The best portable Bluetooth speakers you can buy right now (2024)

If you want truly affordable portable audio, this Anker Soundcore speaker is a reliable choice. With a great battery life of up to 24 hours – one of the best on our list despite its lower cost – this first-gen model is fairly no-frills compared to some of the more premium options but you still get solid audio quality, while it's more than light enough to move around your home with ease and blast your favourite playlists or podcasts. This model isn't waterproof, though, so if you do plan on bringing your speaker to the pool you may want to consider the Soundcore 2, which costs roughly £10 more.

• Size/Weight: 16.51 x 5.59 x 4.57 cm, 360g
• Waterproofing: IPX7 waterproof (submerged in 1-metre deep water for up to 30 minutes)
• Battery life: Up to 24 hours
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.2
• Wireless range: Up to 20m

With deep rumbling audio that makes your desk shake at high volumes and a design inspired by Marshall’s legendary guitar amplifiers, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Middleton is only for rock and roll. It’s not. Whether you’re a fan of hip hop, electronic or folk, this speaker gives you well-balanced and distortion-free sound, even at high levels.

If you do want to change the sound mix, you can alter bass or treble levels with a quick tap of the top buttons. And with 20 hours of battery, water resistance and multi-directional audio that blasts your tunes from all sides of the speaker, this also works brilliantly for soundtracking your next garden party. At 1.8kg, it isn’t a speaker to carry around in your backpack, but on test we found the included rubber loop helped with transportation.

• Size/weight: 10.9 x 23 x 9.5 cm, 1.8 kg
• Waterproofing: IP67 waterproof (submerged in 1-metre for up to 30 minutes)
• Battery life: Around 20 hours
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.1, AUX
• Wireless range: 10m

Bose is one of the biggest names in the audio world, so it will come as no surprise that the brand made it onto our best portable speakers roundup. Weighing in at 600g, the SoundLink Flex is a bit heavier than others on this list but at 20 cm in length, it still easily fits into a bag (or a larger jacket pocket) without issue. If you're taking it outdoors, a helpful bit of tech called "PositionIQ" adjusts the sound based on how the speaker is sitting, and it works upright, on its back or hanging via the tear-resistant utility loop that's found at one end. It's water and dustproof, and floats if it does happen to take an unexpected plunge into the pool or sea. Really, it's a top all-rounder at a solid price point.

• Size/Weight: 9 x 20.1 x 5.2 cm, 600g
• Waterproofing: IP67 waterproof (submerged in one-metre deep water for up to 30 minutes) and dustproof
• Battery life: Up to 12 hours
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.2, Bose Connect app
• Wireless range: Up to 9m

Looking for the best available audio in a Bluetooth speaker? Thanks to its heavy bass Sonos' Roam sounds just as good in the living room as it does in the park. It automatically adjusts the levels depending on whether you're in or outdoors, and we rarely found ourselves having to manually correct anything when moving it about during a test. The Roam has Google Assistant and Alexa included so you can use voice control to switch up the playlist, jam for up to 10 hours, and it also holds up well to water splashes and dust.

• Size/Weight: 6.2 x 5.9 x 16.8 cm, 430g
• Waterproofing: IP67 waterproof (submerged in 1-metre deep water for up to 30 minutes) and dustproof
• Battery life: Up to 10 hours
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi, AirPlay 2
• Wireless range: Up to 40m

If you've got a bit more cash to spend, the large and powerful Sonos Move could be your best option. It's double the price of the Roam listed above, but it consistently performed better during testing. Our deep house tunes were clean no matter where we put it, as it scans its immediate surroundings and tweaks the levels to get the perfect sound, and it could quite easily replace your main at-home speaker. Sure, it's slightly less portable than other options, but you can sync it up to multiple speakers to get them all working in tandem for a banging party.

• Size/Weight: 22.7 x 22.9 x 31 cm, 3kg
• Waterproofing: IP56 rating (protected from high-pressure water jets and light dust)
• Battery life: up to 11 hours
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5, Wi-Fi, Alexa, Google Assistant, AirPlay2
• Wireless range: 100m

If you're after a top-spec wireless speaker that's going to last, check out the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore, which has the longest battery life of any other model on this list. B&O is one of our favourite brands for delivering crisp, clean sound at home, and we loved being able to take that same reliability away from the plug socket. It has a fabric clip to attach it to bag handles, and is water and dustproof too.

• Size/Weight: 12.4 x 8.1 x 8.1cm, 631g
• Waterproofing: IP67 waterproof (submerged in 1-metre deep water for up to 30 minutes) and dustproof
• Battery life: Up to 27 hours
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2
• Wireless range: Up to 30m

Going camping or need to bring some loud tunes to a garden party? Anker’s Motion Boom Plus is for you. It may stretch the limits of what we would consider "portable", but the carry strap design helps it to earn a place on this list. This beast of a speaker emits 80W of pure sound (two 30W woofers and two 10W tweeters) and has Anker’s BassUp technology that’s certain to turn heads. Sure, this may be overkill for a chilled-out afternoon in the sun, but anyone who wants sheer power will also get to enjoy a 20-hour battery and water and dust protection.

• Size/Weight: 38.9 x 14 x 19.56 cm, 2.28kg
• Waterproofing: IP67 waterproof (up to 1 metre in depth) and dustproof
• Battery life: Up to 20 hours
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, AUX
• Wireless range: 10-15m

Want to browse even more options? Here's a selection of UK retailers where you can find some of the best portable Bluetooth speakers to suit every budget:

• Shop Bluetooth speakers at Amazon
• Shop Bluetooth speakers at Currys
• Shop Bluetooth speakers at AO
• Shop Bluetooth speakers at Very
• Shop Bluetooth speakers at John Lewis
• Shop Bluetooth speakers at Argos

From battery life to durability, there's a lot to consider when buying a Bluetooth speaker, but we're here to help. Here's what you need to know before purchasing:

Waterproofing

Using the Bluetooth speaker around the pool or at the beach? You’ll want it to be waterproof. At the very least, you'll need to look out for at least an IP 55 protection rating – which keeps your device safe from splashes – but preferably go for IP67, which means it can survive being fully submerged for half an hour. Luckily, most speaker-makers know the risks, so many devices are now designed to float.

Battery life

Bluetooth speakers use internal batteries that can be recharged through USB or USB-C cables, though be mindful that the louder and longer that you listen, the quicker your juice runs out.

Our top picks on this list will last anywhere between six and 27 hours, so it’s worth considering how you will be using the speaker. Some of the more expensive Bluetooth models will support wireless charging, too.

Weight

In most cases, you'll want to pick a Bluetooth speaker that's light enough to take with you away from home, or at least easily moved around indoors. Most of the options on this list are portable and can be carried one-handed, with the larger devices often having a carry strap or trolley handle for easier transportation.

Dimensions

It depends on how and where you want to use the speaker, but it’s important to consider size. The majority of our favourites are relatively small and will easily fit in your backpack or rucksack, although there are also sizable options that can be used for karaoke sessions or outdoor shows via an aux port or a guitar-in port. These are usually plug-and-play, so still very convenient.

Smart features

Alongside Bluetooth connectivity, modern speakers might have built-in voice assistants such as Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa, or Google Assistant to help you switch tracks using just your voice, great if your hands are already full with beer and sausage rolls. If you're feeling old school, you might also be able to connect them via a 3.5mm aux or audio input.

Wireless range

If you're prone to venturing away from your speaker with your phone in your pocket, you'll want to find a model with a decent range so you can stay connected from a distance.

High-end speakers allow you to stray the furthest, but most models on our list will perform just fine within a 50-metre radius.