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When you’re racking up big mileage a set of the best running headphones are a must to help the time fly by, and The Run Testers team has been testing sets from all the major brands for decades. We’ve covered all the relevant launches from big brands like Beats, Bose, Jabra, Jaybird, Apple, JBL, and Shokz in recent years, as well as testing out alternatives from smaller brands like Tribit, Naenka, Lypertek and Creative.
Below you’ll find our top headphones picks for runners, with options to suit a range of styles and fits. We have bone conduction and open buds, and in-ear buds with or without wings and earhooks to consider, as well as budget-friendly options. Along with a brief description of why we rate each set of buds you’ll find our full video review, and do check out the Run Testers YouTube channel for more headphones reviews and comparison videos.
Who Are The Run Testers?
We are a group of experienced fitness and tech journalists based in the UK who have written articles and reviews for pretty much every major website and magazine in the tech and fitness arena over the past couple of decades.
We’re also extremely keen runners, and listen to music and podcasts on most of our runs. Nick like a mix of nerdy podcasts and indie music, though Disney classics are making their presence felt on his running playlists since having kids. Tom once bought Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald stickers, to give an idea of his taste, and Kieran likes EDM, which he insists stands for European Dance Music. Mike’s tastes are harder to pin down precisely, but UB40 are definitely involved, and those who attended will confirm his wedding playlist was banger after banger.
The Best Running Headphones 2025
Beats Powerbeats Pro 2
Price: £249 / $249 | Battery Life: 10 hours buds / 45 hours case | Water Resistance: IPX4
The Powerbeats Pro 2 offer an unshakeable fit thanks to their earhook design, and are thinner and more comfortable to wear than most earhook headphones. We found they didn’t move around at all during long runs of over 20 miles, or during very sweaty treadmill sessions, and the fit isn’t all they have to offer.
At 10 hours of use on the buds, the battery life is impressive, and the headphones have button controls that are easy to use on the run. The bass-forward sound profile is great for keeping your energised, and while the ANC isn’t outstanding, it’s a useful feature during and outside of runs.
We found the built-in heart rate monitors a disappointment though, both in terms of accuracy and ease of use, so would stick with your watch or an external chest strap. The price is also too high, so wait for sales to grab the Powerbeats Pro 2, which usually drop below £200 / $200 during events like Prime Day or Black Friday.
Shokz OpenRun Pro 2
Price: £169 / $179.95 | Battery Life: 12 hours | Water Resistance: IP55
Shokz is the biggest name in bone conduction headphones and the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 are the best in class. They actually use both bone conduction and air conduction to play audio, delivering better and louder sound than other bone conduction headphones while still leaving your ears clear to hear your surroundings.
They can still be drowned out in very loud areas and obviously the OpenRun are not as useful outside of runs as in-ear buds, but they are a great pick for runners especially as bone conduction headphones are the only type allowed in some races. The standard OpenRun are also good headphones and cheaper, but offer less impressive sound quality and battery life than the OpenRun Pro.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen)
Price: £299 / $299 | Battery Life: 6 hours buds / 24 hours case | Water Resistance: IPX4
The Bose QC Ultra Earbuds are premium headphones that offer outstanding sound quality and the best ANC we’ve come across on in-ear buds, but they also surprised us in how well they fit for running.
We’ve run hundreds of miles wearing the buds and they haven’t moved at all, so they certainly fit the bill as crossover lifestyle/running headphones for those who don’t want to compromise on sound quality at all.
The battery life is sub-par though, and the price is incredibly high, though we’d expect sales on the QC Ultra Earbuds to start appearing soon as Bose has a welcome record of reducing its headphones. On value, however, the Bose QC Earbuds (listed below) are a better option for those who don’t need the absolute best of the best in terms of sound and ANC.
Apple AirPods Pro 3
Price: £219 / $249 | Battery Life: 8 hours buds / 24 hours case | Water Resistance: IPX4
Apple’s all-conquering AirPods Pro 3 are an outstanding option for runners if you can get along with the fit. Nick found they came loose on the run and although you can solve this problem with a cheap set of third-party silicone wings, the AirPods Pro 3 will only be the best pick for you if they stay in place reliably during runs, as they have done for Mike and Kieran.
If they do you’re getting a top-notch set of buds for general use as well as running, with the AirPods Pro 3 offering great sound and some of the best ANC we’ve come across on in-ear buds.
The AirPods Pro 3 also achieve something no other headphones have managed for us, which is to offer accurate heart-rate monitoring. You need to use an iPhone or Apple Watch to really benefit from this, but it’s been remarkably accurate in our testing, and a lot better than the HR tracking on the Powerbeats Pro 2.
We’ll also shout out the cheaper Apple AirPods 4 ANC here, which Nick prefers as they do stay in his ears and are even more comfortable than the AirPods Pro 2 because they don’t stick into the ear canal. They don’t sound as good as the AirPods Pro 2 though, and the ANC is not as effective because of the partially-open fit on the AirPods 4.
Bose QC Earbuds
Price: £180 / $179 | Battery Life: 8.5 hours buds / 29.5 hours case | Water Resistance: IPX4
The QC Earbuds are the entry-level buds in the Bose range and come in a lot cheaper than the QC Ultra Earbuds and many other top sets of headphones, including Apple and Beats’ finest. They still sound superb though, and the ANC is top-notch as well, as you would expect from a set of Bose buds.
With the largest wings in place the Bose QC Earbuds stayed in place reliably during our runs, and they are among the most comfortable buds with wings we’ve used, wearing them for hours before and after runs without any irritation. The battery life is also solid, and given that they often seem to pop up in sales, the QC Earbuds are a very strong option for runners who want great value buds that don’t compromise on sound and ANC.
Beats Powerbeats Fit
Price: £200 / $200 | Battery Life: 7 hours buds / 30 hours case | Water Resistance: IPX4
The Powerbeats Fit replace the Fit Pro earbuds in Beats line-up, but are not a major upgrade on the older headphones. They have a smaller case and a thinner wing, but are still not the most comfortable buds out there in our experience. If you wear them for over an hour or so the wing did become uncomfortable in our testing.
However, the fit is very secure for running thanks to this wing, and the Powerbeats Fit are a more affordable alternative to the AirPods Pro 3 and Powerbeats Pro 2, though don’t offer as impressive sound quality and ANC as those buds.
We prefer the Bose QC Earbuds overall to the Powerbeats Fit, but the Beats buds are a solid options for runners, and have a smaller, less intrusive design than the earhook on the Powerbeats Pro 2.
JLab Go Air Sport+
Price: £30 / $30 | Battery Life: 9 hours buds / 26 hours case | Water Resistance: IP55
The best budget running headphones we’ve come across, the JLab Go Air Sport+ offer a secure fit thanks to their earhook, plus sound quality that belies their incredibly low price-tag. They also come in a range of colours and have long battery life, with a clever feature being that their charging cable is built into the carry case.
If you don’t need an earhook to keep headphones in on the run, then you can get even better value from the JLab Go Air Pop+, which have a smaller in-ear design but still impressed us with their sound quality and battery life.
Read our full JLab Go Sport+ review
JBL Endurance Race 2
Price: £69.99 / $79.95 | Battery Life: 12 hours buds / 48 hours case | Water Resistance: IP68
The JBL Endurance Race 2 have a good case for being the best value running headphones, with their already-reasonable price often dropping even lower in sales.
They offer an excellent fit thanks to the soft silicone wing, which makes them secure on the run and comfortable enough to wear for hours outside your training as well, and the battery life is also above-average at 10 hours with ANC and 12 hours without.
We found that the ANC wasn’t the most effective in cutting out external sound, and the ambient aware mode wasn’t great either, often just letting in wind noise. You also get hear the thudding of your feet on the run when using these buds, though we find this easy enough to tune out.
The sound quality is good though, especially for the price, and the fit and battery life certainly make the Endurance Race 2 worth checking out if you don’t want to spending over £100/$100 on your buds.
Shokz OpenFit 2 and Shokz OpenFit 2+
Price: £249 / $249 | Battery Life: 10 hours buds / 45 hours case | Water Resistance: IPX4
The Shokz OpenFit 2 and OpenFit 2+ are open headphones that use two speakers positioned near the ear canal to deliver impressive sound quality while leaving you aware of your surroundings. The OpenFit 2+ have a couple of upgrades on the standard model, offering Dolby Audio and wireless charging, and we did find that the upgrade in sound quality is noticeable on the pricier buds.
For open headphones, the OpenFit 2+ do sound great, and the battery life and button controls are also excellent. We had mixed results with the fit through, with some of the team finding that the headphones stayed reliably in place on runs of any length, while others found that they jiggled loose at times.
Both the OpenFit 2 and OpenFit 2+ are significant upgrades in sound quality on the OpenFit Air, the cheaper open model in Shokz’ range, but the Air are still worth considering if you’re on a budget since they still sound pretty good.
Bose Ultra Open Earbuds
Price: £300 / $300 | Battery Life: 7 hours buds / 27 hours case | Water Resistance: IPX4
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are the best-sounding open headphones we’ve tested, and are Nick’s go-to running headphones when he’s not testing new models for our reviews.
Thanks to the clip-on design, the buds stay reliably in place during runs and the fit is also comfortable enough to wear them for hours at a time. The button controls are easy to use during runs, even when wearing gloves, and the sound is loud enough to hear even on windy track runs or when you’re running by a busy road.
We still missed the passive or active noise cancellation you get from in-ear buds at times, especially when travelling, but on the run the open design is invaluable for keeping you aware of what’s going on around you.
One last note on the Bose buds – don’t buy them at full price, because they are almost always available in a sale for £250/$250, and do drop below £200/$200 at times to.