If you're considering upgrading your home audio, there's a very good chance you have come across Sonos and Bose. The two brands are extremely well known in the audio market and for good reason. Bose is renowned for its superior audio quality and has a long-standing reputation as a traditional hi-fi brand, while Sonos is the master of aesthetically pleasing speakers that deliver great sound performance and a multitude of clever features.
Both Sonos and Bose have a huge range of products within their portfolios, from soundbars and surround sound systems, to smart speakers with voice control and Bluetooth speakers that can withstand the elements, whether that be your garden or the beach.
Neither Sonos or Bose has announced new products in 2025 as yet, but both brands released superb offerings in 2024, with Sonos announcing the Roam 2 portable Bluetooth speaker and the flagship Arc Ultra soundbar, while Bose released its smaller Smart Soundbar and SoundLink Max portable speaker. With those releases joining multiple other options for both brands, however, choosing between Sonos and Bose is no easy feat, and the right brand for you will depend on what you are looking for.
I've reviewed speakers and soundbars from both Sonos and Bose over the last decade so I've compared the two brands below across various areas to help you figure out which is the best option for you. If you're looking for the best connectivity options and a more traditional hi-fi look and feel, it's Bose you'll want to pay more attention to. If you're looking for speakers with some design flair and a wealth of features, however, it's Sonos that wins.
This page has been completely updated for 2025, and from a new perspective. I'm a tech journalist who has been testing audio brands for years, with a background in interior design publications, so I'm well-placed to advise on how these brands rank across all sectors. Read on for a closer comparison of the two brand's designs, audio quality, price, as well as their soundbar and smart speaker options to help you make an informed decision for you and your needs.
Which Has Better Sales?
With Amazon Prime Day upon us, it's officially tech summer sale time. So, which brand has the best discounts? If you can't resist a deal, this might be the clincher, after all.
Sonos: From now until 11th July, Sonos has an up to 25% sale on its products, including £120 off the Move 2 and £210 off this Beam and Sub mini-woofer set. The Amazon Prime Day Sonos prices undercut the Sonos sale by £10 on almost every product, however.
Bose: In its flash summer sale, Bose's Smart Soundbar has £100 off, and the Bose SoundLink Max portable speaker has £70 off (Amazon's deal has £100 off), among other big deals.
Design
Let's look at the Sonos Move 2 vs Bose SoundLink Max for an easy comparison of the brands' design quality.
Design is subjective, but both Sonos and Bose offer contemporary speakers that will blend seamlessly into any modern home so there is a high possibility you will be thrilled with either.
Sonos has the edge on the design front in my opinion, however — with many of its soundbars and speakers featuring curved edges, matte soft-to-touch finishes, and organic shapes that help to create a more inviting space, despite the presence of tech. Its Era 300 is a fantastic piece of design in its own right, but it is also a brilliant speaker in terms of audio quality, while the Arc Ultra soundbar might be big, but its curves ensure it's not overbearing.
Bose deserves plenty of credit for its sleek and sophisticated speaker and soundbar designs too, though. The brand is more traditional in its approach, which will suit some homes and tastes better, but there are extra features like handles and loops on the Bluetooth speakers and materials like glass feature on Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar for a different look. Bose also offers more colors than Sonos for its small Bluetooth speaker in the SoundLink Flex Portable, and it is more versatile when it comes to connections too, making it the better option for those looking for a choice.
Winner: Sonos for design, Bose for connectivity
Audio Quality
My Sonos speaker collection means I've tested these devices in different contexts.
As with design, audio quality is also subjective. We all have personal preferences in how we want our music and movies to sound. Bose has long been known to deliver great sound performance, but Sonos punches well above its weight in this department too.
Sonos speakers and soundbars are typically known for delivering balanced, natural, and engaging audio, and while the app has had some issues over the last year, it supports over 100 music streaming services and delivers plenty of features like Trueplay, which enables you to tune your Sonos speakers to your room very easily and within a couple of minutes.
The Sonos Arc Ultra is one of the most impressive Dolby Atmos soundbars you can buy, while the cheaper Beam (Gen 2) delivers a great virtual Dolby Atmos experience on a tighter budget. In terms of speakers, the Era 300 stands out within the Sonos range as I mentioned, offering an exceptionally immersive experience with detailed, spacious, and dynamic sound, while the smaller and cheaper Era 100 offers crisp and clear detail for its smaller size. Even the smallest and cheapest Sonos Roam 2 Bluetooth speaker packs a punch, so overall, having tested all of Sonos' speakers and soundbars, I've always been impressed by the audio quality on offer from the bottom of the range to the very top.
Bose meanwhile, is often praised for offering vibrant, punchy, and exciting sound delivery with pronounced bass and treble, as well as a wide soundstage from compact speakers and impressive dialogue clarity from soundbars. The Bose app offers multi-room capabilities, and it too has features like the ability to tune a speaker to the room's acoustics through ADAPTiQ, but the process is a little less user-friendly than Sonos. That said, there are better connectivity options in Bose speakers and soundbars, as I mentioned.
The Bose SoundLink Max offers lively, energetic sound with powerful bass, while the smaller SoundLink Flex offers a clear and detailed midrange and the Bose Portable Home Speaker delivers a warm and well-balanced sound. When it comes to soundbars, the latest Bose Smart Soundbar delivers well-defined and open sound, along with good levels of detail and drive, while the larger and more expensive Smart Ultra Soundbar has detailed, balanced, and notably wide sound performance, though it could be punchier.
Winner: Sonos for balanced and natural sound, Bose for punchier and more exciting performance
Pricing
Bose used to be considered more expensive than Sonos, but that has changed in recent years, with the two brands now almost like for like in terms of pricing. Both do sit within the premium end of the market, however, so whichever brand you pick, you are looking at spending at least £150 for a speaker and at least £200 for a soundbar.
Sonos' most expensive product is the Arc Ultra, which costs £999, while the cheapest product is the Roam 2 which costs £179. There are plenty of options in between those two products, however, with the Era 100 priced at £199, the Bluetooth Move 2 priced at £399, and the Era 300 priced at £449 on the speaker side. Meanwhile, the Ray soundbar hits the budget end of home cinema at £199 and the Beam (Gen 2) sits in the middle of Sonos' soundbar offering at £449. You can also still buy the older Arc soundbar, which competes with the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar for £719.
Bose's portfolio has a cheaper starting price than Sonos with the Bose SoundLink Micro Bluetooth Speaker starting at £119.95 while the most expensive equivalent product is the Smart Ultra Soundbar that costs £899.95, though Bose also has other products like an F1 Subwoofer that sits above the £1,000 mark, as well as Sub2 Powered Bass Module that costs £1,199.
As with Sonos however, there are multiple options in between, with the Bose Solo Soundbar 2 costing £179.95, the Bose TV Speaker sitting at £269.95 and the Bose Smart Soundbar costing £499.95. Speakers include the SoundLink Flex which costs £149.95, the SoundLink Revolve+ II which costs £299.95, the Portable Smart Speaker which costs £379.95 and the SoundLink Max which costs £399.95, while also offering surround speaker options.
Winner: Bose is fractionally cheaper
Soundbars
Bose's Smart Ultra Soundbar, above, and Sonos Arc, below.
Both Bose and Sonos have four main options to choose from in their soundbar ranges. Sonos has the Ray, Beam, Arc, and Arc Ultra, while Bose has the Solo Soundbar 2, the TV Speaker, the Smart Soundbar, and the Smart Ultra Soundbar.
If you have a decent budget, the Sonos Arc Ultra is the latest option from Sonos, having launched in October 2024, and it is a phenomenal soundbar with 14 Sonos-engineered drivers and advanced technologies like Sound Motion for deeper bass within a smaller package.
The closest in terms of size to Bose is its Smart Ultra Soundbar, launched in 2023, and it is £100 cheaper than the Arc Ultra. It has upward-firing speakers, nine speakers, and TrueSpace technology for multi-directional sound. Despite being superior on the connection front however, this soundbar isn't as highly praised as the Arc Ultra in terms of performance and if you're going to spend this kind of money on a soundbar, the Arc Ultra is the one I would recommend.
If your budget is tighter, you will likely be deciding between the Sonos Beam Gen 2 and the Bose Smart Soundbar, both of which sit around the £500 mark. The Bose Smart Soundbar supports actual Dolby Atmos, while the Beam Gen 2 is designed to handle Dolby Atmos audio but it doesn't have dedicated height speakers so it uses virtualization techniques to deliver the immersive experience. Both are excellent soundbars for their price, so this decision may come down to which design you prefer.
Smart Speakers
When it comes to the speaker offerings from Bose and Sonos, the Sonos range is a little simpler to navigate. It has two portable options in the Roam 2 and Move 2, along with three wired options in the Era 100, Era 300 and Sonos Five. The latest options from Sonos are the Roam 2 and Move 2, though the Era 100 and Era 300 are newer than the Sonos Five having launched in 2023 compared to 2020 and they offer Bluetooth capabilities which the Five doesn’t.
For Bose, there's the SoundLink range that has the Micro, Flex, Max and Revolve+ II, but there is also the Bose Portable Speaker and dedicated Bose Surround Speakers and Bass Modules. The latest models for Bose are the SoundLink Max and the Smart Soundbar.
If you're after a portable Bluetooth speaker, you'll likely be looking at the Sonos Roam 2 or the Bose SoundLink Flex, both of which are great Bluetooth speakers for their small size. For a larger and more rugged Bluetooth speaker, there's the Sonos Move 2 which directly competes with the Bose SoundLink Max. Again, both are excellent Bluetooth speakers with superb performance, though neither are as portable as the smaller options from either company.
Sonos doesn't have a speaker under £150 as Bose does in the SoundLink Micro, but Bose doesn't have a speaker that can compete with the Era 300 in terms of performance. The closest to Sonos' Era 100 from Bose is the Bose SoundLink Revolve+ II in terms of price, and while the Era 100 is more impressive in terms of features and performance, the SoundLink Revolve+ II can be moved around.
Where Bose's offering does take the edge is surround speakers. Bose offers a pair of surround speakers for £350 and another pair for £550, whereas Sonos wants you to buy two Era 100 or two Era 300 speakers for this purpose and that works out more expensive. That said, both offer bundle offers with their soundbars, so make sure you check their sites for the best deals if you're looking at a whole home cinema setup.
Sonos vs Bose: Which Brand Wins?
Sonos and Bose both offer excellent products across their portfolios with contemporary designs and great sound performance across the board. Both design and audio preferences are subjective so you may have already decided on a clear winner for you from what I have told you about my experience with both brands.
I think Sonos has the edge on the design front thanks to its speakers and soundbars offering curved edges and soft-to-touch finishes that create a more inviting atmosphere, and the audio quality from all its options is excellent. On the other hand, Bose offers more connectivity options, its soundbars are more compact and contemporary, while the speakers cover a wider range of budgets and some come in more colour options than Sonos.
Sonos takes the overall win for a number of reasons, but Bose is also a great choice and especially for those who prioritise functionality over aesthetics.
