Tech Talk

With more people working from home than they used to, owning a good pair of noise-canceling headphones has become more appealing than ever. However, they can be expensive and difficult to shop for due to the range of available models, many of which cater to different lifestyles and priorities. Some are better suited for long-haul flights, while others are ideal for multitasking and marathon listening sessions.

That’s why we’ve curated this list of the best deals on noise-canceling headphones. Here, you’ll find sales on all kinds of on-ear and over-ear headphones, all of which are designed to eliminate outside noise but come with their own strengths and weaknesses. And if you want to do even more research before making a buying decision, we’ve put together a guide to the best noise-canceling headphones, which can help you determine which is right for you.

Sony WH-1000XM4 deals

Sony’s WH-1000XM4 is our overall pick for the best noise-canceling headphones. They offer excellent noise-canceling, good sound and voice quality, and the ability to pair to two devices simultaneously. You can wear these for long periods of time as well, as their plush ear pads make them comfortable to wear for as long as you need. They can even last up to 30 hours on a single charge and can be charged via USB-C.

During Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we saw the $349.99 headphones drop to $248 — their lowest price to date. Luckily, you can still buy them for around $278 at Amazon, B&H Photo, Target, Best Buy, and Sony, despite the lack of holiday sales. Read our review.

Bose QuietComfort 45 deals

  Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Bose QuietComfort 45s, our pick for the most comfortable noise-canceling headphones, are a pair frequent travelers will surely appreciate. They’re lightweight and foldable, so you can easily carry them around with you, and ear fatigue is unlikely, thanks to their oval ear cups. Battery life now sits at 24 hours as well, meaning you needn’t worry about constantly having to charge them. The new transparency mode, meanwhile, comes in handy when you need to be more aware of your surroundings, like when you’re about to cross the street, while a recently-introduced firmware update allows you to customize the bass, mid-range, and other aspects of the EQ. The USB-C-equipped headphones don’t offer the same bassy response as Sony’s 1000XM4s, but if comfort is what you’re after, the QC45 offer it in spades.

Right now, Amazon, Best Buy, Adorama, Target, and Bose are selling the QC45 for $279 instead of $329, their best price to date. Read our review.

  Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

Apple’s AirPods Max deals

If you’re looking for the best sound quality you can get in a pair of noise-canceling headphones, we recommend the AirPods Max. The headphones pair seamlessly with other Apple devices and sound superb, especially combined with Apple’s surround sound-like spatial audio feature, which allows for a more immersive experience when listening to or watching select content. They also tout the best transparency mode of all the headphones on our list and boast incredible build quality thanks to a luxe design that opts for aluminum, steel, and fabric over plastic.

At $549, these headphones are expensive, but many retailers have been heavily discounting them as of late. Right now, for instance, Amazon and Walmart are selling the AirPods Max for around $449 — with the discount applying at checkout, in some instances — which is about $20 shy of their best price to date. You can also pick them up at Micro Center in select colorways for the same price, though they’re only available for in-store pickup in select locations. Read our review.

 

Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 deals

Multitaskers will appreciate Microsoft’s Surface Headphones 2 given they offer terrific multipoint Bluetooth support, which allows you to pair them with multiple devices and switch back and forth between them with ease. The headphones also offer intuitive dial controls for both volume and noise cancellation, as well as improved sound quality and battery life over their predecessor. While Microsoft’s noise-canceling tech isn’t quite as effective as Bose’s and Sony’s, the Surface Headphones 2 still adequately silence outside noises so you can focus.

During Black Friday, Microsoft’s $249.99 Surface Headphones 2 dropped down to around $162, which is almost half their typical retail price. We’re not currently seeing any deals that steep right now, however, Amazon is selling them in white for $214.40, their second-best price to date. You can also buy the black model for about $11 more at Amazon, Best Buy, and Microsoft. Read our review.

 

Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 deals

If you plan to frequently use your headphones for voice calls, Bose’s Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 are the best option on this list for doing so. They boast excellent voice call quality, meaning everybody on your Zoom call will be able to hear you loud and clearly, and they offer great noise cancellation with satisfactory sound. Like the QC45, the over-ears can also connect to two devices simultaneously, but they can’t be folded and only offer 20 hours of battery life, which is also less than other headphones on this list provide.

We’ve seen several discounts on the 700s over the past year or so, with the best reaching an all-time low of $299. We haven’t seen any sales that steep as of late, but Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, and Target are all currently selling them for $329, a $50 discount. Read our review.

Other great noise-canceling headphone deals worth checking out

 

Sony WH-CH710N

If you’re looking for noise-canceling headphones that are under $200, Sony’s WH-CH710N might be worth a look. The budget-friendly headphones come with an “Artificial Intelligence Noise Cancellation” feature, which, according to Sony, will automatically select the proper noise cancellation mode based on the sound levels in your environment. The Bluetooth headphones also feature an ambient mode for when you want to hear what’s going on around you and offer up to 35 hours of continuous playback on a single charge.

Sony’s WH-CH710N typically retail for $199.99, but at the moment you can buy them for around $98 at Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Adorama, and Sony.

 

Beats Studio 3 deals

While we couldn’t recommend these to anybody outside of the Apple ecosystem, the Beats Studio 3 Wireless could be a decent alternative if you want a pair of over-ear headphones from Apple but find the AirPods Max to be too expensive. The Beats Studio 3 are comfortable to wear, fold inward for easy stowing, and feature Apple’s last-gen W1 wireless chip, which allows you to quickly connect and switch between Apple devices. Note, however, unlike those built with Apple’s newer H1 chip, the headphones lack hands-free Siri support. They also charge via a Micro USB port instead of a Lightning port or USB-C.

They’re certainly showing their age at this point — they launched in 2017, after all — but they're on sale at the moment in most colorways for around $199 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. Read our review.

 

Beats Solo Pro deals

When we first reviewed the Beats Solo Pro in 2019, we found the nicely designed Apple headphones offered effective noise cancellation, good durability, lengthy battery life, and a balanced sound profile. While its sticker price was $299.95, Walmart currently has them for $129. Note, however, these headphones have since been discontinued. As a result, Apple no longer sells them, and the retailers that do — like Walmart — are not likely to continue stocking them in the future.

Sennheiser Momentum 3 Wireless deals

If you’re a non-Apple user looking for a pair of noise-canceling headphones that sound fantastic, Sennheiser’s Momentum 3 Wireless are your best option. We found that they boast detailed, bass-rich sound, a stylish, retro-inspired design, and are extremely comfortable to wear — even when you’re donning glasses. Although their noise cancellation might not rival other models on our list, they make up for it with convenient software features like ambient passthrough and a customizable EQ. Plus, unlike many other headphones, they integrate directly with the Bluetooth tracking device Tile.

The headphones typically retail for $399.99, but Amazon is currently selling the Momentum 3 Wireless in black for $246.28 and white for $249.95 — a slight increase over their Black Friday and Cyber Monday pricing. The noise-canceling headphones are also available in both colorways via Sennheiser for $249.95. Read our review.

 

Shure Aonic 50 deals

Shure’s Aonic 50 offer first-class sound quality and adequate noise cancellation, as well as support for advanced codecs like apt-X HD and LDAC. Like Sennheiser’s aforementioned Momentum 3 Wireless, they’re also comfortable to wear, boast detailed, bass-rich sound, and offer features like ambient passthrough and a customizable EQ. Normally $299.99, Shure’s Aonic 50 are on sale right now for around $239 at Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Adorama, and B&H Photo, among other retailers.