We all know the struggle… No one wants the hassle of tangly wired headphones, but wireless versions can be less than secure – especially if you use them during workouts. Enter the hybrid option: tangle-free headphones attached to a neckband for stability.
Neckband headphones offer all the great features of Bluetooth earphones, like built-in microphones for hands-free phone calls, without the worry of one earbud falling out of your ear and potentially getting lost forever. Some neckband headphones even have extra features, such as vibration alerts for incoming calls.
Here are the best neckband headphones on the market this year. Our list covers a broad range of budgets, with headphones priced under £50 all the way up to more than £200.
The best neckband headphones to buy this year
Sennheiser Momentum 2.0
Sennheiser has been making headphones and microphones for more than 75 years, and this pair offers some neat features to mark it out from the competition.
Most notably, the neckband is covered in soft sheepskin nappa leather, finished with red stitching, while the earpieces feature mirrored chrome.
The headphones come with Bluetooth 4.1 and Qualcomm apt-X for improved wireless audio quality across two devices at a time. Plus, there’s a three-button panel to control your music and calls and an integrated microphone.
These headphones also keep you up to speed, with voice alerts telling you when they’re paired to a device and when the battery’s low. When someone calls you, they vibrate too.
- Features: buttons to control music and calls, voice alerts and vibrations
- Battery life: 10 hours (recharge in an hour and a half with fast USB charging)
- Includes: hard shell case and four different sized earbuds
Sony WI-XB400
Despite being priced lower than other neckband headphones on the market, this pair from Sony offers plenty of useful features. It has EXTRA BASS™ functionality for deep, rich audio, and connects to your phone’s voice assistant for hands-free control.
Aside from playing music, you can get in touch with your phone contacts and access directions while you’re out and about. To adjust your music settings, just use the neckband buttons.
We particularly love the flexible neckband, which is bendy enough to roll up and fit into pockets. The earbuds even have in-built magnets to keep them locked together.
- Features: voice assistant compatible, buttons to control music
- Battery life: up to 15 hours (10-minute quick charge with Type-C cable provides an hour of battery)
- Includes: Type-C USB cable and three pairs of silicone earbuds
Beats Flex
Known and loved by music fans across the world, Beats headphones combine high-quality audio with sleek aesthetics – and this pair is no different. It promises “accurate bass and ultra-low distortion”, and comes with wind reduction technology to boost audio clarity when you’re out and about.
Impressively, the earphones have in-built magnets and automatically pause and play your audio when you take them out and put them back in. You can also control your music and calls, and adjust the volume using the neckband buttons.
Plus, there’s the option to wirelessly share songs, podcasts and films with other Beats headphones or AirPods.
The colour options are a great bonus too; choose between black, grey, blue and yellow.
- Features: voice assistant compatible, auto-play and -pause, buttons to control music, calls and change volume
- Battery life: 12 hours (10-minute Fast Fuel charge provides an hour and a half of battery)
- Includes: USB-C charging cable, four different sized earbuds
Sony WI C100
If you’re on a budget, these could be the best neckband headphones for you. They come with a range of clever features; you can select audio presets to boost quality for the type of music playing and even create your own in Sony’s app.
Lose them and you’ll be able to ‘ring’ them or check their location on your phone.
As an added bonus, these headphones are IPX4 rated, so they’ll survive water splashes and light rain. When you’re done, the flexible neckband should make it easy to pack them down for easy storage.
Choose between white, taupe, blue and black for these headphones.
- Features: voice assistant compatible, buttons to play, pause, skip, change volume and take calls
- Battery life: up to 25 hours (10-minute quick charge provides an hour of battery)
- Includes: three different sized earbuds
Jabra Evolve 65e
Compatible with Microsoft Teams and UC certified, Jabra’s Evolve 65e is one of the best neckband headphones sets for remote and office working. It does come with a higher price tag than others you can buy, but for the extra investment you’ll get some neat features.
There’s a red ‘do not disturb’ light on the right-hand cable – ideal for work meetings and important calls. Plus, a mute button and vibration alerts are built in too.
Jabra’s app gives you the chance to adapt the audio to your surroundings, and the brand claims to reduce wind noise when you’re out and about too.
- Features: voice assistant compatible, vibration alerts, Busylight
- Battery life: eight hours (calls), 13 hours (music) with two-hour total charge time
- Includes: travel case, USB cable, three different sized earbuds and earwings
Sennheiser CX 150BT
Sennheiser’s CX 150BT keeps things extra flexible with just a small panel at the back of the neckband. Call and music controls are on the three-button remote by the right-hand earphone.
Handily, you can pair this set of headphones with two different devices at the same time, which makes it easy to switch between calls and songs on different gadgets.
Buy these neckband headphones in black or white.
- Features: buttons to control calls and music
- Battery life: 10 hours with fast USB-C charging
- Includes: four different sized earbuds
JBL TUNE 215BT
Another good budget-friendly option, JBL’s Tune 215BT headphones are available for under £50.
Like some more expensive headphones, these have multi-point connection, allowing you to switch between two devices with minimum hassle. Just use the voice assistant or three-button remote to control your music or calls.
These headphones come in several fun colours, including blue, green and gold.
- Features: voice assistant compatible, three-button remote
- Battery life: 16 hours with two-hour recharging (10-minute quick-charge provides one hour)
- Includes: three different sized earbuds
Looking for different types of headphones? See our favourite noise-cancelling headphones, bone conduction headphones and kids’ headphones.