You already know not to judge Yoda by his size; the Force is strong in that little guy. The same can be said for certain Bluetooth speakers: Size matters not! The best small speakers deliver big sound, great battery life, a waterproof design and more — often with budget price tags to boot. Those are some real Jedi powers right there.
And as someone who prefers to travel as light as possible, whether I’m getting on an airplane or headed to the neighborhood pickleball courts, I’m always on the lookout for something I can toss in my bag without adding much bulk or weight. Recently I tested mini speakers from JBL, Soundcore, Sony, Tribit and Ultimate Ears to see if there was a standout, a head-and-shoulders (ears-and-shoulders?) champion. Spoiler alert: They’re all varying degrees of very good.
Quick Overview
This is familiar territory for me; I’ve been reviewing tech products for over 30 years and have listened to a lot of speakers. So check out my top picks below, followed by sections on how I tested, what to look for when shopping for small speakers and more. And if you’re looking for something bigger, see our story on the best outdoor speakers.
Table of contents:
The best small speaker overall
Rick Broida/Yahoo
- Smallest, lightest speaker in the group
- Nine color combinations available, or you can design your own
- Impressive sound for its size
- Made from partially recycled materials
- Often on sale for just $40
- Below-average battery life
- Confusing print instructions
- Buttons are a bit stiff and hard to see in low light
The best budget small speaker
Rick Broida/Yahoo
Other small speakers we liked
Rick Broida/Yahoo
Rick Broida/Yahoo
Rick Broida/Yahoo
Factors to consider when buying a small speaker
Battery life: The last thing you want is a dead speaker in the middle of your party, picnic or whatever. While not every model here can last a full day, all of them are good for at least five hours — some double or triple that. Keep in mind that battery life can vary significantly depending on things like volume level, equalizer settings and any extras you might use (like LED accent lighting).
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Floats in water: A few of these speakers are not only waterproof, they can actually float. That doesn’t mean you’d want to bring them into the pool with you — most of the actual speaker would be submerged — but if you’re out boating or something and it accidentally gets knocked into the water, it wouldn’t end up at the bottom of the lake.
Microphone: A speaker that also has a microphone can double as a speakerphone. Yes, your phone can do that already, but this gives you the option of louder, clearer sound. The flipside is that the microphone might not be quite as good as the one in your phone, but overall it’s a still a nice feature to have.
Multi-speaker: A single speaker can’t produce true stereo separation. If that’s something you want, or you’re looking to “spread out the sound” across a larger area, look for a speaker that can be paired with at least one twin.
Waterproof rating: All five speakers here are full waterproof, meaning they can survive a full-on dunk in a pool, lake, etc. That’s indicated by the “7” in the “IPX7” rating. Some are also dustproof (the “6” in an “IP67” rating), meaning sand and other particles shouldn’t interfere with their operation.
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How we tested small speakers
My evaluation of these speakers started with opening the box: Did I find useful, novice-friendly instructions inside? Granted, it’s neither time-consuming nor difficult to pair a Bluetooth speaker with a phone or tablet, but if you’ve never done it before, you need that bit of guidance. Unfortunately, in most cases you get only a small, incomplete quick-start guide — one that usually directs you to scan a QR code for a more detailed manual.
Then I moved onto the controls: Were they clearly labeled, easy to see and/or obvious in their functions? I don’t want to have to consult said manual just to remember which button is for power and which is to play/pause music. (Looking at you, Wonderboom 4.)
Hey, Ultimate Ears, what’s going on with these controls? You’ve got three buttons up there — two of which don’t really even look like buttons — and they’re all unlabeled. (Rick Broida/Yahoo)
Finally: sound quality. That’s always a subjective subject, and I wasn’t expecting miracles from speakers small enough to fit in my palm. Similarly, I didn’t expect much bass — but I was certainly on the lookout (listen-out?) for it.
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For testing purposes, I paired each model to my iPhone 16e (no issues on that front), then set the volume level to 50% and, where possible, the equalizer to its default setting. (The Sony and Ultimate Ears speakers don’t offer EQs.) I listened to my favorite playlists, both in my house and outdoors, to get a sense for power, clarity and overall audio quality. Meanwhile, did voices sound clear in podcasts? And when I cranked the volume to 100%, was there any distortion?
I also watched some TikTok videos to make sure the audio was in proper synchronization — which it occasionally wasn’t. (See the FAQ section, below.)
We didn’t test battery life because it’s not only extremely time-consuming, but also inconsistent: Runtime is affected by things like volume level, equalizer settings and so on. What’s more, we don’t consider it a make-or-break feature: Are you going to avoid buying a particular speaker if a battery test shows that it lasts, say, 9 hours instead of the rated 10 hours?
FAQs
Can I use a small speaker for watching videos?
Yes, and in fact these can be great when you want bigger, better sound than what you can get from your phone’s speaker. Just note that synchronization can be an issue: The Tribit StormBox Mini+ was noticeably out of sync with TikTok videos, and the others exhibited a hint of lag (though not so much as to ruin the viewing experience). A lot of Bluetooth headphones have special modes to compensate for this kind of thing; not so any of these speakers.
Which small portable speaker is the loudest?
In this group, that honor goes to the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4. Although it doesn’t have the highest wattage, it’s definitely the loudest speaker.
Can small speakers have good bass?
I’d say they can have decent bass. They’re limited by their physical size; there just isn’t room enough for the hardware necessary to produce that deep, boisterous boom. If that’s important to you, consider stepping up to something larger.
