Cleer Arc 3: Cleer’s Arc 2 earbuds were among the best-sounding open wireless earbuds with an ear-hook design. The newer Arc 3 buds are still near the top for sound but other companies like Shokz and Bose have caught up and arguably sound slightly better. But the Cleer Arc 3 buds have something that other buds of this ilk don’t have: a touchscreen LCD built into its charging case. It allows you to control playback and access the buds’ features, including EQ settings and even use the case as a remote to snap a photo on your smartphone. As they’ve been on the market for a while and Cleer has released the newer Clear Arc 4 Plus without a smart case, the Arc 3 are being discounted.

Anker Soundcore AeroClip: The Soundcore by AeroClip are Anker’s current flagship clip-on earbuds. Not only do I like their design — they have a premium look and feel — but they’re comfortable to wear and feature very good sound for clip-on buds. Equipped with 12mm drivers, they serve up ample bass with good volume and decent clarity. The buds sound fuller and more open than many cheaper clip-on buds and are among the better-sounding open earbuds I’ve tried (Android users should note that they have support for Sony’s high-quality LDAC audio codec). I also thought they worked well for making calls. For the most part, callers said they could hear me clearly — even in noisier environments like the streets of New York City (Anker says they have four beamforming mics, wind-blocking meshes and advanced AI). Battery life is rated at up to 8 hours at moderate volume levels, and the buds are IPX4 sweat- and water-resistant (they’re splash-proof). Wile they’re list price is somewhat high, they are currently being discounted, which makes them a decent value.

Baseus Bowie MC1: Baseus is known for its value earbuds, power banks and charging products. While its Bowie MC1 ($43) aren’t in the same league as Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds, they cost around a sixth of the price and sound pretty decent for this style of of clip-on earbuds, particularly with less demanding tracks that don’t feature heavy bass and a lot of instruments playing at the same time. note that the newer MC1 Pro feature improved sound and don’t cost much more.

Edifier LolliClip: Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds may be the best-sounding and most comfortable clip-on earbuds. But they list for $300. In contrast, Edifier’s new LolliClip buds cost $130 and their sound is pretty close to what you get with the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds — and they’re almost as comfortable to wear while fitting my ears securely. They also have some features the Bose buds don’t have, including active noise canceling (it’s not all that effective but you do sense it muffling some noise in the lower frequencies), a heart-rate monitor, blood oxygen sensor and spatial audio with head-tracking. There’s also a low-latency mode for gaming and support the LDAC audio codec for Android users.

Sony LinkBuds Open: While the LinkBuds Open retain the ring-shaped open driver of the original LinkBuds, it’s slightly smaller than the original’s driver (11mm versus 12mm). Also, the Air Fitting Supporters are an improvement over the original’s Arc Supporters, which were quite slim and didn’t conform to the shape of your ear as well as these new supporters do. The combination of the slightly smaller driver design and the new supporters should allow the buds to fit more ears more comfortably and securely. However, those with smaller ears may have some issues with them.

Amazon Echo Buds: Amazon’s 2023 Echo Buds impressed me in a few ways that I wasn’t expecting. For starters, they sound good for inexpensive open earbuds, delivering decent clarity and ample bass. But they also have a robust feature set, including multipoint Bluetooth pairing, hands-free Alexa and ear-detection sensors that pause your audio when you take one or both buds out of your ears. Their sound falls short of that of Apple’s AirPods 4, which deliver better bass performance and overall fuller, cleaner sound (they’re better at handling more complicated music tracks with a lot of instruments playing at the same time). But the AirPods 4, even the entry-level model ($129), cost significantly more.

Beyerdynamic Amiron 200: Beyerdynamic is known for its sound quality, so it’s not surprising the Verio 200, its first open earbuds with ear hooks, deliver top-notch sound with nice depth and richness. They have very good clarity and bass performance for this type of open earbuds and match the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds and Shokz OpenFit 2 for sound quality, and they may sound slightly better than those models depending on the fit you get. Unfortunately, how they fit your ears is the one big caveat about these buds. While they fit my ears comfortably and securely, they bent the top of my ears back a little so I looked a little funny wearing them. That said, they fit my wife’s smaller ears perfectly.

1More Fit SE S30: 1More makes a few open sports earbuds with ear hooks, including the newer Fit SE S31 ($50). The Fit S50 ($100) feature a little better sound than the Fit SE S30, have a more premium design and are fully waterproof (IPX7 rating). But I like the fit a little better on the step-down S30, which is IPX5 splashproof (it can sustain a spray of water) and costs less than $40, making it a better value.

Soundcore by Anker AeroFit Pro: The AeroFit Pro are among the better open-ear “air conduction” earbuds, with a premium look and feel, and are comfortable to wear. (I had no problem keeping them on my ears while running or working out.) On the downside, they’re expensive, but they do feature strong audio quality for these types of earbuds, with ample bass and volume, plus decent clarity. They’re good for making calls (they do a pretty good job reducing background noise reduction) and also offer strong battery life of up to 14 hours at moderate volume levels.

Sony Link Buds: The LinkBuds are, in a sense, Sony’s answer to Apple’s standard AirPods. While they don’t sound as good as Sony’s flagship WF-1000XM5 noise-isolating earbuds, they offer a discreet, innovative design and a more secure fit than the AirPods, as well as good sound and very good voice-calling performance.

Cleer Audio Arc 2 Sport: Cleer’s original Arc earbuds were solid sport earbuds that featured decent sound for open-style buds that sit on top of your ears and fire sound into them. This new-for-2023 model steps up the sound quality and offers additional refinements and feature upgrades, including a new “enhanced” charging case with UV sterilization and multipoint Bluetooth connectivity (Bluetooth 5.3), all of which makes for a significantly improved product.

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live: Samsung’s bean-shaped earbuds were a hit when they came out in 2020, but they’ve become outdated. Like the standard AirPods, they have an open design, so you don’t jam an ear tip into your ear. They’re comfortable to wear and fit my ears more securely than the AirPods. These wireless buds are discreet and basically sit flush with your ear, which reduces wind-noise while biking. I regularly use them for running and biking, and they’re great for sporting activities if they fit your ears well. But one warning: Some people won’t get a secure fit, so buy them from a retailer that has a good return policy.