I love Nothing Ear (Open), but this $80 alternative gives them a run for their money

Ben Schoon | Feb 26 2025 - 1:00 pm PT

Over the past several months, the Nothing Ear (Open) have quickly become my favorite pair of earbuds thanks to their comfortable fit and ability to deliver excellent audio quality without blocking out the world around me. But the problem with open-ear headphones is that they’re only ever a secondary option, so price matters. That’s why this $80 alternative to the Nothing Ear (Open) has been so compelling.

Nothing Ear (Open) really surprised me last year. The excellent fit and shockingly great sound quality were things I just didn’t expect from a pair of open-ear headphones. I’ve been using them with every chance I’ve gotten, between my quiet home airport, cleaning around the house, and playing disc golf, they’ve really been my go-to in a ton of situations. But when I’m on a plane, walking through a bustling city, or anywhere else where there’s ambient noise, I end up having to grab something else – usually the regular Nothing Ear with their ANC support.

That shortcoming is exactly why it’s usually pretty hard to recommend a product like Nothing Ear (Open). They can only ever be “secondary” headphones because there are many situations where they quite literally just can’t work. At their usual $149 price – or even the $129 they’ve been discounted to lately – that’s a big downside.

The problem, though, is that many cheaper open-ear headphones fall flat where the Ear (Open) shines. They don’t fit as well or, more frequently, they just don’t sound as good. Some open-ear options I’ve tried sound fine, but hurt in my ears after a short time. Others just sound awful, with horrible tinny sounds, not enough volume, or at bare minimum a complete lack of depth to whatever you’re listening to.

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I have been pleasantly surprised, though, by the Acefast AceFit Air.

These open-ear headphones are usually sold for around $80 – though they’re currently discounted to well under $70 – and they deliver on most of my favorite things about the Ear (Open). The biggest area these deliver on is the sound quality. It’s right up there with Nothing’s, though with a bit less depth to the audio at times. The placement of the speaker also sometimes means that the music ends up drowning out a bit more of the outside world than I’d prefer. But they sound really good and, like Nothing, actually have some good bass and kick. Occasionally I’ll hear a small whine from the speakers when music is low or paused, but it’s not been a huge issue.

The fit on Acefast AceFit Air is also quite good. They’re a bit more finicky to put on compared to Ear (Open) as they wrap around the front half of your ear instead of the full length, but they sit nicely, are comfortable, and don’t fall off easily. I was also pleasently surprised with the case. It’s quite thin and has strong magnets both to keep the lid closed and the earbuds in place. I don’t like how much bigger the footprint is compared to Nothing’s case (not to mention the awkward USB-C port placement), but it’s not bad at all.

You’ll also lose out on Google’s Fast Pair here, and pairing as a whole suffers the same problem as a lot of “cheap” earbuds. There’s no button on the case for pairing. Instead, they launch into pairing when you first open the case and then stay paired to your device until you unpair and, at that point, you can go and connect to something else. The idea of this “just works,” but the execution is always super mixed. These have worked well for me so far, but I’d really just prefer a button for pairing.

But, it’s hard to complain for the cost.

Acefast AceFit Air still isn’t “cheap” at around $80, but it’s considerably more affordable compared to the Nothing Ear (Open) while delivering on the most important aspect of the experience. In my book, it’s a perfect alternative.