The Best Shower Speakers of 2023

If belting out your favorite song in the shower sounds like a good time to you, well, you’re not alone! Most of us sing in the shower—and there’s actually some interesting science behind it. 

The shower is a warm, safe, quiet place where you can be alone with your thoughts. It also has fantastic acoustics! Plus, the warm water makes us release dopamine, a feel-good brain chemical that helps us relax and, apparently, makes us want to sing.

If you want to make your next shower solo a duet, why not pick up a shower speaker? These small waterproof speakers can blast out tunes in the shower, letting your inner rock star come out (or drowning out your less-than-pitch-perfect voice).

Not a shower singer? Well, you can also catch up on the news, listen to a podcast, or cram a chapter of an audiobook into your next shower time. Talk about multi-tasking!

The best shower speakers are waterproof (duh), have Bluetooth connectivity, and have a good wireless range so that your phone or tablet can sit safely on the counter while you scrub. Of course, they also need to have good sound quality, and enough volume to be heard over the running water. 

Based on a combination of features, sound quality, waterproof rating and value, these are our picks for the best shower speakers on the market today.

Best Shower Speaker: JBL Charge 5

JBL is an American audio company that has long made high-quality speakers and audio equipment. The Charge 5 is the latest edition of its popular wireless speaker, and it’s a winner. With rich sound, good battery life, and a fully waterproof design, overall it’s the best Bluetooth shower speaker on the market right now. 

The Charge 5 has an IP67 waterproof rating, which means it’s waterproof and dustproof. In theory, the speaker could be left fully submerged in water for up to half an hour without getting damaged. It definitely won’t have any problem handling a few splashes in the shower! 

The speaker also has impressive battery life (up to 20 hours of playtime), and offers the option to charge other devices via a built-in USB-A port. The speaker itself charges via USB C: there’s an appropriate cable in the box, but no wall charger.

Equally at home elsewhere in the house or outdoors, the Charge 5 can be paired with other JBL speakers that use its “PartyBoost” technology for stereo/surround-sound playback.

The Charge 5 is a little bigger than some of our other recommendations, which comes with a big benefit: sound quality. With room inside for a long, racetrack-shaped driver, separate tweeter, and two bass radiators, you end up with an impressively full sound profile from what is still a small portable speaker.

The only real drawback of this unit is that it doesn’t have a built-in wall mount or loop for hanging the speaker, so it’ll need to sit on the shower floor or shelf if you have one.

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Runner-Up, Best Shower Speaker: UE Wonderboom 3

ULTIMATE EARS, also known as just “UE”, is a close competitor of JBL and makes equally impressive portable speakers. The Wonderboom 3 is among the company’s most popular, and a great option for listening in the shower. 

The unit is compact, about the size of a softball, but you wouldn’t know that from listening to it. The speaker provides rich, loud sound despite its small size, and there’s even an “outdoor boost” mode which bumps up clarity and volume even further. 

The rounded design of the speaker means that sound is projected in every direction, providing a true 360-degree sound experience. Battery life is good despite the small size, with up to 14 hours of continuous playtime on one charge. That’s a lot of showers!

The Wonderboom 3 has the same IP67 rating as the JBL above, meaning it’s highly resistant to both water and dust. It’s also designed to float, so you can use it in the bathtub or swimming pool as well as in the shower. You can also pair with a second Wonderboom speaker for a surround-sound experience.

Volume and playback can be controlled directly from the device , and there’s a small loop to make it easy to hang from a shower rack. That said, the speaker is small enough that you shouldn’t have a problem squeezing it in next to your shampoo.

There’s one small, albeit quite annoying, downside to this unit: it’s really hard to tell how much charge the battery has left. There’s no clear battery level read-out; instead, you have to power it on and listen for one of three distinct sounds which indicate the approximate charge remaining.

We’d also have liked to see UE finally replace the micro-USB charging port with a USB C version in this model. It’s rare to find anything coming with the older type of socket these days, and makes for slower charging time: around two and a half hours from empty to full.

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Best Clip-On Shower Speaker: JBL Clip 4

Want legendary JBL sound quality without splurging for the high-end Charge 5? The JBL Clip 4 is a great shower speaker option that’s inexpensive yet packs a punch when it comes to sound quality. 

The Clip 4 is an ultra-portable speaker designed for use on-the-go. As the name suggests, it has an inbuilt clip that’s lets you easily attach it to your backpack, purse, shower rack, or anything else for that matter.

Available in nine colors, it’s lightweight enough (8.4 ounces) that you can easily walk around with it hanging off your backpack or purse, without it feeling heavy or swinging around. 

That built-in carabiner also makes the Clip 4 exceptionally easy to use in the shower: just hang it from the shower rack, or the shower head itself. Like our top picks above, an IP67 rating means that you don’t need to worry about the speaker getting wet.

The battery life (around 10 hours) is half that of the Charge 5, but the Clip 4 is less than half the size (and half the cost) as well, so we’re not going to complain about that.

Like the WONDERBOOM 2 above, though, the JBL Clip 4 doesn’t have a clear battery level indicator, so it’s tough to know how much juice you have left. Apart from that, it’s a great all-around speaker that’s very reasonably priced for what you get.

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Best Stick-On Shower Speaker: iFox iF012

All the products we’ve mentioned so far are general-purpose portable speakers that happen to be waterproof, and are therefore fine in the shower. The iFox iF012, on the other hand, is specifically designed for shower use. 

This inexpensive speaker has a built-in suction cup that makes it easy to attach to the shower wall, and also comes with a carabiner that you can use to hang it if you prefer. You can sync two units to create surround sound, and the speaker is cheap enough that you just might want to do that!

The sound quality is good, but it doesn’t measure up to our top picks, particularly when it comes to bass. That said, at this price point, we’re fine with the sound quality. 

The iFox has a IPX7 rating. The IP67 rating of the above models is better overall, since it adds dust resistance, but there’s no difference when it comes to water. As a result, the iFox isn’t ideal for taking to the beach or on a hike, but it’s just as good as our top picks when it comes to keeping the water out.

Battery life is reasonable for a unit this size, at around ten hours. Charging is handled via a microUSB port: there’s a cable in the box, but no wall charger.

Our only gripe would be that the suction cup can wear out over time, particularly if the speaker is moved around frequently. It’s not a certainty that this will happen, but it’s common enough to make it worth mentioning.

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Best Shower Speaker With AM/FM Radio: Sangean H202

Prefer FM radio to Spotify in the shower? The Sangean H202 is the way to go, since it includes AM and FM radio capabilities as well as traditional Bluetooth connectivity. It includes 20 radio presets, and has a large clock so you know just how late you’re running in the morning.

The speaker also doubles as a basic emergency radio. It receives NOAA channels for public weather alerts, and has a built-in emergency light and buzzer. Sound quality is fine, although not on par with our top picks. The radio functionality is the highlight here. 

The Sangean H202 is battery powered, taking two replaceable D-cell batteries. You can also plug it in directly to the wall, which is a useful touch. A rotating handle on the top can be used to hang the speaker over a hook or shower head, and there’s also a flexible strap for the same purpose.

At 9.3 x 5.6 inches, the H202 is relatively large by the standards of shower speakers, so just double-check you’ve got the space for it before you order.’

It’s also worth noting that while the speaker is IPX7-rated, some parts tend to retain water if the unit gets drenched. It’s unlikely to cause a problem, but still, we’d suggest placing it in an area of the shower that doesn’t get too much direct impact from water if possible.

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Best Budget Shower Speaker: INSMY C12

If you’re after a good waterproof shower speaker on a budget, the INSMY C12 is our current pick. It’s very easy on the wallet, while still offering good audio and an IPX7 waterproof rating. 

This is another unit that’s specifically designed for use in the shower. It has a suction cup that sticks to the wall, along with a built-in cord that can be used to hang it from your shower stand or faucet. There’s even an inbuilt mic, if you feel the need to take phone calls while washing your hair.

Available in six colors, you can expect the speaker to play for roughly 12 hours on a single charge of the internal battery. That’s pretty good for the price, and you can say the same thing about the sound quality. Audiophiles will want to look elsewhere, but that’s true of most portable speakers.

As is often the case with cheap speakers, though, the wireless connectivity can be a bit spotty on this unit. This is particularly true if the audio source (i.e. your phone) is placed more than a few feet from the speaker. If that’s a major problem, note that you can also play audio directly from a microSD/TF card as well.

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Best High-End Shower Speaker: Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1

The Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 is a decidedly fancy-sounding speaker, and its performance lives up to its name. This is a high-end portable speaker, with a high price tag to match, and you get plenty for your money.

Audio quality is very impressive for the size of the speaker, with deep bass and clear, rich vocals. If you want to use it for calls, the three far-field microphones help ensure the person on the other end can hear you clearly no matter how far away you’re standing.

Relatively small and light, the A1 should fit easily in your shower rack. It also has an inbuilt strap that you can hang over the shower head, towel hook, or anything similar.

Voice control is supported by way of Amazon Alexa, so if you really need to know how much an elephant weighs mid-shower, the speaker’s got you covered. Controls around the side let you set the volume level and play/pause/skip tracks, but you can also use your voice to do the same thing.

You’ll get around 18 hours of playback at normal listening volumes, and anything up to 43 hours with the volume turned down low. Charging is handled via a USB C socket on the side. There’s a USB C to USB-A cable in the box, but as usual, no wall charger.

Like all good shower speakers, the Beosound A1 has an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance. It’s available in five stylish colors, and has a classy, minimalist design. 

The downside here is that this speaker isn’t cheap, and is probably overkill if you only want to use it in the shower. If you’re after a high-end portable speaker that you can use anywhere inside and outside the house, however, with long battery life and useful extra features, the A1 is the way to go.

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Main image via Dean Drobot/Shutterstock.com, product images via Amazon