Tech & gadgets
AirPods Pro Alternatives: The Cheaper Earbuds That Get Close
Noise cancellation is the feature people buy AirPods Pro for, and it is the feature budget earbuds have most completely caught up on.
By Brijon M. - Published October 2, 2026
The short answer
The EarFun Air Pro 4 and Soundcore Liberty 4 NC both deliver adaptive noise cancellation close to AirPods Pro for roughly a third of the price, with LDAC support Apple does not offer. The remaining gap is call quality in noise and Apple device switching - not the cancellation itself.
Disclosure: we earn commission on qualifying purchases made through the links below, at no extra cost to you. It never changes the order of our picks - here is how that works.
Where the gap actually closed
Noise cancellation in an earbud works by sampling ambient sound with external microphones, inverting it, and playing the inverse alongside your music, with internal microphones checking the result. That is a signal-processing problem, and signal-processing hardware got cheap.
The practical consequence is that on the noise profile ANC handles best - the steady low-frequency drone of an engine, a train, an air conditioner - a $90 pair now performs close enough to AirPods Pro that most people would not reliably rank them in a blind comparison.
Where premium ANC still leads is on variable and mid-frequency noise: voices, keyboard clatter, a cafe. That is a harder problem, and more processing power and better microphone placement genuinely help. If your noise problem is an open-plan office rather than a commute, that difference is the one you will notice.
The one gap that has not closed
Microphone performance on calls, and it is worth being blunt about it. Premium earbuds use beamforming microphone arrays, often with a bone-conduction sensor that detects your jaw vibrating, to separate your voice from everything else. Budget earbuds use fewer microphones with simpler processing.
In a quiet room, nobody can tell. On a windy street or in a cafe, the difference is immediately obvious to whoever you are talking to - and they are the ones who experience it, which is why buyers often do not realize it is happening.
If you take calls outdoors regularly for work, this is the one legitimate reason to pay the Apple premium. For everything else, the alternatives below are the better purchase.
Quick picks
The short version. Tap any row to jump to the full write-up, or go straight to Amazon to check the current price.
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EarFun Air Pro 4 Adaptive ANC, LDAC and multipoint at roughly a third of the price. | Best overall alternative | |
| 2 | Soundcore Liberty 4 NC Adaptive cancellation with a hearing test that tunes it to your ears. | Best ANC per dollar | |
| 3 | CMF Buds Pro 2 A rotating dial control that works better than any touch panel. | Best design and controls | |
| 4 | JBL Live/Tune ANC series The closest budget set gets to AirPods Pro on the microphone. | Best for call quality on a budget |
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1. Best overall alternative
EarFun Air Pro 4
Adaptive ANC, LDAC and multipoint at roughly a third of the price.
- Adaptive ANC
- LDAC + aptX Lossless
- Multipoint
- Wireless charging
On a commute, this is the set that makes the case most convincingly. Adaptive ANC adjusts to the environment rather than running one profile, and on low-frequency noise it holds up well against AirPods Pro.
It also does things AirPods Pro do not: LDAC and aptX Lossless for high-bitrate Android streaming, and multipoint that works across platforms rather than only within Apple's.
Wireless charging in the case is the final detail that removes any practical reason to pay more for a daily commute pair.
What you give up
Call quality in wind trails AirPods Pro clearly, and transparency mode sounds more processed.
2. Best ANC per dollar
Soundcore Liberty 4 NC
Adaptive cancellation with a hearing test that tunes it to your ears.
- Adaptive ANC
- HearID personalization
- LDAC
- ~50h with case
Anker's HearID runs a short hearing test through the earbuds and builds an EQ profile around the result. It sounds like a gimmick and it is one of the more genuinely useful features in budget audio, because most people's hearing is not flat and a stock tuning cannot account for that.
ANC performance is strong on steady noise and the case runs around 50 hours.
This is the pick if noise cancellation specifically is the reason you are shopping.
What you give up
Larger and heavier in the ear than AirPods Pro, which matters over a long flight. The app is effectively required.
3. Best design and controls
CMF Buds Pro 2
A rotating dial control that works better than any touch panel.
- Hybrid ANC
- Smart Dial on case
- LDAC
- Multipoint
The Buds Pro 2's case has a physical rotating dial for volume and ANC mode. After years of mis-triggered touch controls on every brand including Apple, a control you can operate accurately with gloves on is a genuine improvement rather than a novelty.
Sound is more neutral than the Soundcore and EarFun sets, which suits acoustic music and podcasts.
ANC is good rather than class-leading, so pick these for the ergonomics and the tuning.
What you give up
ANC trails the EarFun on a train, and the dial lives on the case rather than the buds, so you need the case in hand to use it.
4. Best for call quality on a budget
JBL Live/Tune ANC series
The closest budget set gets to AirPods Pro on the microphone.
- Adaptive ANC
- Multiple call mics
- Multipoint
- App EQ
If the microphone gap described above is your actual concern, JBL's ANC earbuds narrow it more than the other picks here. JBL puts more effort into call processing than most budget brands, and the result is noticeably more intelligible outdoors.
It does not fully match AirPods Pro, and we would not claim otherwise - but it closes enough of the distance that for most home-office calls it is a non-issue.
The house tuning is bass-forward and flattens acceptably in the app.
What you give up
ANC is a step behind the EarFun and Soundcore picks, and JBL's app is more cluttered than Anker's.
When to just buy AirPods Pro
You take calls in noisy places for work. This is the one. The microphone array is a genuine functional advantage and no budget set matches it.
You are deep in Apple's ecosystem. Switching between iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV without thinking about it is worth real money if you do it ten times a day.
You want the best transparency mode available. Apple's is natural enough to hold a conversation through, and budget transparency modes are not.
If none of those three apply, buy an alternative and spend the difference on something else. The best wireless earbuds under $100 is the full list.
Common questions
+Is budget ANC as good as AirPods Pro?
On steady low-frequency noise like a plane or a train, close enough that most people could not pick them apart. On voices and variable noise, Apple is still ahead. Match the comparison to the noise you actually face rather than to a general claim.
+Do AirPods Pro alternatives work properly on iPhone?
Yes for music, calls, ANC and transparency. What you lose is automatic switching between Apple devices, Find My integration and spatial audio with head tracking. Everything core works normally.
+Why do cheap earbuds sound bad on calls?
Fewer microphones and simpler voice-isolation processing. Premium earbuds use beamforming arrays and often a bone-conduction sensor to separate your voice from the room. It is the single clearest remaining gap between budget and premium earbuds.
+Can I use LDAC on an iPhone?
No - iOS does not support LDAC or aptX, only AAC. That means the high-bitrate codec advantage of these alternatives applies to Android only, which is worth knowing before paying for it.
+How long does ANC performance last as earbuds age?
The cancellation itself does not degrade, but the ear tips do. A worn or wrong-sized tip breaks the seal, and without a seal ANC performance collapses. Replacing tips is the cheapest way to restore noise cancellation on any earbud at any price.
Sources
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