Although open earbuds share the common feature of sitting outside the ear, they come in many shapes and sizes, from clip-on models to ear hook models. Some are more intended for work, while others are better for everyday use. The Bose Ultra Open earbuds are popular for their sound quality and versatility, but they’re far from your only option (or the most affordable, at $299).
We found the 9 best headphones of 2025 after extensive testing
Below, we’ve rounded up some open-back earbud models available in 2026.
Note: This guide is a work in progress, so we’ll be changing (or expanding) our recommendations as we continue to test pairs, including those announced at CES 2026..
What are open earbuds?
Open earbuds allow you to get as close as possible to the feeling of not wearing earbuds at all. Unlike in-ear earbuds that sit in your ear (as the name suggests), open-back earbuds sit just outside your ears. Some models hold the speaker part in place with an ear hook while others opt for an ear cuff.
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People usually choose to open earbuds for three main reasons:
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They provide a private listening experience while leaving you almost completely aware of the world around you. It’s like the best transparency mode you’ve ever used.
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For some people, not having an earbud physically in their ear is often more comfortable.
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Hooks and cuffs (and general awareness of your surroundings) make them a great option for keeping them in place, and keeping you alert, while you work.
What are the drawbacks of open earbuds?
As you might have gathered from the section above, open-back earbuds usually don’t come with active noise cancellation. That’s because of how much noise they let in (by design) and the difficulty of canceling noise without the device covering your actual ear.
And thanks to all the open ear-canal shape, these won’t be earbuds for audiophiles. That’s not to say open earbuds sound bad — if you’ve never tried them, we promise they sound a lot better than you think — but you’ll be missing out on some of the nuances of a song without having an earbud in your ear.
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That said, many pairs still have equalizers in their accompanying programs to help you make them sound their best. Our pick for the upgrade, the Bose Ultra Open earbuds, even surround sound worked surprisingly well.
Most open earbuds will also boast some sort of special technology that keeps them from leaking too much noise. While these pairs do a great job of keeping the sound personal, most pairs (including our picks) are prone to some leakage, especially at high volumes.
Finally, some open earbuds – especially those with ear hooks – tend to have slightly larger cases. If you like to travel light, it’s something you should be aware of.
What about bone conduction headphones?
Bone conduction earbuds work exactly as the name suggests they do – they use your skull to conduct sound waves, instead of pumping sound into your ear, as most options list. Typically, a band runs from either side of the user to help hold the headphones in place.
Shokz, the brand behind our top pick, is a popular manufacturer of these types of headphones. While we’re considering them open earbuds, we haven’t tested any bone-conduction earbuds — look back in the future for that review. On that note:
What’s next in our testing pipeline
The open earbuds market is growing fast, so we’ll be checking out as many as we can get our hands on. Next, we’ll try budget pairs of open-back earbuds under $100, as well as more pairs from Shokz.
In addition to the earbuds that made our final May 2025 guide, we tested the Nothing Ear (Open) earbuds ($149), the Sony Linkbuds Open ($199.99), the Anker Soundcore AeroClip earbuds ($169.99), and the Shokz OpenFit Air ($119.99). While none of the above were bad earbuds by any means, we found our picks to surpass them in terms of comfort and sound quality, especially considering their prices.
