If you have specific inclinations regarding your workout attire — and strong opinions on Hoka versus Brooks (we’re not entering that discussion) — then locating the ideal pair of workout headphones can be particularly difficult.
The finest headphones for exercise must endure movement, perspiration, and environmental factors. Moreover, you don’t want to be fiddling with them constantly; your headphones should assist you in maintaining concentration throughout your workouts.
Mashable reviewers have evaluated numerous pairs of headphones and wireless earbuds, and we can indicate which products stay securely in place during exercise, and which earbuds will fall off as soon as you begin to sprint. To ensure we’re endorsing the right products, we assessed more than a dozen of the leading sports earbuds, headphones, and bone conduction headphones from brands like Bose, Beats, Apple, and Shokz.
How to choose headphones for exercising
The suitable headphones for you largely depend on the types of workouts you enjoy and the locations where you prefer to engage in them. If you enjoy running outdoors, you require headphones that ensure your safety in busy environments with dependable noise transparency, such as bone conduction headphones or open earbuds. If you’re lifting weights at the gym, you may favor sports earbuds that block out distractions with active noise cancellation to help you concentrate on your repetitions. And some individuals simply prefer the aesthetics and comfort of traditional over-ear headphones. We discovered dependable choices in each category, but generally, most athletes lean towards the best wireless earbuds for exercising.
For this guide, we sought two universal specifications in all the headphones we tested. First, workout headphones must be wireless, providing you with complete freedom of movement. You don’t want to get tangled up on the stair climber.
Second, workout headphones should be sweat- or water-resistant. This point is clear. When exercising, you will sweat, and you want headphones that won’t malfunction at the first hint of moisture. Your gym earbuds don’t need to be fully waterproof, but this feature will benefit outdoor athletes.
So, whether you’re hitting the gym or the streets, here are the finest earbuds and headphones for workouts.
Recent updates to this guide
In our latest update in April 2026, we replaced the Bose Ultra Open earbuds with the Shokz OpenFit Pro earbuds. During our testing, we found the Shokz buds provide better value for a similar (and sometimes enhanced) experience.
In September 2025, we substituted the Apple AirPods Pro 2 with the newly released AirPods Pro 3. Similarly, we exchanged the previous-gen Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds for the QuietComfort Ultra (Gen 2) buds.
In a prior update, we removed the discontinued Jabra Elite 8 Active (Gen 2). These earbuds previously held the top position and delivered exceptional battery life, fit, and sound quality in a highly durable design. We still recommend it if you’re fortunate enough to find a pair online at a sensible price (they retail for $300 on eBay).
We also assessed additional products that ultimately didn’t make the list, including the JBL Reflect Aero noise-canceling earbuds. Despite seeming to have a comparable design to the Beats Fit Pro — the earbuds themselves, not the ear tips — they were so large that they couldn’t fit comfortably in the ear, a concerning design that caused them to constantly fall out.