The Best IEMs Under $100 - Summer 2025 Buyer's Guide Update
Looking for the best IEMs under $100? The Headphones.com reviewer team has you covered with our favorite picks, plus practical advice for first-time buyers.
Introduction
Let’s cut to the chase. You’re here because you Googled “What is the best IEM under $100” and clicked the first link. I’m here to give you a few in-ear monitors that arguably qualify for the best under $100, and explain why they’re recommended. These IEMs are benchmarks that many people have enjoyed, and you probably will too.
And for every IEM on this list, I’ve also included a frequency response graph for it. These are a visualization of its tuning - an objective way of looking at how the product might sound like. It’s from graphs that you get descriptions of tonal profiles like “flat” or “V-shaped”. Learning to read a graph properly is an involved process beyond the scope of this article, so I’ll link a few resources in the Appendix for you.
While I’ve structured this buyer’s guide so anyone new to the hobby can jump right in, do read to the end as I’ll give some context and practical advice for those looking to get started with IEMs. Audio is a deep, deep hobby you can get lost in, and I want to make sure you have some guiderails to stay grounded.
This guide was written by Fc-Construct with input from the rest of the Headphones.com reviewer team. The team does not receive any form of compensation from any of these recommendations.
Note: Current prices may differ from listed due to shifting market conditions.
$20 - Truthear Gate
The Truthear GATe is the prime representation of the state of the budget IEM market. Genuinely good sounding products locked in a race-to-the-bottom. This is ultimately good for us, the consumers. There is an abundance of choice at extremely affordable prices. The GATe is a reasonably balanced sounding IEM that emulates the tuning of <$100 benchmark IEMs a couple years ago, but at $20. To top it off, the GATe is a comfortable IEM, a characteristic that cannot be said for many other options. While some might argue that it’s not as good as its now discontinued predecessor, the Truthear Hola, the GATe is still a fine starting point on your audio journey.
Image credit to 7Hertz’s Facebook page
$25 - 7Hz Salnotes Zero 2
Representing another take on the budget class, the 7Hz Salnotes Zero 2 is highly influential community member Crinacle’s follow-up to his original $20 benchmark Salnotes Zero. Minor tweaks were made to have more bass and better controlled treble, creating an even more pleasant and enjoyable sound signature. Like the GATe, it’s hard to go wrong here as a first choice. The only complaint we have is that its fit isn’t quite for everyone.
$50 - Truthear ZERO: RED
Another Crinacle collaboration product, the Truthear x Crinacle ZERO: RED is one of the best-tuned budget IEMs around with its neutral plus sub-bass tuning. What sets it apart is its excellent bass quality and a very well-controlled treble response when compared to the rest of the competition. Plus it comes with a fun little Bass+ adapter for more oomph if you’re into that. Just note that the nozzle size is quite large and comfort may be an issue. Yes, this problem will be a recurring theme for many IEMs.
$80 - Truthear Hexa / Pure
You might have noticed at this point that Truthear has been dominating the budget section of this buyer’s guide. It all started here with the Hexa. Though it’s one of their older products, it’s still a benchmark with near impeccable tuning and one of the best technical performances on display in the sub-$100 price range. While the RED provides a marginally better price-to-performance ratio, if you’re concerned with the RED’s fit, the Hexa is the way to go. Alternatively, there is also the newly released Truthear Pure, the successor to the Hexa. It’s just as good as the Hexa, with a warmer midrange and a tamer treble.
Watch Resolve’s review of the Hexa | Watch Resolve’s review of the Pure | Read Fc-Construct’s review of the Pure
$100 - Etymotic ER2XR
The Etymotic ER2XR has a presentation that is utterly unique - an extremely in-your-head sound courtesy of its notorious ultra-deep fit triple-flange tips. If you don’t mind the fit, the ER2XR continues to be a one-of-a-kind product. It follows Etymotic’s modern interpretation of the classic Diffuse Field tuning. And it’s better. The overall sound here is a reference-oriented one with a touch of oomph down-low. Though the bass is lacking in texture, it is quite clean with adequate slam. While some might find the ER2XR’s midrange abundance overly forward, its laser-sharp focus on vocal performance sets it apart from the competition. The only knock against the ER2XR would be its rolled-off treble response and very narrow imaging.
$100 - MoonDrop Robin
Rounding out this list is the wireless MoonDrop Robin. Yes, a TWS IEM made it on an audiophile list of wired products. The Robin is actually a collaboration product between the well-known audio brand MoonDrop and the game Honkai: Star Rail. Its full name is HONKAI: STAR RAIL x MOONDROP Robin's Earphones. Very wordy, I know.
All of this doesn’t preclude the MoonDrop Robin from being great. Its tuning is on par with pretty much everything on this list, with an excellent alternative option within its accompanying app. It’s no slouch in its technical presentation either. Unlike many cheap wireless IEMs, there’s nothing about the Robin’s sound to suggest that it lags behind its wired brethren. Make no mistake - while its wireless features did help the Robin secure a spot on this list, it can still give anything under $100 a good run for their money even without it.
Tuning and Technicalities
You might have noticed throughout this article that there’s been references to both tuning and technicalities. When it comes to headphones and IEMs, tuning is king. Tuning can be best thought of generally as the “sound profile” of an audio product, and every headphone or IEM has a frequency response that describes a measurement of its sound profile. This isn’t the article to delve into specifics but suffice it to say that without a favorable tuning, it becomes hard to recommend a product. IEM manufacturers have gotten extremely good at tuning IEMs in recent years, and this buyer’s guide showcases some of the best examples below $100.
However, tuning isn’t everything when it comes to sound quality - there are also its perceived technical abilities: subjective descriptions of the listening experience. For example, soundstage, imaging, and resolution are common terms used to characterize performance. While price is not correlated with sound quality (there’s a lot of bad products out there!), for the items listed in this article and other buyer guides at different price points, you can think of them as a general step up in technical ability in each segment. With diminishing returns, of course.
What You Should Really Know
The inconvenient truth is that “best” does not exist in the audio hobby. As much as I would love to tell you that there is a definitive “best” at some price point, that is simply not how a hobby driven around personal preferences works. What’s the best for someone might not be the best for you.
Perhaps even more frustratingly, there are so many new IEMs coming out every month that it’s impossible to keep up. I certainly haven’t heard everything that’s ever been released. Yet, the good news is that you don’t have to. IEMs have become so good that most budget IEMs these days with favorable reviews are within a ballpark of each other. There’s probably half a dozen more products I could have added to this list that I’ve purposefully left out to avoid adding to analysis paralysis.
This brings me to the take home message - the best thing you can do in this hobby is to just get started. You can read hundreds of audio reviews and not understand a single word until you actually try a few IEMs for yourself. Only then you’ll be able to get a sense of what you truly enjoy, and then recognize what the best would mean to you.
So pick something from this list and enjoy the music. If you love it and want for nothing else, great! But if it unlocks a desire for more, congratulations. You’ve now fallen into the rabbit hole that is this hobby. It’s OK if your first IEM isn’t perfect - nothing is. It just needs to help you learn what you like and where you might want to go in your audio journey.
Appendix
If you’re completely new to the audio hobby or in-ear monitors and still have questions, here are a few important resources to give you a foundation of what reviewers talk about in this hobby.
The ABSOLUTE Beginner's Guide to IEMs - Everything You Need to Know in Less than 10 Minutes
A Reviewer's Guide to Understanding Graphs - the B&K 5128 Edition
Don't Buy Headphones Until You Watch This
What is a DAC and why do you need one?
What does an amplifier actually do?
Sound quality in headphones explained
