Need a little extra push to crush today’s swim practice? Here’s your ultimate breakdown of the best waterproof headphones for swimmers.
The cold pool deck. The cold water. And of course, the two-hour-long workout scribbled up on the whiteboard.
Getting in and getting going in the water can be particularly challengey at times. For those gym sessions, we can always rely on our workout playlist to help us push through workouts with a healthy mix of high-tempo BPM and aggressive tunes.
If only we could bring that same musical awesomeness to our swim workouts, right?
Well, fortunately (at long last), there are quality-sounding options for listening to music while we do our laps that don’t involve hoping the lifeguard plays something good on the pool’s PA system or hopping into the water when the synchro team and their underwater sound system are at the pool.
I’ve written about the best underwater music players before, but today I am going to review and go over the top waterproof headphones for swimming laps.
If you’ve ever tried listening to music in the water you already know it’s rarely the players that make the difference in listening enjoyment, but how likely the headphones are to stay in your ear canal, not leak, and blast that piping-hot motivational playlist into your ears.
But where to start? Which of the countless waterproof headphones out there are the best?
In this guide, we’ll look at the best headphones for every kind of swimmer, explain the key features to look for, and help you find the perfect headphones to crush your laps.
The Best Waterproof Headphones for Swimmers
After testing and evaluating 16 different headphones designed for swimming, we narrowed down our winners to the following seven.
Each headphone was used in “fast” swimming conditions, with our requirement that the headphones stay in place and generate clear, quality sound while swimming at a pace of 30 seconds per 50m.
Our top picks:
- Best overall headphones for swimming – Shokz OpenSwim Pro
- Best earbuds for swimming – Swimbuds Sport Waterproof Earphones
- Best value earbuds – H2O Audio Surge+ Waterproof Sport Headphones
- Runner-up bone-conduction headphones – H2O Audio Tri 2 Pro
- Best wrap-around headphones for swimmers – Hydroactive Waterproof Headphones
- Best bone conduction headphones for custom placement – FINIS Duo
- Best headphones for light swimming – Pyle Marine Sport Waterproof Headphones
Next, we will examine and compare key features of each set of waterproof headphones so that you can determine which match your goals, budget, and format.
1. Shokz OpenSwim Pro
⭐ Best overall waterproof headphones for swimming
The Shokz OpenSwim Pro takes the title for swimmers looking for excellent sound quality, a comfortable and hydrodynamic fit, and enough storage for the longest swim workouts you can throw at it.
Unlike your standard waterproof earbud, the OpenSwim Pro uses bone-conduction technology to bypass the ear canal completely and deliver music through the cheekbones.
This means:
- Water seeping into the ear canal won’t distort the sound
- No worrying about earbuds jarring loose during flip turns or fast swimming
- And no wires getting tangled up like spaghetti with your goggle straps
The titanium frame is surprisingly lightweight (weighs just 27 grams) and fits snugly to the side of your head without squeezing or being too loose.
I’ve swum pedal-to-the-metal with fins and paddles on with the OpenSwim Pros and they stay in place. Push-offs, too. Doubt they would stay on when diving into the water, though.
The OpenSwim Pro is an update on the original OpenSwim—changes include a massive jump in storage (4gb to 32gb), Bluetooth for use outside the water, and an even lighter construction.
Sound quality through the headphones is the best I’ve gotten from a waterproof music player—lots of bass, clear vocals, and you can adjust the EQ with a free app that you can pair with the headphones.
Essentially, these things are awesome. They stay in place, they are comfortable for long swims, and they sound great.
If you want a deeper look at how they rock out in the water, check out my full length Shokz OpenSwim Pro review.
My only real gripes with the OpenSwim Pro are minor ones:
- The buttons are more flush with the newer model—the O.G. model’s buttons were raised and easier to find when adjusting tracks/volume.
- And the Pro always defaults to Bluetooth mode when turning it on—kind of annoying when I use it strictly to listen to MP3s in the pool.
For swimmers serious about their laps and their music, the Shokz OpenSwim Pro are the easy choice.
| ✅ Pros | ❌ Cons |
| Best overall headphones for swimming | Buttons are slightly harder to locate than on the previous OpenSwim |
| Awesome sound quality; booming bass and clear vocals | Bluetooth doesn’t work underwater (MP3 mode only in the pool) |
| Bone-conduction design means no earbuds or tinny sound from water in the ear canal | |
| Secure fit during flip turns, push-offs, and sprinting | |
| Lightweight, hydrodynamic frame won’t slow you down | |
| Massive 32GB storage for music, podcasts, and audiobooks | |
| Comfortable enough for long swim workouts |
2. Swimbuds Sport Waterproof Earphones
⭐Best earbuds for swimming
If you prefer the traditional earbuds for swimming instead of bone-conduction headphones, the Swimbuds are your best choice.
The reason is simple: fit!
Unlike most waterproof earbuds that come with one or two sets of tips, the Swimbuds come with multiple earbud styles and sizes. This makes it much easier to create a secure seal for the unique shape of your ear.
The Swimbuds come with:
- Classic round tips
- Tree-shaped tips
- Fin-style tips
The variety of shapes and the different sizes keep the earbuds from getting jostled around when you push off or when you are clipping along at a high rate of speed.
That secure fit matters most than just about everything else when it comes to headphones for swimming. The best sound in the world and a data center’s worth of storage is meaningless if you are stopping every three strokes to jam the earbuds back into place.
Some other notes about these waterproof earphones:
- The Swimbuds are good to a depth of 3m.
- They come with different chord lengths, with a short 40cm chord length (to avoid tangling and dangling of chords around your face while swimming and turning), along with an added 1m chord if you want to hold it while you swim (on a kick-board for instance) or even if you wanted to wear it in the shower.
They hit a nice middle ground on price, offering excellent value without sacrificing fit, comfort, and performance.
| ✅ Pros | ❌ Cons |
| Best earbuds for swimming | Requires a wired connection to a waterproof MP3 player |
| Multiple ear tip styles provide an excellent fit for almost any ear | |
| Secure seal stays in place during flip turns and push-offs | |
| Great sound when properly sealed | |
| Short cable minimizes tangles while swimming | |
| Includes long extension cable for kick sets and other activities |
3. H2O Audio Surge+ Waterproof Sport Headphones
⭐Best value waterproof headphones for swimmers
The H20 Audio Surge+ headphones deliver an excellent balance of comfort, sound quality, and price, making it swimmers’ best choice for reliable earbuds without spending tons of money.
Like the Swimbuds, the Surge+ comes with a variety of silicone earbuds and tree-style tips for that custom and secure fit.
I particularly liked the wires on the Surge+ as they aren’t stiff. They flex naturally, tucking cleanly with my swim goggles and staying out of the way when swimming.
H20 Audio is one of the big players in the waterproof music scene, having partnered with surfer Laird Hamilton and Olympic champion Natalie Coughlin. While not sponsored, Michael Phelps used to rock these specific headphones back in the day:
Because of the small size of the headphones, they stick in better most of the other headphones out on the market. This means they are less likely to “catch” water when pushing off or swimming fast and getting jostled out of place.
Other features and notes about the H20 Audio waterproof headphones:
- Rated waterproof up to 3.6m (12 feet)
- Backed by a 1-year warranty, which comes in handy if you use your headphones on the regular like most swimmers do.
- The headphones are functional out of the water too—making them ideal for you sweaty monsters out there who like doing their fair share of dryland and want clean, booming sound.
Considering they typically retail for around $40, the H2O Audio Surge+ checks the boxes when it comes to value and versatility for a custom, leak-free fit.
| ✅ Pros | ❌ Cons |
| Excellent value for the price | Wired design requires a waterproof MP3 player |
| Secure fit with multiple ear tip styles and sizes | Sound quality isn’t as immersive as premium bone-conduction options |
| Small bud design is unobtrusive; less likely to get jostled out of place | |
| Waterproof to 3.6m (12 ft) | |
| Works equally well for swimming and dryland workouts |
4. H2O Audio Tri 2 Pro Headphones
⭐ Runner-Up Bone-Conduction Headphones for Swimmers
The H2O Audio Tri 2 Pro is an excellent set of bone-conduction headphones for swimming that sounds great and has some interesting features that make it stand out against other headphones of this type.
The big one is that you can sort of listen to streamed music when swimming by using a feature called Playlist+.
This feature allows you to “record” songs from Spotify—either on a laptop at home or while wearing the headphones outside of the water, storing the songs locally to your device.
If you listen to the headphones a lot beyond for laps—like for walks, going to the gym, and so on, this feature is obviously awesome and worth the set up to do it properly.
While trying it out the app timed out a couple of times and I resorted to drag-and-dropping my usual set of workout bangers using the H2O Audio app that comes with the headphones.
Sound quality was excellent in the water—the wireframe design sat snugly on my head and barely shifted throughout several 90-minute swims at the pool. Jumping through songs and adjusting volume was also a breeze with the raised buttons on the control unit of the headphones.
The Tri 2 Pro has a decent amount of memory at 8gb—far short of the OpenSwim Pro’s 32gb, and is also a little bulkier.
H2O Audio ships it in five different colors and comes with a carrying case to protect it between swims. A great choice for swimmers looking for a robust set of headphones for exercising in and out of the water.
| ✅ Pros | ❌ Cons |
| Runner-up for best bone conduction headphones for swimmers | Less memory compared to the OpenSwim Pro |
| You can play streamed (key word—not streaming) music by recording songs to the headphones | The Playlist+ timed out several times when trying to record music |
| Excellent sound quality | |
| Frame sits snugly in place when swimming laps | |
| Definitely a dual-use set of headphones; works great in the pool and exercising outside of it |
5. Swimbuds Hydroactive Waterproof Headphones
⭐ Best wraparound headphones for swimming
The Swimbuds Hydroactive Waterproof Headphones offer swimmers something different than wired earbuds or bone-conduction—a wraparound headphone that can help secure them while swimming.
For swimmers who don’t like the over-the-ear headphones, or are tired of having earbuds jostle out of their ears once they pick up speed in the water (or more infuriatingly, when you push off), the wrap-around band on these particular waterproof headphones allow for a more stable and secure fit.
The band itself is made of a memory wire that helps you tweak the fit around the back of your head so that they stay almost completely in place.
The HydroActive Waterproof headphones also come with four different types of ear-buds, making it usable for dryland activities.
Earbuds include trees, fins (these ones worked the best for me with these headphones as well), ergos, and round earbuds (not for use in the water and more suited to everyday use).
While the wrap-around design makes the headphones stable, I found that they still rattled and shook loose on occasion once I picked up speed (speed, in this case, was swimming :29/50m).
But during the easier and cruise swimming? The headphones were snug as a bug, and quite comfortable to swim with.
| ✅ Pros | ❌ Cons |
| Best wraparound headphones for swimming | Earbuds can still shift during all-out sprinting |
| Secure wraparound frame improves stability while swimming | Like other wired headphones, still requires a separate waterproof MP3 player |
| Includes four ear tip styles for finding the best seal | |
| Excellent sound isolation with a proper seal |
6. FINIS Duo
⭐ Best bone conduction headphones for custom placement
The FINIS Duo was the first bone conduction headphones for swimmers to show up on the scene. While newer models like the Shokz OpenSwim Pro have surpassed it in terms of sound quality, comfort, hydrodynamics, and storage, the Duo still has one feature that keeps it in the mix…
Flexibility.
Most bone-conduction headphones use a fixed wireframe head set to sit around the back of your head. The Duo’s two audio pods clip directly to your swim goggle straps. This lets you put the transducers exactly where they sit most comfortably on your cheek bones.
Because the Duo uses bone conduction, there’s no worrying about ear tips not fitting properly. Better yet, if you wear swimming ear plugs–as I have for years to prevent ear infections–the sound actually becomes fuller and richer.
The Duo is a combo MP3 player and headphone unit, eliminating the need for a separate player. Sound is great–crisp and clear, even after all these years.
Downsides are that the wired set-up creates a bit of a tangled mess when mixed with swim goggles, the audio pods are a bit bulky, and it has less storage compared to newer bone conduction headphone.
While it no longer tops the list, the FINIS Duo remains an excellent choice for swimmers who want the flexibility of pod placement along with the clear sound of bone conduction.
| ✅ Pros | ❌ Cons |
| Clips directly to swim goggle straps for a custom fit | Wired design makes your head “busy” when combined with goggle straps |
| Bone-conduction design for awesome sound | Smaller storage capacity than premium competitors |
| Works exceptionally well with swimming earplugs | Older design and controls |
| All-in-one waterproof MP3 player |
7. Pyle Marine Sport Waterproof Headphones
⭐Best inexpensive headphones for light swimming
I’ll admit it right off the bat—the Pyle Marine Sport Waterproof headphones are not for me. Although the premise of the over-the-ear clasp is promising (and I liked it for a while with my old school Beat sport headphones), they didn’t work great for me and my swimming.
While the earbuds come with a variety of different tip sizes, the clasp isn’t adjustable, making securing the earbud challenging. As a result, any time I pushed off the wall with any kind of force they would slide off the side of my head.
Nothing more frustrating than having to stop at the flags every 50m to strap them back onto your head.
Additionally, the cable length is way too long, coming in at four feet in length. This makes it more suitable for activities on dryland where you get really wet or sweaty versus swimming, where more often than not the music player is clasped to our goggle straps, and not, say, our arm or waist.
Nevertheless, this style of headphones may work for some of you out there, and some reviewers absolutely swear by them, and it’s also the cheapest option in this guide.
Other notes about the Pyle Marine sport waterproof headphones:
- Available in black or white.
- Comes with three different bud sizes to help get a good fit.
- Super inexpensive–less than $20 per set.
For swimmers looking for an inexpensive set of headphones for swimming light laps, the Pyle Marine headphones are worth checking out.
How to Choose the Right Waterproof Headphones
Listening to music when exercising is a proven way to get more out of your workouts. Whether you are doing water jogging or swimming laps at the local pool, the right tunes and the right playlist can make all the difference.
Choosing the right headphones for your water activities comes down to selecting the right features and the right way to deliver that sweet, sweet music into your ears.
Below are some of the key things you want to look for when picking out the right waterproof headphones.
Earbuds or Bone Conduction
Waterproof headphones for swimming have come a long way in recent years. The initial challenge was substantial: how do we get sound into the ear when the water is persistently trying to muffle it?
One ingenious method is to bypass headphones—and the challenge of keeping water out—altogether with bone conduction, which pumps music directly into your head via your cheekbone.
FINIS was the first one on the market with this type of swimming headphone, with several other brands hot on their heels. Another huge benefit to bone conduction is that they reduce the number of wires dangling around your head while swimming.
For swimmers who wear earplugs when swimming (like I do, as mentioned earlier), bone-conduction is a no-brainer.
Different earbud sizes
For swimmers who prefer to swim laps with earbuds, the challenge becomes finding a pair of headphones that fit their ears.
Ear canals come in all sizes and shapes. It’s best to have a variety of sizes on the tips of the earbuds so that you can get a snug and secure fit when swimming.
The headphones listed in this guide almost universally include multiple tip sizes to help give every kind of ear the sound that it deserves.
IPX Rating
When trying to figure out which headphones are best for you, the main thing you want to look for is waterproofing!
One of the key ways consumers get tripped up when trying to buy electronic gear for their water activities is by lumping water-resistant and waterproof into the same pile.
These are two very different ratings, with water-resistant devices being best suited for moist environments (like if you sweat a lot when you exercise, for example) and are rated IPX3 to IPX7.
For swimming, look for headphones and music players that are rated IPX7 and higher. Anything less is not designed for extended submersion in the water and will damage your device.
Integrated music players
Headphones for swimmers come either as a standalone device or with an integrated music player. The latter makes your buying decision a little more nuanced as now you are also deciding on what kind of device you are going to use for storing music (MP3, streaming, etc).
While the type of headphones you choose are probably the most important factor, figuring out what kind of device you want to use to store music (and whether it works with your current streaming subscriptions, the format of your music collection, etc) is equally important.
Waterproof Headphones for Swimming — Common Questions
Do Bluetooth headphones work while swimming?
Bluetooth headphones don’t work in the water. They work great through the air but don’t go much further than a couple of inches in the water. While we all love the idea of leaving our smartphone at the end of the lane and broadcasting music from our phone to headphones via Bluetooth, this doesn’t work.
Swimming with music means we are stuck with having to drag and drop MP3 songs or download playlists to the device (whether that means a stand-alone player or with integrated headphones and player devices).
How do I know if my headphones are waterproof for swimming?
Electronics are tested and rated for how waterproof they are through IP ratings.
The format of the rating is IPXX, with the final digit a measurement of how much protection the device provides against liquids.
- A rating of IPX8 indicates that the device has been tested and submerged at a depth of at least 1m.
- A rating of IPX7 means that the device has been submerged in depth up to 1m.
Given that most swimmers don’t go below 1m when swimming, a rating of IPX7 will work for most swimmers, but for maximum peace of mind, an IPX8 rating is optimal.
Can you wear bone-conduction headphones for swimming?
Bone conduction headphones are the best kind of headphones for swimming.
They eliminate the biggest issue that happens when trying to listen to music while swimming laps—water getting between the earbud and the eardrum, creating tinny and muffled listening experience.
Can listening to waterproof headphones help me swim faster?
Yes–listening to music when swimming will absolutely help you swim faster!
Studies have shown that swimming performance improves when listening to music while doing both sprint efforts and longer distance swims.
Music has also been shown to improve rhythm and increase stroke rate2, increase power output3, and can boost swim endurance by ~15%.
Not bad!
The Final Lap
Being able to swim and listen to music is a dream realized for lifelong competitive swimmers like myself.
While the sound quality isn’t the same as when we are on dry land, or running trails, or lifting weights in the gym, there are some excellent options on the market when it comes to swimming headphones.
To recap:
⭐ The Shokz OpenSwim Pro is the best overall pick because of it’s excellent sound, bone-conduction that totally eliminates muffled music, and a lightweight titanium frame that stays locked in place when swimming fast.
⭐ Swimbuds Sport Waterproof Earbuds provide the greatest selection of ear bud tips, ensuring that no matter the size of your ear canal, there is an earbud that will stay securely in your ear while you churn up and down the pool.
Choose the right waterproof headphones for you, crank up the tunes, and take your swim workouts to the next level.
More Swim + Music Guides
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