The 7 Best Wired Headphones for Your Runs and Workouts

The Bose Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds are the only pair on this list with active noise canceling. Each bud has two microphones that pick up the clang of plates and the music on the gym speakers, then cancel that sound. With the room quieter, you can keep your own music at a lower volume. Hold the button on the inline remote to switch to Aware mode. It uses the same mics to pipe in outside sound, so you can hear cars and cyclists on an outdoor run.

Noise canceling works best when each bud seals your ear canal, and silicone wing-tip stabilizers keep that seal in place while you move. Bose’s wings press against the inner ridge of your ear, so the buds don’t shift during jumps or sprints. You get two wing sizes and three ear tip sizes, and you can remove the wings if you don’t need them. The thick, rubbery 4.2-foot cable connecting them is durable. It tangles less than the thin cords on cheap USB-C buds, and it makes less noise when it rubs against a shirt.

Partway down that cable sits the remote, which holds volume buttons, a multifunction button (tap to play or pause, double-tap to skip, hold to change noise modes), and the call mic. All that hardware can be heavy, though — enough that you’ll feel it pull on the buds during jumps and sprints. Running the cable under your shirt collar keeps the remote from swinging.

The noise canceling also determines what you can plug these into. The earbuds draw power from your phone to run the mics and processor, so they need a USB-C port. Any iPhone 15 or newer works, and most current Android phones do too. A 3.5mm jack, like the one on a treadmill screen or an airplane seat, won’t work, even with an adapter. Once they’re plugged in, the IPX4 rating protects them from sweat and splashes from any direction, though not from a dunk in water. They come in black, white, and a limited-edition mint.

Read more: Best Workout Headphones, Tested by Us

The JBL Endurance Run 3 costs $25 and carries an IP65 rating, the highest on this list. That means no dust gets in on dirt trails and sandy beach runs, while they can survive water sprayed from a nozzle. A downpour or a sweat-soaked HIIT class won’t hurt them, either.

JBL’s FlipHook design gives you two ways to wear them. With the cable hanging straight down, they sit like regular earbuds. Rotate the hooks upward and the cable runs over the top of your ear and down behind it. That takes the cable’s weight off the bud. It also stops the wire from thumping against your chest while you run and jump. The TwistLock tips sit into the bowl of your ear, so a bud stays put when you turn your head fast.

The remote has one button and a mic, handling play, pause, and calls, and a long press brings up Siri or Google Assistant. You can adjust the volume through your phone. The standard Run 3 plugs into a 3.5mm jack. JBL also offers the Endurance Run 3C USB-C, which has a three-button remote and costs a little more. The standard Endurance Run 3 has a 3.5mm plug and a one-button remote.

The MEE Audio M6 Sport uses memory wire, a thin, bendable wire inside the cable near each bud. You bend it around the back of your ear once, and it holds that curve. It works like a custom-fit ear hook that stays put through box jumps and hill sprints, and it also takes stress off the buds.

The three-button remote on the braided cable does more than most wired sport buds. The outer buttons raise and lower volume. The center button plays, pauses, skips tracks, answers calls, and starts your voice assistant. The IPX5 rating protects against heavy sweat and rain.

MEE Audio tunes the M6 Sport for heavy bass. The USB-C version works with modern smartphones, and it comes with a shirt clip and six sets of ear tips, so you can get the exact fit you want. You can also get them a with a 3.5mm jack plug..

The SE215 earphones are in-ear monitors, the same style of earphones musicians wear on stage to hear themselves over a loud crowd. The low-profile shells sit flush inside your ear. The cable runs up and over the back of each ear, pulling the cord’s weight off the buds and keeping cable noise out of your music when you move. The included foam tips expand to fill your ear canal, and Shure says they block up to 37 decibels of outside noise, enough to drown out a gym’s speakers.

The SE215 delivers deeper bass than other wired headphones we’ve tested. Beyond sound, the earbuds have also been designed with durability in mind. The SE215’s cable is Kevlar-reinforced and detaches at MMCX connectors, so if it breaks, you only replace the cord. Shure also sells a Bluetooth adapter that makes the same buds wireless.

Shure doesn’t give them an IP rating, though, so you should wipe them down after sweaty sessions. The standard 64-inch cable has no mic or remote and comes only in a 3.5mm configuration, so a USB-C phone needs a dongle.

Apple’s EarPods are the pair you see a lot of people using in TikTok videos, holding the mic close to their mouth. At $19, they’re a great pair to keep in your bag for the day you forget your main headphones. The remote has volume buttons and a center button to play, pause, and answer calls. Apple says they’re protected against sweat and water, though it doesn’t list an IP rating.

The EarPods have hard plastic shells shaped to rest in the bowl of your ear, with no silicone tips sealing the canal. That makes them comfortable for long walks and lets outside sound in. But nothing holds them in place for more rigorous movements like burpees and jump rope. Still, they’re steady enough for walking, the elliptical, and light lifting.

Read more: Our Review of the Apple iPhone Duo

The Avantree C171’s ear hooks are molded to curve over and behind each ear, so unlike the MEE Audio M6 Sport, no wire needs to be bent into shape. The cable runs down behind your ear instead of hanging from the bud, so it’s more out of the way when you’re moving.

A four-button remote controls volume, playback, calls, and your voice assistant, so you can keep your phone in your pocket. Avantree sells similar sport earbuds with USB-C, Lightning, and 3.5mm plugs; the C171 is the USB-C model, and the brand’s C171 manual includes troubleshooting for Galaxy S24 users who run into audio detection or distortion issues.

They don’t have an IP rating, but if fit is your main concern, these shouldn’t fly out of your ear during a HIIT workout.

The Avantree Resolve’s speakers rest just outside your ear canal instead of sealing inside it, so you can still hear traffic and cyclists coming up behind you on a run. With no tip pressing into your ear canal, you’ll also feel less soreness that builds up over a long session.

Since nothing sits inside your ear to hold the speakers in place, flexible hooks wrap over each ear to hold them in place. That grip won’t be as snug as an in-ear tip, so the speakers can shift more when you move. Avantree makes a Small-Medium size for ears under 2.5 inches long and a Large size for everyone else, so measure your ear before you order.

While there is no IP rating, you do get inline remote controls for playback, volume, calls, and your voice assistant. Avantree sells 3.5mm, USB-C, and Lightning versions.