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Best headphones for under $25

Looking for a pair of dirt-cheap headphones that sound decent for the money? Here are CNET's current top bargain picks.

David Carnoy Executive Editor / Reviews
Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks.
Expertise Mobile accessories and portable audio, including headphones, earbuds and speakers Credentials
  • Maggie Award for Best Regularly Featured Web Column/Consumer
David Carnoy
Just a few of the headphones that you can buy for less than $25 (click image to enlarge). Sarah Tew/CNET

Some people just don't want to spend a lot of money on headphones, and I don't blame them.

But can you get a decent pair of headphones on a very tight budget?

Sure. And you can even find some models that deliver fairly impressive sound for less than $10.

Click on any image to see our picks.

Best headphones for under $25 (pictures)

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Earlier I put together a list of headphones that cost less than $50. While that list included some models that you could pick up for less than $25, the ones I've rounded up here all come in under $25 -- and even a few under $10. However, most of the models in this price range are limited to in-ear and on-ear models, not the larger over-the-ear or wireless Bluetooth headphones.

In the past few months we've been reviewing more budget headphones in an effort to unearth some gems for bargain hunters. But we've most likely missed some great deals, so feel free to offer up your own nominations in the comments section below and we'll do our best to check them out and possibly add them to this list going forward.