Noise cancelling headphones that actually work

Bose QuietComfort Headphones has the best record for noise cancelling: 26 of 32 shoppers who mentioned it said it blocked out the noise around them. Beats Studio3 comes second at 25 of 32, but Beats has discontinued it, so Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (13 of 16) and Sony WH-1000XM5 (15 of 20) are the next ones to look at.

  • 283 store reviews counted
  • Target shoppers
  • Sep 2014 to Oct 2026

Updated . How we count

Does the noise cancelling work? What shoppers said
  1. Bose QuietComfort Headphones 32 said either way
  2. Beats Studio3 32 said either way
  3. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones 16 said either way
  4. Sony WH-1000XM5 20 said either way
  5. Beats Solo 4 31 said either way
  6. Beats Studio Pro 34 said either way
  7. JBL Tune 520BT 11 said either way

Share of shoppers who stated an outcome for noise cancelling. Ranked by the lower bound of a 90% confidence interval, so a product needs both a good share and enough reports to rank high.

Bose QuietComfort Headphones Best record Bose QuietComfort Headphones 26 of 32 say the noise cancelling works See price & reviews on Amazon
What stands out

Both Bose pairs land in the first three, at 26 of 32 and 13 of 16. The discontinued Beats Studio3 also does better than the Beats Studio Pro that replaced it, 25 of 32 against 22 of 34.

The ranking, product by product

Praise and complaints are the points shoppers repeat most, shown as a share of each product's counted store reviews.

1 Bose QuietComfort Headphones

Bose

QuietComfort Headphones

26/32 say the noise cancelling works

72% of its reviews praise the noise cancelling and 33% the sound. Bose's own site is even more positive at 9 of 10, which we show but don't count.

What shoppers praise

  • Good sound 33%
  • Comfortable 31%
  • Good battery 17%
  • Lightweight 8%

What shoppers complain about

  • Uncomfortable 6%
  • Connection issues 6%
Where shoppers said it
  • Target 26 of 32
  • Brand site 9 of 10 shown, not counted
2

Beats

Studio3

25/32 say the noise cancelling works

Second place on the record, 25 of 32, but Beats has stopped making it. 10% found it overpriced and 8% said theirs broke.

What shoppers praise

  • Good sound 41%
  • Comfortable 33%
  • Good battery 15%
  • Good value 5%

What shoppers complain about

  • Too expensive 10%
  • Broke 8%
  • Uncomfortable 5%
Where shoppers said it
  • Target 25 of 32
  • Brand site 0 of 1 shown, not counted

Share of 39 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

3

Bose

QuietComfort Ultra Headphones

13/16 say the noise cancelling works

50% of reviews praise the sound, more often than for the regular QuietComfort (33%). Its noise cancelling record, 13 of 16, comes from a smaller group.

What shoppers praise

  • Good sound 50%
  • Comfortable 35%
  • Good value 10%
  • Lightweight 10%

What shoppers complain about

No repeated complaints yet.

Where shoppers said it
  • Target 13 of 16
  • Brand site 9 of 9 shown, not counted
4 Sony WH-1000XM5

Sony

WH-1000XM5

15/20 say the noise cancelling works

Noise cancelling held up for 15 of 20, and 46% also call it comfortable. Price (12%) and breakage (12%) are the complaints that come up.

What shoppers praise

  • Good sound 50%
  • Comfortable 46%
  • Good battery 8%

What shoppers complain about

  • Too expensive 13%
  • Broke 13%
  • Uncomfortable 8%
Where shoppers said it
  • Target 15 of 20
  • Brand site 7 of 7 shown, not counted
5 Beats Solo 4

Beats

Solo 4

22/31 say the noise cancelling works

46% praise the sound, but 23% say it doesn't block enough noise and 18% found the on-ear fit uncomfortable.

What shoppers praise

  • Good sound 46%
  • Comfortable 15%
  • Good battery 10%
  • Good value 10%

What shoppers complain about

  • Uncomfortable 18%
Where shoppers said it
  • Target 22 of 31
6 Beats Studio Pro

Beats

Studio Pro

22/34 say the noise cancelling works

More shoppers weighed in on the Beats Studio Pro than on any other pair here, and 12 of 34 said the noise cancelling was weak. Comfort gets praise in 33% of reviews.

What shoppers praise

  • Comfortable 33%
  • Good sound 23%
  • Good battery 18%
  • Good value 5%

What shoppers complain about

  • Weak sound 5%
  • Broke 5%
  • Connection issues 5%
Where shoppers said it
  • Target 22 of 34
7

JBL

Tune 520BT

7/11 say the noise cancelling works

The weakest record here, 7 of 11, and from a small group. It's an on-ear pair whose listings don't mention noise cancelling, and 25% call it good value.

What shoppers praise

  • Good sound 31%
  • Comfortable 25%
  • Good value 25%
  • Good battery 13%

What shoppers complain about

  • Weak sound 19%
  • Broke 19%
  • Uncomfortable 13%
Where shoppers said it
  • Target 7 of 11
  • Brand site 5 of 5 shown, not counted

Share of 16 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

Where these numbers come from

The 7 products ranked here carry 8,791 reviews at Target. We read the newest reviews of each product (up to a thousand per listing), kept the ones that talk about noise cancelling, and counted up to 40 per product, posted between Sep 2014 and Oct 2026.

A review counts only when the reviewer used the product themselves. We drop reviews written in exchange for a free product or a sweepstakes entry (2 on this page), and products that are no longer sold.

Target also shows reviews first posted on brands' own websites. We show them on product cards but never count them, because brand-site reviews run more positive than store reviews of the same products.

Because we searched for the problem, people who had it are overrepresented. Compare products with each other rather than reading a share as your own odds.

Amazon buttons appear only on products that most shoppers here say fix the problem (at least 60%, with enough reviews to trust it). Everything else gets no buy link.

An AI model labels each review against a fixed list of points, and we spot-check the labels before publishing. We publish counts, never the reviews themselves.

Read the full method

Product pages we read

  1. Bose QuietComfort Headphones Target (36 reviews counted)
  2. Beats Studio3 Target (39 reviews counted)
  3. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Target (20 reviews counted)
  4. Sony WH-1000XM5 Target (24 reviews counted)
  5. Beats Solo 4 Target (39 reviews counted)
  6. Beats Studio Pro Target (39 reviews counted)
  7. JBL Tune 520BT Target (16 reviews counted)

Questions buyers ask

Which headphones have noise cancelling that really works?

Going by shoppers who mentioned it, Bose QuietComfort Headphones has the best record at 26 of 32. After the discontinued Beats Studio3, Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (13 of 16) and Sony WH-1000XM5 (15 of 20) are next.

Is the Bose QuietComfort Ultra better at noise cancelling than the regular QuietComfort?

Not on this record. Both land at 81% of shoppers who weighed in, though the Ultra's share comes from 16 reviewers against 32 for the regular pair. Choose on sound and price.

Is the Sony WH-1000XM5 good at noise cancelling?

Mostly yes: 15 of 20 shoppers said it blocks noise well. Reviews copied from Sony's site are positive too, at 7 of 7, which we show but don't count.

Do Beats Solo 4 headphones have noise cancelling?

The Solo 4's Target and Amazon listings don't advertise active noise cancelling. Even so, 22 of 31 shoppers said it blocked out noise. If quiet is the goal, the Bose pairs and Sony WH-1000XM5 have better records.

Related problems

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HiveTried earns a commission when you buy through the "See price & reviews on Amazon" buttons. It never changes the ranking: the order comes from buyer reports only, and a product gets an Amazon button only when buyers here say it works.