7 Best Lavalier Microphones Under $100 For Smartphones

With the rise of smartphones and social media, it's true that anyone can become a creator. While you don't need professional studios or expensive camera equipment to get started in the field, a good lav mic has to be at the top of your list. For those unaware, a lavalier, or lapel microphone, is a small microphone that can be clipped onto clothing or other objects to capture audio.

As prefaced above, lav microphones are compact and can greatly enhance audio quality when shooting videos, conducting interviews, or recording podcasts. They come in handy if you want to elevate the audio quality of your Instagram Reels or TikTok videos too.

In this post, we shall take a look at some of the best lavalier microphones that you can use with your smartphones without breaking the bank.

But first, you might want to check out the following:

Buy

Despite its price tag, the Audio-Technica ATR3350xiS features an omnidirectional pickup pattern. As such, the mic can pick up sound from all directions. This is useful if you want to capture ambient sounds when you’re recording a clip.

The microphone also comes with a long cable that measures six meters, which gives you plenty of freedom to move around while recording. The cable also has an integrated volume control, which is a nice touch. In terms of sound quality, the ATR3350xiS performs well for its price range. It's not the best microphone for professional-grade recordings, but it's more than adequate for casual use and basic video production.

Buy

Similar to the Audio-Technica ATR3350xiS, the MAYBESTA Wireless for iPhone also features an omnidirectional sound reception. It also comes with a baked-in, noise-cancellation feature to remove background sounds. You also get an LED indicator light with the microphone.

It goes without saying that the best part about MAYBESTA's lapel mic is that it's wireless. You need to plug the receiver into your iPhone or iPad, and that's it. You can then either hold the lavalier microphone in your hand. Or alternatively, you can clip it to your clothes too. It comes with a 65mAh battery which the brand claims should easily last 4.5 hours, and the device has a range of 50ft as well.

Buy

The Sony ECM-LV1 comes with a flexible rotating clip that lets you attach the microphone at any which angle. You won't have to worry about microphone placement either as the device's omnidirectional mic capsules deliver high-quality and clear sound by capturing audio from all directions simultaneously.

One clear advantage of a wired microphone is that you need not worry about charging it. The ECM-LV1 works seamlessly, drawing power from the 3.5mm jack. That being said, a cable length of just 1m does limit your use cases, so there's that.

Buy

The receiver for the AIKELA Dual Wireless Lavalier Microphone comes with a barrage of ports, allowing you to easily connect to it your smartphones, cameras, and whatnot. Moreover, the receiver also has a headphone jack to monitor audio. As for the microphones themselves, you get a pair of wireless omnidirectional microphones included with the retail packaging.

The mics connect to the receiver via the 2.4GHz band, and they seemingly have a wide range. More importantly, the microphones also come with a windproof mode. It's essentially noise cancellation, though you can choose to turn it off as well. For its price, not only do you get wireless connectivity with rich sound, but you also get two microphones. This is super handy if you want to conduct interviews, where you can wear one transmitter, while the other person can wear the other transmitter.

Buy

At just a fraction of the price of the Rode Wireless GO II, the PERWHY lav mic offers a wireless transmitter and receiver. The receiver can plug into your smartphones via a 3.5mm TRSS cable, or via a 3.5mm TRS cable for your cameras. The receiver features a built-in DSP chip, which processes your sound to boost clarity. In doing so, the device mitigates the need to manually edit your recordings later on.

As for the transmitter, it features a microphone on its frame which works adequately well. However, for better results, the package also includes a wired lapel microphone to attach to the transmitter, which you can then place close to your mouth for precise audio capture.

Design similarities aside, consumers love the fact that these microphones capture excellent audio which is on par with the recordings from more expensive Rode mics.

Buy

While you can technically use the Shure MVL as a plug-and-play lapel microphone for iPhone or Android, the company has gone a step ahead and created the ShurePlus MOTIV app. You can use the app to get better control over the gain, as well as record audio in the best quality possible.

Speaking of the audio quality, the Shure MVL records clear audio that sounds quite natural. In fact, as highlighted by AudioVideoPro, the Shure MVL does a fine job of recording voiceovers and can come in handy for journalists who are always on the go too.

Buy

The Rode SmartLav+ is a simple lavalier microphone that comes with a 3.5mm jack and plugs into your smartphone. The mic's cable is quite sturdy too, thanks to its kevlar-reinforced build. What's more, the package also includes a pop filter which assists in reducing wind noise, as well as hard speech sounds.

Similar to the Shure MVL, Rode also has its own recording app for smartphones, namely Reporter App. That said, the microphone in itself is plug-and-play, so you can record natively, or with any third-party app of your choice. What matters is the audio quality, and the Rode SmartLav+ absolutely shines there.

The folks over at MicrophoneGeeks highlight that the SmartLav+ delivers a superb sound profile. With over 6,700 reviews and a 4.4-star rating on Amazon, the Rode SmartLav+ is the go-to recommendation for folks on the hunt for the best lavalier mic without having to spend a fortune.

Yes, a lavalier microphone, also known as a lapel mic, can be a type of condenser microphone. In fact, most lavalier microphones are condenser microphones, which are known for their sensitivity and ability to capture clear, detailed sound.

Typically, a lavalier microphone, or lapel mic, is a mono microphone. This means that it captures sound from a single source and produces a single audio channel. However, there are stereo lavalier microphones available as well, such as the Sony ECM-LV1 mentioned above.

Whether you’re a content creator, journalist, or simply looking to improve the audio quality of your recordings, our list of the best Lavalier microphones should fulfill your requirements. Thanks to their compact design and high-quality sound output, you can easily capture professional-grade audio on the go.

Ideally, both the Shure MVL and the Rode SmartLav+ are great options. However, if you’re recording via an iPhone, MAYBESTA Wireless proves to be one of the best lavalier microphones.

Last updated on 21 March, 2023

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The content head for the Guiding Tech YouTube channels, Varun also contributes to the website for Buying Guides and Product Explainers. Feel free to reach out to him on Twitter.