--- title: The Best Cheap Earbuds description: These are my favorite earbuds under $30. canonical: https://time.com/4656861/best-cheap-earphones-earbuds-xiaomi/ author: Alex Fitzpatrick article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-01T18:34:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T12:25:25.000Z og:title: These Are My Favorite Cheap Earbuds og:description: For $26, they can't be beat og:url: https://time.com/4656861/best-cheap-earphones-earbuds-xiaomi/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: These Are My Favorite Cheap Earbuds twitter:description: For $26, they can't be beat twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # These Are My Favorite Cheap Earbuds ## Video: Apple's 2017 iPhone is Going to be Awesome [Watch (HLS stream): Apple's 2017 iPhone is Going to be Awesome](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/aUI8gjKW.m3u8) (1:04)  _Published 2016-11-29. Predictions are out for the next iPhone and it's shaping up to be so new that it'll break sales records._  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Updated: Dec 13, 2023 12:25 PM UTCPublished: Feb 1, 2017 6:34 PM UTC  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Updated: Dec 13, 2023 12:25 PM UTCPublished: Feb 1, 2017 6:34 PM UTC Finding the right headphones is like finding a hoodie that fits exactly right: You’ve got to try a bunch before you find the one, but when you do, you know it right away. For most of my listening needs, I like the [AKG N60s](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015HDS5TC/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timetechafitzgadgets-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B015HDS5TC&linkId=eba3ab2ca1cba03bbb0d334b6d470aca), a pair of wired, noise-cancelling on-ear headphones that run for around $250\. They sound great, they’re comfortable for hours of listening, and the noise cancellation drowns out my busy city commute. Thankfully for headphone jack-less iPhone 7 users, AKG recently announced a wireless pair is on the way, but I haven’t had the chance to try them yet. But bigger headphones have their limits. You can’t shove them in a pants pocket, they’re not great for the gym, and the ones worth buying are typically on the expensive side. So if you’re not into headphones, you can’t go wrong with a solid pair of cheap-but-great earbuds. And yes, your phone probably came with a pair of buds. But if you’re a music fan, it’s worth spending a little bit of money on an upgrade – the difference will be night and day. So which cheap earbuds are actually worth buying? My favorites are [these $26 Xiaomi buds](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018AMDCLI/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timetechafitzgadgets-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B018AMDCLI&linkId=d4cbe214f83037583161841681e4dc0f). The sound is solid, if a little bass-heavy, they’re in-ear, meaning they block a good amount of outside sound, and for $26, it’s not the end of the world if I lose them or accidentally throw them in the wash, as I’ve done more than once. Given the price and performance, these are one of the best-bang-for-the-buck buys you can make. **(Update:** Shortly after publication a fellow editor here chimed in to recommend these [Koss Sparkplugs](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00001P4XA/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timetechafitzgadgets-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00001P4XA&linkId=e188012f824ccb7d74d563b435f3d047), which he says has a foam component that “actually contracts and expands within your ear.” Weird but maybe cool!) One drawback here: Weirdly enough, the volume up/down buttons on the cord won’t work with an iPhone, but the play/pause button will. That’s never really bothered me, but it’s worth considering before you make a purchase. [(_Read TIME’s affiliate link policy_.)](http://time.com/4605406/time-affiliate-link-policy/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4656861/best-cheap-earphones-earbuds-xiaomi/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4656861/best-cheap-earphones-earbuds-xiaomi/"},"headline":"These Are My Favorite Cheap Earbuds","datePublished":"2017-02-01T18:34:49.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T12:25:25.000Z","description":"For $26, they can't be beat","url":"https://time.com/4656861/best-cheap-earphones-earbuds-xiaomi/","keywords":["Gadgets","Tech","timeshop"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Fitzpatrick","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/gadgets/","name":"Gadgets"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4656861/best-cheap-earphones-earbuds-xiaomi/","name":"These Are My Favorite Cheap Earbuds"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Apple's 2017 iPhone is Going to be Awesome","description":"Predictions are out for the next iPhone and it's shaping up to be so new that it'll break sales records.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/aUI8gjKW/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-11-29T18:26:26.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/aUI8gjKW.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4656861/best-cheap-earphones-earbuds-xiaomi/","duration":"PT1M4S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4656861/best-cheap-earphones-earbuds-xiaomi/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```