10 best noise-cancelling headphones for frequent travellers

Sony’s latest flagship WH-1000XM6 noise-cancelling headphones are not only an impressive follow-up to their equally excellent predecessors, they’re also our new top pick in this product category. For outstanding noise-cancelling alone, they now beat the best Bose rival, in our opinion!

These over-ear cans are an ideal balance of sleek design, lightweight build, intuitive controls, reliable battery life, rich sound, and superb noise cancellation. Because they’ve impressed us across the board, we think they’re a terrific pair of go-to headphones for just about everything. There’s no shortage of competition in this price tier, but they’re clearly the top performers.

Compared to the Sony WH-1000XM5, they have a more straightforward design with folding metal hinges (enabling it to fit in a more compact travel case), improved sound quality, and much more powerful nose cancellation that tackled every single annoying distraction we could think of. If you want to exist in a bubble of silence, whether on a train, plane, on the commute or in a coffee shop, these will do the job.

Available in silver, navy or black colourways, the WH-1000XM6 also deliver with a competitive 30-hour battery life, improved call quality, a wider headband that improves comfort, and support for quick charging over USB-C, where just three minutes of charging earns you three hours’ worth of playback.

Read our Sony WH-1000XM6 review

Proper noise-cancelling for under £50? It may sound a little unlikely, but it's possible with Soundcore's Life Q20i. These cans cut out more background annoyances than you'd think, with adequate ANC for the price and, unlike the old Q20 model, they now charge via a USB-C cable instead of Micro USB.

On test, we found that they do a decent job with anything that isn't too loud, whether that's a whirring fan or some light office chatter. They'll struggle with higher volumes, though, so might not be ideal for trains and planes.

The sound quality is capable too. They're heavy on the bass before using the "BassUp" mode to amplify it. We recommend avoiding that setting unless you want a bass emphasis over any detail in your music.

Where these deliver is comfort, user-friendliness and battery life – you'll get a massive 40 hours of playtime when the ANC is on, and 60 with it switched off.

Read our Soundcore Life Q20i review

Soundcore has focused on the features that matter for travellers with this release, designing the Space One Pro to be super comfortable, compact and foldable, and excellent at both noise-cancelling and transparency. They deliver a lot of value for the £149.99 price tag and are a worthy rival when compared to more expensive pairs from Bose and Sony.

The large ear cups are quite prominent, but the whole thing folds down into a small size that you won’t have trouble stashing in the included soft pouch to take with you for a day at the office or a holiday. And, during any trip, the fantastic adaptive noise-cancelling and 40 hours of battery life are certain to come in handy.

The Space One Pro is made of reasonably lightweight plastic, and the headband is easy to adjust. On test, we’ve had no trouble wearing them for a long time and they sound great whether we’re listening to podcasts or music. The sound signature is an energetic one with a boosted bass and treble for a lot of dynamism, but it can be tweaked and we think you’ll find they sound even better after you’ve done the “HearID” personalised listening test within the full-featured Soundcore app.

It's a shame that the headphones don’t come with a hard carrying case and that they lack the wear sensor included in the older Space One, but these are very minor downsides. Overall, these are top contenders. The soft plush ear cups and headband are super comfortable, the headphones are incredibly portable, and the noise-cancelling is good enough to match more expensive rivals.

Read our Soundcore Space One Pro review

Bose is a leader when it comes to active noise-cancelling technology, and its flagship QuietComfort Ultra Headphones are some of the best if your priority is eliminating as much background noise as possible – especially if long-term comfort is essential.

The Ultra headphones offer comprehensive ANC with outstanding sound isolation. They cancelled out office chatter, coffee shop crowds, keyboard taps and more for us. They boast some of the most powerful and most convincing noise-cancelling we’ve heard. They’re also exceptionally comfortable to wear.

We find them more comfortable than the excellent Sony flagship for extended listening, so given that both pairs have excellent ANC, we’d pick these for a little extra cushioning on a long journey. It’s worth saying, though, that there’s really not a lot between these two premium rivals!

We also love the reliable built-in controls. They’ve got good old-fashioned buttons and a simple touch surface that you can swipe up and down for volume. They’re built with sturdy but lightweight materials, using aluminium in the arms and yokes that connect to the hard plastic headband. They’re easy to get into position, and the ear cups are lovely and soft.

We’re fans of the excellent sound, too. You can customise this in the app, which we appreciate, and they have a capable “awareness” mode to amplify outside sounds when you need to hear the world around you.

If you want the top earphones you can buy for noise-cancelling, Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra 2 Earbuds are the most effective we’ve tested. Their USPs are both in the name: quiet and comfort.

There's nothing better for eliminating background noise. On the London Underground’s Northern Line – where screeches reach about 95dB – they cut out distractions even better than many over-ear pairs.

They adapt just as well on trains, in windy streets, open-plan offices and loud coffee shops. The upgraded Aware (transparency) mode sounds natural, too, so a quick conversation doesn't mean you have to take the earbuds out.

Unsurprisingly, we also found the comfort excellent. You get a mix of ear tips and soft stability bands to get a secure, unobtrusive fit that stays put. They've got great sweat and water resistance, too, so they're also ready for travel and workouts.

Their sound is rich and energetic with clear vocals and deep bass, and they maintain the intuitive controls of the previous generation. They also still offer a solid battery life, and now finally have wireless charging too.

They aren’t faultless. The buds are chunky, the case hinge feels plasticky, and the RRP is steep, especially as the previous Bose model remains excellent at £199 (and isn’t far off in performance). But, if you want the latest buds with the most effective in-ear noise-cancellation available, this is the pair to pick.

Read our Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2 Earbuds review

If you’ve already got an iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch and are shopping for a pair of wireless earbuds, the AirPods Pro 2 are the natural fit – we love the iconic white stem design, quick pairing with your phone and top noise-cancelling.

The latest update improves them with advanced noise-cancelling, better transparency, a much richer sound and volume controls on the stem of the buds, along with a number of clever additions to the charging case, including full “Find My” support (so you’ll never lose them!) and a built-in speaker to help you locate the case or for it to tell you when it’s running low on juice.

On test, they were highly effective at blocking out loads of external noise – we were unable to hear road works and background noise on a flight – and we’re fans of the incredible transparency mode that amplifies outside noises over your music or phone call if you need to be more aware of your surroundings, such as when crossing the road or out for a morning jog.

This transparency is even better on the second-generation buds, and they’re the only ones we’d be prepared to leave in while ordering a coffee or having a conversation. We find them comfortable to wear, and we like that they sound excellent and provide an impressive six hours' worth of listening time from one full charge, boosted to 30 hours when you factor in the extra juice in the charging case.

Read our Apple AirPods Pro 2 review

Easily one of the most expensive sets on our list, Apple's premium AirPods Max are something special. With a price tag that makes them more expensive than several top-spec TVs, they have to be.

If you're prepared to spend £500, we can guarantee you'll be getting some of the most impressive headphones on the market. The sound is superb, the noise-cancelling is brilliant, and they come in five gorgeous shades (we love the blue).

They deliver some advanced features you won't find elsewhere too, including cinema-like spatial audio for your movies and shows and audio sharing with other Apple and Beats headphones. They also have a transparency mode that beats all rivals. When it's on, you can amplify sounds and have a conversation without it feeling like you've got headphones on at all.

We love the supreme comfort of the fabric cushions, the hands-free Siri access, and quick setup on Apple devices. The only quirks are with the heavy weight and the battery life. There's no on/off button – they need to slip back into a low-power mode in the included "Smart Case", and we find they run out of battery sooner than rivals.

Read our Apple AirPods Max review

The Bose QuietComfort Headphones have superb active noise-cancellation, top sound quality and comfortable earcups wrapped up in an iconic design. On test, the soft plush ear-cup covers were comfortable to wear for hours and the fit is secure without feeling tight. There are two listening modes – Quiet (ANC) and Aware (transparency) – and we found ANC drowns out the clacking of a mechanical keyboard, the hum of a fan and some passing traffic.

Turning the Eagles’ ‘Hotel California’ up, you’ll hear the vocals and guitar notes clearly, and there’s no unwanted distortion or muddiness at high volumes. You tailor the sound via the Bose Music mobile app (for Android and iOS), which is easy to navigate and lets you tinker with loads of settings, including the amount of bass and treble in the sound mix.

We like the physical buttons and prefer them over the touch controls on the (admittedly sleeker looking) Sennheiser Momentum 4, and we enjoyed that the QuietComfort pair is significantly more portable thanks to their foldable ear-cups and super small travel case. Taking a busy flight or need a reliable pair of ANC over-ears for your daily commutes? These tick all the boxes.

If you're trying to decide between these and the flagship Ultras, we have a dedicated comparison of the Bose QuietComfort vs QuietComfort Ultra headphones.

As the company that first pioneered the tech back in the ‘60s to protect pilots' hearing, Bose is well regarded as the class leader when it comes to ANC. We’re happy to confirm that the brand’s noise-cancelling prowess extends to its newest offering too. The second-generation QuietComfort Earbuds are a slightly more affordable option compared to the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds, and they’re even better value when they drop from their £179 launch price.

They’re better at noise-cancelling than rivals in this price tier and just a little behind the performance of the Ultra. We’ve used them on the London Underground, in the office, in busy cafes and while walking in windy conditions, and we’ve been impressed at just how good they are at silencing distracting background noise.

They’re almost as good as Bose’s flagship pair, but there are a few downsides to note. The case is far from pocketable and the buds themselves are very large compared to the competition. We do like that they have a great in-ear seal and stability wings, but each bud weighs 8.5g, which you'll feel if you want to wear them for a long time.

On the plus side, the sound quality is great, with punchy bass and detailed high notes, while the app is full of features (many of which, like Bose’s voice control and remote camera shutter, you may not even use). It's a shame that it doesn’t use the same app as the other Bose audio equipment, but it isn’t a major downside.

Soundcore’s latest earbuds are the best travel earbuds for most people. They’re more impressive than the powerful noise-cancelling performance of not only the old Liberty 4 and 4 NC, but also the newer Liberty 4 Pro and rivals in this price tier.

We found them superb at silencing outside sounds, not only the loud din of the London Underground, but also more unpredictable ones like traffic, a busy coffee shop and conversations at the office. They’ve also got an excellent transparency mode, great for awareness of your surroundings.

They pack in loads of features, including a comfy fit with a selection of five different sizes of ear tips, IP55 dust and water resistance, Dolby Atmos spatial audio, and an impressive eight-hour battery life with noise cancelling on (they go for up to 12 hours with it off).

We’ve been highly impressed by the reliability of the squeeze controls on the stems of the buds, and the sound quality is well-rounded too. The best part is that it can be personalised in the app – you take a “HearID” hearing test, and then the sound adapts to the frequencies you may have found harder to hear. We tried this and it’s a big improvement to the default sound.

Aside from a larger-than-typical charging case and plasticky feel, there aren’t serious drawbacks at this price. You’ll get better sound by spending a bit more, but these are more than good enough for most, and customisable, too.