The cheapest AirPods sales and deals in December 2024
Your guide to the best AirPods deals that are available today
It's an excellent time to find AirPods deals, thanks to the new release of the AirPods 4 and AirPods Max 2. This means you can find fantastic AirPods sales on all models, including the AirPods Pro 2, the AirPods 2 and 3, the luxurious over-ear AirPods Max, and even rare AirPods 4 deals.
The AirPods 4 and AirPods 2 were just unveiled at the September Apple Event and are available in two models: one with active noise cancellation, priced at $179 / £179, and one without, costing $129 / £129. Thanks to upcoming holiday sales Black Friday, you can find impressive discounts on Apple's newest AirPods and AirPods deals on older models, with prices as low as $69 / £69.
Below, you'll find all the best AirPods deals, categorized by Apple's standard AirPods, which include the AirPods 2, the AirPods 3, the all-new AirPods 4, the AirPods Pro 2, which include noise-canceling technology, and Apple's only over-ear headphones, the AirPods Max and AirPods Max 2.
Our price comparison tool automatically brings you the best savings from all your favorite retailers. You can shop the latest prices when they hit the shelves to ensure you get the best AirPods deals.
The best AirPods sales and deals
The best AirPods deals
Apple's all-new AirPods 4 are available in two models: one with active noise cancellation, priced at $179 / £179, and one without, costing $129 / £129.
Apple says the AirPods 4 are the best-fitting AirPods ever and feature a new refined contour and shorter stem. The AirPods include Apple's H2 chip that supports personalized spatial audio and voice isolation to improve the quality of phone calls in loud conditions. Other features include new controls for playing music and muting calls, a case that delivers 30 hours of battery life, and support for USB-C for wireless charging.
There are plenty of AirPods deals to be found for the 2019 AirPods that had a launch price of $159 / £159 / AU$249. But thanks to the AirPods 3 release, you can find frequent discounts on the 2nd generation AirPods, dropping as low as $99 / £99 / AU$99.
While the AirPods 2 lack noise cancellation, the 2nd generation earbuds come with Apple's H1 chip to deliver quality sound and faster pairing with seamless connectivity. The H1 chip also offers voice control via Siri, so you can get directions, skip songs, and make calls completely hands-free. The earbuds come with a charging case that provides a further 20 hours of battery life in addition to the five hours in the buds themselves.
The Apple AirPods 3 were released in 2021 and are the latest true wireless earbuds in Apple's line-up of AirPods. The earbuds feature a new design that resembles the AirPods Pro with shorter stems that include touch-capacitive force sensors for easy control. You're also getting improved sound with spatial audio, resulting in a more immersive experience, and a MagSafe charging case that provides more than 30 hours of total listening time.
The 3rd generation AirPods have a starting retail price of $179 / £169 / AU$279, but you can regularly find the earbuds on sale since their release.
The best AirPods Pro deals
In September of 2022, the long-awaited AirPods Pro 2 launched with a starting price of $249 / £249 / AU$399. You're getting enhanced noise cancellation and overall sound quality thanks to Apple's new H2 chip and improved in-ear detection and touch controls for volume adjustment. At the 2023 Apple September event, the AirPods Pro 2 received an upgrade and now come with a USB-C charging case, so you don't have to rely on a Lightning cable, plus additional dust resistance and Lossless Audio with Apple Vision Pro.
Thanks to recent holiday sales, we've already seen impressive AirPods Pro deals, with record-low prices reaching $189.99 in the US.
The original AirPods Pro were released in 2019 with a starting price of $249 / £249 / AU$399. While the earbuds are no longer available to purchase from the Apple store, you can sometimes find the original AirPods Pro on sale at third-party retailers.
The AirPods Pro were the first AirPods to include active noise-canceling technology to keep outside distractions away from your music, which is excellent for those noisy commutes or keeping your concentration going at work. The AirPods Pro are also water and sweat resistant, making them much better suited to the gym than the standard AirPods, and they come with multiple tips so you can adjust to the best fit for you.
- Check out AirPods Pro deals direct from Apple
The best AirPods Max deals
Apple quietly released the AirPods Max in December of 2020 as Apple's most expensive headphones with a starting price of $549.99 / £549.
The AirPods Max not only stand out because of their price, but the Apple headphones also feature an over-ear design, which is a first from the AirPods line. Apple claims the AirPods Max bring the magic of AirPods to an over-the-ear design, which means you're getting Active Noise Cancellation, powerful H1 Chips, and an enhanced audio experience.
The AirPods Max also feature a unique design with a breathable knit mesh headband and a stainless steel frame with memory foam earcups for ultimate comfort. The Apple headphones come in several sleek color choices, such as space gray, silver, sky blue, green, and pink, and provide up to 20 hours of battery life.
- Check out AirPods Max deals direct from Apple
How much are AirPods?
The official AirPods' price is $159 in the US and £159 in the UK and $249 in Australia. So you shouldn't pay any more. Although, we have seen some stores cheekily push the price up when stock thins out. If you're looking for the version with the wireless charging case, then prices shoot up to around $199 in the US and £199 in the UK.
Expect the usual outlets to charge closer to the MSRP and, better yet, potentially dip below it around the key shopping seasons. Fingers crossed we don't have to wait long for some proper Apple AirPod sales though!
As an alternative, there are lots of wireless earphone and headphone deals in our Beats headphone deals page and other brands are covered in our wireless headphone deals page.
What about the original 2016 Apple AirPods?
These models have been discontinued and phased out at most stores now. On the rare occasions that we do spot unused stock units, they're actually the same price as the new and improved 2019 versions.
Short version: get the 2019 models instead via one of the deals in the comparison chart above. To be sure they are the new ones, look out for H1 chip and hands-free Siri functionality in the description if the title doesn't say something along the lines of '2019' or 'latest/newest version'.
Should I wait for a cheaper AirPods deal?
You might be waiting a while for seriously big discounts. Last year around Black Friday, we were seeing $20 discounts selling out in minutes, and it was one of the most popular deals we highlighted in our extensive roundups of the hottest offers. We saw similar discounts in the UK too - much better than last year's $7 discount but still no flash sales around right now.
Things have actually been better overall this year though with much better deals available in various regions. We're regularly seeing discounts of $15/£20 outside of peak seasonal discounts, so you should be able to beat the recommended asking price to be honest.
- Apple fan in general? Then take a look at the latest iPad deals and the best Apple AirTag prices and sales.
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Mackenzie Frazier is the deals editor in the US for TechRadar at Future plc. She's been sharing deal advice for Future for the past six years and loves finding products that consumers want at the best possible price. She's had 11 years of experience working in e-commerce and loves being a mom to her two little boys.