Best Earphones Under Rs.500 (October 2020)

All the earphones on our list sound incredibly good for the price and most of them come with decent build quality as well.

Here are the fourteen best earphones under Rs.500 which are worth buying in India which offers the best audio experience.

Best Earphones Under Rs.500 (In-Ear)

Note: The price shown are the once when we reviewed the products. However, as the promotional offers changes on the given E-commerce sites, the price may vary. Bettershark is supported by it's readers and when you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Realme is one of the leading smartphone brands in the country offering smartphones as well as smartphone accessories such as earphones and earbuds.

The Realme Earbuds is the entry-level wired earphone offering from the company, priced just under Rs.500.

Design and Build Quality

The Realme Buds is one of the earphones with one of the best build quality, if not the best under the Rs.500 price category.

Made from a combination of metal and plastic, the Realme buds offer exceptional fit and finish.

Since the earpiece is magnetic, you can attach both after listening, helping in better cable management.

The cable too is braided for the bottom part and can withstand minor abuses with no trouble. The rubber section of the cable is thick enough to feel secure and durable as well.

The earpiece stem has a 45-degree angle for better fit and sound isolation.

Speakers and Sound Quality

The Realme buds feature an 11mm speaker driver inside, which is bigger than most others in this price point.

The sound signature is more bass-oriented, with decent mids and clean highs.

The stage separation is not that great but you can still hear vocals and treble without any overlap for the most part.

The secure fit of the earpiece inside the ears ensures good sound sealing.

Miscellaneous

The inline remote has three buttons including dedicated volume controls. The buttons themselves are a tad bit hard initially, but over time it feels quite ok.

The inline mic performs reasonably well with voice calls. There are no noticeable sound distortions on both sides.

Verdict

If build quality and durability is your priority along with decent sound output, Realme buds offer the same without any compromise.

boAt is a popular Indian consumer electronics marketing company specialized in products such as earphones, headphones and Bluetooth speakers.

The boAt bassheads 152 is one of the latest earphones in the company’s basshead series catering people looking for the best sounding budget in-ear style earphone.

Design and Build Quality

The boAt bassheads 152 has a unique design which makes it stand out from the rest of the competition.

The angled earpiece housing is made of metal and feels very durable and strong. It fits inside the ear canal comfortably without slipping off the ears.

The braided cable section is tough and can withstand a few minor abuses without posing damage to the earphone.

Speakers and Sound Quality

The boAt bassheads 152 comes with a 10mm sound driver with minimal impedance for the best possible sound output.

As the name suggests, this driver has been tuned for maximum bass output and it delivers on that front.

The deep bass is very clean and blends well with the mid and high pitched tones in the music.

In-line remote and Microphone

This in-ear style budget earphone features a single-button inline remote and a mic for seamless voice calling experience.

The voice call quality from this microphone is one of the best in this class.

Verdict

If you are on a shoestring budget and require a wired earphone with rich bass sound output, the boAt bassheads 152 is one of the best choices in the market.

Philips releases a plethora of budget in-ear earphones in India which combines excellent build quality and decent sound quality under an affordable price range.

The Philips IN-SHE1515BK/94 is one such earphone that is popular among budget-conscious buyers looking for a reliable earphone from a reputed company, priced under Rs.500.

Design and Build Quality

The Philips IN-SHE1515BK/94 has a minimal yet elegant design that looks posh and premium, despite its plastic build.

The black and metallic silver paint job masks the average build quality of this device to an extent that you won’t notice it much.

The soft silicone tip and the earpiece tube fits snug inside the ear canal and offers a sort of passive noise cancellation effect. The only major downside of this earphone is that the 3.5mm jack is neither gold plated nor angled.

Speakers and Sound Quality

The Philips IN-SHE1515BK/94 features smaller 8.6mm speakers, compared to most of its competitors in this price segment.

The drivers, though small, deliver decent quality sound output with perfectly natural bass and equally audible mids and highs. If you are the kind of guy who loves listening to vocals and light music, this earphone will suit you the most.

The frequency response range between 10-20,000 Hz in a paper should equate to deep bass, but with this earphone, you shouldn’t expect anything spectacular.

Maybe the non-gold plated jack dampens the signals, thereby reducing the effect of low pitch sounds in the final output.

In-line Microphone and Voice Quality

This in-ear style earphone comes equipped with an in-line remote which has a single button to accept/reject incoming voice calls.

The quality of the remote is in conjunction with the overall build quality of this earphone, which is just OK for the price.

The microphone inside picks up voices quite well, and there is no sound distortion on the other end of the call.

Verdict

If you would love to spend your hard-earned money on an earphone from a reliable brand, the Philips IN-SHE1515BK/94 might be a good choice.

Perfect for listening to vocals and light music, this earphone offers clean and crisp mids and highs that will satiate the true music lover in you.

Redmi, the popular budget arm of Xiaomi has launched its first wired earphone in India for an affordable price tag of Rs.399.

The Redmi earphone is an in-ear style wired earphone with a lightweight form factor and ergonomic comfort fit design.

Design and Build Quality

The budget entry-level Redmi earphone features a plastic-aluminium mix earpiece.

Even though the end cap of this earpiece is made from metal, it isn’t magnetic.

The earpiece stem is designed to be straight and without any angle.

There is a wax prevention coating on the earpiece to keep the speaker pores always clean.

The connecting wire on this in-ear wired earphone isn’t a braided one but feels decent enough in terms of durability.

The headphone connector is 90-degrees angled and has a reinforced wire to tip construction. This connector is gold plated to ensure a minimal signal loss.

Speakers and Sound Quality

The Redmi in-ear style wired earphone features a 10mm speaker driver with the relatively good sound quality for its price.

The bass levels are decent, the vocals turn out to be clear and well separated from the high-end treble notes.

This earphone is hi-res audio certified by the competent Japanese authority and perhaps the only wired earphone under Rs.500 to come with one.

Hi-res audio certification makes sure that the sound signature from this earphone is tested and found out to match the expectations of an expert panel.

Even when the music is played at higher volume levels, there is no sound distortion whatsoever.

Be it EDMs, movies or vocals, the Redmi earphone delivers pleasing sound output for its asking price of just Rs.399.

Inline remote and microphone

The Redmi in-ear wired earphone comes with a single button remote and an integrated microphone.

The single-button remote serves for multiple functions such as play/pause music, accept/reject calls and for skipping the tracks forward and backwards.

The built-in microphone is of decent quality and there is no trouble with hands-free voice calls.

Even when this earphone is used for voice calls outdoors, the sound on both the ends seemed to be adequately audible.

Verdict

The Redmi earphone is launched as a replacement for Xiaomi’s popular Mi basic earphones.

With hi-res certified audio playback and decent build quality, this wired in-ear earphone is worth considering for a budget under Rs.500.

Realme recently launched their Classic semi-in ear style wired earphone in the Indian market with a price tag of Rs.399.

Is this earphone worth the asking price or should you skip purchasing it for some other earphones? Let’s take a deep look and come to a conclusion.

Design and Build Quality

The Realme Classic semi in-ear styled earphone is made completely from plastic material and thanks to this, it is extremely lightweight.

With the total earphone including the cable weighing just 14g, you won’t even notice that this device is in your ears.

The connecting cable is not braided but has a lined texture and feels quite durable.

Realme has also included a cable organiser with this earphone that can be used to wrap around the cable after use, thereby eliminating the chance of tangling.

The Realme Classic earphone has a straight 3.5mm headphone connector, which isn’t gold-plated.

Speaker and Sound Quality

The Realme Classic features a large 14.2mm speaker driver to ensure the best possible sound quality in this price segment.

As expected, the sound output is very loud and clear, even at maximum volume levels.

Surprisingly, the bass levels turn out to be quite deep and clean and the overall sound signature has decent stage separation.

In-line Remote and Microphone

The Realme Classic wired earphone comes with a single button remote and integrated microphone for hands-free voice calls.

Clicking the multi-function button on the remote once will play/pause the song or accept/reject the calls. Double-tapping the button will skip the forward, press and hold will trigger the Google voice assistant on your Android smartphone.

Speaking of the microphone, the voice quality on either end of the call is decent when used both indoors as well as outdoors.

Miscellaneous

This is a semi in-ear type wired earphone. This design may not be the best for you if you have smaller ears.

But for someone who prefers to have an ear-monitor type of device, this wired earphone from Realme is a perfect choice.

Verdict

The Realme Classic semi in-ear wired earphone is a surprisingly good sounding budget earphone with an inbuilt mic that houses an HD microphone.

Considering the build and the audio quality, the Realme Classic is worth the asking price of just Rs.399.

JBL C50 HI is the company’s latest budget-oriented in-ear style earphones released in the Indian market for a budget under Rs.500.

JBL promises the signature custom-tuned drivers will let you enjoy immersive music, no matter the genre you’re interested in.

Design and Build Quality

Speaking of the design, the JBL C50HI comes with the standard shape and size that all in-ear headphones in this price range come with.

The construction of the earpiece shell is made of plastic, which makes this earphone one of the lightest in its segment.

Unfortunately, the 1.2m cable is not tangle-free and feels fragile. In the end, there is an angled 3.5mm headphone jack, which again lacks gold coating for obvious pricing reasons.

Speakers and Sound Quality

JBL is critically acclaimed for its signature bass-rich sound profile. The JBL C50HI features an 8.6mm custom-tuned driver from JBL for improved acoustic performance.

The bass levels, as expected, are on a par with its competitors. The mid and highs are clean and audible even at higher volume levels.

If you crank the volume way too high, some distortions do occur but, under normal listening conditions, it doesn’t count.

In-ear microphone and Calls

The JBL C50HI comes with a single button in-line remote with a microphone for answering calls on the go.

The single button can be pressed once to accept/reject the calls, twice to skip the track forwards and thrice to skip the track backwards.

The microphone comes with noise cancellation and the output quality of sound during calls is quite good for the price.

Verdict

If you’re a fan of JBL brand and require a budget in-ear wired earphones, the JBL C50HI perfectly suits your need for just under Rs.500.

Boult Audio is a marketing company just like the boAt which recently started to offer budget-priced audio related products in the Indian market.

The Boult Audio bass bud Loop is one of the cheapest in-ear style earphones with decent sound output quality.

Design and Build Quality

The Boult Audio Bassbuds Loop comes with a unique single tone colour scheme that looks refreshing and attractive.

Even though the construction is of plastic, the overall earphone feels durable in hand.

The 1.2m cable is sufficiently thick but not a braided one nor is tangle resistant.

The straight 3.5mm headphone jack is gold plated for minimal signal loss, thereby improving the sound output through the speakers.

The earpiece also comes with an additional ear hook to keep the speakers inside the ear even during fast workout sessions or jogging.

The IPX5 water and sweat resistance along with the kevlar reinforced cable make this an all-weather usage friendly earphone.

Speakers and Sound Quality

The Boult Audio bass buds Loop feature 12mm aluminium drivers with minimal impedance for delivering high-quality sound output.

Covering the entire audible frequency spectrum, this earphone offers rich and deep bass sound output without overpowering the mid and high-end tones.

Overall the quality of the sound output from the speakers is very pleasing to the ears.

In-line remote and Microphone

The single multi-function button in-line remote on this wired earphone lets you take or end voice calls and skip tracks with ease.

The voice call quality is decent with the integrated microphone, even when used amidst noisy background.

Verdict

The Boult Audio bass buds Loop offers excellent sound output under a reasonable price range.

This in-ear earphone is suited for use during your workout sessions to enjoy music on the go.

Muve Acoustics is an Indian company marketing audio accessories under the affordable budget segment.

The Drive in-ear style earphone from Muve Acoustics offers immersive music listening experience under the price bracket of just Rs.500.

Design and Build Quality

As expected from a budget earphone, the MuveAcoustics drive is made from plastic. However, the construction doesn’t feel too shabby, to be honest.

The 1.2m flat style cable is flat and tangle-free and offers decent durability. The 90-degree earphone jack is very convenient if you are one of those guys who keep the phone always inside the pocket while listening to music.

This 90-degrees inclination reduces the stress on the input jack and decreases the chance of damage.

Speakers and Sound Quality

The MuveAcoustics Drive earphone has 8mm drivers inside which delivers tonally balanced sound output, apt for listening to all genres of music.

Equal emphasis on bass and treble results in a pleasant listening experience without any artificiality in the music notes.

There is no distortion in the sound output even at higher volume levels.

Miscellaneous

The soft silicone ear tips help the earphones fit snug inside the ear canal.

This tight fit also ensures excellent passive noise cancellation, offering a peaceful music listening session, even in the middle of a noisy crowd.

The inline remote has dedicated volume control buttons, which is a rarity these days.

The inline microphone performs decently with trouble-free voice clarity during hands-free calls.

Verdict

The Muveacoustics Drive is a feature-rich in-ear style earphone with the decent build quality and good sound output for the asking price.

If you want an earphone for general purpose audio listening, this one fits the bill perfectly.

Infinity is a sub-brand of Harman, a popular American company which is famed for its audio and visual products.

The Infinity Zip 100 is a budget-oriented in-ear style earphone with an added emphasis on bass, priced under Rs.500.

Design and Build Quality

First things first, the build quality of this in-ear style earphone isn’t impressive. The earpiece casing is made from plastic, which is lightweight but feels cheap inside the ears.

The 1.2m wire is flat and tangle-free but feels fragile. The silicone ear tips are comfortable and fit inside the ear canal perfectly.

The 3.5mm jack is gold plated to ensure excellent signal transmission without any losses.

Overall, the build quality on this product is borderline decent, to say the least.

Speakers and Sound Quality

This is where the Infinity Zip 100 shines. The sound profile of this earphone is excellent with punchy bass and clean vocals.

The high-end notes perfectly complement the mid and low-end tones, delivering you one of the best sound output in the sub. Rs.500 price point.

The 9mm drivers inside output deep bass, which is best suited for listening to EDMs and rock music.

If you like that extra punch of bass in your music, this is it.

Miscellaneous

The Infinity Zip 100 features a one-button inline remote with integrated microphone for hands-free voice calls.

This earphone supports Google assistant integration, activated on a triple press.

The slightly angled connector avoids the stress on the headphone jack when you are listening to music with the smartphone stuffed inside your pocket.

Verdict

The Infinity Zip 100 is an affordable in-ear style earphone delivering bass-heavy sound output.

If you’re ok with the average build quality, this earphone won’t disappoint you in terms of its sound output.

Artis is a Mumbai based IT peripherals marketing company which deals with a whole array of budget-friendly products ranging from Bluetooth speakers to power banks.

The Artis E400M is a popular in-ear style earphone priced under Rs.500 which offers excellent audio and commendable build quality.

Design and Build Quality

Made of high-quality ABS plastic, the outer casing of this earphone has a glossy finish that adds to the overall aesthetic appeal.

The two-tone black and red colour combination blends well with the design and makes it look like a premium product when worn in your ears.

The ergonomic tube design along with the soft silicone ear tips makes wearing this device, a comfortable and rewarding experience.

Speaking of the cable, the Artis E400M features a comparatively long 1.5m braided double-layered cable that can withstand abuses like a champ.

Speakers and Sound Quality

The Artis E400M, although a relatively unknown brand, stacks upright against the established players in the market.

This in-ear wired earphone has large 15mm speaker drivers which deliver exceptional sound clarity and dynamic stereo output consistently across various genres of music.

With the frequency response range covering the spectrum anywhere between 20-20,000 Hz, every bit of detail in your favourite music is captured and reproduced gracefully.

For you bass lovers, the large drivers and the snug fit inside the ears provides a treat, when it comes to listening to EDMs and hip hop music.

The mids and highs are clear and clean, allowing you to enjoy vocals and light music in its entirety.

In-line Microphone and Voice Calls

The Artis E400M comes equipped with a decent quality in-line remote and a microphone which allows you to make voice calls on the go without much hassle.

The microphone captures sound pretty well even when you’re speaking in the middle of a crowd. The quality of voice on the receiver’s end is all good and clean, and downright OK for the price.

Since the length of the cable is longer, the remote tends to tangle too much and cause slight discomfort while attending calls on a ride.

Verdict

If you’re in search of a good quality in-ear earphone with the top of the line sound and build quality for a budget under Rs.500, we’d like to suggest you try out the Artis E400M.

Equipped with large 15mm drivers which deliver excellent sound quality, no matter what genre of music you’re into, this is one of the best in the business.

Gionee is a Chinese brand which once had a strong presence in the Indian smartphone market but faded into oblivion with the arrival of brands such as Xiaomi and Oppo.

The Gionee EP1 is one of the cheapest wired earphones available in the Indian market, priced at Rs.260.

Design and Build Quality

The Gionee EP1 is made from lightweight aluminium and plastic materials which don’t feel too cheap, to begin with.

The in-ear style earphone sits flush inside the ear canal and offers an immersive audio listening experience.

The one-button inline remote has a built-in microphone for hands-free voice calls.

The ergonomic lightweight design is very comfortable for long term listening without ear fatigue.

Speakers and Sound Quality

The Gionee EP1 features an 8mm speaker driver which delivers good quality sound output for the asking price.

This bass is on point but not too heavy for the liking of bassheads. The vocals and treble notes have decent enough stage separation for them to be distinct and clear.

The aluminium earpiece casing creates a sound chamber which further amplifies the sound output.

Miscellaneous

The Gionee EP1 is compatible with both Android and iOS devices.

Gionee provides a six months warranty on this earphone as well in case something goes wrong in between.

Verdict

The Gionee EP1 is one of the cheapest branded wired earphones you can get your hands on.

With a decent sound and robust build quality, the EP1 from Gionee is well worth the asking price of Rs.260.

Honor is a subsidiary company of Huawei dealing with affordable consumer electronics products such as smartphones.

The AM115 is a dirt-cheap wired earphone from Honor which surprisingly sounds excellent for the price of just Rs.399.

Design and Build Quality

The Honor AM115 is a canalphone and not an in-ear wired earphone.

This means the earpiece of this wired earphone rests just outside the ear canal, like that of earlier wired Apple earphones.

While this raises questions of a snug fit for those with larger or smaller ears, there is an added advantage of minimal ear fatigue.

The quality of the plastics used is top-notch and doesn’t feel cheap at all. The glossy paint job on top of the earpieces makes this earphone look premium and stylish.

The 3.5mm pin is straight and not gold-coated. You must take special care if you are the kind of person who carelessly throws away the phone in your pocket with earphones plugged in.

Speakers and Sound Quality

The 8mm drivers inside this wired earphone are undoubtedly one of the best sounding speakers in this price segment.

The bass notes feel natural without being too much overlapping into the vocals nor the high-end treble notes.

The mid-range is clean and crisp, accentuated with the not too shrill high pitch tones.

Overall, the sound output quality from this wired earphone is very much tonally balanced and pleasing to the ears.

Miscellaneous

The three buttons remote with the integrated microphone is beautifully designed to match the rest of the design language.

These buttons are very tactile and responsive. The inline mic sounds very clean indoors and quite decent outdoors when used around areas with a lot of ambient background noise.

Verdict

The Honor AM115 is a very capable canalphone with excellent wearing comfort and good tonally balanced sound output.

If you are looking for a wired earphone that doesn’t cause ear fatigue, this one is the best choice.

The boAt brand has been very popular among the Indian youth owing to their budget audio accessories with excellent sound quality.

The Bassheads series from boAt as the name suggests targets people who like that extra thumping bass notes in the music output.

The bassheads 103 is one of the best sellers in the sub.Rs 500 wired earphone category which comes packed with features well worth the asking price.

Design and Build Quality

Made entirely from plastic, boAt 103 doesn’t feel cheap at all. The quality of plastics used here is of good quality and without any weak spots.

The earpiece casing has a leathery finish exterior that looks premium and unique.

The slightly angled earpiece with comfortable silicone ear tips makes in for a decent passive noise cancellation effect.

The 3.5mm jack is angled and is gold plated to ensure a minimal signal loss.

Speakers and Sound Quality

The boAt bassheads 103 features a 10mm speaker driver which delivers a sound output with an emphasis on bass.

The bass notes are rich and deep, without any distortions for the most part. The mid-range tones and the high-end notes are audible with decent stage separation as well.

Listening to EDMs and other bass-heavy music is where you will appreciate the performance of this budget wired earphone.

The inline microphone is of decent quality and picks up the voice very well, even outdoors.

The overall call quality is quite okay, without any major issues.

Miscellaneous

The inline remote of the boAt 103 has only a single multifunction button. We’d have liked to see a three-button remote with more dedicated controls.

This wired earphone under Rs.500 is available in three different colours to choose from – black, red and blue.

boAt provides a one year warranty on this earphone from the date of purchase.

Verdict

If you love bass and is on a tight budget, the boAt 103 wired earphone is a great buy for just Rs.399.

The sound quality from this earphone is on par when compared to the likes of Mi basic earphone.

Audio-Technica is a Japanese company who is one of the most sought-after brands when it comes to audio equipment such as professional headphones and earphones.

The Audio-Technica ATH-CLR100BK, their offering under Rs.500 is one of the top earphones at this price thanks to the detailed sound clarity it offers.

Design and Build Quality

The ear pods on this earphone are designed to stand out from the rest of the competitors in the market.

It is very sleek and stylish, providing a premium feel even though with an all-plastic build.

The quality of wires though is mediocre and feels very flimsy.

Speakers and Sound Quality

High Acoustic Resolution technology ensures the sound output from this neat little piece of hardware is refined and up to the mark.

These in-ear earphones come with an 8.5mm driver that delivers great clarity audio with a well-balanced punch.

The mids and highs are distinct thanks to the frequency response that ranges between 20 Hz – 25,000 Hz.

Miscellaneous

Weighing only about 3.4g, this earphone is very lightweight and comfortable to wear.

The silicone ear-tips are very soft and fit snug inside the ear canals preventing any possible sound leak to the outside.

The company has included a cord-wrap in the box so that after listening to the music, the wires can be kept securely without getting tangled.

Verdict

Audio Technica earphones deliver the best sound clarity among this bunch. The lows, mids and highs are perfectly balanced when it comes out of the drivers.

If you are the one who likes to listen to a lot of vocals, this might be a good investment.

That sums up our list of the fourteen best earphones under Rs.500 available for purchase in India right now. We have put together some of the incredible value for money earphones here.

We hope that we have helped you pick the right product. If you can extend your budget, do check out our best picks under Rs.2,000 and Rs.1,000 here as well.

If you have any suggestions or queries, let us know in the comments section below. As always thank you for visiting our website and have a great day!

Some other articles you may love to read:

• Best Truly Wireless Earbuds In India
• Best Wired Earphones Under Rs.4000
• Best Wireless Headphones In India