Best Bluetooth headsets

Best Bluetooth Headset
Best Bluetooth Headset

If you're looking for the best Bluetooth headsets money can buy, then you've come to the right place. In this guide, we look at the top devices that allow you to easily make and receive phone calls hands-free. No matter if you're in a car or at your desk – this collection of the best Bluetooth headsets will help you buy the perfect device for your needs.

The best Bluetooth headsets are important bits of kit for anyone who relies on their phones and makes loads of calls every day. When compiling this list of the best Bluetooth headsets, we picked devices that make taking calls quick, easy and safe if you're driving, using equipment or typing on a keyboard.

But a headset is no use if you can't hear what your caller is saying – and that's why we've made sure every entry in this best Bluetooth headset list offers both high-end audio quality from your callers and excellent recording quality to boot. The best Bluetooth headsets will also offer noise cancellation, which is important as it means no matter how loud the environment you're in, the people you're talking to should be able to hear your voice without any issues.

A Bluetooth headset can make your constant calling life infinitely easier, although choosing the very best of them among the myriad knockoffs and imitations can be a pain. And even if there are some devices that look similar, the actual features and functionality can vary wildly.

But don’t worry, below you'll find the very best Bluetooth headsets currently available to help you choose.

Plantronics Voyager 5200

Specifications

Weight: 2kg
Battery life: 7 hours
NFC: No
Bluetooth version: Bluetooth 4.1

Reasons to buy

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Sweatproof

The Plantronics Voyager 5200 is one of the very best Bluetooth headsets around, from a brand name that is well respected when it comes to headsets. It's designed with comfort in mind, so you can wear it for extended periods without it bothering you and it sits securely in place too, so it won't fall off. It's also completely hands free, as caller ID will announce the name of whoever is calling you and you can simply say "answer" to take the call. Its noise-cancelling is effective even in busy environments and multiple microphones ensure strong voice quality, for a great all-round Bluetooth headset. Its also coated in sweat proof material which gives it a robustness that other Bluetooth headsets lack.

Plantronics Explorer 500

Specifications

Weight: 7.5g
Battery life: 7 hours
NFC: No
Bluetooth version: Bluetooth 4.1

Reasons to buy

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Very light

Plantronics simply makes phenomenal Bluetooth headsets, which is why it should come as no surprise that this isn’t the first Plantronics headset to make it on the list of the best Bluetooth headsets, and it certainly won’t be the last. The Plantronics  Explorer 500 is built to be compact and discreet, but there is a huge amount of tech built into this tiny package, including three microphones and a boom arm for stellar voice quality. Its small size does mean its battery life isn't exactly on the same level as some competitors, but at seven hours of talk time it's still very passable. 

Jabra Stealth

Specifications

Weight: 7.9g
Battery life: 6 hours
Wireless range: 10m
NFC: No
Bluetooth version: Bluetooth 4

Reasons to buy

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Comfortable

The Jabra Stealth is one of the nicest designed Bluetooth headsets in our roundup, and not only does it look good, it also feels comfortable to wear. It's not quite as small and unnoticeable as its name suggests, but with such a nice design, you won't really mind that much. Perhaps most importantly, sound quality on this headset is excellent, and it does a good job of limiting background noise picked up by its mic as well. This is definitely a Bluetooth headset worth investing in if you rely on voice-free calls. 

Sennheiser Presence UC

Specifications

Weight: 13g
Battery life: 10 hours
Wireless range: 25m
NFC: No
Bluetooth version: Bluetooth 4.0

Reasons to buy

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Good range

The Sennheiser Presence UC is a brilliant Bluetooth headset if you work in a fast-paced environment where you need to multitask, as it has a multi-connectivity feature that connects to both your phone and computer, so you can quickly switch between the two. It has very good sound and recording quality, and talk time is also very impressive. It's not the most comfortable headset, however, so if you need something that you're going to wear all day, then something like the Jabra Motion will be better suited to your needs. 

Jabra Steel

Specifications

Weight: 10g
Battery life: 6 hours
Wireless range: 30m
NFC: Yes
Bluetooth version: Bluetooth 4.1

Reasons to buy

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Rugged design

If you work outside in noisy environments and need a robust Bluetooth headset that can eliminate background sounds, then the Jabra Steel is the best Bluetooth headset for you. Resistant to dust, dirt, and water, it can also survive high drops, making it an excellent headset for outdoor use. It also features aggressive noise cancellation which will make your voice calls nice and clear, even if you work somewhere where there is a lot of background noise. Sadly, though, there's no physical volume control buttons on the actual headset, which makes it a bit annoying if you need to adjust loudness.

Best Bluetooth headsets

Plantronics M70

Specifications

Weight: 8g
Battery life: 11 hours
NFC: No
Bluetooth version: Bluetooth 3.0

Reasons to buy

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Long battery life

The Plantronics M70 is the successor to the popular M55, and like its forbear, it is a budget headset, but you get a lot for your money. While it doesn't have a premium build it's perfectly comfortable to wear, it supports voice commands for truly hands-free use and the sound quality is good, especially when aided by the built in noise-cancelling tech. The M70 also has a DeepSleep mode which activates when it's separated from a paired smartphone for 90 minutes and leaves it with up to five months of battery life, but simply bring your phone within range and it will quickly wake up again.

Best Bluetooth headsets

Jabra Wave

Specifications

Weight: 13.3g
Battery life: 8 hours
Wireless range: 10m
NFC: No
Bluetooth version: Bluetooth 3.0

Reasons to buy

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Comfortable

With a talk time of over eight hours the Jabra Wave is a Bluetooth headset which just keeps going and going, making it a great choice if you're going to be away from a charger for an extended period. Its fairly large size means it's not the most discreet of headsets, but it's a worthwhile trade-off for all that battery life. It also features strong audio quality and is good at suppressing noise, especially wind. Add to that easy pairing and the ability to connect it to two devices at once and the Jabra Wave is a good option.

James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.