T3’s Expert Recommendations
(Image credit: Bang & Olufsen)
The best portable Bluetooth speakers don’t make you choose between sound quality and convenience. Gone are the days of dragging around a Boombox-like device as if you’re in a 90’s music video. Even the smallest of speakers can deliver room-filling sound, so it’s all about finding the best one for you.
The best Bluetooth speakers come in all shapes and sizes – and at all kinds of price points. Some are rugged so you can take them on adventures; others are bigger and designed for larger spaces or parties; some are waterproof and make a great choice for summer pool parties or beach trips.
Whether wanting a Bluetooth speaker for a back-garden BBQ, to take on a business trip as your hotel entertainment, or to have as an at-home versatile option, there are plenty of portable options. The top picks listed below are suited to a whole host of budgets and needs, whatever you need a Bluetooth speaker for.
T3’s Top Picks
Best overall
If portable is key, but sound quality is to not be compromised, the Beoplay A1 is the ideal take-anywhere speaker. Pop it into a bag or suitcase, makeshift hang it from a friend’s doorhandle when visiting for a dinner party, pop it by the paddling pool when the kids are playing. Massive sound from such a small speaker is unrivalled and it’s worth every penny.
Best premium
If you want a perfect home audio companion that can also go outside and deliver big audio for your garden or nearby then Sonos’ larger multi-room speaker is the perfect addition – and even better if you possess other Sonos kit for the full multi-room experience. It’s a T3 Awards 2024 winner, given its sensational audio experience.
Best budget
Not got quite as much cash to spend or as much space to spare, yet want a great-sounding little Bluetooth speaker (that also happens to be waterproof)? Ultimate Ears’ smallest product is a little star. Super portable, eye-catching with colour, yet able to deliver decent audio considering its entry-level asking price. It’s a great buy – or pair two together!
Best overall
(Image credit: Bang & Olufsen)
The Beosound A1 V2 finds its way to the top of this list thanks to sheer audio quality for the size – its full, punchy sound is far more expensive than its scale would suggest. It’s so good it even won the T3 Awards trophies for Best Portable Speaker in 2021 and 2022, while being Highly Commended in 2023 and 2024.
This speaker is a T3 staple, one that has travelled around the globe extensively on various work trips, as it’s small enough to fit into a travel backpack no problems. It’s also able to take a tumble, and is IP67 dust/water-resistant – so ideal for not fretting about sand or rain wherever you may be on your travels.
It’s got other smart tricks too: you can use Alexa from the device, despite it lacking Wi-Fi, thanks to the Bluetooth connection. And, being a B&O speaker, it’s also an object of desire, and is available in a great range of colours – with new ones having been added to the range over time.
Think this is your ideal portable Bluetooth speaker? Check out our full B&O Beosound A1 2nd Gen review for extra details
Best premium
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While most speakers in this best-of list are small and easily portable, the Sonos Move 2 is a different proposition: it’s designed like the perfect at-home speaker, as it’s substantially bigger than your typical carry-around, but can easily be detached from its dock to deliver ace audio without the wires.
That physical size gives the Move 2 substantial sound, though, which is why it’s our preferred premium portable Bluetooth speaker – and a T3 Awards 2024 winner of the Best Speaker category too. You really need to hear it to believe it – as its sound is similar to the Sonos Era 100 wired-only speaker, just with a battery inside.
Want the best of both worlds, inside and out? Read our Sonos Move 2 review to see whether this is the perfect Bluetooth speaker companion for you
Best affordable
(Image credit: Future)
The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 is undoubtedly the best cheap Bluetooth speaker on this list, combining good sound with an ultraportable design and effective 360-degree audio. It’s just a straight-up Bluetooth speaker (so no Wi-Fi) but you can pair two of them together either in stereo or dual mono.
Clearly meant to be taken to wherever the party is, it’s also fully waterproof – in fact, it even floats. Being IP57 rated, it’s also well protected against grit, saltwater, dust and beach-side sand, so long as you keep the USB charger cover in place.
In our testing, we were impressed by the sound quality – but we really enjoyed the Outdoor Boost mode to really amplify the audio. In an emergency, you can also still charge your phone from the Wonderboom, as long as you have the right Micro-USB cable (which are less commonplace these days).
Sound good to you? Read the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 review to find out more about it
Best waterproof
Ultimate Ears (‘UE’ for short) makes a whole variety of portable Bluetooth speakers. The original model of the bunch, the Megaboom, is a particular favourite – and here, in its third-generation form, it’s even better-sounding than its predecessors (and improves upon the smaller Wonderboom model when it comes to audio too).
With a cylindrical design, sound is output through 360-degrees, meaning everyone can enjoy the audio output in whatever circumstance. That includes when underwater, too, as this speaker is fully waterproof, making it great for parties, festivals, when poolside, or just wherever you happen to be.
Interested in this waterproof wonder? Check out more in our UE Megaboom 3 review
Best for bass
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The JBL Charge 5 is a relatively small speaker that doesn’t skimp on sound. Admittedly the audio is just a little less finely balanced than the B&O A1 at the top of this list, with the treble and bass punching harder than the mid-range, but with some serious volume capabilities, this is a great speaker for a barbecue on the beach or picnic in the park – especially if you like a big dollop of bass to go with your grilled goods.
The 20 hours of battery life will easily last you the day, if not the whole weekend. Plus, if your phone is running out of charge, you can use it as a power bank and keep the music playing. There are few downsides to this low-end deliverer – except for no 3.5mm audio port to play music without Bluetooth – but that’s a small point against an otherwise fantastic speaker.
Like the look of this? Read more in the JBL Charge 5 review
Best multi-room addition
(Image credit: Sonos)
The Sonos Roam is a small and easily portable speaker that includes full Sonos Wi-Fi multi-room features as well as being a battery-powered speaker to, well, roam with. The sound is strong, and while it’s not the most open or expressive out there, nor quite the loudest, it’ll still be big enough for most people – it’s just maybe not the party speaker that some of the larger options here can be.
The real trick to it is that it can also function as a full member of a Sonos or Apple AirPlay 2 setup at home, over Wi-Fi, and it easily switches between the two options. So if you want a portable speaker that can also take a useful spot in your bedroom/office, the Roam is a great choice. However, be warned that with a playing time of 10 hours, it’s not especially impressive for battery life – some of its rivals can hit double that.
Our full Sonos Roam review talks more about what we liked in this speaker
Best Bose portable
(Image credit: Future)
If you don’t mind splashing out on a speaker, then the Bose Portable Smart Speaker is one of the best that money can buy. It’s not just a Bluetooth speaker, a portable speaker, or a smart speaker – it’s a combination of all of those things. Make sure you check our Bose discount codes to save on your new purchase.
When we tested it out, we were struck by the sheer power of the audio and thanks to the 360-degree design it’ll sound the same no matter where you are in relation to it. It’s a fantastic party speaker but it’ll also be accurate enough for listening to ballads or podcasts on your own. One downside is the battery life, it’ll only last about 12 hours and then it’ll take about 4 to recharge it to 100%. That’s nowhere near the longest-lasting battery on this list but it’ll still be enough for most uses.
Want to know more? Read the Bose Portable Smart Speaker review
Best for rockers
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This Marshall speaker brings the brand’s penchant for guitar-amp style to a smaller frame, and impressively still keeps most of the signature look. It has a good long battery life of 30 hours, and we loved its sound because it’s lively and punchy which suits Marshall perfectly. It’s not built for gentle nuance but delivers lots of bounce and fun while still being clearly detailed.
The only downside is that there are a few missing features – there’s no mic (which can be handy for calls) and no way to adjust the sound’s balance manually, but you do get 3 different preset sound modes to choose from in the app. But we’re happy to forgive those overall.
Check out the full Marshall Emberton II review to read more about why it’s so good
Best for audiophiles
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Audio Pro is known for making speakers with a simple, modern design and fantastic sound. Their smallest is the Audio Pro P5, it doesn’t have tonnes of features but it does deliver music in the way that it was meant to be heard. Small enough to fit in your bag, it’s the perfect music-listening companion for those who care more about quality than anything else.
The battery life is by no means the best on this list, at full volume, you will only get about 4 hours of playback. But if you keep it at 50% then you’ll get about 14 hours from it which isn’t so bad. Where the Audio Pro P5 really excels is in sound quality, it is loud, energetic and punchy. It even supports Apple lossless which will please Apple Music subscribers.
You can read more about it in the full Audio Pro P5 review
Bluetooth vs wireless?
No. All Bluetooth speakers are wireless speakers but not all wireless speakers use Bluetooth as their main audio source, although most include it. This is going to become more of an issue as wireless speaker technology evolves: for all its benefits Bluetooth does have some limits when it comes to the very highest quality digital music. We’ve got a separate guide to the best wireless speakers, and that focuses more on home speakers with Wi-Fi.
Bluetooth also turns up as an extra option on speakers that are really meant to be used with Wi-Fi or an analogue or digital, wired input, such as the Naim Mu-so 2nd Gen or B&O Beosound Level – again, we’re not really including those, and are focusing more on speakers where Bluetooth is expected to be the main way of using them and getting the tunes pumping.
How we test
When it comes to testing the best Bluetooth speakers – as you can see from our How We Test page – the T3 approach is to live with a product as if it were our own. That experience soon makes clear the pros and cons of any given device.
We’re always on the lookout for important details, too, from design and build quality, to connectivity, sound quality in various settings, and in this case just how portable a speaker is. All important factors in weighing up your prospective purchase possibilities.
The best Bluetooth speakers differ from the best wireless multi-room speakers, clearly, so we merit them on experience for intended purpose above all else. That then translates into a score out of five, with the best-of-best netting a coveted 5-star award and badge. Those are the killer products to really look out for.
