20-02-2025
Best Earbuds for Phone Calls for 2025
Having high-quality earbuds can make the calling experience a whole lot better. Whether you're making frequent business calls, catching up with distant friends and family or even if you dread phone calls, you still want to sound clear and crisp. The best wireless earbuds for calls have a good balance of clear microphones, smart noise reduction and voice-sensing tech to ensure you can hear and be heard loud and clear, even in noisy environments. Some have a sidetone feature allows you to hear your own voice when chatting with noise-isolating buds, ensuring you don't end up talking too loudly. No matter your preferences, we've picked the best wireless earbuds for phone calls to meet all your needs in 2025.
In our tests at CNET (on the noisy streets of New York, no less) we found the best earbuds for phone calls were the AirPods Pro 2. Updated almost two years ago with USB-C charging, Apple's flagship noise-canceling earbuds are good at picking up your voice while minimizing background noise. Close runners-up are the Sony WF-1000XM5 and the AirPods 4 with ANC, both of which earned our Editors' Choice badge during the review process.
If you're mainly interested in headphones for static use, like in your home office, check out our guide to the best headphones for working from home. These models as more likely to include an extendable boom mic, rather than in-built hardware designed for portable use. But if you're looking for a more versatile option, read up on our picks for the best wireless earbuds overall.
I've been testing headphones and earbuds for almost 20 years and have fully reviewed or done hands-on testing with all the earbuds on this list. I'll update it accordingly as we test more models released in 2025.
Before anything else, you'll want to figure out how much you're willing to spend on new earbuds. Value-priced earbuds continue to improve, so you can find good "cheap" buds for not too much money (less than $60). If you're looking for premium buds from Sony, Apple and Bose, be prepared to spend a lot more.
It's key that the earbuds you buy fit your ears well. They should offer a comfortable, secure fit. If you don't get a tight seal with noise-isolating earbuds, sound quality and noise canceling can be dramatically impacted for the worse. Open earbuds don't have that issue, but they should be comfortable to wear and sit securely in your ears.
Because the fit of your earbuds is so important, it's critical to buy your buds at a retailer that has a good return policy, in case the buds aren't a good match for your ears.
We test earbuds based on five key criteria, comparing similarly styled and priced models. These criteria are design, sound quality, features, voice-calling performance and value.
Design: We assess not only how comfortably the earbuds fit (ergonomics) but also their build quality and how well the controls are implemented. We also look at water- and dust-resistance ratings.
Sound quality: We evaluate sound quality by listening to a set playlist of music tracks and comparing the earbuds to top competing products in their price range. Sonic traits such as bass definition, clarity, dynamic range and how natural the headphones sound are key factors in our assessment.
Features: Some great-sounding earbuds aren't loaded with features, but we do take into account what extra features are on board. These include everything from noise-canceling and transparency modes (ambient sound mode) to special sound modes to ear-detection sensors that automatically pause your music when you take the headphones off your ears.
Voice-calling performance: When we test voice-calling performance, we make calls in the noisy streets of New York and evaluate how well the earbuds reduce background noise and how clearly callers can hear your voice.
Value: We determine value after evaluating the strength of the earbuds against all these criteria and what the buds are able to deliver compared to other models in their price class.
Soundpeats Air3 Deluxe HS: What makes the Soundpeats Air3 Deluxe HS buds special is that they sound surprisingly good for open earbuds -- they're pretty close to what you get from Apple's AirPods 3 for sound. On top of that, they support Sony's LDAC audio codec for devices that offer it. Not too many cheap open earbuds have good sound, but these Soundpeats have good bass response and clarity. They're also decent for making calls and have a low-latency gaming mode.
Sony WF-1000XM4: Released in 2021, Sony's WF-1000XM4 earned a CNET Editors' Choice Award. They're still excellent earbuds, but Sony has now released the next-gen WF-1000XM5. They may be a good option if you find them at a good discount. If you're still interested in the model, check out our full Sony WF-1000XM4 review from when they were released.
Beyerdynamic Free Byrd: Beyerdynamic may be late to the game, but it's finally introduced its first true-wireless earbuds, which feature active noise canceling, up to 11 hours of battery life (with noise canceling off) and impressive sound quality. Read our Beyerdynamic Free Byrd review.
Master & Dynamic MW08: These buds may not fit everyone's ear equally well, but they certainly have a distinct look, as well as excellent sound and a great listening experience if you can get a tight seal (I was able to get a secure fit with the largest tip). They deliver more of an audiophile sound profile, with smooth, well-balanced sound and well-defined bass.
Bang & Olufsen Beoplay EX: Bang & Olufsen's $395 Beoplay EX buds are the company's best true-wireless earbuds. They feature a comfortable, secure fit (except perhaps for those with really smaller ears), top-notch build quality, great sound, good noise canceling and improved voice-calling performance over B&O's EQ buds, with three microphones in each earbud they help with reducing background noise while picking up your voice. They're out of most people's price range, but they're arguably the best earbuds out there with stems and offer slightly superior sound to the AirPods Pro 2 with better clarity, deeper more powerful bass and richer, more accurate sound. If you're interested in the pricy model, check out my full Bang & Olufsen Beoplay EX hands-on.
Sony LinkBuds: The LinkBuds are, in a sense, Sony's answer to Apple's standard AirPods. They don't sound as good as Sony's flagship WF-1000XM4 or the LinkBuds S noise-isolating earbuds, but they offer a discreet, innovative design and a more secure fit than the AirPods, as well as decent sound and very good voice-calling performance. Like the third-gen AirPods, their open design allows you to hear the outside world -- that's what the ring is all about. Read our Sony LinkBuds review.
JBL Live Free 2: Like the , JBL's new Live Free 2 buds are surprisingly good. With 11mm drivers, six microphones, oval tubes and oval silicon tips, they combine a comfortable fit along with strong noise canceling, very good sound quality and voice-calling performance. Features include multipoint Bluetooth pairing and wireless charging, and they're rated for up to seven hours with IPX5 water resistance (splash-proof).
More premium earbuds tend to have six microphones (three in each bud), with some dedicated to analyzing ambient noise and others dedicated to capturing your voice. Typically, there's at least one beamforming microphone on each bud to hone in on your voice.
Some earbuds have bone-conduction sensing technology that detects your jaw movement vibrations when you're talking. That helps the earbuds know when you're talking so they can focus on your voice while also reducing background noise. Sophisticated software also plays a role in filtering out background noise while the microphones can focus on your voice.
Sometimes, but not always. With earbuds that have stems like the AirPods and AirPods Pro 2, the microphones are a little closer to your mouth, which can help. Just because earbuds have stems doesn't mean they'll be very good for making calls. Several buds on this list are good for making calls that do not have stems.
It's generally better to go for noise-isolating earbuds, as they effectively block sound. This can be achieved through either physical sound isolation or active noise cancellation algorithms that help you focus on the sound in your ear.
