Music can make a long workout feel shorter and help you find your rhythm, especially if you’re running or cycling, but taking your playlist into the pool has traditionally been tricky. Now, waterproof headphones are making it easier to listen while you swim, with models designed to stay put and keep working underwater.
I swim a couple of times a week, both indoors and outdoors, so I know how much of a difference having something to listen to can make. Music or a good podcast helps me find my rhythm on longer swims and gives me something to focus on when motivation starts to dip.
Swimming headphones now come in a range of styles, from bone-conduction designs that sit outside the ear to in-ear options with watertight seals. Comfort varies, especially when goggles and a swimming cap are competing for space.
With prices ranging from under £30 to more than £150, choosing the right pair can be tricky. I tested a range of waterproof headphones for sound, comfort and performance in the water.
Read more: Best noise-cancelling headphones, tried and tested
The best waterproof headphones for 2026 are:
- Best overall – Shokz openswim pro: £199, Shokz.com
- Best for battery life – Nank runner diver2 pro swimming headphones: £147.09, Amazon.co.uk
- Best for a secure fit – H2O Audio sonar 2 pro waterproof bone conduction headphones: £111.92, Amazon.co.uk
- Best for voice control – Creative outlier free pro wireless open-ear headphones: £79.99, Amazon.co.uk
Read more: Best swimming goggles, reviewed
Shokz openswim pro
Best: waterproof headphones overall
Why we love it
- Excellent sound quality
- Voice controls
- Lightweight
- Built-in mic for calls
Take note
- Only two colour options
- Expensive
These bone-conduction headphones sit just outside the ear and transmit sound through your cheekbones, leaving your ears open. Shokz puts a big emphasis on sound quality, which is usually where headphones struggle underwater, but here it holds up impressively well. With earplugs in, audio came through clearly during longer swims, with enough depth to the sound to keep music engaging rather than flat. The buttons are large and easy to use with wet hands, and 32GB of internal storage means fewer compromises when uploading playlists.
The Pro upgrade means there’s Bluetooth alongside MP3 storage, which makes them far more versatile. I could use them in the pool and then straight after on a run. I also tested the internal mic when a work call came in while I was running, and they held up well.
I loved that they feel incredibly lightweight and sit neatly under a swim cap, to the point I often forgot I was wearing them. While they are the most expensive headphones I tested, the quality shines through in terms of audio and comfort, making them well worth the investment.
Key specifications
Buy now £199, Shokz.com
Nank runner diver2 pro swimming headphones
Best: waterproof headphones for battery life
Why we love it
- Easy to switch between Bluetooth and MP3 mode
- Can be used in-ear or over-ear
- Suitable for scuba diving
- Noise cancelling
Take note
- No head strap adjustment
- Small buttons are hard to press when wet
If swimming is just one of many ways you like to keep fit, you may prefer headphones that enable you to switch between playing stored songs and streaming songs or podcasts. Nank has made just the pair of headphones for the job in the form of the runner diver2 pro, which has both Bluetooth connectivity and MP3 storage. While they’re quite expensive, they have the highest waterproof rating of all the headphones we tested and are salt-water-proof, so you could snorkel or scuba dive in them. They also have excellent battery life, offering 10 hours of playback on a single charge.
At first glance, they’re very similar to the Shoxz openswim headphones, with a thin black headband and bone conduction pads, but they offer extra flexibility as the ear buds swivel round, giving you the option to wear them over-ear in the water and in-ear on dry land. The in-ear mode offers fantastic noise cancelling, which is a joy for cycling or gym workouts.
For swimming, they come with two silicone earplugs, which I’d recommend using, as these enhance the playback through the bone, making songs sound clearer and louder. The only downside is that there’s no way of adjusting the headband, so those with a smaller head may find they drag a bit in the water, unless they’re locked in place with a swimming cap.
Key specifications
Buy now £147.09, Amazon.co.uk
H2O Audio sonar 2 pro waterproof bone conduction headphones
Best: waterproof headphones for a secure fit
Why we love it
- Stay in place well
- Decent sound quality
- Streamline design
Take note
- No Bluetooth
- Plastic design feels stiff
These are quite different from most swimming headphones, as they clip directly onto your goggle straps rather than sitting on a headband. It’s a simple idea but it completely changes how they feel in the water.
When I tested them, that setup made these headphones feel incredibly secure. Once clipped on, they didn’t shift during turns or push-offs, and I didn’t get that slight movement you sometimes notice with wraparound designs. The sonar 2 pro also sit very close to the head, which makes them feel more streamlined and less bulky overall.
Sound quality held up well for bone conduction, especially with earplugs in, and stayed consistent during longer swims.
The downside is that they’re very swim-specific. Compared with the Shokz openswim pro, I wouldn’t use the sonar 2 pro outside the pool, as they really rely on being attached to goggles to work properly. Paying more than £100 for headphones that I’d only use for a few hours each week feels steep, but keen swimmers may feel it’s worth the splurge for a secure fit.
Key specifications
Buy now £108.96, Amazon.co.uk
Creative outlier free pro wireless open-ear headphones
Best: voice control enabled waterproof headphones
Why we love it
- Decent battery life
- Comfortable ear hooks
- Multi-point Bluetooth connection
- Voice control mode
Take note
- Only 8GB storage
- No head strap adjustment
These open-ear headphones are a solid choice for triathletes or anyone who enjoys a mix of pool, run and cycle sessions. The distinctive ear hook design sits comfortably without needing a head strap, and the multi-point Bluetooth lets you connect to several devices at once, which is perfect if you want to share a playlist with a workout partner. There's 8GB of internal storage for downloaded audio, plus a built-in mic for taking calls.
Switching between pool and dry-land training is seamless. You can control your music hands-free, using voice assistants such as Alexa or Siri, which I found very useful. Like most swimming headphones, they have small buttons positioned near the ear to skip or rewind tracks, which I did use underwater, but I liked being able to stop between swimming sets and tell my headphones what to play next.
However, with only 8GB of storage, I had fewer tracks to choose from compared with the Nank runner diver 2 pro and the Shokz openswim pro, which have 32GB of storage. A solution was to remove songs and load them with new ones but I found that quite time-consuming.
Key specifications
Buy now £85.61, Amazon.co.uk
H2O Audio Store tri 2 pro bone conduction headphones
Best: waterproof headphones for triathletes
Why we love it
- Easy to connect to a smart watch
- H2O Audio app simplifies audio-loading
- Soft silicone
Take note
- Short battery life
- Only 8GB storage
These have a premium price point of more than £150, but they do offer a huge plus for audiophiles: you can download any kind of audio onto these. This includes downloads of your favourite podcast, which is useful for super-long training sessions. I also liked that the silicone used in the strap feels softer than that used in some other headphones, giving this design an edge in terms of comfort.
Controls on the side of each ear piece are generously sized, so it’s easy to turn up the volume mid session when a good tune comes on. Battery life is an impressive nine hours, which is likely to appeal to triathletes.
If you’re running, you don’t even need to take a phone with you. These headphones can connect via Bluetooth to a smart watch, so I was able to play music and podcasts on Spotify via my watch. If they had more than 8GB memory, I’d give them a full five stars.
Key specifications
Buy now £164, Amazon.co.uk
Wantek swimming bone conduction headphones
Best: waterproof headphones for taking calls
Why we love it
- Lightweight
- Comfortable
- Fast-charging
- Long battery life
Take note
- Feel a little flimsy, compared with some other options
- Need a magnetic charger (not USB compatible)
These stood out for something most swimming headphones overlook completely: call quality. They have a built-in noise-cancelling mic, and when I took calls on walks and runs after swimming, voices came through much more clearly than I expected. The person on the other end of the line could also hear me properly without loads of background noise or wind interference.
In the water, they felt lightweight and unobtrusive under a swim cap – I barely noticed them during longer sessions. For listening to music, sound quality is decent rather than standout, but it was enough to keep me engaged during steady sessions. Internal memory is 32GB, which is excellent value at this price point.
The trade-off is that they don’t feel quite as robust in the water, compared with more expensive models, and the side controls aren’t as intuitive underwater.
Key specifications
Buy now £36.99, Amazon.co.uk
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Your questions about waterproof headphones answered
What are the best waterproof headphones?
Lightweight, comfortable and with excellent sound quality, the beauty of the Shokz openswim pro was that I never had to think about them mid-workout. I just hit play and they stayed in place perfectly. If you don’t like feeling headphones bouncing about underwater, the H2O Audio sonar pro clip directly to your goggles, for a truly secure fit.
What is an IP rating?
Standing for “ingress protection”, an IP rating indicates how well a device is protected from both solids and liquids. Generally, it’s displayed with two digits – the first of which indicates how well the device is protected from things such as dust, while the second indicates the level of water-resistance. The higher the rating, the better your device will be protected.
Which IP rating is best?
In this roundup, I haven’t included any waterproof headphones with a rating lower than IPX7. This rating indicates a device can withstand being submerged in water up to 1m deep for 30 minutes, which should be fine for your standard lane-swimming session.
However, the best waterproof headphones will have a rating of IPX8. This usually means your device can withstand being submerged for an hour at a depth of about 2m (this can vary between devices, however).
How I tested waterproof headphones
I tested each pair of swimming headphones over at least two weeks, using them across a mix of indoor pool sessions, open-water swims and structured training sets. This included longer 2km swims, interval sessions and drills using flippers and pull buoys, to see how they performed in different conditions. During testing, I considered the following criteria:
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
Zoe Griffin has been testing products for IndyBest since 2021 and has reviewed countless types of workout gear, including headphones and earplugs. As a triathlete and keen swimmer, Zoe bases her reviews on real-world testing, providing her honest opinions to help you find the best products.
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