Best Headphones 2026: Personal audio at home and on-the-go

Whether you’re looking to upgrade your existing device or pick up a pair for someone else, here are the best headphones to buy in 2026.

There’s now more choice than ever for consumers. If you need a pair of headphones that are sweat-resistant and can stay in place when you’re trying to beat your personal best on the treadmill, you can find exactly that. Alternatively, if you’re always commuting on a busy train then headphones that focus on noise cancelling can help you to hear every note of a song.

This guide takes an overall approach to the world of headphones, so not only will you find recommended picks for traditional over-ear headphones, but also picks for wireless earbuds as well as open-ear headphones. If you want to go down the in-ear route exclusively then our separate guide to the best wireless earbuds has you covered.

No matter what it is you’re after, you’re bound to find something that works for you, and we should know given the sheer amount of headphones that our team of tech experts test in any given year. What all that testing translates to though is an unparalleled understanding of which headphones are actually worth buying, and how they compare to what else is out there.

We have other guides for you to check out, including our best cheap headphones if you’re tied to a budget, while the best ANC headphones are better suited to those who care about noise-cancelling above all else.

September 2026 update:

We have swapped out the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 for the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless for the best-sounding wireless over-ears.

Best headphones at a glance

• Best overall wireless headphones: Sony WH-1000XM6
• Best-sounding wireless over-ears: Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless
• Best overall wireless earbuds: Sony WF-1000XM6
• Best premium wireless headphones: Focal Bathys
• Best affordable ANC in-ears: Sony WF-C710N
• Best wireless on-ears: Grado GW100x
• Best wired on-ears: Grado SR325x
• Best affordable ANC over-ears: Sony WH-CH720N
• Best affordable on-ears: SoundMagic P23BT
• Best affordable wired over-ears: Austrian Audio Hi-X20
• Best for sleep: Soundcore Sleep A30
• Best open-ear headphones: Shokz OpenFit Pro
• Best for iPhone: Apple AirPods Pro 3
• Best gaming headphones: SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni

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Learn more about how we test headphones

Not just anybody can review a pair of headphones. You don’t need superhuman hearing to tell what’s good, but you do need to know what to listen out for.

Our headphone tests are done by some of the best and most prolific reviewers in the industry, with years of experience listening to everything from the plasticky freebie earbuds that come with your smartphone, to five-figure beasts of glass and marble. We love music and we want your tunes to sound good, too.

So we listen every pair of headphones we can get on or in our ears. We use a variety of sources, from basic MP3s playing on a laptop to high-quality tracks on dedicated hi-res audio players.

Our test tracks are wide-ranging to give headphones a thorough challenge. They’re also familiar, so we know every track backwards, and we know which bits might trouble the lesser performers.

We listen again and again, and we do that for weeks in case the sound changes – because it usually does. Then we’ll listen to similarly priced rivals and come up with a verdict that reflects the performance and features for the money.

Sony WH-1000XM6

Sony WF-1000XM6

Focal Bathys

Sony WF-C710N

Sony WH-CH720N

Austrian Audio Hi-X20

Soundcore Sleep A30

Apple AirPods Pro 3

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless

Grado GW100x

Grado SR325x

SoundMagic P23BT

Shokz OpenFit Pro

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FAQs

What are the best noise-cancelling headphones?

Either the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) or the Sony WH-1000XM6 would get our vote for the best premium noise-cancelling headphones. The ANC performance is similar to the point where we found it hard to tell between them. They’re equally as good as each other.

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