The Best Budget Open-Ear Headphones for When You Want Your Ears Open

The best budget open-ear headphones for someone who already owns an over-ear pair are the OPN Sound Mezzo+, at $69.95 on OPN Sound’s store on October 24, 2026. If you want to spend as little as possible, the OPN Sound Aperto was $34.95 at the same store on the same date, and it’s the cheapest in-stock pair I’d buy.

This site mostly covers over-ear headphones, and my best budget over-ear headphones picks are still where I’d send you for music at home. An open-ear pair does a different job. It leaves your ear canals open, so you can hear traffic, a coworker or a cyclist’s bell. I’d buy one as a second pair for runs, walks and the office, and keep the over-ear pair for everything else.

Which cheap open-ear headphones should you buy?

The ranking runs from the cheapest pair up to the priciest. My own first choice is the Mezzo+ at number two.

Cheapest open-ear pair

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Image: OPN Sound

The cheapest open-ear second pair for walks and light workouts

Cheapest open-ear pair: OPN Sound Aperto

At $34.95 on OPN Sound’s store on October 24, 2026, the Aperto is the cheapest in-stock open-ear pair I’d buy. OPN Sound claims a 10-hour battery, an IPX5 rating, a built-in mic and 24 g, and it says the Aperto rests outside your ears and aims sound toward the ear canal. OPN’s page showed no customer reviews, so every number here is the maker’s claim.

Pros

• Cheapest pick at $34.95 (October 24, 2026)
• OPN claims a 10-hour battery
• IPX5 rating and a built-in mic

Cons

• No customer reviews on OPN's page yet
• All figures are OPN's own claims

Buy now

Typical US price about $34.95, list $34.95. Checked October 24, 2026; prices move.

Best budget bone conduction

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Image: OPN Sound

Cheap bone conduction for runs, walks and calls

Best budget bone conduction: OPN Sound Mezzo+

The Mezzo+ is the pair I’d buy. It costs $69.95 on OPN Sound’s store, and the code HEAR10 took 10% off there at the time of writing. OPN Sound claims 7 hours of battery, IPX6 and 26 g. The reviewer at Letem světem Applem says the person on the other end of a call heard him clearly on a busy street, and the headphones don’t slip out on runs the way in-ear pairs do. The same review calls the sound acceptable and says anyone after dense, bass-heavy sound should look elsewhere.

Pros

• OPN claims 7 hours and an IPX6 rating
• The other party heard Letem světem Applem's reviewer clearly on a busy street
• 26 g on OPN's spec sheet

Cons

• Letem světem Applem calls the sound acceptable and not bass-heavy
• OPN's quick-charge claims conflict on its own page

Buy now

Typical US price about $69.95, list $69.95. Checked October 24, 2026; prices move.

Best open-ear earbuds with a case

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Image: OPN Sound

Open-ear earbuds with a charging case and app

Best open-ear earbuds with a case: OPN Sound Aria Pro

The Aria Pro costs $69.95 on OPN Sound’s store and was in stock on October 24, 2026. OPN Sound claims 5 hours per charge and 40 hours total with the wireless charging case, plus IPX5, dual noise-cancelling call mics and an app to tune the sound and set the buttons. It’s the only OPN pick here built as two separate earbuds with a charging case. OPN’s page showed no customer reviews yet.

Pros

• OPN claims 40 hours total with the wireless charging case
• App to tune sound and set button controls
• IPX5 and dual noise-cancelling call mics (OPN claim)

Cons

• No customer reviews on OPN's page yet
• 5 hours per charge is the shortest claim in this guide

Buy now

Typical US price about $69.95, list $69.95. Checked October 24, 2026; prices move.

Shokz on a budget

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Image: Shokz

Shokz bone conduction at the lowest price

Shokz on a budget: Shokz OpenMove

The OpenMove is $79.95 at Shokz’s US store on October 24, 2026, with Grey and Blue in stock and White and Pink sold out. SoundGuys credits it with multipoint and a durable build, and What Hi-Fi? found little sound leakage and easy switching between an iPhone and a laptop. The weak spot is battery life. Shokz claims 6 hours, and SoundGuys gave its battery a 6.2/10 score that beats 0% of the bone conduction headphones it rates.

Pros

• Multipoint for a phone and laptop (What Hi-Fi?, SoundGuys)
• Little sound leakage, per What Hi-Fi?
• USB-C charging

Cons

• SoundGuys battery score of 6.2/10 and no fast charging
• Light bass (What Hi-Fi?, SoundGuys)

Buy now

Typical US price about $79.95, list $79.95. Checked October 24, 2026; prices move.

Best for runners

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Image: Shokz

Regular runners who want IP67 and long battery life

Best for runners: Shokz OpenRun

The OpenRun costs $129.95 new or $97.50 refurbished at Shokz’s US store on October 24, 2026, and Shokz listed a few color and size versions as sold out in both. It carries an IP67 rating, RTINGS got 13 hours of continuous battery life against Shokz’s 8-hour claim, and RTINGS calls the fit comfortable and stable. SoundGuys found it stays in place even through falls during indoor bouldering. Shokz gives refurbished units a 1-year warranty and 45-day free returns.

Pros

• RTINGS got 13 hours of continuous playback
• IP67 rating
• Comfortable, stable fit per RTINGS

Cons

• RTINGS and SoundGuys both found very little bass
• SoundGuys found the mic passes a lot of background noise

Buy now

Typical US price $97.5–$129.95, list $129.95. Checked October 24, 2026; prices move.

Bone conduction or open-ear, which should you buy?

Both kinds sit outside your ears. They differ in how the sound reaches you.

Bone conduction (Mezzo+, OpenMove, OpenRun)

Bone conduction pads rest on your cheekbones in front of the ear. OPN Sound says the Mezzo+ sends sound as tiny vibrations through the cheekbones to the inner ear, and What Hi-Fi? describes the OpenMove’s earpieces sitting on the cheekbones the same way. RTINGS warns that these vibrations can feel uncomfortable, especially at higher volumes. SoundGuys found the OpenRun’s pads move out of place when the wearer talks or chews, and its reviewer found the OpenRun trickier to wear with glasses.

Directional open-ear (Aperto, Aria Pro, Chat Pro)

Directional open-ear pairs sit just outside the ear and aim the sound toward the ear canal. OPN Sound describes the Aperto, Aria Pro and Chat Pro this way, and it says the Aria Pro and Chat Pro play without vibration. OPN’s pages for all three showed no customer reviews, so you’re buying on OPN’s claims plus its 30-day risk-free trial. JLab’s $52.99 JBuds Open Sport 2 uses the same idea with earhooks and a charging case, and my JLab Open Sport 2 vs original Open Sport comparison covers what changed.

My call is bone conduction if you want a pair with independent reviews behind it, which means the Mezzo+ or a Shokz. I’d pick directional open-ear if cheekbone vibration bothers you or you want an earbud-style charging case.

How do these pairs compare on paper?

Prices come from OPN Sound’s store and Shokz’s US store on October 24, 2026. Battery, water and weight figures are maker claims from the OPN Sound Aperto, Mezzo+, Aria Pro and Chat Pro pages and the Shokz OpenMove and OpenRun pages, except the OpenRun weight, which comes from SoundGuys.

The Mezzo+ is the middle ground I’d pick for most second-pair buyers.

What do you give up with open-ear headphones?

You give up bass, some privacy at high volume and any isolation from noise.

Bass

Wirecutter found that none of the unsealed designs in its guide could compete with sealed earbuds on bass. RTINGS says the OpenRun struggles with low bass and sounds somewhat flat, and SoundGuys found it reproduces virtually no sub-bass. What Hi-Fi? found the OpenMove’s bass a little light and its overall sound a little compressed. SoundGuys adds that the OpenMove has no EQ setting that adds bass.

Voices hold up better. RTINGS calls the OpenRun’s mids smooth and accurate, and What Hi-Fi? found the OpenMove’s vocal EQ mode makes podcast voices crisper.

Leakage

The leakage findings differ by model. What Hi-Fi? found far less audible leakage from the OpenMove than from many traditional headphones. RTINGS found the OpenRun does leak audio at high volumes, so in a quiet office I’d keep the volume down.

Isolation

Open-ear pairs don’t seal your ears. RTINGS notes the OpenRun doesn’t block ambient sound, and SoundGuys says the OpenMove isn’t the headset for a daily commute or a work flight. For trains and planes I’d use a cheap ANC over-ear pair like the one in my Edifier W800BT Pro review, or a pick from my best Edifier headphones list.

Fit quirks

SoundGuys found the OpenMove’s headband hard to fit with a helmet, and it slid forward on a bench press. SoundGuys saw the same slide from the OpenRun when lying on your back. Neither Shokz has an app, so SoundGuys notes you can’t turn off the loud button tone on either one.

Are open-ear headphones good for work calls?

The sports pairs here are fine for quick calls and weak in loud rooms. RTINGS says the OpenRun’s mic records your voice clearly and naturally but has trouble separating it from moderate ambient noise, and SoundGuys found it passes a lot of background noise to the other person. SoundGuys found the OpenMove’s mic blocks steady noise like an A/C unit and light wind and still picks up sounds like jangling keys. The Mezzo+ has one good result, with the Letem světem Applem reviewer reporting that the other party heard him clearly on a busy street.

Multipoint helps at a desk. What Hi-Fi? paired the OpenMove with an iPhone and a laptop at once and switched easily, and SoundGuys says the OpenRun connects to two source devices at the same time.

For daily meetings I’d buy the OPN Sound Chat Pro, at $159.95 on OPN Sound’s store on October 24, 2026. OPN Sound says it has an ENC boom mic, a Direct Connect Dongle for a stable connection, directional open-ear speakers, a 17-hour battery and IPX5, at 36 g. OPN’s box list names a magnetic charging cable and a silicone strap and doesn’t mention the dongle, so confirm with OPN before you order. The page had no customer reviews yet. For comparison, RTINGS picked a boom-mic headset with a wireless dongle, the Shokz OpenMeet UC, as its best pick for calls, and it found that mic separates your voice from background noise in a bullpen-style office.

Are cheap open-ear headphones safe for running?

I’d run near traffic with an open-ear pair before I’d run with sealed earbuds, since your ears stay open. OPN Sound pitches the Mezzo+ for staying safe and aware of the world around you, and RTINGS says the OpenRun doesn’t block ambient sound.

Volume is the catch. Keep it moderate so cars and bikes still get through. RTINGS warns that bone conduction vibrations can feel uncomfortable at higher volumes, and it found earplugs make the OpenRun sound much better but leave you hearing less around you. The Mezzo+ ships with earplugs, and I’d leave them at home for road runs.

Fit counts on a run. What Hi-Fi? says the OpenMove stayed put through its fastest sprints, and the Letem světem Applem reviewer says the Mezzo+ doesn’t slip out the way in-ear pairs do. RTINGS notes the OpenRun comes in a Mini size with a neckband about one inch smaller.

Every pair in my table lists a water rating, and the OpenRun carries IP67. SoundGuys says you can submerge the OpenRun in water for up to 30 minutes, and Shokz’s refurbished listing says it’s not suitable for swimming.

Which pair would I buy?

For a second pair next to your over-ear headphones, this is my call.

Written by Marius

Audio enthusiast. I've worn a lot of headphones, and I tell you which pair is worth your money and which one isn't.

I check every verdict against lab measurements and long-term owner feedback, and I update pages when prices or models change. How I judge headphones.