How cheap?
Before anything else, you’ll want to figure out how much you’re willing to spend on new budget earbuds. Value priced earbuds continue to improve, so you can find good “cheap” buds for not too much money (less than $100). But if you don’t even want to spend that much, there are some fairly decent buds that cost less than $40.
Read more: 5 True-Wireless Earbuds Worth Buying for Less Than $40
Fit
It’s key that the earbuds you buy fit your ears well. They should offer a comfortable, secure fit. If you don’t get a tight seal with noise-isolating earbuds, sound quality and noise canceling can be dramatically impacted for the worse. Open earbuds don’t have that issue, but they should be comfortable to wear and sit securely in your ears.
Performance and sound quality
Because budget earbuds vary so much in terms performance and sound quality, the idea is to avoid ones that sound mediocre and pick ones that deliver better performance than you’d think for their modest price. We include products like that on this list.
Return policy
While we don’t expect as much from cheap earbuds, you still hope they fit well and sound decent. That’s why it’s critical to buy your buds at a retailer that has a good return policy, in case the buds just aren’t good enough.
