The best cheap noise-canceling headphone deals for November 2022

With more people working from home than they used to, owning a good pair of noise-canceling headphones has become more appealing than ever. However, they can be expensive and difficult to shop for due to the range of available models, many of which cater to different lifestyles and priorities. Some are better suited for long-haul flights, for instance, while others are ideal for multitasking and marathon listening sessions.

That’s why we’ve curated this list of the best deals on noise-canceling headphones. Here, you’ll find sales on all kinds of on-ear and over-ear headphones, all of which are designed to eliminate outside noise but come with their own strengths and weaknesses. And if you want to do even more research before making a buying decision, we’ve put together a guide to the best noise-canceling headphones, which can help you determine which is right for you. Just be aware that with Black Friday season amongst us, we could see even better discounts on headphones drop in the next few days. Make sure to bookmark our roundup of the best early Black Friday deals to keep up-to-date.

They aren’t a huge departure from the previous model, but the Sony WH-1000XM5 is still our favorite pair of noise-canceling headphones. The XM5 improves on all of the features that made the WH-1000XM4 so awesome by providing better active noise cancellation, improving the voice call quality, and boosting the overall sound of the already excellent headphones. While the lack of new features is a bit disappointing, the Sony XM5s are one of our top recommendations for anyone looking for a premium pair of noise-canceling headphones.

The Sony WH-1000XM5 noise-canceling headphones are currently discounted to around $348 at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy from their usual price of $399.99. Read our review.

Sony’s WH-1000XM5 predecessor, Sony’s WH-1000XM4, is still a terrific pair of headphones even if they’re older. They offer excellent noise cancellation, good sound and voice quality, and the ability to pair to two devices simultaneously. You can wear them for long periods of time as well, as their plush ear pads make them comfortable to wear for as long as you need. They even last up to 30 hours on a single charge and charge via USB-C.

Right now, you can buy them for as low as $228 instead of $349.99 at Amazon, B&H Photo, Target, Best Buy, and Sony. Read our review.

Bose QuietComfort 45s, our pick for the most comfortable noise-canceling headphones, are a pair frequent travelers will surely appreciate. They’re lightweight and foldable, so you can easily carry them around with you, and ear fatigue is unlikely, thanks to their oval ear cups. Battery life now sits at 24 hours as well, meaning you needn’t worry about constantly having to charge them. The new transparency mode, meanwhile, comes in handy when you need to be more aware of your surroundings, like when you’re about to cross the street, while a firmware update introduced earlier this year allows you to customize the bass, mid-range, and other aspects of the EQ. The USB-C-equipped headphones don’t offer the same bassy response as Sony’s 1000XM4s, but if comfort is what you’re after, the QC45 offer it in spades.

The Bose QuietComfort 45s retail for $329, but right now you can buy them for $249 from Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. Read our review.

If you’re looking for the best sound quality you can get in a pair of noise-canceling headphones, we recommend the AirPods Max. The headphones pair seamlessly with other Apple devices and they sound superb, especially combined with Apple’s spatial audio feature, which allows for a more immersive experience when listening to or watching compatible content. They also tout the best transparency mode of all the headphones on our list, and they boast incredible build quality thanks to a luxe design that opts for aluminum, steel, and fabric over plastic.

With an MSRP of $549, the AirPods Max can be pretty expensive, but many retailers have been discounting them as of late. Right now, for instance, the headphones are currently on sale in select colors at Amazon for $449.99. If you live close to a Micro Center, you can also pick them up for $369.99. Read our review.

If you’re a non-Apple user looking for a pair of noise-canceling headphones that sound fantastic, Sennheiser’s Momentum Wireless 3 is your best option. We found that they boast detailed, bass-rich sound, a stylish, retro-inspired design, and are extremely comfortable to wear — even when you’re donning glasses. Although their noise cancellation might not rival other models on our list, they make up for it with convenient software features like ambient passthrough and a customizable EQ. Plus, unlike many other headphones, they integrate with the location-tracking device, Tile.

The Momentum Wireless 3 typically retail for $399.99, but right now you can buy them at Best Buy for $199.98, which is just $9 shy of their best price to date. Read our review.

For those shopping for a stylish pair of noise-canceling headphones, you’ll certainly capture attention with Marshall Monitor II ANC. The Monitor IIs stand out for their unique looks, and come with a gold joystick that makes it easy to control your headphones. They offer warm, textured sound and silence ambient noise adequately. While they may not match some of the other headphones on this list in terms of noise-canceling effectiveness or sound quality, they can last up to 45 hours with the noise cancellation turned off. With it on, they still last up to 30 hours, beating many of their rivals.

Right now you can buy the Marshall Monitor II ANC for $219.99 instead of $319.99 from Best Buy, which is a new all-time low price.

Multitaskers will appreciate Microsoft’s Surface Headphones 2 given they offer terrific multipoint Bluetooth support, which allows you to pair them with multiple devices and switch back and forth between them with ease. The headphones also offer intuitive dial controls for both volume and noise cancellation, as well as improved sound quality and battery life over their predecessor. While Microsoft’s noise-canceling tech isn’t quite as effective as Bose’s and Sony’s, the Surface Headphones 2 still adequately silence outside noises so you can focus.

Right now, Best Buy is selling Microsoft’s Surface Headphones 2 for $199.99 instead of their typical asking price of $249.99. Read our review.

Shure’s Aonic 50 are some of the best noise-canceling headphones available at a lower price point, offering first-class sound quality, adequate noise cancellation, and support for advanced Bluetooth codecs like apt-X HD and LDAC. They’re also comfortable to wear, boast detailed, bass-rich sound, and offer features like ambient passthrough and a customizable EQ. Normally $399, the Aonic 50 are on sale right now for $249 at Amazon, B&H Photo, and Shure.

While we couldn’t recommend these to anybody outside of the Apple ecosystem, the Beats Studio 3 Wireless could be a decent alternative if you want a pair of over-ear headphones from Apple but find the AirPods Max to be too expensive. The Beats Studio 3 are comfortable to wear, fold inward for easy stowing, and feature Apple’s last-gen W1 wireless chip, which still allows you to quickly connect and switch between Apple devices. Note, however, that unlike those built with Apple’s newer H1 chip, the headphones lack hands-free Siri support. They also charge via a Micro USB port instead of a Lightning port or USB-C.

The Beats Studio 3 are certainly showing their age at this point — the headphones launched in 2017, after all — but they are currently on sale at Amazon and Target for $149.99 ($200 off). Read our review.