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There's a lot of choice in the wireless audio world.

Apple's AirPods may be the buds that forever altered the world of wireless audio, but they're far from the only option when it comes to small Bluetooth earphones. Whether you want to be different and stand out from the crowd or simply don't want to pay the pricey "Apple tax", there are loads of worthwhile dupes out there. To help you find the right ones, we've rounded up the best AirPods alternatives to buy right now.

The way we see it, the reason that AirPods are so popular (the tech giant shipped over 85 million of them in 2020) is that they tick a lot of the right boxes. They sound great, have an impressive battery life, and live in a small charging case that fits in your pocket. They're also a convenient and compact size that will fit in your ears without making you look like Lobot from Star Wars.

We've made sure the best AirPods alternatives on our list tick these same boxes, focusing on ones with a minimal design, tiny case and a decent battery. We also reckon anyone looking for AirPod substitutes will be after those models that cost less than Apple's while still packing in top specs. That's why the options on our list are all under £110 (so that they're all less pricey than the 2nd gen AirPods), and we've included some great cheap headphones that come in at under £40 too.

We test out the best AirPods alternatives by using them just as you would use your own earbuds. We connect them up to our phones and we listen to our podcasts and blast out music from a range of genres – including soundtracks, pop music, lo-fi beats and more – to check the sound quality. We also listen to test tones to evaluate the high and low-frequency response, and the dynamic range of the audio.

For the models on our list with noise-cancelling, we test these out by seeing how much noise they eliminate in a loud commuter train during rush hour. We also assessed the design and portability of each model, and our picks for the best AirPods alternatives below are a mix of our hands-on trials and expert recommendations from our rigorous research.

Available at Amazon, John Lewis, Argos and Currys

Jabra's cheapest buds to date, the Elite 3s feature an understated and minimal design, impressive audio quality and competitive battery life. For the size and the price, we think these are some of the best earbuds you can buy. The sound is well-rounded, they do a great job of instrumental separation and it's handy that you can tweak the equaliser to your preference in the Jabra Sound+ companion app.

We like how these come in black, dark blue, beige, or lilac, and how the charging case is small enough to fit in your pockets too. They use physical buttons on the buds for control, rather than touch-sensitive surfaces, and these work for playing, pausing, controlling volume, talking to voice assistants and engaging the "HearThrough" mode that amplifies outside sounds.

The big difference between these and some of the main rivals we'll discuss below is that these lack active noise cancelling (ANC). If you pick the right ear tips you'll get a good seal and may not need to worry about it, but if ANC is important to you, we'd recommend going with one of the other picks below.

• Weight: 4.6g per earbud (42.6g with charging case) • Battery life: 7 hours (Up to 28 hours with charging case) • Voice control: Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri • Wireless charging: No • Noise cancellation: No

We know size matters when it comes to earbuds, which is why every pair on our list is small and compact. But there's nothing quite as small as the ComfoBuds Mini, which are as close to being invisible as possible once they're in your ears. These also come in a charging case that’s more compact than the AirPods version, while still providing a maximum of 6 hours of battery life in the buds and a total of 24 hours with the case.

These aren't just alternatives to the standard AirPods, though, they're a decent rival to Apple's flagship AirPods Pro as they include active noise cancelling too. That's impressive both at this low price and in this form factor, and the ANC is more than decent too. On test, it cut out the chatter in the office and the rumble of a train, and there's also a wind noise resistance mode to deal with high-speed noise too.

The sound quality is excellent and improves when you turn the noise cancelling on. When it comes to the drawbacks, though, we'd avoid using these for phone calls as the microphone falls short, and we did find it frustrating that you need to switch the ANC back on every time you put them in.

• Weight: 3.7g per earbud (42.3 g with charging case) • Battery life: 6 hours (Up to 24 hours with charging case) • Voice control: No • Wireless charging: Yes • Noise cancellation: Yes

Available at Amazon and Cambridge Audio

Not fussed about noise cancellation and just want excellent sound at a sensible price? These earplug-like buds from Cambridge Audio are well worth considering. They deliver a clear, balanced and detailed quality that lives up to the British brand's mission statement to "save the world from shit sound".

At 4.6g per bud, they're among the most lightweight options on our list and have a tiny pocketable charging case too. We found them comfortable to wear, but the design won't suit everyone. Those with smaller ears may find the sharp edges irritating.

They come with a wide range of ear tips including silicone and memory foam. Once we found the right ones, the seal was impressive enough that we didn't miss the noise cancelling functionality. They're also sweat-resistant and have extensive battery life. The handy companion app enables EQ tweaks and precise battery monitoring. We'd recommend these for music lovers looking for a discreet and basic option but we found the call quality a bit hit-and-miss.

• Weight: 4.6g per earbud (46.2g with charging case) • Battery life: 9 hours (Up to 45 hours with charging case) • Voice control: Google Assistant and Siri • Wireless charging: No • Noise cancellation: No

Available at Nothing and Amazon

There's a lot of hype around Nothing, the London-based startup from OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, but we feel the buzz surrounding the company’s debut product is justified. These unique earbuds have the AirPods Pro squarely in their sights, and they make a worthwhile dupe when compared to the top-spec Apple buds. Tiny lightweight buds? Impressive noise cancelling? Decent battery life? They tick all three boxes.

The most distinctive thing about them is their unusual design. There’s nothing quite like these transparent buds on the market. Beyond the looks, they sound great and are especially good with balanced detail and voices – ideal for podcast fans. If you need thumping bass, you may want to look elsewhere, but we reckon most people would struggle to tell the difference between these and the AirPods Pro.

They're comfortable and come with active noise cancelling that worked well on our commute. And they have a decent transparency mode to amplify outside sounds too, although this isn't as refined as what you'll get on the Apple device. Battery-wise, they'll deliver about as much as the AirPods Pro, lasting for around five hours and providing up to 34 hours once you factor in the case. The case is the one downside, in our opinion, as it's a touch bulkier than most others on our list.

• Weight: 4.7g per earbud (57.4g with charging case) • Battery life: 5 hours (Up to 34 hours with charging case) • Voice control: Google Assistant and Siri • Wireless charging: Yes • Noise cancellation: Yes

Available at Amazon, Argos, John Lewis and Currys

Love the idea of true wireless earbuds but aren't prepared to fork out loads of cash to upgrade? We'd recommend the Go Air Pop as some of the best basic, no-frills buds on a budget that you can buy. They're compact and fit in a little case that comes with the charging cable built-in, so you don’t have to worry if you're prone to leaving your charger behind. It refuels via a standard USB-A port, so you'll already have the wall plug you need to top it up, and it's easy to hook up to your laptop to charge up too.

They're available in a decent range of colours for personalisation – you can pick between black, lilac, red, grey and blue – and the buds themselves are super lightweight at 3.7g. You won’t find any special features like noise cancellation or transparency mode here, and they're not the best for calls or voice assistance either. But if you seldom use these features, you won't miss them. With the low sub-£20 price, these are excellent value with a good sound profile and solid battery life.

• Weight: 3.7g per earbud (35.4gg with charging case) • Battery life: 8 hours (Up to 32 hours with charging case) • Voice control: Google Assistant and Siri • Wireless charging: No • Noise cancellation: No

Available at Currys, John Lewis, Google and Argos

Just like AirPods and Apple devices are made to work together without any fuss, the Pixel Buds are designed with Android phones in mind. They support Google’s Fast Pair with Android devices, offer Google Assistant with the "Hey Google" wake word, and give you clever "real-time" translation that can interpret 40 different languages as you talk.

They're best seen as a rival to Apple's entry-level buds as they don't give you any noise cancellation or transparency, but they come in at a more affordable price than AirPods and offer better sound isolation than the basic ones, with the three included pairs of silicone tips in small, medium, and large. The charging case is tiny enough to pop in your front jeans pocket, and they offer controls via a touch-sensitive exterior surface, allowing you to play, pause, skip tracks, and call on Google Assistant.

Sound-wise, these prioritise balanced audio with a lot of clarity and instrumental separation, making them a great pick for music across a wide range of genres, podcasts and audiobooks. The microphones here are great for calls but if you're after headphones for distraction-free listening, we’d recommend picking an option with ANC instead.

• Weight: 5.06g per earbud (52.9g with charging case) • Battery life: 5 hours (Up to 24 hours with charging case) • Voice control: Google Assistant • Wireless charging: No • Noise cancellation: No

The real appeal of Amazon's buds is the built-in hands-free Alexa support via the "Alexa" wake word. This makes it a lot like having a full-on Echo speaker in your pocket, and if you already use Alexa for reminders, alarms, weather forecasts and controlling your smart home devices, these will be essential. You don't have to tap a separate button, you just say "Alexa, remind me to buy milk" and you'll get the nudge you're after. The support extends to streaming music via the Alexa app or Audible books and includes smart integrations, like being able to "send" what you're listening to on an Echo speaker to the buds.

They have a clear, detailed sound and powerful bass, and include both active noise cancellation (for when you want to focus and cut out distractions) and a "passthrough" mode (for when you need to be aware of the world around you). While the price undercuts several other flagship buds from big brands like Apple, Sony and Sennheiser, the battery life is disappointing and they're the least affordable option on our list. Sometimes, the Echo Buds are available at a big discount (we'd expect a reduction on Prime Day) but if they're not on offer and the seamless Alexa support isn't a must-have for you, we'd go with one of our other recommendations at a lower cost.

• Weight: 5.7g per earbud (55.8g with charging case) • Battery life: 5 hours (Up to 15 hours with charging case) • Voice control: Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri • Wireless charging: Available with either a wired or wireless charging case • Noise cancellation: Yes

Proper noise-cancelling tech for under £40? It sounds impossible but the HiTune X6 buds deliver. While the ANC here isn't on the same level as the others with this feature on our list (if you’ve got the extra cash, we'd suggest going for the 1MORE or Nothing buds above), they are more than half the price of some rivals and won't disappoint if you need to cancel out the drone of a train or a fan. Where they struggle is with inconsistent noise, and we've found they're not good with traffic or wind noise, and the ANC can leave you with a pressurised sensation in your ears.

It's easy to switch off the ANC when you don't need it, though, and it's still impressive that this feature is present on such affordable buds. We've talked a bit about some "no-frills" earphones on this list, and these are more of a "one-frill" option. While they include noise cancelling, there's not much else when it comes to special features. They come with decent battery life, adequate sound quality and a good fit that's comfortable to wear for a long time. We don't love the plasticky look of the buds but the pocket-friendly case is great and this is still the best budget noise-cancelling pick you'll find.

• Weight: 5.2g per earbud (50g with charging case) • Battery life: 6 hours (Up to 26 hours with charging case) • Voice control: Google Assistant and Siri • Wireless charging: No • Noise cancellation: Yes

If you're upgrading from an older pair of wired earbuds, you won't have had to think about noise-cancelling, battery life and charging cases before. It may feel like there's a lot you need to understand before you can pick up some true wireless earphones, but we reckon these are the key features you need to focus on:

Active noise cancelling (ANC): Noise cancellation isn't present on Apple's standard earbuds, but is available in its top-of-the-line AirPods Pro. In general, active noise cancelling (or ANC) is a feature that you'll find on premium headphones. In the simplest terms, it uses microphones to identify low-frequency background sounds in the world around you, and it'll then cancel those out with an inverted "anti-noise" sound. The quality of ANC can vary, but the best noise-cancelling buds will drown out the sound of a busy train, plane or office chatter.

Water resistance: If you've seen the terms "water resistance", "waterproofing", and "dust resistance" when browsing for earbuds, you might be wondering what this means in reality. Just how shielded are your devices? Whether you're worried about the temperamental British weather or sweaty workouts, we'd recommend looking at the IP code if you see these protective claims. IPX4 tells you that the buds can handle splashes and light rain, while IPX5 is certified for safeguarding against low-pressure water jets. Look for a higher rating like IPX7 if you need more protection than this.

Battery life: The longer your headphones last between charging sessions the better, of course. Some of the buds in our list can last as long as nine hours on a single charge, and they'll top themselves up with extra battery every time you pop them back in the charging case. The battery within the case will provide up to 45 hours of life, although some on our list offer as little as 15 hours, which means you’ll need to plug them back in at the wall before too long.

Wireless charging: When it comes to recharging, you can plug all the options on our list into an adapter via old-fashioned USB-A or USB-C to top up the case and the buds at the same time. Some of the best AirPods alternatives have wireless charging just like Apple's buds. In our experience, this is a super convenient feature as you can just pop them down on any wireless charging mat to restore their juice.

Controls: You can control many of the models in our roundup with touch input, buttons on the earbuds, or voice assistants (more of those below) and they'll usually offer the ability to play, pause, and skip backwards and forwards between tracks. Some will also offer customisable controls within a companion app and may include volume control and assistant summoning right from the bud itself.

Voice assistance: Even if you don't use the voice assistant on your smartphone, we're all well-acquainted with the concept of disembodied helpers like Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant. What once felt like an ultra-futuristic concept is now the norm, and while you may be used to getting Alexa to set a timer or tell you the weather within your own home, many earbuds offer access to your voice assistant on the go. Whether you’re saying "Hey Google, play my podcasts," or getting Alexa to turn on the lights, you can do it without digging your phone out of your pocket or bag. Some buds have full hands-free control with a wake word, while others require that you press a button to talk.

If you've got to the bottom of this roundup and now find yourself wondering whether you might be better off with AirPods instead, then here are some of the pros and cons of Apple’s range.

When it comes to what AirPods have that most alternatives don't, the key selling point is their deep integration with Apple's ecosystem of iOS and Mac products. Once you've paired AirPods to one Apple device, it pairs to all of them. That means you'll be able to connect it up to your iPhone and it'll already work with your iPad, Mac and Apple TV (if you've got those products!). AirPods also all come with hands-free Siri voice assistance built-in via the "Hey Siri" wake word, and models like the newest AirPods 3 and AirPods Pro include cinematic surround sound through the "spatial audio" mode.

Much of what's good about AirPods requires you to have an iOS device, making them far less useful if you've got an Android phone. If you have an iPhone, they can announce your incoming notifications, and give you hands-free voice assistance and clever features like spatial audio. This all depends on the operating system and won't work for anything non-Apple. The standard AirPods also don't come with silicone ear tips so they won’t fit everyone and may let in a lot of outside sounds. Lastly, AirPods tend to cost a lot more than their main rivals, and many of the options in our roundup are better value if you're on a budget.