The 5 Best Bone-Conduction and Open-Ear Headphones of 2025

We’ve tested more than 450 pairs of wireless earbuds over the years. Below are some popular open-ear designs we’ve tested that did not earn a spot on our list. If you don’t see a certain model you’re interested in, check out our guides to Bluetooth earbuds and running headphones.

1More Fit SE Open S20: This clip-on set felt comfortable, lightweight, and secure in our tests, and it comes with a small, easily pocketable case. The touch controls are customizable, but you need to omit either track skip/reverse or volume. We found that the highs sounded harsh, and the low notes were notably quiet, even with the bass-booster function turned on. Unfortunately, there’s no custom EQ available to fine-tune the sound. That’s a pity, because the fit is fantastic.

1More Fit Open Earbuds S50: With this hook-over-the-ear pair, a small nub rests in the ear canal to provide stability. But the set has limited controls, minimal bass, and highs that can sound a bit harsh.

1More Open Fit SE Earbuds S31: This hook-over-the-ear pair produced tinny, almost crunchy-sounding high notes, and its microphone distorted speech with a digital sound when the wind blew. It has limited controls, as well, and we found the layout of the earbuds in the charging case to be unintuitive.

1More S70: Out of the box, this hook-over-the-ear pair had an off-putting, burnt-plastic smell that fortunately dissipated over time. This pair delivered only a small amount of bass and made male vocals sound unnatural. The fit was comfortable, but the performance wasn’t good enough to warrant the higher price.

AceFast AceFit Air FA002: This hook-over-the-ear pair could not handle playing bass notes. When I boosted the low end using the volume controls or the set’s bass-boost preset, the earbuds vibrated against my face, and the sound distorted.

Beyerdynamic Verio 200: Though this hook-over-the-ear pair produced decent sound after we did some EQ adjustment in the app, the highs were still a touch tinny. The microphone has a distant quality, and your caller will hear background and wind noise. Additionally, the earbud design is prone to jostling when you tap it to access the controls. Overall, these are small flaws, but the price of this pair makes them more meaningful.

Bose Ultra Open Earbuds: The ear-cuff design of this unsealed pair was surprisingly comfortable, and the earbuds had more low-bass representation than many other unsealed earbuds, though they didn’t sound as good as our less-expensive picks. The microphone quality was especially disappointing: Even in a quiet room, voices sounded reedy and hissy on phone calls. Add any background noise, and the roaring, static-like cacophony that greets your caller is distracting — in the case of one tester, the effect was bad enough for their conversation partner to request a call back with a different device. If Bose could improve the microphones, we might consider recommending this pricey pair, but for $300 we expect a more well-rounded set of earbuds.

Edifier LolliClip: This clip-on pair is comfortable and has active noise cancellation that offers a little reduction in low-frequency noise but does not fully rid you of it. If you’re prone to eardrum suck, note that this pair makes you feel as if your ears need to pop. The LolliClip set also boasts heart-rate and blood-oxygen-level detection, but the heart-rate measurement is only a snapshot in time and requires you to stay still, which seems odd for what presumably is a workout feature. The blood-oxygen detection was inconsistent, reporting my levels at 97% and 93% in immediate succession, with no movement or earbud readjustment on my part. The tap controls are limited, the bass-boost preset distorts the sound, and vocals sounded harsh regardless of which EQ preset we used.

JLab Epic Open Sport: The fit on this hook-over-the-ear set was comfortable and stable, even when we squeezed the physical controls or tapped the touch controls. However, JLab’s signature sound preset is missing some low bass, and its highs are a little sibilant; the other two EQ presets are lopsided. We tried to improve the sound using manual EQ, but we found that any major shifts could cause distortion. The microphone quality sounded somewhat muddy and didn’t handle wind well.

JLab Flex: The fit of this clip-on set is tighter than that of other pairs we’ve tested, so if you find our ear-cuff pick to be too large, this model may be a better design for you. This set is capable of producing audible bass notes, but the result isn’t as intense as what our picks deliver. Higher-pitched sounds, such as from cymbals, sounded a bit sizzly and coarse. We appreciate the full suite of tap controls, but we wish they had a beep to acknowledge that your touch registered. The microphone quality is middling: In a quiet room, your voice may sound compressed, and in windy conditions your voice may be affected by digital distortion.

Nank Runner Diver2 Pro: This bone-conduction set has a foldable extension that sits on your pinna, and we loved the sound it produced — though the design nearly makes this a set that extends into the ear. The controls are unintuitive, and they are difficult to feel, especially after you’ve been in the water for a while. The MP3 storage system doesn’t give you the ability to change playlists using the controls, something the H2O Audio Tri 2 offers. A carrying case isn’t included, and this set returns to Bluetooth pairing mode every time you power it on.

OpenRock X: This metal-accented pair feels solidly built, but the earbuds are heavy, and the hook-over-the-ear design doesn’t hold them in place as securely as we’d like. In our tests the sound quality was good in the mids and highs, and we found a surprising amount of bass representation for an open-ear design. But lower bass notes caused the earbuds to rattle, especially when we turned up the volume.

Philips Go TAA7607: If you like bone-conduction headphones and want a little extra visibility when training at dusk, this pair is pricey but good for what it is. Its performance is similar to that of the less-expensive Shokz OpenRun set, but it has a red LED strip across the cable in the back that can glow solid or flash to make you easier to spot.

QCY Crossky C30: The touch controls for this clip-on set reside behind the ear, so a person’s hair or glasses will frequently interfere with the sensors’ ability to detect taps. This set also lacks a sound indicator, such as a beep, to tell you when your tap has registered, so misfires can happen a lot. In our experience, the sound lacked bass out of the box, but increasing the bass using the app’s EQ caused distortion.

Shokz OpenDots One: This clip-on pair was comfortable and sounded quite good, producing a solid amount of bass and only a slight coarseness in the higher frequencies. However, the controls are limited, and this pair lacks bonus features.

Shokz OpenFit 2: This hook-over-ear pair is very good, with minimal flaws. The fit is comfortable, with a nice texture on the earbud coating and thin, flexible hooks that rest easily against glasses. The OpenFit 2 has physical control buttons, but they’re notably small and could be a challenge for people with larger hands or dexterity challenges. Used in combination with the touch-panel control, these buttons make it possible to have the full suite of controls at the ready, and we appreciate that the touch panel makes a little “pip” sound when activated so that you know your touch has registered. The microphone effectively reduced background noise with minimal buffeting and compression in wind. Our main concern here is the price, which is significantly higher than that of the similarly performing EarFun OpenJump.

Shokz OpenRun and OpenRun Mini: We like these bone-conduction sets, but the newer Pro 2 version has more bass, a better battery life, clearer phone-call performance, and USB-C charging. Fans of traditional bone conduction may prefer the original OpenRun pair’s fully waterproof IP67 design, as the Pro 2’s dynamic drivers (which handle the bass) can temporarily lose their ability to transmit sound if you get water on them; though you can remedy that problem with a quick shake to remove the offending droplets, if you like to run in a downpour, you might want to stick to the original design.

Shokz OpenSwim Pro: We appreciate the included “swim EQ” mode, which compensates for the way sound works underwater. This mode achieves a better balance between high and low frequencies when you’re swimming, and as a result this pair offers better clarity than the H2O Audio Tri 2. However, the controls are tiny, so they’re difficult to feel with waterlogged or larger hands, and the bump of a swim cap can trigger them accidentally. There is no ability to switch playlists from the headset, and playback isn’t gapless — every song is followed by a pause and a “boop” sound.

Soundcore AeroClip: This set is one of the most comfortable ear-cuff designs we’ve tried. The optional silicone gloves add stability, and this pair feels like it won’t come loose during high-impact activities. However, the controls are limited, and we often heard a faint, whiny phantom tone in quieter music passages; the fewer instruments playing, the more it stood out. Soundcore is working on a firmware fix to address this problem, and we will update our thoughts here if it works.

Soundcore AeroFit 2: You can angle this hook-over-the-ear pair up or down in four different positions to adjust it to the size of your ears. Although the earbuds initially felt loose, they stayed secure when we were in motion. The touch controls are customizable, and a tone sounds to indicate when your tap has been received. Unfortunately, loud volume levels and bass-heavy songs caused the earbuds to vibrate, which tickled like crazy. We tried every EQ setting in the app, and none of them alleviated this issue. If you have sensitive ears, this pair isn’t a good match.

Soundcore C40i: This ear-cuff set is chunkier than other pairs we tested, which can cause these earbuds to slip down your ears. Soundcore includes small plastic pieces that snap on the back to tighten the fit, but we found that this addition created a pinching quality. The default sound had a peak in the lower midrange, which we adjusted through the app’s EQ settings, but once that peak was reduced, it became apparent how quiet the low notes were. We found that wearing each earbud lower on the ear improved the bass sound but made higher notes sound harsh.

Soundpeats GoFree2: Although we appreciate this pair’s lightweight design and flexible hooks, in our experience it sounded coarse, with piercing highs. The microphones sounded distant and were unable to handle wind noise, essentially muting at the first gust. Worst of all, the app was frustratingly buggy and required a confirmed email address.

Soundpeats PearlClip Pro: The fit of this clip-on pair was comfortable, but the sound quality was poor. Bass notes distorted even at a medium volume level, and the mids also distorted when we turned up the volume. Plus, it’s too easy to trigger the touch controls accidentally.

Soundpeats Pop Clip: This affordable clip-on pair doesn’t come with any stability adapters but nonetheless feels secure in the ears. The physical buttons provide a full suite of controls that you can customize in the app. If you primarily listen to podcasts or audiobooks, this set is fine, as these earbuds sound best when reproducing spoken words. However, the low bass notes were barely perceptible, and even the bass-boost preset didn’t help. The highs were shushing and painfully sibilant; the overamplification of small details such as acoustic guitar fret noises was tolerable, but strings, cymbals, and high-pitched piccolo notes became harsh and fatiguing. Over calls, the microphones were muffled; that helps reduce background noise but makes you difficult to hear when you’re speaking at a normal volume.

Suunto Aqua Light: This bone-conduction set shares the unintuitive, difficult-to-feel control issues of the Shokz OpenSwim Pro, but at least it provides gapless music playback. What baffled us was the 10 random music tracks included in the MP3 playlist that we couldn’t delete; they seemed inexplicably built into the firmware. We also didn’t like that the app requires you to sign in to your Google or Apple account and provide health read/write data with no easy way to revoke permissions. And the app itself seems to have been designed for Suunto’s watch, with the headphones tacked on as an afterthought.

Suunto Wing: We appreciate that this bone-conduction set comes with a snap-in-place dock that charges the Wing on the go, much like the cases that accompany true wireless earbuds. It’s bulky but useful if you run out of battery life away from a power outlet. However, the bone conduction is less successful here than on the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2. Despite the Suunto app’s indoor/outdoor EQ settings, at volume levels sufficient to use outside, the Wing buzzes and vibrates, tickling your face annoyingly. And in quiet settings, people nearby can easily hear what you’re listening to, as well as your phone calls.

This article was edited by Adrienne Maxwell and Grant Clauser.