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Sep 16, 2023

18 Best Bluetooth Speakers (2023): Portable, Waterproof, and More

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The best Bluetooth speakers still have a place near and dear to our hearts, even as we've seen better (and more portable) smart speakers creeping into the universe.

It's fun and easy to ask an Amazon Echo or Google Nest speaker to play your favorite track or tell you the weather, but smart speakers have a few crutches—first and foremost, stable Wi-Fi. By (mostly) forgoing voice assistants and Wi-Fi radios, Bluetooth speakers gain portability, with the ability to venture outside of your house and withstand rugged conditions like the sandy beach or the steamy Airbnb jacuzzi. They'll also work with any smartphone, and they sound as good as their smart-speaker equivalents.

We've tested hundreds of models in the past few years, and we can happily say they are still some of the best small devices you can listen to. Here are our favorites right now.

Be sure to check out all our buying guides, including the Best Soundbars, Best Wirefree Earbuds, and Best Smart Speakers.

Updated February 2023: We've added the Shower Power Pro, Victrola Re-Spin, Vizio M Series 2.1, and Kef LSX II, and updated links and prices.

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There are bigger and badder Bluetooth speakers, but none match the fun and convenience of the Ultimate Ears Boom 3 (9/10, WIRED Recommends). It puts out some of the most pleasant, balanced sound for its size. The waterproof cylinder comes in multiple colors, lasts 15 hours between charges, and gives you 100 feet of Bluetooth range. On top of all that, it has a two-year warranty.

★ Bigger and boomier: If you really need to get a party kicking, the Megaboom 3 ($200) is a beefier model that amps up the bass.

The larger Sonos Move is great if you want a speaker that usually lives inside, and which you can occasionally carry outside. But it's not the kind of thing you'd want to throw in a backpack. That's where the Roam (9/10, WIRED Recommends) comes in. This tiny Sonos speaker has all the same smarts as its bigger siblings, but with an IP67 dust- and water-resistance rating and 10 hours of listening time. It's about the size of a 16-ounce beer can and easily fits in cup holders and knapsacks alike.

You probably haven't heard of Tribit, but its line of Bluetooth speakers sound a lot better than they should for the price. The StormBox is my favorite model. It has dual-firing drivers and passive radiators in a 7-inch-long pill shape. No, it can't fuel a trance dance party on its own, but its sound clarity is impressive, and it has a fun extra bass button that adds some surprising, if slightly muddy, thump.

With 20-ish hours of battery and an IPX7 waterproof rating—which means it's not dust-proof but can be submerged in water—it's a great companion for backyard tunes, a trip down the river, or other informal gatherings.

If you want a Bluetooth speaker that can fill any room (or patio) but lives a lot of its life inside, the Sonos Move (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is a good one to build a home network around. Sonos invented wireless multiroom speakers. Its speakers connect to nearly every streaming service, and they work with Google Assistant or Alexa. They also sound amazing by every measure. The Move streams music over your Wi-Fi network, but it can also function as a Bluetooth speaker when you take it outside.

It gets 11 hours of battery life, plus it's splash-resistant. We shot a hose at it, so we know it can handle getting wet. It also has a charging dock for when the outside fun is over.

Jeremy White

WIRED Staff

Lauren Goode

Lauren Goode

The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom was a WIRED Gear of the Year award winner in 2017, and that's because it was the best pool companion you can own. The Wonderboom 2 is even better. The little 4-inch ball of joy now sports IP67 water and dust resistance. It gets 13 hours of battery (three more than before), has a 100-foot Bluetooth range, floats, and pumps out surprisingly potent audio while doing it.

UE says it's "drop-proof" up to 5 feet, but you can honestly play some light catch with it on the lawn and it won't be any worse for wear. Just wash it off when you're done. You can even pair two together for proper stereo sound.

We like the latest JBL Clip model more than its three predecessors. It's the size of a hockey puck—small enough that you can take it with you on almost any adventure. It's waterproof and has a carabiner clip up top so you can snap it to all kinds of stuff. It also has more controls (volume, play, Bluetooth, power) than other micro speakers, and its sound is surprisingly bold, making this a great one to hang off of packs or harnesses while on weight-limited outings.

We loved the first generation of the Tribit StormBox Micro for its easy-to-use silicone strap, which firmly held it against bicycle handlebars. In this update, Tribit has maintained the rugged IP67 rating against water and dust, and given us more battery life (around 12 hours) and better bass. Also, new Bluetooth 5.2 tech allows it to cast a wider signal than its predecessor, for when you're wandering around the yard or house.

★ Also handlebar-ready: Bose also makes a great speaker of a similar design called the SoundLink Micro ($120), which was previously our top bike-handlebar pick. It sounds about the same but is twice as expensive as the Tribit.

Jeremy White

WIRED Staff

Lauren Goode

Lauren Goode

These sub-$100 speakers from Sony have become a go-to when riding to gatherings, thanks to a clever built-in strap, and the fact that they sit flat in a bike basket. They get up to 16 hours of battery life, are IP67-rated for dust- and water-resistance, and you can even link multiples together for stereo sound. They also come in a variety of awesome colors—favorites include bright blue and pink—so you'll never be lost in the crowd.

If you're a music fan or just love the classic Marshall guitar amplifier design, this Bluetooth speaker is ready to rock. As with all Marshall products, you pay a price for the style, but the audio lives up to expectations. For a speaker that's about as big as four old DVD cases stacked, standing upright, it sounds killer, with a smooth, balanced, and refined sound.

The exterior has a durable-feeling, splash-resistant silicone finish, and the front and back are covered with a steel grille. It has a front-facing woofer and a tweeter on each side, powered by a battery that lasts around 20 hours (USB-C charging with a 3.5-mm jack too), depending on how much you tweak the stylish volume, treble, and bass knobs up top. The battery indicator is also handy. You'll enjoy toting all 3 pounds of it around with its carry strap, which has a leather feel on the outside and red velvet on the inside.

If you want a little more power and heft, the Marshall Kilburn II ($280) is similarly excellent, and the Marshall Emberton ($150) is a great extra-portable addition to the amp company's Bluetooth line. Like the Stockwell II, it has a built-in battery gauge.

With 24 hours of battery life, a rugged design, and huge yard-filling sound, the Ultimate Ears Hyperboom (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is the perfect speaker for a party. Intelligent algorithms use data from a built-in mic to analyze where you've placed the speaker, ensuring the best possible sound, much like the Sonos Move. This is a better option than the Sonos if you have no interest in a future home network of speakers.

It doesn't have lights or cup holders like some other party speakers, but this is the best-made large Bluetooth speaker we've tested. It's been dropped from trucks, left out in the rain, and used at summer barbecues. It's even got a big silicon strap, inviting you to take it everywhere.

Jeremy White

WIRED Staff

Lauren Goode

Lauren Goode

At $250, Bang & Olufsen's round, IP67-rated Bluetooth speaker has a luxe price tag, but it's one of the best-sounding small speakers we've ever heard. With the included leather strap, excellent controls, and super-durable build, it quickly became a favorite. If you're willing to spend a lot more for the best of all portable worlds—looks included—this is the tiny luxury option to beat.

Your TV's built-in speakers are probably pretty terrible. This cheap soundbar from Vizio can help, and it can also serve as a very solid Bluetooth speaker for dance parties/jamming to your favorite albums while you're reading a book or cleaning the living room. I like the shape of this one, which stays out of the way below most screens, and easy-to-use buttons on the side make pairing quick and painless.

We all hate recharging the speakers we use in the shower, and many of us refuse to leave a smart speaker plugged in to listen to us doing … whatever we do … in there. The solution? Shower power! This cool speaker runs on the power of the water flowing through your pipes. You fit it between the shower arm at the showerhead, and a turbine inside generates enough power for music and a few LEDs. It's a remarkably cool and simple solution for those of us who like to sing along with our suds.

Jeremy White

WIRED Staff

Lauren Goode

Lauren Goode

This pair of wireless bookshelf speakers from Kef not only look great, they sound amazing (9/10, WIRED Recommends). They're easily mountable, thanks to threaded 1/4-inch mounting holes on the bottom, and they feature numerous wired and wireless connection types, including Apple AirPlay, Spotify Connect, and Bluetooth. A companion app on your phone controls everything, with the speakers providing extremely high-fidelity, room-filling audio with a wide stereo image.

Bang & Olufsen makes some of the best high-end audio gear, and they've recently taken a "buy once, cry once" policy when it comes to wireless listening. The Beosound Level is a very expensive Wi-Fi and Bluetooth speaker, but it is modularly designed and aims to be repairable forever. The 16-hour battery is replaceable, and it also has replaceable wood and cloth elements. The gorgeous and great-sounding speaker could be a lifetime audio addition that can be upgraded as technology changes, or accidents happen.

The three up-firing drivers in the center of this large speaker shoot sound all around your space, using Sony's proprietary tech to offer the best possible sound in any room. Instead of beaming tunes straight at your ears, like most speakers on this list, the Alexa- and Google-assistant-enabled boom box is designed to make music sound good, no matter where you're standing or sitting.

I was skeptical of this technology when I first got a review unit about a year ago, but I've left the speaker outside on a covered patio for nearly that whole time, because it's a favorite for creating unobtrusive but good-sounding background music when friends and family are over. If you find yourself wanting a soundtrack, rather than to actively listen to music, it's a great option, even at the high price.

Jeremy White

WIRED Staff

Lauren Goode

Lauren Goode

Positive Grid's Spark Mini (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is one of our favorite portable tools for musicians. You can pair your phone and play music via the cube-shaped speaker, but also plug in a guitar and blend yourself in to jam along. It's a perfect playing tool for campfires and backyard barbecues, and it even doubles as an audio interface if you need to scratch down an idea really quick. Because it's a guitar amp, the thing is much louder than it looks, easily able to fuel sing-alongs and shredding interpretations of the Star-Spangled Banner on Independence Day.

This suitcase-style turntable has a built-in Bluetooth speaker that you can pair your phone to, and it can also transmit the sounds of your record to other speakers and headphones. We're big fans. It's made of 25 percent recycled plastic, comes in cute colors, and all it requires is a single power outlet. It's the perfect little case to bring along with you on your next trip out of town, and the lid even doubles as a record holder when it's not protecting the deck.

Here are a few other good products that didn't quite make the cut.

Brenda Stolyar

Gear Team

Lauren Goode

WIRED Staff

Julian Chokkattu

Lauren Goode

Emily Peck

Louryn Strampe

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