The Sony WF-C500 are incredibly affordable. As you might expect, this has led to compromises—but Sony’s kept them to a minimum, and delivered a very perky sound from very comfortable earbuds. They’re far from your only choice, mind you, with lots of competing budget wireless earbuds on the market.

The WF-C500 are a very comfortable set of true wireless earbuds with great sound quality. They’re missing some helpful features like transparency mode and auto-pause, and their total battery life is a bit anemic, but they’re still a good buy for Sony fans looking for a budget-friendly set of buds.

The Sony WF-C500 may not have big, splashy features but they offer a solid listening experience and a carefully selected collection of features — including spatial audio — that should please everyone from commuters to gym buffs.

The $99 Sony WF-C500 are great wireless earbuds for bass lovers on a budget

The no-frills Sony WF-C500 true wireless earbuds deliver excellent audio you can tune to your liking for a relatively low price

For the price, the Sony WF-C500 exceeds the functionality of a basic budget device. Still, you might miss those extra features.

Sony’s WF-C500 earbuds are respectable, if a bit underpowered. They offer next-gen playback time, their sound is detailed (if brash), and their compact, rounded design looks and feels stylish and comfortable in equal measure. But here’s the thing about true wireless earbuds these days: there are far too many of them for you to settle, even at this price.

The Sony WF-C500 is a steady entry for Sony in wireless earbuds under 100 dollars - but prepare to tweak the sound via the app to make it sing on higher volumes.

The Sony WF-C500 is an entry-level model that gives you the brand’s most coveted sound features for just $100.

The Sony WF-C500 makes for a comfortable commuting and workout companion. You might miss having ANC in loud environments, but decent isolation helps account for a bit of that while the lightweight design is easily worn all day long.

If all you care about is getting a basic set of earbuds that work consistently and sound good in the process, you can save a heaping of cash and go with Sony’s basic buds.

Out of the box, they have a very neutral sound profile suitable for a variety of genres. Ηowever, sibilants like S and T sounds are a bit dull. Also, our unit's right driver is noticeably more bass-heavy than the left and delivers a bit of extra thump and rumble to mixes. Like most in-ear headphones, they have a small, closed-off passive soundstage. On the plus side, they work with a good app that has a graphic EQ and presets.

Favourable price, powerful sound and comfortable wearing. The WF-C500 are True Wireless in-ears for everyday use. These headphones neither see themselves as audiophile specialists nor do they score points as technological behemoths in terms of noise cancelling. Rather, they are an accessory for everyday use, with which pop and club sounds, in particular, can be enjoyed. In addition, there are comfort functions such as an app connection and, finally, telephone calls can also be made with good voice quality.

Sensible compromises make these Sonys real competitors in the budget true wireless earbuds arena

The Sony WF-C500 are fantastic value for money. They sound superb, they're super comfortable and you can adjust the sound to exactly how you like it. They are basic though - there's no ANC and they'll only give you a total of 20 hours of battery with the charging case.