Best Products > Audio 79 79 people found this article helpful The Best Workout Music Players of 2024 Exercise and jam with these portable music players By Erika Rawes Erika Rawes Writer University of Maryland Erika Rawes has written for Digital Trends, USA Today, and Cheatsheet.com and has tested dozens of consumer technology products for multiple tech sites. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on February 23, 2024 Fact checked by Rich Scherr Fact checked by Rich Scherr University of Maryland Baltimore County Rich Scherr is a seasoned technology and financial journalist who spent nearly two decades as the editor of Potomac and Bay Area Tech Wire. lifewire's fact checking process We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. Audio Headphones Earbuds Speakers Home Theater Instruments Accessories Workout music players are engineered to be lightweight, water-resistant, and easy to control while your focus is elsewhere. Conveniences like a touchscreen aren't as crucial since sweaty fingers and touchscreens don't mix. The best workout music players emphasize practicality and durability over bells and whistles so they can put up with time at the gym and the occasional drop. Here are some of our best picks. in this article Expand Our Picks What to Look For in a Workout Music Player FAQ Best Overall SanDisk Clip Sport Plus Amazon View On Amazon $68 View On Westerndigital.com Pros Water resistant Holds up to 4,000 songs Clips to your clothing Cons Small buttons The SanDisk Clip Sport Plus has a battery that lasts about 20 hours on a single charge and supports both lossy and lossless audio files. It's tiny, lightweight, IPX5 water-resistant, and fastens to your clothing or gear bag with the included sturdy clip. The buttons and screen are also tiny and hard to reach when you're in the zone. But you're good to go if you want to set and forget it. The 16GB of onboard storage gets you around 4,000 songs, though the lack of a MicroSD slot is a downer. Of course, if the music you loaded onto the player differs from what you're looking for, the included FM radio might have something you like. This is a solid choice because of its size and additional features. Reviewer Erika Rawes appreciated the color screen and saw it from a distance despite its small size. Erika took this music player with her on a walk, and the clip stayed securely fastened to her clothing as she listened to an audiobook of "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers." Lifewire / Erika Rawes Display: 1.44 inches | Audio Formats: MP3, WMA (No DRM), AAC, (DRM free iTunes) WAV, FLAC | Battery Life: 20 hours | Water Resistance: IPX5 Sandisk Clip Sport Plus MP3 Player Review Best for Swimming H20 Audio Stream Waterproof MP3 Player Amazon View On H2oaudio.com Pros Waterproof 360-degree clip Tiny Cons No screen The H20 Audio Stream 2 is well-named because it's completely waterproof, making it functional for swimming and water sports. It's small, with no screen and physical buttons for controls. It has an IPX8 certification, which means it's waterproof up to three meters (or about 10 feet) underwater. That certification also includes the bundled earbuds, so you can take this device while swimming. You get around 10 hours of playback for the 2,000 songs it holds (via the 8GB of storage). The tiny device also has a 360-degree swivel clip, meaning you can attach it anywhere. Since there's no screen on this little guy and the buttons are small, it works better for continuous play than individually selecting songs from your playlist. But those are perfectly fine compromises when you consider this music player can go anywhere with you, including the pool. Our reviewer noted the waterproof earbuds were some of the most comfortable he's encountered, and when he tested the sound quality underwater, the audio was clear and vivid. However, he found it didn't get very loud, even at total volume. Display: N/A | Audio Formats: MP3, WMA, FLAC, APE | Battery Life: 10 hours of playtime | Water Resistance: IPX8 Lifewire Display: N/A | Audio Formats: MP3, WMA, FLAC, APE | Battery Life: 10 hours of playtime | Water Resistance: IPX8 H20 Audio Stream Waterproof MP3 Player Best Budget AGPTEK Clip MP3 Player Walmart View On Walmart $27 Pros Lengthy battery life Includes clip, arm band, and silicon case Supports MicroSD expansion Cons Small monotone screen The Agptek Clip offers a lot in a relatively affordable package. It comes with an MP3 player, earbuds, a sweat-proof silicon case, and an armband to clip the player onto while you work out. It includes 8GB of storage out of the box, but you can expand it by up to 64GB via the MicroSD slot. It supports lossy and lossless formats and a tiny screen displays song lyrics. However, the screen is monotone, so seeing the small screen from a distance is pretty challenging. On the plus side, the battery lasts up to 30 hours, which is impressive for an MP3 player in this price range. During testing, Erika got 14.5 hours of straight music playback before running out of battery. The Agptek clip supports Bluetooth 4.0, FM radio, and e-books in the .txt format. This is an ideal choice for someone who wants a cheap device to use while running or at the gym, as it costs less than $30 and includes several accessories. Lifewire / Erika Rawes Display: 2 inches | Audio Formats: MP3, WMA, APE, FLAC, WAV, AAC | Battery Life: Up to 30 hours | Water Resistance: Sweat-proof case Agptek Clip MP3 Player Review Best Wearable Sony Walkman 4GB Headphone Amazon View On Amazon $100 View On Walmart $108 View On B&H Photo Video $98 Pros Wearable player 12 hours of playback Waterproof Cons No Bluetooth Small storage The Sony Walkman 4GB headphones are a wearable MP3 player, as they have local storage that lets you play your music while leaving your phone at home. They are all-in-one, self-contained units with 4GB of storage. This is enough to hold about 1,000 songs, and a single charge gives you approximately 12 hours of playback. The headphones are waterproof, meaning you can take them up to two meters deep in the pool. You can also take them in salt water, which is comforting for those who like to surf or exercise on the beach. On the downside, these headphones don't have Bluetooth connectivity like many others. What you store on the headphones is what you have to choose from. That's an understandable compromise, but we still miss it. Display: N/A | Audio Formats: MP3, WMA, Linear PCM, AAC | Battery Life: Up to 12 hours | Water Resistance: Up to 2 meters Lifewire / Erika Rawes The Best Portable CD Players of 2024 What to Look For in a Workout Music Player Water-resistance Workouts tend to involve moisture in one form or another. Usually, that's sweat, but this can also include sports such as swimming. Depending on your workouts, you'll want to look for properties like sweat-proof, water-resistant, or, the best, waterproof. Physical Controls Touchscreens are challenging to use when you're working out and sweating. Physical controls are essential because sweaty hands can have trouble controlling a touchscreen. Storage This refers to how many songs you can keep on the device. The longer your workout, the more tunes you'll listen to. Variety is the spice of life, so in terms of storage, higher is always better. If the device has low storage, see if it supports MicroSD expansion. FAQ How are workout music players different from normal music players? Music players designed for working out have design elements that support an active lifestyle, like the ability to clip to clothing, a certain amount of durability, and water resistance. People working out get sweaty and tend to put their devices in precarious positions, so the music player must stand up to those conditions. Can't you just use your phone? Yes, you can. However, a dedicated music player will almost always be smaller, lighter, more durable, and more affordable than your smartphone. That's important when you're working out. Smartphones can be unwieldy when running, lifting weights, or doing stretches. A workout music player provides you with a bit of extra freedom while also keeping your phone safe from moisture and drops. What kind of headphones can you use? That depends. Most music players still have the 3.5mm headphone jack, while others rely on Bluetooth connectivity. Many come with earbuds included, while others are headphones in themselves. It's best to check your specifications. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit