a quality cable that sits around your neck and acts as an added level of security if they fall out.
We found the buds a bit bulky and they did tend to slip from our ears during higher impact activities, so we’d recommend them for more stationary exercises like resistance training in the gym. The excellent bass is also a great motivator when lifting heavy.
Key specifications Type: In-ear, near-wireless Battery life: 16 hours Noise-cancelling: No Accessories included: Ear tips with four size options, carry pouch, USB charging cable Location of in-line controls: Buttons on cord
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