Flying was never the most stress-free way to travel, but thanks to never-ending airline delays, unruly passengers, and the incredible shrinking airline seat, it can be a nightmare. If you’re ready to upgrade your flying experience, picking up a pair of noise-cancelling headphones can go a long way.
You definitely have options: plenty of headphones, from over-ear headphones to wireless earbuds, offer active noise cancellation. And in 2024, it’s not too hard to find ANC headphones that cost under $100. That said, we do recommend spending a little more to enjoy maximum calm at 35,000 feet, and with Black Friday around the corner, you’ll have more access to headphone deals.
When do Black Friday sales start? Early holiday deals are already here.
How much should I spend on noise-cancelling headphones?
If you want to find the best noise-cancelling headphones for flying, you should be prepared to pay $250 to $500. Premium headphones offer improved active noise cancellation, customizable settings, and transparency modes that allow you to hear those all-important gate announcements.
Many cheap headphones claim to offer “noise-cancelling” features, but a random pair of $50 over-ear headphones is more susceptible to letting sounds around you through, struggling to connect easily and switch between devices, or simply wearing more uncomfortably.
But as we mentioned above, investing in a more expensive pair of headphones can feel like less of a splurge during sales like Black Friday. Typically, Black Friday brings the best prices of the year — already we’ve seen picks on this list drop down to their former record-low prices, so we’re expecting even bigger price drops during the actual sale. To help guide you on your headphones purchasing journal, we’ve added context on pricing history for each of our picks below.
A surprising number of headphones and speakers are on sale ahead of Black Friday
At the end of the day, going for that good all-around pair is worth it, because on a flight, ANC on its own won’t save the day — otherwise, we’d just direct you to our guide to the best noise-cancelling headphones. For long flights, comfort is also key. It won’t matter if your headphones block sound if you only want to wear them for two out of five hours of your flight. And because this is a flying-focused roundup, we did give extra points to headphones with thoughtful design that makes storage easy.
If that $250-plus price range feels totally out of the question, we’ve included a couple of budget earbuds in the under-$100 category, but they come with tradeoffs. If you’re okay with a mid-range pick, consider buying wireless earbuds with ANC instead of over-ear headphones.
If the cost of a pair of headphones is off-putting, you can always wait for a sale to start. We see headphones from Bose, Sony, and Apple get marked down year-round — if you don’t want to keep your eyes peeled yourself, Mashable’s deals coverage is a great place to find any noteworthy headphone deals.
What are the best noise-cancelling headphones for flying?
Noise-cancelling headphones are at their most useful on airplanes. It’s difficult to find a moment’s peace when so much is going on around you. Frequent flyers may prefer to rest or work, and the best way to prepare for either is by using the best ANC headphones to block out the chaos.
Because shopping for headphones shouldn’t be as stressful as heading to the airport, we’ve done extensive testing to bring you the top options. So, read on to find the best noise-cancelling headphones for airplanes in 2024 — all based on Mashable’s hands-on headphones reviews.
How we tested
All seven of these headphones were hands-on tested by Mashable editors and writers, including past and current tech reporters, senior tech editors, as well as shopping reporters and editors. All of these headphones were chosen with the following criteria in mind:
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Comfort: As we mentioned above, active noise cancellation becomes much less enjoyable if the headphones delivering it squeeze your head for the entirety of your flight. Any headphones that weren’t favored for long-term wear didn’t make our list.
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Battery life: If your headphones’ battery is going to die 30 minutes into your flight, they’re not going to cut it for even the shortest of trips. Our picks were typically in a higher price range that have better battery life and quick charge options for the times when you forget to juice up your headphones the night before you leave.
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Active noise cancellation quality: There are lower cost options for ANC, but not all active noise cancellation is delivered the same. That’s why we focused on picks that either offered multiple levels of ANC, or delivered a strong level of ANC on its own, that didn’t require music to make a noticeable difference.
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Portability: Over-the-ear headphones are going to deliver the best noise cancellation possible, but they are bulky. To keep these picks travel-friendly, we looked for headphones that fold up or that come with sleek carrying cases.
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Durability: Taking your headphones with you through TSA lines just opens them up to more wear and tear, so we went for higher-cost picks that are likely to survive the journey. Plus, we made sure to choose headphones that will last you for years, so the upfront investment is worth it.
Recent testing updates
For Sept. 2024, we didn’t change our lineup, deciding against including the Dyson OnTrac headphones — although we really like their long battery life, we imagine the scenario is rare when you’ll be without charging access for over 55 hours — plus, they’re a little too bulky and expensive to recommend specifically as a good pair of travel headphones.
As of Aug. 2024, the Bose 700 headphones are no longer our pick for the best adjustable ANC headphones, as they’re no longer on store shelves after being discontinued nearly a year ago. At the time of writing, we don’t have a replacement as many headphones do not offer levels of adjustable ANC like the 700s did. RIP.
In June 2024, we also phased out the Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones from our recommendations. We knew they were being discontinued, but as of this writing you can no longer find them on virtual store shelves. We’ll be testing out the newer Bose QuietComfort headphones to see if they’re a worthy replacement.
In May 2024, we tested out the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e headphones. Though we were wowed by their high-end design and impressive sound profile out-of-the-box, we felt only middling about their active noise cancellation and noticed that their Bluetooth connection wasn’t stable when paired to more than one device. For $399 headphones, we expect better on both these fronts, which is why we opted not to include them in this roundup, and would instead recommend the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones for a blend of excellent sound and ANC.
In April 2024, we added the Anker Soundcore Life Q20 headphones into our lineup of hands-on tested products. (Prior to this update, we recommended them based on research and customer reviews.) We’ve also recently added the Anker Soundcore Life P3i earbuds as a budget option for those who prefer not to use over-ear headphones.
Other more recent additions include the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones, which we added in Nov. 2023. As of Feb. 2024, we tested the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds and the JBL Tour One M2 headphones, and added the former. The JBL headphones didn’t make the cut even though we liked their long battery life, comfort, and surprisingly functional multipoint pairing — we just didn’t think the $300 price tag matched up to the quality of the active noise cancellation. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t wow us, and if you’re willing to spend that much, we’d recommend going with Bose headphones instead.