The Best Headphones for Students (2024) high-quality 

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It might not be the ideal moment to discuss this pre-break, but if you’re gearing up to return to school in the upcoming year, it’s highly likely that you’ll be in need of a quality pair of headphones to help you power through those extended study sessions (or perhaps those late-night gaming marathons). Evaluating the finest headphones in each category is our specialty, ranging from outstanding over-ear noise-cancelling marvels to compact true wireless earbuds that can effortlessly fit into your pocket. We’ve extensively tested a wide array of headsets, catering to diverse listeners, and accommodating various budget ranges, all under the banner of “Best Headphones for Students.“

The best headphones for studying don’t just sound great, although of course that’s important. No, they’re also designed to be worn for long periods without becoming uncomfortable or running out of power – and many have additional features such as active noise cancellation (because maybe your housemate just started violin lessons) and access to your voice assistant for quick queries and fact-checking during assignments.

And because you’re buying on a budget, they need to be exceptional value for money too.  If you plan on using your new headphones in a busy communal study area, our guide to the best noise-cancelling headphones is another place to cross-reference those listed here. 

Best Headphones for Students Comparison Table

Product	Battery Life	Active Noise Cancellation	Microphone	Weight
Sony WH-1000XM4	Up to 30 hours	Yes	Yes	254 g
JLab Go Air Pop	Up to 8 hours	No	Yes	4.8 g
AKG Y400	Up to 20 hours	Yes	Yes	238 g
Sennheiser HD 250BT	Up to 25 hours	Yes	Yes	125 g
Soundcore by Anker Space Q45	Up to 40 hours	Yes	Yes	250 g
Bose QuietComfort 45	Up to 24 hours	Yes	Yes	310 g
Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7B	Up to 90 hours	Yes	Yes	200 g
Creative Sound Blaster Jam	Up to 12 hours	No	Yes	83 g

Sony WH-1000XM4

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Feature	Specification
Noise cancellation	Yes
Driver type	Dynamic
Frequency response	4 Hz – 40,000 Hz
Battery life	Up to 30 hours
Wireless connectivity	Bluetooth, NFC
Assistant support	Google Assistant, Alexa
Weight	254 grams
Foldable design	Yes
Quick charging	Yes
App control	Sony

If you’re looking for the best headphones you can buy, the Sony WH-1000XM4 have great noise cancellation and sound quality that might surprise you. They’re also very light and comfortable.  

Even though they don’t look much different from their predecessors, the Sony WH-1000XM3, they were named the best headphones of 2021 because of new features like multipoint pairing, DSEE Extreme upscaling, conversational awareness, and auto-play/pause using a built-in sensor. Now that they’re on sale, they’re an even better deal: their successors, the WH-1000XM5, are great, but they’re also a lot more expensive. 

JLab Go Air Pop

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Feature	Specification
Noise cancellation	No
Driver type	Dynamic
Frequency response	20 Hz – 20,000 Hz
Battery life	Up to 5 hours
Wireless connectivity	Bluetooth
Assistant support	N/A
Weight	50 grams
Water resistance	IPX4
Earbud charging case	Yes
Customizable EQ	Yes

You can buy cheap earbuds without sacrificing the quality of your listening experience or your eardrums. The JLab Go Air Pop is a great low-cost option that lets discerning listeners enjoy good sound at a low cost. 

The Air Pops don’t just sound better than everything else in their price range; they sound much better than you’d expect for such a low price. The tests we did on these wireless earbuds showed that the mids handle vocals pretty well, the bass is handled well, and the soundstage is pretty big. 

AKG Y400

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Feature	Specification
Noise cancellation	Yes
Driver type	Dynamic
Frequency response	16 Hz – 22,000 Hz
Battery life	Up to 20 hours
Wireless connectivity	Bluetooth
Assistant support	Google Assistant, Siri
Weight	170 grams
Foldable design	Yes
Quick charging	Yes
Ambient aware mode	Yes

The Y400 are a little smaller than the previous model, the wonderful Y500. They have smaller drivers and come with a cable with controls and a mic built in for when you don’t want to use the wireless connection and run down the battery.They come in pink, green, blue, and goldish-yellow with shimmery finishes.

It doesn’t block out noise, but at this price, we wouldn’t expect it to. There is, however, a mode called “Ambient Aware” that lets in sounds like dogs barking and car engines. Useful if you don’t want to get bit or run over. They can tell when you take them off, and when you do, they pause the music and save your battery.

Sennheiser HD 250BT

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Feature	Specification
Noise cancellation	No
Driver type	Dynamic
Frequency response	18 Hz – 22,000 Hz
Battery life	Up to 25 hours
Wireless connectivity	Bluetooth
Assistant support	Google Assistant, Siri
Weight	178 grams
Foldable design	Yes
Multi-device pairing	Yes
App control	Sennheiser

The HD 250BT may not have any luxury flourishes, but they are a set of budget on-ear headphones that have a pleasant sound, are long-lasting, and are very easy to like. As a result, they are some of the most effective headphones for academic work. That is not to say that there is nothing else in the spec. Features include Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity with aptX Low Latency, a battery life of 25 hours, app support, and Sennheiser’s renowned transducer technology, which is popular among DJs. 

The build is an affair of black plastic, but it is functional and sturdy, and it features the company’s traditional white S-in-a-rectangle branding on each ear cup. The build is a black plastic affair. However, the headband does not have any padding, in contrast to the nicely padded ear cups.

Soundcore by Anker Space Q45

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Feature	Specification
Noise cancellation	Yes
Driver type	Dynamic
Frequency response	16 Hz – 40,000 Hz
Battery life	Up to 40 hours
Wireless connectivity	Bluetooth
Assistant support	Google Assistant, Siri
Weight	273 grams
Foldable design	Yes
Quick charging	Yes
App control	Soundcore

If you can’t afford Sony’s WH-1000XM5 or Bose’s QC45, the $150 Soundcore by Anker Space Q45 is a good alternative. There’s a bit of copying going on here, but it’s a good alternative. Even though it might not fit some people with smaller heads, it is comfortable to wear because the ear cups are well-padded and it folds up with two hinges. The sound quality is very good, and the headphones cancel out noise better than the Q35. 

They also support multipoint Bluetooth pairing (these have Bluetooth 5.3), and if you have a device that supports LDAC, you can stream high-resolution music tracks over Bluetooth. Samsung’s Galaxy phones don’t, but many Android phones do. When noise canceling is on at a moderate volume level, the battery life is up to 50 hours, which is very good. The headphones also come with a hard carrying case so you can take them with you.

Bose QuietComfort 45

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Feature	Specification
Noise cancellation	Yes
Driver type	Dynamic
Frequency response	20 Hz – 20,000 Hz
Battery life	Up to 24 hours
Wireless connectivity	Bluetooth
Assistant support	Google Assistant, Alexa
Weight	252 grams
Foldable design	Yes
Adjustable noise	Yes

The QuietComfort 45 is almost exactly the same as its predecessor, the QuietComfort QC35 II. Many people thought the QC35 II was one of, if not the most comfortable over-ear headphones. Bose says that it has the same drivers and that the buttons are in the same places. But there are some small but important changes. First of all, these are much better because they use USB-C instead of Micro-USB.

The second difference is how the microphones are set up. Not only have the mics on the headphones been moved, but there is now an extra external microphone for voice pickup. This gives the QC45 a total of six microphones, four of which are beamforming and used for voice. The QC35 II, on the other hand, has four, and two of them are used for voice. There are a total of six microphones on the Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700.

Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7B

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Feature	Specification
Noise cancellation	Yes
Driver type	Dynamic
Frequency response	10 Hz – 25,000 Hz
Battery life	Up to 40 hours
Wired connectivity	Yes
Weight	200 grams
Foldable design	No
Detachable cable	Yes
Inline microphone	Yes

The ATH-ANC7B headphones from Audio-Technica are a good choice if you want a pair of noise-canceling headphones that are both cheap and durable. Even though this pair came out in 2009, it was considered high-end at the time. But since they are almost ten years old, the price has gone down a lot, but they are still just as useful and useful as they were nine years ago. 

These headphones have a deep bass and great mid-range sound. They also work well at high volumes without distorting or getting worse. The pair does a great job of blocking out real active noise from the outside world, making them perfect for students who are trying to study. The noise-canceling part of the headphones runs on AAA batteries and can be used for up to 40 hours. But even if the batteries run out, the pair does a great job of blocking out passive noise.

Creative Sound Blaster Jam

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Feature	Specification
Noise cancellation	No
Driver type	Dynamic
Frequency response	20 Hz – 20,000 Hz
Battery life	Up to 12 hours
Wireless connectivity	Bluetooth
Weight	83 grams
Foldable design	Yes
On-ear controls	Yes
Microphone	Yes

There is no need to look any further than Creative Labs’ Sound Blaster Jam headphones (opens in a new tab), which are an excellent pair of headphones that, when worn, give the impression of being lightweight. It’s possible that you won’t even realize you’re wearing headphones at all if you’re using the Sound Blaster Jam headphones because they only weigh eight ounces and are extremely comfortable. 

The pair is wireless, so you have the freedom to move around without being tied to a device, and they deliver up to 12 hours of seamless wireless audio with deep bass and smooth tones. All of this can be yours for less than $60. In addition, they come equipped with complete Bluetooth capabilities as well as NFC technology for simple pairing. 

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