Best early Black Friday AirPods deals: AirPods hit $99 at Amazon and Walmart

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Looking to buy AirPod headphones this year, for yourself or as a gift? I have good news: All three flavors of Apple’s signature true wireless headphones are at or near the lowest prices we’ve ever seen. But let’s back up a bit: If you walk into an Apple Store, you’d be paying $159 for the standard AirPods, $199 for the AirPods with wireless charging case and $249 for the AirPods Pro with better sound quality and active noise cancellation. But with a slew of early Black Friday sales, we’re now seeing discounts that generally meet or beat price cuts we saw last month during Prime Day.

The AirPods Pro have been floating at around $200 on Amazon and elsewhere, on and off, for weeks. They’re also on sale at Woot for just $195 — within $5 of their best price ever — but that deal keeps going in and out of stock. Standard AirPods, meanwhile, have now dropped to just $99 at Amazon, Costco and Walmart, and other retailers seem to be matching it at that price. (Best Buy’s price was also briefly at $100, but has reverted back to $130 for now.)

Now, we can’t guarantee that you’ll see better prices than those between now and the end of the year. But the moral of the story is that you shouldn’t pay full price — the Apple Store price — for any Apple headphones right now. 

Sarah Tew/CNET

The AirPods Pro briefly dropped as low as $190 during Prime Day sales at Woot, but that instantly sold out. That Woot price has recently been at $195, with inventory that’s been cycling in and out of stock. Meanwhile, the Amazon price has returned to $219, but we’d expect it to drop back to $200 later in the season. 

The standard AirPods with the wired charging case dropped as low as $115 during Prime Day, but now they’ve hit an all-time low at a handful of retailers. You can get them for $100 at Amazon and (with membership) at Costco or Sam’s Club. And as of 4 p.m. PT on Nov. 4, they’re on sale at Walmart, too. 

Read our AirPods review.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Personally, I would either get the cheaper AirPods or the AirPods Pro. But if you’re really a zealot for wireless charging, know that you can get the standard AirPods with a wireless charging case for $160, which is a $39 savings versus the Apple Store price.

This article is frequently updated to reflect current pricing.