5 Headphones Cheaper Than Apple AirPods 5 That Are Definitely Worth Buying

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Apple recently released the AirPods 5. These new earbuds feature an open-ear design with best-in-class ANC, solid battery life, and all the benefits that come with AirPods, including Find My Network, Instant Pairing, Live Translate, and now support for Siri AI when connected to an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone. On top of that, Apple, which recently increased the prices of most of its products, actually continues to offer these headphones at a very competitive price, between $129.99 and $149.99. Still, if these headphones are out of your budget or you’re looking for something even more appealing, other options may be just as appealing and still worth buying, like the Beats Solo Buds, Samsung Galaxy Buds3 FE, or the Soundcore Liberty 5.

These products were selected based on previous BGR reviews and customer experience. So they not only offer a better price than Apple’s AirPods 5, but also offer excellent sound quality, good battery life and a few benefits that you may not find in Apple’s counterpart. That said, BGR also believes that the AirPods 5 are one of the best wireless earbuds on the market today, especially considering its competitive price. Still, if you’re on the Android side or have lost too many headphones over the years, there’s nothing wrong with diversifying your options, because you might find your next favorite sound.

Launching in 2024, Beats Solo Buds are the most affordable wireless earbuds in the Apple and Beats portfolios. At the time, Beats said it wanted to offer the same Beats sound at a lower price, in a sleek design, because it’s the company’s smallest carrying case. With a similar look to the Beats Studio Buds, they come with four tip sizes and sit comfortably on your ears. In our review, we pointed out that the Beats Solo Buds also put the artist’s voice in the spotlight, while the instruments sound a little more in the background. These headphones deliver clear sound and spatial sound, and although they don’t have ANC or transparency, they still provide good passive noise isolation for listening to music.

The best thing about the Beats Solo Buds is their battery life of up to 18 hours, one of the best battery lives among headphones. The trade-off is that the case doesn’t offer any extra power, but users can still charge the earbuds with a USB-C cable. With a 5-minute charge, Beats claims users can get an hour of playback – and in just about an hour you can get a full charge.

For $79.99, the Beats Solo Buds are compatible with iOS and Android devices. Android users, in particular, can unlock additional features with the Beats app, including an easier way to check and update earphone firmware.

Anker offers more than just chargers. Its sub-brand, Soundcore, specializes in audio, with several speakers, headphones and headphones. One of the best deals available (and cheaper than the AirPods 5) is the Soundcore Liberty 5, which delivers clear sound thanks to its flagship-grade acoustic engineering and customizable software tools. It features 9.2mm wool-paper composite diaphragm drivers that deliver balanced high-fidelity sound, crisp highs and exceptional bass. With support for LDAC coding and HearID custom EQ, these headphones calibrate hearing profiles through their companion app.

With up to 6.5 hours of listening time per charge with ANC enabled, users can extend the experience for up to 28 hours with the charging case, which supports USB-C and wireless charging. A five-minute charge also adds an additional four hours of playback. These headphones feature an IP55 rating, dedicated AI processing to suppress background rumble, and offline voice command recognition for small tasks like skipping tracks or taking phone calls.

Compared to AirPods 5, the Soundcore Liberty 5 earphones offer superior noise cancellation for in-ear headphones, which also means better sound in low frequencies. Currently available for $89.99 on the Soundcore website, this product usually costs $129.99, the same price as the cheapest AirPods 5 deal. Still, with these earbuds you get high-fidelity audio, more battery on the earbuds and case, optional built-in wireless charging, and support for wireless high-resolution audio, which isn’t available in current AirPods options.

Offering a similar range to the AirPods 5, the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 FE is a more affordable option for premium mobile audio. With 11mm dynamic drivers and Samsung’s Seamless Codec (SSC), which streams 24-bit Hi-Fi audio, it delivers enhanced clarity, textured midrange and punchy low frequencies. As an FE device, these earbuds are built to last, providing up to 6 hours of continuous listening time with ANC on and up to 8.5 hours with ANC off, plus 24-30 hours of total use with the charging case.

Since these earbuds are in-ear, they already isolate surrounding noise better than the AirPods 5 would. The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 FE also feature a blade stem design with pinch and swipe gesture controls, IP54 dust and splash resistance, and deep Galaxy AI integration. This means users can benefit from real-time translation, quick access to conversational AI models, and seamless automatic switching between paired Samsung devices.

Like the Soundcore Liberty 5, the Galaxy Buds3 FE have one advantage over the AirPods: an in-ear design, which is useful if you really prefer passive noise cancellation. These headphones are also a great choice for everyone in the Samsung ecosystem because everything works seamlessly. The Galaxy Buds3 FE are available for $119.99 on Amazon, which is slightly lower than the AirPods 5, making them a more budget-friendly option while still offering similar or better sound quality.

While Apple users may find the AirPods 5 cheap, the CMF Buds 2 actually stand out as an option that really disrupts the budget wireless audio segment. Costing $59 (usually $69), the cheapest option so far in this review, it features 12mm dynamic drivers constructed from liquid crystal polymers and polyurethane diaphragms, producing expansive soundstages, detailed acoustics, and rich low-frequency extensions. Like other options, these headphones support the high-resolution LDAC codec, Ultra Bass technology, and spatial audio modes adjusted via the Nothing For example, a 10-minute quick charge provides approximately 8.5 hours of listening time.

Key features include adaptive intelligent hybrid ANC up to 50dB, personalized hearing sound profiles, dual-connect multipoint pairing, and IP55 resistance for everyday use. These headphones also feature six external microphones with clear voice algorithms for wind-resistant phone calls or simply recording your next social media video.

The CMF Buds 2 Plus are great options over the Apple AirPods due to their very competitive price – almost half the price of the AirPods – much longer battery life and an in-ear design Although Apple now offers the ability for AirPods users to customize the EQ of the earbuds, the CMF Buds 2 Plus offer these capabilities for iOS and Android users, in addition to codec support at high speed.

Finally, Apple EarPods are one of the cheaper options that customers should consider compared to the AirPods 5. Released over a decade ago, these wired earbuds have made a comeback in recent years among Gen Z and cost $19.00. With infinite battery life – the famous plug-and-play – they deliver excellent audio quality in quiet environments, with a balanced and natural sound signature, clear midrange vocals, crisp highs and decent acoustics for music and podcasts. The design aims to minimize sound loss while maximizing output volume.

Users can get the headphone jack, Lightning, or USB-C version, and getting all three is still cheaper than any of the headphones mentioned in this article. Some of the best things about the Apple EarPods are the in-line remote with touch-sensitive volume buttons and a physical microphone that offers near-zero latency and clear, uncompressed voice pickup for phone calls and virtual meetings. Since these headphones are wired, users don’t have to worry about wireless pairing, audio sync latency, or battery drain.

Apple EarPods are perfect for anyone looking for a little style, great sound quality, and an affordable option. Both the headphone jack and USB-C versions work with any product with these ports, although you may need to go through a few settings to use the USB-C EarPods with your MacBook.