Best cheap Bluetooth sports earphones under 50 dollar
Great wireless sports earphones for running, cycling, working out and fitness
Looking for great wireless headphones, earphones or earbuds for sporting — especially running, working out or cycling? You don’t have to spend up to 100 dollar for Beats, Jaybird, Sony, Skullcandy or other renown brands. For a lot less money, you can have the same or even better quality! These are the best Bluetooth sports earphones under 50 dollar.
After testing Bluetooth headphones, true wireless earphones and all kinds of Chinese wired earphones, I ordered a selection of some of the most praised cheap Bluetooth sports earphones from AliExpress and Amazon.
How good are they? Which are the best, which turn out uncomfortable while sporting? I tested the models extensively on sound quality, battery life, comfort on everyday use and while cycling. Because I don't workout myself, I teamed up with a friend who tested them all while running for 1 or 2 hours, or even while running half a marathon — making sure the models are all tested on comfort while sporting and sweat resistance too. Thank you so much, Tamar!
In short: what can you expect from these wireless sports earphones for 15 to 50 dollar?
- Great build quality: solid materials, magnetic earpieces, good functioning remotes and sturdy chords between the earpieces.
- Good waterproof levels: these earphones are all at least sweat, light rain and dust resistant.
- Decent call quality: The models with a remote in the cable, have microphones close to your mouth, making call quality surprisingly acceptable.
- AMAZING sound quality for the price: The sound quality on the best models, surpasses that on renown brands like Beats, Skullcandy and Jaybird for just a fraction of the price. They offer more detail and balance in their sound.
So without further ado: these are the best Bluetooth sports earphones under 50 dollar:
Best Bluetooth sports earphones under $50: Huawei Honor xSport AM61
25–35 dollar - 6 hours play time - IPX5 waterproof (sweat and rain resistant)
The Huawei Honor xSport AM61 is the best wireless sports earphone for running. Put the earpieces in your ear and you’ll immediately notice two important things.
The first is the fit. The round earpieces have a soft rubber on the inside with a sturdy ear hook attached to them. Slide the ear hook in your upper ear and this Honor Sports earphone has a fantastic, steady fit right away. The thickness of the rubber ear hooks make sure the earpieces stay in your ear perfectly while running or working out. On the cable, both the battery piece on the left side and the remote on the right, are close to your ear. They’re barely dangling on your neck or shoulders and are always within reach. Play/ pausing the music, changing the volume and changing a track (long press the volume buttons) is a breeze.
The second win of the Huawei Honor AM61 is the sound quality — which is all you can hope for, for a Bluetooth sports earphone of this price. The xSport puts the music trough with a sweet amount of detail, in the vocals and mid tones, such as guitars, piano strokes or violins. Music sounds smooth and warm, yet also clear thanks to the prominently positioned vocals. Underneath all that lies a strong, pleasant and engaging bass. It isn’t too boomy — it just so well suited for sports.
The Huawei Honor xSport AM61 comes delivered with various different sized ear hooks, which can be slid over the earpiece, so you can find the right size and clean the rubbers easily.
With its comfort, fit, 6 hours play time, rain and sweat resistance and great sound quality, this is the best cheap Bluetooth sports earphone for running, working out and cycling.
Runner-up for cheap Bluetooth sports earphones: Xiaomi Sport Bluetooth Youth Edition
15–20 dollar - 10 hours play time - IPX4 water proof (sweat and light rain resistant)
The Xiaomi Sports Bluetooth Mini, also known as the Xiaomi Sports Youth Edition, looks fresh and clean. It has elegantly simple looking earpieces that come with a loop on top to keep them in your ears. They offer a good seal during running, sports and fitness, however they feel a bit bigger and make for a less secure fit than ear hooks.
There’s only a remote with microphone in the right side of the chord, with clear button placement for play/ pausing, changing volume and changing tracks. The fact that the remote doesn’t have a counter weight on the left side, makes it prone to moving around your shoulders. Happily it’s not too heavy — and it offers a long play time.
Just like the design, the sound of the Xiaomi Sports Bluetooth is clean. In fact, it’s probably the most balanced sounding earphone for its price. It has a supportive bass which doesn’t overpower the music, clear mids and vocals and straightforward highs. It doesn’t shine with vocals like the QY20 and AM61 can, yet it also never sounds harsh or intrusive. It suitable for all genres — whether’s is singer songwriter, rock or dance music you’d like to work out on. It’s just good.
Runner-up for regular listening sessions: QCY QY20
12–20 dollar -10 hours play time - IPX5 waterproof (sweat and rain resistant)
There are no ear hooks to be found on the ear tips of the QY20. However, the QY20 has rubber flaps to keep the pieces tight in your ear. They may not deliver the same sport suited fit as ear hooks do, yet they do work fine enough while sporting and running — even though they feel a little big. You may need to put them in a bit further after a while, yet it's not the biggest hassle.
The QCY QY20 has one battery and control module in its chord, which doesn’t tangle or bounce around too much while moving, although it is on the heavy side. The buttons on it for increasing and decreasing volume or skipping/ returning a song and play/ pausing/ taking a call, are greatly separated and work very well.
The sound of the QCY QY20 is impressive. Especially vocals sound forward and crystal clear, combined with a big soundstage making the music feel all around you rather than just up close in your ear. You have to press them quite deep in your ear to get most out of the warm and pleasantly pumping bass however, so you will do so quite a few times while sporting or sweating. But when you do — the QCY QY20 provides a warm, airy and sweet bassy sound — making it a great Bluetooth earphone for sports and also regular listening sessions.
Other cheap Bluetooth sports earphones tested (still, however less recommended):
Wavefun X-Buds: Sports earphones without weights in your neck
15–20 dollar - 9 hours play time - IPX7 waterproof (shower proof)
The brilliant thing about the Wavefun X-Buds, is that the cable between the two earpieces is just a cable. The battery, microphone and control buttons are part of the two earpieces. That’s where you control the volume, take a (hollow sounding) call or skip/ return a song.
That’s great for the cable itself. However, as a result, the earpieces on the Wavefun X-Buds are a bit big, and need to be held in place by the ear tip in your ear and the rubber around your ear. When you’re running or jumping on hard surfaces while you’re sweating, they may move more than earphones with ear hooks — sometimes even out of your ear, requiring you to fiddle with the fit again. The cable also makes some noise while moving.
The sound of the Wavefun X-Buds is not the most refined. The bass plays the dominant role here, and can definitely deliver a thump when it needs to. It is also a bit muffled — it sounds as if vocals, instruments like guitars, piano’s and even higher ones like the violin are restricted. Still, the bass does its work: the sound is at least very suitable for sporting.
- Buy Wavefun X-Buds on AliExpress or on Amazon US/ EU/ UK
Baseus Encock S06: Hear your surroundings while sporting
10–15 dollar - 8 hours play time - No known waterproof rating
The Baseus has two weighted pieces in your chord, one being the battery, the other being the remote. The pieces can dangle and move a bit while running, however, on 10 kilometers of running, it didn’t deliver too much of a hassle and the fit if the earpieces with the ear hooks was extremely good. While there is no waterproof rating on these, they survive sweat just fine.
The Baseus Encock S06 doesn’t sound overly bassy, but rather delivers a clear, airy sound with a special focus on vocals. The bass unfortunately is a bit slow, making the S06 not the most uplifting of all wireless sports earphones. An advantage is that you’ll still hear elements from around you, making this set quite suitable for sporting in crowded areas.
- Buy Baseus Encock S06 on AliExpress
Tiso s8: Extremely ear-dependent due to short ear tips
15–20 dollar — 8 hours play time — IPX67 waterproof (sweat and heavy rain resistant)
The Tiso s8 has an almost ridiculous long chord between the two earpieces, requiring a clip to tighten the fit around the backside of your neck when you’re running or working out. The battery department rests on the left side of your shoulder, the controls can be found on the right one. They feel a bit sticky, dirty quite soon. The controls are spot on though.
Like the QCY QY20, the Tiso s8 has rubbers with flaps to stick in your ear. While it works quite good while sporting, fitness or running, it still isn’t as good and tight as an option as proper ear hooks.
The sound of the Tiso s8 unfortunately, is extremely dependent on how deep your inner ear is. With the delivered ear tips, the sound can be quite harsh. Due to the ear flaps, the ear tips can’t reach deep enough in your ear. The result is a tough listen with piercing highs and a lack of bass. However, if you have any other ear tips lying around: they can make a big difference — giving the Tiso s8 a QCY QY20 like sound quality, with a better balance between bass, lower mids and more controlled higher notes.
- Buy Tiso i8 on AliExpress
Bonus: What happens if you do spend 100 dollar? Origem HS-3 review
70–100 dollar - 6 hours play time - IPX5 waterproof (sweat and rain resistant)
What happens if you decide to pay a lot more and still want to avoid expensive, renown brands? You may go for the Origem HS-3. This model, sent out to me from the manufacturer, turns out to be the most comfortable Bluetooth sports earphone in this list. Even when running half a marathon, not a single adjustment of the metallic ear clips over your ear or the earpieces itself is needed. The cable is long enough to rest on your shirt and has the remote module close to your right ear, always in the sky instead of dangling on your shoulder or against your neck. The controls are always at hand without changing the fit, the microphone quality is clear.
The Origem HS-3 is the most natural sounding Bluetooth earphone on this list. It has a non-overpowering bass that delivers a nice kick and goed pretty deep, offers a good amount of detail especially in the mid tones and it’s even possible to place instruments in the music around you — even though the soundstage isn’t the biggest. What stands out is the tonality: music feels a little more true to life than on the more affordable competition.
Whether it’s worth the extra price over the vocal clarity of the QCY QY20 or the overall already excellent clear-smooth sound of the Honor xSport AM61? Now that's questionable. It's hard to compete with such quality for just 25 to 30 dollar. The Honor does stand as the best buy on this list.
Foot note
I will continue doing research on the best Bluetooth sports earphones, although not as active as I’m comparing true wireless earphones. I’d love to hear from you what Bluetooth sports earphone/ headphone/ earbuds you’ve chosen!
Disclaimer: affiliate links
Planning to buy one of the sports headphones or earbuds listed? I’d be grateful if you did it via one of the links in this article. These are affiliate links from AliExpress or Amazon, from which I’ll gain a little percentage of the price. I only put links on products I recommend. Buying a product via such a link won’t cost you extra, yet it will support me a bit in my research on affordable audio. ❤
Also read my other articles:
- The best true wireless earphones between $50–100
- The best true wireless earphones under $50
- The best Active Noise Cancelling headphones under $100
- The best Bluetooth headphones under $50
Follow me to keep updated with new audio product tests and articles. :-) See you next time!
