Bose headphones offer excellent sound quality and bags of style. It’s no surprise they’re among the most popular headphones in the world and have wide appeal with everyone, from casual music lovers to audiophiles.
But which Bose headphones are right for you? That depends on your budget and what you need them for. Bose's QuietComfort range brings us some of the best active noise cancellation technology in the world, which makes Bose headphones a solid choice for blocking out the world around you. It's no surprise you'll find Bose headphones in our ultimate best headphones guide and our best noise-cancelling earbuds list.
Design-wise, Bose makes lightweight, noise-cancelling headphones that feature in our best over-ear headphones guide. These cans are perfect for commuting and long haul flights because their cushioned earpads makes them incredibly comfortable. But Bose also makes a number of the best true wireless earbuds for the ultimate in versatility that will also soundtrack your workouts. Essentially, whatever you’re looking for, Bose has a pair of headphones for you.
We’ve tested many headphones over the years, so to make your decision easier, we’ve ranked the best Bose headphones you can buy today. Whatever you decide on, don't forget to see what Bose promo codes are around to save more.
The best Bose headphones: our top picks
The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 are a big upgrade of the original Bose QuietComfort buds, which have now been bumped down in our list.
This redesign has improved the noise cancellation considerably, which is really saying something considering the originals were our top pick for some time. Now the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 are our number one pick in our best noise cancelling earbuds guide.
But ANC improvements aren't at the expense of sound quality. In our review, we wrote: "We can’t stress this enough – the sound is very well balanced, with a heck of a lot of details and textures coming through. And if you still find you need to tweak it, you can via the EQ in the app."
These new buds are expensive – although they're the same price as their rivals, the Sony WF-1000XM4 buds – and battery life is only fine at 6 hours from the buds and a further 3 from the case. But, if you can afford to splurge, these are arguably the best noise-cancelling true wireless earbuds you can buy and the best Bose earbuds around today.
Read our full Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 review
If you're looking for a new pair of noise-cancelling headphones, we'd definitely recommend the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700; they may not quite beat the Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones in terms of battery life and price, but they're still a brilliant pair of over-ear cans.
Traditionally, noise-cancelling headphones have been designed to block out the environmental sounds around you, so that you can hear your music more clearly (or catch some shut-eye on a busy train) – and with the right headphones, it's really effective.
If you’re making a phone call, however, the person you’re speaking to can still hear everything that’s happening around you, degrading the sound quality of your calls.
The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 seek to remedy this, by applying noise-cancellation to phone calls as well as music, which is fantastic feature that few other brands have mastered.
So how do they sound? The audio quality is undeniably good, with a vibrant, lively character and well-balanced soundstage – overall, the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 sound great, look stunning, and the noise-cancellation is out of this world, making them the best Bose headphones you can buy.
Read our full Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 review
When these Bose QuietComfort Earbuds first came out in 2020, they were Bose's second attempt at a set of true wireless earbuds but now we recommend the newer Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II at the top of our list. They sound better and have improved ANC as well as a smaller, lighter design.
However, because the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds are now considered older models you might find them with decent price reductions. Sure they won't beat the newest Bose buds, but there's still a lot to love about them.
For starters, they're a vast improvement over Bose's older SoundSport Free. Not only is the design a lot better, but the noise cancellation is excellent. Sound quality is also good – albeit a touch less bassy compared to the Sony WF-1000XM4 – with superb clarity. They’re also incredibly comfortable and well balanced too, despite their bulky form factor.
Unfortunately, the battery life of the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds isn't as impressive as their other features. You get a respectable six hours of playback from the buds themselves, but only two further charges from the charging case for an 18-hour total battery life.
Read our full Bose QuietComfort Earbuds review
The Bose QuietComfort 45 are a rock-solid pair of noise-cancelling headphones. They’re easy-to-use and feel incredibly comfortable to wear for long periods of time. Those are traits that Bose has always been known for and they continue to live on here.
Of course, the QC45 aren’t without a few new tricks. Among them are an Ambient Aware mode that allows you to hear sounds around you at the press of a button as well as upgraded noise cancellation tech that’s more responsive than before.
On top of that you’ve got a good-but-not-great battery life of 25 hours and a beam-forming microphone array that is, well, not quite as good as we had hoped. Neither of these are deal-breakers, but they do make the Bose QuietComfort 45 slightly less appealing than some of its competitors.
In fact, the Bose QuietComfort 45’s biggest issues aren’t anything that they do – there are minor issues, but nothing absolutely awful – and instead they have everything to do with two other amazing headphones out there: the Sony WH-1000XM4 and Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 higher in this list. Both offer more customization options, better sound, and present a better value for just a little bit more cash.
Read our full Bose QuietComfort 45 review
When the Bose QuietComfort 35 II first came out in 2021, they looked nearly identical to the already-excellent Bose QuietComfort 35. But when we tested them, we rated them for their great noise cancellation and balanced sound.
Fast-forward a few years and there's now more choice from Bose that'll give you a much better audio experience, like the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 and Bose QuietComfort 45 higher in this list. However, they're both pricey options, so if you can find discounted Bose QuietComfort 35 II cans, it's a good way to get your hands on Bose tech for less.
The Bose QuietComfort 35 II are still a solid pair of headphones, especially for travelers and commuters, with a good balance of features that will satisfy most mainstream listeners.
Read our full Bose QuietComfort 35 II review
The best Bose headphones: FAQs
Which Bose headphones have the best sound quality?
For us, it has to be the over-ear Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. There are also the new Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones, too. On one hand, these are definitely not the bassiest or detail-rich pair of over-ear headphones we’ve ever heard. On the other hand, though, they are one of the most listenable pairs of headphones among the ones we’ve tested thanks to Bose’s smart design choices.
Is Bose better than Sony?
It depends how you're judging them. The Sony WH-1000XM4 are one of our favorite pair of over-ear headphones. They feature highly in our best over-ear headphones list and are our top pick if you want a good all-rounder pair of headphones.
But the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 aren't far behind. They may not beat the Sony WH-1000XM4's battery life and price, but they are a fantastic pair of headphones and do noise-cancelling exceptionally well.
When it comes to buds, the Sony WF-1000XM4 buds are at the top of our best earbuds list. Like the over-ears, the benefits of these buds is that they're such solid all-rounders.
And again, the Bose earbud offering might not tick all the boxes like the Sony buds, but the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 are the cream of the crop for in-ear ANC.
Want to try out the competition? Check out the best Sony headphones you can buy.
