9 Best Workout Earbuds of 2026

Powerbeats Pro 2 are built around one job: staying on during hard training. The ear hooks are now made with a light nickel-titanium alloy, and Beats says it spent over 1,500 hours testing the fit with nearly 1,000 athletes. On top of that fit you get heart rate sensors that feed real-time data to select fitness apps and equipment, adaptive noise cancelling for loud gyms and Transparency mode for city runs. The Apple H2 chip brings one-touch pairing and Find My on iPhone, and the Beats app for Android unlocks the heart rate feature and custom controls. Battery is listed at up to 10 hours per bud, or 8 hours with noise cancelling on, and the case now charges wirelessly. The weak spot is water protection: the earbuds are IPX4, which covers sweat and splashes, and the case has no rating at all. At $249.99 it is not cheap, but no other pair here combines this fit with heart rate sensing on both phone platforms.

AirPods Pro 3 are the first AirPods Apple pitches as real training gear. Heart rate sensing uses LEDs that pulse invisible light 256 times per second, combined with the accelerometers, and Apple says it covers up to 50 workout types in the Fitness app, including your Move ring and the Fitness+ Burn Bar. The IP57 rating is a first for AirPods, and Apple tested the charging case to the same standard, which beats both Powerbeats models on paper. The fit is redesigned for more security, and five ear tips, including a new XXS size, add a thin foam layer to the silicone. Battery is listed at up to 8 hours with noise cancelling on. The trade-off against Powerbeats Pro 2 is the lack of any hook or wingtip, so if earbuds tend to work loose for you during sprints, the Beats are the safer bet. Most of the fitness and hearing features also expect an iPhone.

Sport X20 deliver most of what the premium hooked earbuds offer at a third of the price. The ear hooks rotate up to 30 degrees and extend in steps up to 4 mm, so you can set them to lock in for runs and HIIT. Soundcore rates them IP68 and adds what it calls SweatGuard, a sealed cavity design meant to keep sweat and dust out of the electronics. Noise cancelling is adaptive with a manual setting, and Transparency mode is there for outdoor runs. Battery is listed at 12 hours per charge and 48 hours with the case with noise cancelling off, falling to 7 and 28 hours with it on. The 11 mm drivers and BassUp tuning lean toward bass, and the Soundcore app adds an equalizer. Multipoint is supported, but codecs stop at SBC and AAC, and there is no heart rate sensor or wireless charging. For a gym pair you will not worry about, the $79.99 regular price is hard to beat.

Powerbeats Fit replace Beats Fit Pro, and the Beats page for the older model now leads here. The idea is unchanged: a true in-ear bud with a soft wingtip that tucks under the ridge of the upper ear, which Beats says is now nearly 20% more flexible for comfort over a long session. Each bud weighs 5.78 g, there is now a fourth ear tip size, and a Fit Test on iOS or the Beats app for Android helps you pick the right one. Noise cancelling and Transparency mode are included, and the redesigned case is 17% smaller and, unlike the Powerbeats Pro 2 case, rated for sweat and water along with the buds at IPX4. Battery is the weaker point: up to 7 hours per bud and 30 hours with the case. There is no heart rate sensor, and the chip is the older H1, but at $199.99 it is $50 less than the hooked Powerbeats Pro 2.

OpenFit 2 are for people who should not have their ears plugged while they train, such as road runners and cyclists. The buds hook over the ear and sit outside the canal, using air conduction rather than bone conduction, and Shokz says its DualBoost technology and OpenBass 2.0 algorithm push more bass toward the ear. DirectPitch 2.0 is meant to keep sound from leaking to people around you. Battery is the standout: up to 11 hours per charge and up to 48 hours with the case, and a 10-minute charge gives 2 hours. The IP55 rating covers dust, sweat and light rain, though the case is not waterproof. Physical buttons handle volume, tracks and calls, which is easier mid-run than tapping. There is no noise cancelling, so in a loud gym music competes with the room, and wireless charging is reserved for the OpenFit 2+ at $199.95. For outdoor training, it is the open-ear pair we would start with.

Epic Sport ANC 3 are JLab's most premium sport earbuds, and the spec sheet reads like a flagship. Each bud uses hybrid dual drivers, and Android phones can stream over LDAC for hi-res audio, with AAC on iPhone. Hybrid noise cancelling comes with three noise control modes, and JLab's app lets you adjust the sound and controls. The IP66 rating covers dust and strong water jets, better than any Beats or Bose pair here. JLab lists over 52 hours of total playtime with the case, the case charges wirelessly or through an integrated USB-C cable, and multipoint keeps a phone and a laptop connected together. A built-in interval timer is a small but useful extra for circuit training. What the page does not give is a per-charge battery figure, and there is no heart rate sensing. The JLab store showed a converted price from our location, so we could not confirm the US price; check it before you buy.

AeroFit 2 are the lower-cost route into open-ear listening, and the adjustable hook is the main reason to pick them for exercise. The hooks have four adjustment levels, which Soundcore says suit over 99% of ear shapes, and moving the speaker closer to the ear canal adds up to 7.5 dB of bass compared with fixed hooks, by Soundcore's measure. The hooks are slim and tilt down so they do not fight with glasses. Large 20 x 11.5 mm drivers and LDAC on Android aim for fuller sound than most open-ear buds. Battery is listed at 10 hours per charge and 42 hours with the case, with 4 hours from a 10-minute charge, and the case charges wirelessly. The IP55 rating matches Shokz OpenFit 2. Soundcore markets the pair as all-day comfort earbuds, and like every open-ear pair, there is no noise cancelling. At a $129.99 regular price, and $99.99 on sale when we checked, it undercuts the Shokz and Bose options.

Sport Open Earbuds are Bose's training version of its cuff-style open earbuds. Instead of a hook, each bud clips around the edge of the ear on a curved, flexible band with a soft silicone finish, which Bose says is made to stay put through high-intensity sessions. The ear canal stays fully open, so you hear coaches, traffic and teammates while Bose OpenAudio aims sound toward the ear. The IP54 rating covers sweat, splashes and dust, a step up from the IPX4 on the pricier Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen), and the case charges wirelessly. Bluetooth multipoint is supported. The compromises are battery and extras: Bose lists up to 7 hours per charge with an additional 22 hours in the case, below Shokz and Soundcore, and the Immersive Audio mode from the Ultra Open is missing. At $199, it is $100 less than its sibling and the more sensible Bose pick for workouts.

The second-generation Ultra Open Earbuds keep the cuff design that clips around the edge of the ear and leaves the canal open, now with an adjustable, simplified flex joint for comfort. Bose says the new model has deeper bass and louder volume than the first, adds TrueSpatial technology for Immersive Audio and a new Cinema Mode, and improves calls with SpeechClarity. Battery rises to up to 9 hours per charge, and the case now charges wirelessly. Bluetooth 5.4 and multipoint are included. For workouts, the case is weaker than it looks: the earbuds are rated IPX4, enough for sweat and splashes but below the IP54 of Bose's own Sport Open and the IP55 of Shokz OpenFit 2. Bose markets this pair around style and everyday listening, with metallic finishes and limited colors. At $299 it is the priciest pair we compared, so it makes most sense if you want one open-ear pair for the office and the occasional run.