Headphones vs earphones vs earbuds: What’s the difference

If you are in the market to purchase a pair of new and shiny wearable gadgets to listen to music, you have several audio options to choose from. These are often categorised into headphones, earphones, and earbuds, all of which can have further sub-categories, like wired, wireless, open-back, closed-back.  

With a plethora of options available, choosing between one can be a daunting task. It doesn’t help that the terms are often used interchangeably, and many don’t even know the difference between the three. But don’t fret. Today, we bring you the headphones vs earphones vs earbuds showdown that you’ve been waiting for, which will allow you to make an informed purchase decision.   

Headphones vs earbuds

In a comparison of headphones vs earbuds, headphones are the most noticeable audio product, thanks to their larger footprint. Headphones go over your head, with the ear cushions sealing your ears almost completely. However, the fit and seal may vary depending on the headphone you choose to go with. 

For instance, the Sony WH-1000XM5s, which are a pair of wireless headphones, have a good fit and seal. Note that there are also wired headphones, although, the wireless fashion has become the most common lately.  

Earbuds, on the other hand, have a small form factor, making them less noticeable. Although, modern earbuds, such as TWS or truly wireless earbuds, come with appealing designs, which makes it hard for them to go unnoticed.  

There are different types of TWS earbuds, ones that partially fit in your ear, like the Apple AirPods Gen 4. Others that seal your ear canal fully, like the Apple AirPods Pro 2 and the OnePlus Buds Pro 3.  

Lately, there have also been a few open-back earbuds in the Indian audio market, like the Sony LinkBuds WF-L900. Open-back earbuds don’t completely seal your ear, making it easier for you to listen to your surroundings while simultaneously listening to music.  

Headphones vs earphones

Well, now you already know about what’s the difference between headphones and earphones. Now, let’s do a showdown of headphones vs earphones. Headphones, as you already know, can be wired and wireless, and they have a large footprint. 

Earphones are the opposite, they have a small form factor, similar to earbuds. Now, people use the terms earphones and earbuds interchangeably. Earphones, however, are wearables with some sort of wire attached to them. It can be a 3.5mm headphone jack or a USB Type-C jack. Apple’s EarPods are good example of wired earphones.  

Although earphones have wires attached to them, there’s also a term called ‘wireless earphones’, which is associated with neckband-style earphones. Neckband earphones (or simply, neckbands) sit comfortably around your neck, allowing you to use them whenever you want. One example of a pair of neckband earphones is the OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z2.  

Earphones vs earbuds

Differentiating the earphones vs earbuds nomenclature is a little trickier. While the term earphones and earbuds are used interchangeably, they are different. As mentioned above, earphones are wired and wireless, both. The term ‘earbuds’, however, mostly point at what we call TWS earbuds (or Truly Wireless Stereo earbuds) today. 

Now, TWS earbuds have become the most common type of earbuds, as they not only have a compact form factor, but are also wireless, making them much more convenient.  

ALSO READ: 10 different types of headphones explained

TWS are lighter than neckbands are both wireless in nature, but TWS earbuds are lighter owing to their design. With both earbuds separate, it’s also possible to use one at a time, something neckbands cannot do. However, this also makes the individual earbuds easier to lose or misplace.  

Headphones vs earphones vs earbuds: Which came first?

If you were to ask which out of the three – headphones, earphones, and earbuds – came first, then to spill the tea, headphones came first. Back in the 1890s, headphones were not actually called headphones but were termed as ‘telephonic receivers’. Telephonic receivers were single-handed speakers allowing you to hear and communicate on calls.   

Newer designs of telephonic receivers were soon considered as a hands-free approach for telephonic communication. This way, you don’t have to hold the receiver, but place it over your head, making things convenient.  

Soon, the term ‘Electrophone’ came into existence, which was a system of stethoscope-shaped headphones connected to a switchboard. Electrophones were used to listen to live performances of musicians. Still, around this time, the concept of personal listening wasn’t as popular.   

The idea of headphones for personal listening was commercialised only after Beyerdynamic made their first pair of headphones in 1937. The DT-48 from Beyerdynamic were a pair of wired headphones that would sit over your head, propelling sound from the small receivers that cover your ear.   

So, the term headphone was the one that came into existence first, which probably explains why the word has become sort of an umbrella term today for earphones and earbuds too.  

Are headphones the ultimate choice?

Since headphones have a large footprint, they also pack the most amount of tech, hence giving you the best sound experience (depending on the brand and model). With headphones, manufacturers can fit large drivers and big batteries.  

Headphones have two types of drivers; planar magnetic drivers and dynamic drivers. The former can offer you the best sound experience. However, headphones with planar magnetic drivers can look chunky as the drivers are big compared to dynamic drivers. 

As for dynamic drivers, they can produce good quality sound, too, without being too chunky and costly. As mentioned above, Sony has its flagship-grade WH-1000XMs, which come with dynamic drivers but offer great sound quality.  

Headphones with dynamic drivers are the most common today due to their aforementioned pros, hence, they can be found across budgets. Boat offers headphones with dynamic drivers starting from Rs 1,000. For the price, affordable headphones can also give you a good listening experience, but it won’t be on par with premium headphones with dynamic drivers or planar magnetic drivers.  

ALSO READ: Headphones vs Headsets: Which one is best for you?

Apart from this, headphones have many features like ANC or Active Noise Cancellation, transparency mode, and low-latency mode. It’s just that manufacturers can provide a lot, thanks to the large footprint of headphones.  

Given all that, headphones are the ones that can offer you the best sound experience when compared with earphones and earbuds.  

Are earphones and earbuds catching up?

Coming to earphones and earbuds, they have most of the features that headphones have today. However, due to their smaller size, you may not get the best sound experience. Why? Because things can be limiting with earphones and earbuds.  

For starters, earphones or earbuds, do not seal your entire ear, also due to their size, it can be hard for the manufacturers to add all the top-notch features.  

ALSO READ: Top 5 ANC headphones you can buy today

Still, many features from the headphones have trickled down to earphones and TWS earbuds. For instance: Planar magnetic drivers in some IEMs, ANC in most mid-premium TWS earbuds, and latency mode. Similar to wireless headphones, TWS earbuds also have features like touch controls. Touch controls allow you to play, pause, and skip music tracks with a tap or double on the earbuds. 

Headphones vs earphones vs earbuds: Who’s the winner?

To sum it up, headphones, due to their size and shape can be a better bet, depending on the brand and the model you choose. Earphones and earbuds, too, can be good, but you may not get that ultimate sound experience as you would get with headphones.  

Headphones vs earphones vs earbuds: What should you pick?

In a comparison of headphones, earbuds and earphones, the final decision comes down to the pricing. Headphones are usually pricier, whereas earphones can be the most affordable ones. But it all depends on the brand and product.  

As for the TWS earbuds, they can be both costly as well as affordable. Several brands like OnePlus, Realme, Boat, and others offer affordable TWS earbuds. Even Sony has some affordable pairs, like Sony WF-C510, however, the brand also offers premium TWS earbuds like the Sony LinkBuds or WF-1000XM5.   

So, depending on your choice, with respect to the price, size, and the features that you want, you can’t go wrong with any of these. Just make sure to do your full research and then make your final purchase decision.