The best noise-cancelling headphones for flying: 8 picks to improve your travel experience

Read Mashable's full review of the second-generation Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds.

Top of the line isn't just found on over-ear headphones, and the second-generation Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds are proof of exactly that. If you prefer a compact, in-ear design, these are the best travel earbuds available.

The second-generation Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds offer some of the best noise cancellation you can find in earbuds, making them an excellent option for taking on a plane.

That's thanks to the eight microphones Bose packs into these earbuds, coupled with a design that manages to provide a strong seal for passive noise cancellation. With three sizes of ear tips and three sizes of stabilizers, it's easy to find a fit that both enhances noise cancellation without causing any ear soreness.

If first gen users are noticing a lot of similarities so far, it's because these buds aren't that different from their predecessors. In addition to a nearly identical design, both generations of earbuds also come with six hours of battery life per charge and 24 in the case, which is maybe their biggest con in the context of travel, especially considering the seven to eight hour battery life has become more commonplace on ANC earbuds.

The major upgrades on the second generation QC Ultra earbuds come in the form of wireless charging and AI voice enhancement which does add noticeable clarity to calls (although it's probably not the most useful feature for flights). The noise cancellation and sound quality alike also felt improved over the first gen buds, but the difference was small enough only to be most apparent in side by side testing.

At this point, the main reason we recommend the second gen earbuds over the first is for availability — with first gen buds being phased out of the lineup, they'll likely be harder to find. With that in mind, if you already own the first gen earbuds, we recommend holding on to them.

Whether you don't travel frequently enough to justify a $450 pair of headphones or simply aren't keen on that price point, a solid budget pair of noise-cancelling headphones can be a gamechanger, and the JLab JBuds Lux ANC are exactly that.

The best budget headphones should have unbeatable value, and these JLab headphones have exactly that.

Despite being $80 at full price (and as cheap as $30 at their record low sale price), they have a sound profile that easily matches headphones twice their price, especially once you toggle the equalizer settings to your preferences. Even better is their battery life — where our premium options on this list average around 30 hours of battery life, these come packed with 40 hours with ANC, so the likelihood of having to recharge your headphones mid-flight is low.

Mashable's Haley Henschel wrote that her favorite aspect of these headphones was their fit: "I have a really hard time finding headphones that don't squeeze my head, and I can wear these comfortably for hours at a time." On the other hand, Mashable's Bethany Allard found them to squeeze her head, so their price point may show more, depending on your fit preferences. Their design earns points across the board for its portability, however, thanks to the foldable ear cups.

They may not be the perfect pair of headphones, but for what they cost, they're more than worthy to pick up ahead of a trip, especially as an affordable option.

The Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones have incredibly balanced sound quality, but what really made them stand out to us was their battery life, which lasts for 60 hours with ANC on. They're a great pair of headphones for anyone taking a longer trip who wants one less device to worry about charging.

A lot of over-ear headphones, including many premium options, have battery lives that max out at around 30 hours. While it's not impossible to find impressive battery life — the Soundcore Life Q20 headphones and the Dyson OnTrac headphones have 40 and 55 hours of battery life, respectively — but each of those headphones comes with a drawback.

The Life Q20 headphones are budget-friendly, so you lose the top-of-the-line ANC and premium sound, while the Dyson OnTrac headphones are bulky and don't feel well-suited to travel. The Momentum 4 headphones, on the other hand, sound crystal clear out of the box. In our testing, they made the bass on Magdalena Bay's "Killshot" stand out in a way we'd never heard before, without losing the complexity of the rest of the song. Plus, at $379.95, they're cheaper than the flagship Sony and Bose headphones. You can also catch them for about $280 on sale.

They also feel more thoughtfully designed for travel, with ear cups that have a slightly flatter profile than you'll find on the Sony XM5s, and an included airplane audio adapter in the case (we wish all premium headphones offered this). The ANC doesn't quite match up to Sony's — it's just ever so slightly worse — but on a plane, we doubt you'll notice a drastic difference, especially if you're listening to audio.

We've only found one other drawback so far — the overly sensitive touch controls on the right ear cup, which we often accidentally bumped, especially when taking off the headphones to put them around our neck. We ended up turning off the controls altogether by mistake, which isn't ideal.

Read Mashable's full review of the Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones.

For frequent travelers who held off on getting the XM5s, the XM6s bring an important travel-friendly upgrade in the form of foldable ear cups, all the while retaining the XM5's updated design, along with improved sound quality and ANC. If you already own XM5s, these headphones might not be worth the upgrade just yet.

Sony's flagship headphones have been a popular option since at least the days of the WH-1000XM4s, thanks to their excellent sound profile and top tier active noise cancellation.

The WH-1000XM5s lost some points in the portability area when Sony nixed the folding ear cups design, giving them a larger case (and more real estate in your carry-on). With the XM6s, Sony's gone back to folding ear cups, which results in both a thinner and more compact carrying case. The snap-lock closure on the case also makes it incredibly quick to store.

As for how the headphones hold up out of the case, Sony didn't necessarily reinvent the wheel, but they made small improvements that result in an all-over better product, especially for folks who don't already own over-ear headphones or are upgrading from older models. The sound signature is warm and full without any tinkering on the equalizer — noticeably more so than on the XM5 headphones. With the equalizer, they're some of the best sounding headphones on the market, providing clarity and balance on songs from Adele's "Hello" to the Eagles' "Hotel California."

Their 30-hour battery life remains the same as its previous gen — while it would've been nice to see some increase, we're not complaining. The ANC significantly dampens sound (though Bose does a slightly better job than Sony in this department). The design is comfortable, with plenty of padding in the headband and earcups. The subtle change of a circular power button also makes operating the on-ear controls even easier than on the XM5s.

Read Mashable's full review of the Apple AirPods Pro 3.

Apple users will not only appreciate the easy pairing of the AirPods Pro 3, but how well features like the built-in heart rate monitor and live translation work in tandem with more standard features like excellent ANC and sound quality.

The AirPods Pro are a fixture on our lists of best headphones thanks to their exceptional integration into the Apple ecosystem, top notch ANC, and excellent sound quality.

Apple upped the ante with the AirPods Pro 3. On one hand, they're simply an impressive pair of noise-cancelling earbuds. In his review of the earbuds, Mashable contributor Adam Doud writes, "ANC used to be great at removing constant noises, but fell short with sudden noises like a person talking or a car horn. That's still the case with lower-end ANC earbuds, but Apple does a remarkable job at eliminating sudden noises, too."

Doud also calls the sound profile on these buds flat, but it's not a knock against them for anyone who likes to plug and play their audio equipment. While you can adjust the sound somewhat with presets, in a deviation from other premium earbuds the AirPods don't have a custom equalizer.

What they do have is a built-in heart rate monitor and live translation capability. Both features are exceptionally useful for travelers who like to pack light (and maybe don't want to risk keeping track of too many devices while they're on the go), providing one convenient package of earbuds and a basic fitness tracker. The live translation, naturally, is also great for traveling abroad. As the cherry on top, Apple upped the Pros battery life from six hours per charge on the previous gen to eight hours per charge, putting them on par with some of the top performing noise-cancelling ANC earbuds.

Despite all the extras (and the Apple name), the Pros will cost you less than earbuds like the Bose QC Ultras and Panasonic Technics EAH-AZ1000, both of which will run buyers $299.

The EarFun Air Pro 4 are the best earbuds you can get under $100, but compare easily to earbuds double their price. If you want a budget pick that punches above its weight class, you'll find it in these earbuds.

The Air Pro 4 earbuds look like most other budget earbuds out there, but their appearance is where the similarities stop. After powering them on, we were immediately impressed by how well their active noise cancellation worked, and that feeling didn't fade as we put them to the test against forces like people talking loudly around us. Once we connected these earbuds to their companion app, we were even more impressed by the five different levels of noise cancellation.

As we mentioned in the intro of this guide, comfort is a key factor in choosing the best headphones for travel, and while these don't reinvent the wheel, we found them to stay put much better than other earbuds (including the first-gen AirPods Pro). EarFun provides five different silicone ear tips with these buds to help you find the right fit.

So where do they show their lower price point? Not in the sound quality, which we found to be well-balanced and easily adjustable with the equalizer presets and custom EQ feature in the app. Where you'll likely notice it most is in the finicky on-ear touch controls, which though adjustable, wouldn't always register properly. A single press to pause music, for instance, might actually be treated as a long press to turn on noise cancellation. You can toggle the touch controls off, but you do lose a small level of convenience.

Though we're not a fan of the inconsistency of the touch controls, we will say that they were never overly sensitive — while wearing them with a hood, these buds never registered the jacket's fabric or hair as a button press (the same can't be said for other earbuds we've tested).

Finally, in our few weeks of testing these earbuds by wearing them regularly, we've only had their battery completely run out once, and have only put them on the charger twice. In other words, with the Air Pro 4s, you're not likely to find yourself halfway through a five-hour flight enduring some forced mindfulness while your earbuds juice back up.

Read Mashable's full review of the Apple AirPods Max.

These headphones are expensive as all hell, but for those deep in the Apple ecosystem who want a pair of over-the-ear headphones, they could very well be worth the price. Plus, the noise cancellation is pretty great. Apple did release a "new" version of the Maxes in Sept. 2024 with a USB-C charging port and a new set of colorways, but we're continuing to recommend the 2020 version as they're more likely to be on sale and offer the exact same performance as the newer version.

The AirPods Max aren't just a pretty pair of headphones. With the help of eight microphones, these headphones provide excellent active noise cancellation. Switching into transparency mode happens with the push of a button, so there's no messing with finicky touch controls to hear what's going on around you. In addition to ANC, they have fantastic sound quality and support for spatial audio that will make cinephiles happy.

Their battery life, however, is a bit lacking compared to similarly priced headphones, thanks to the fact that they have no power button. (They're also missing a headphone jack, so a Bluetooth adapter will be a must if you like to enjoy in-flight entertainment). They will go into a low-power mode, but you can never completely turn them off. However, this does allow for easy switching in between devices, and for the "Find My" feature to always work. Plus, 20 hours of battery isn't bad, as that should last for even the most long-haul flights. In a pinch, five minutes of a charge can get you an hour and a half of battery life.

The carrying case is unfortunately, as former Mashable Tech Reporter Brenda Stoylar wrote in her review, "possibly the dumbest thing Apple has ever designed," so these headphones are probably best for people who don't mind wearing them around their neck for the entirety of their trip.