The Best USB Microphones for Calls, Meetings and Recording

On a call, people notice whether they can understand you without effort far more than they notice your slides. A good microphone in a normal room, close to your mouth, does more for how you come across than any camera. These four cover a tight budget through to a setup you will not outgrow.

Dynamic or condenser

This is the main technical decision.

Dynamic microphones are less sensitive. They pick up what is close and ignore the rest. In an untreated bedroom office with a hard floor and a mechanical keyboard, that is exactly what you want. The trade-off is you need to be close, within a hand’s width.

Condenser microphones are more sensitive and more detailed. In a quiet, soft room they sound superb. In a normal room they pick up the echo, the fan, and the neighbour’s dog. Most USB mics sold for streaming are condensers, which is why so many streamers sound like they are in a bathroom.

For calls from a home office, buy dynamic unless you know your room is quiet.

The boom arm is not optional

A dynamic mic on a desk stand sits half a metre from your mouth and sounds thin. On a boom arm, swung in to just below your chin and out of the camera frame, it sounds like radio. Budget for an arm. A basic clamp-on arm costs less than lunch and is the single biggest upgrade after the mic itself. A boom arm is one of the upgrades in our desk setup essentials, alongside a webcam and a light bar.

#1 Best overall

Shure MV7+

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• Dynamic
• USB-C and XLR
• Real-time denoiser
• Touch panel with LED

Pros

• +Rejects keyboard noise and room echo
• +Sounds like a broadcast on an ordinary call
• +XLR output grows with you

Cons

• –Needs a boom arm to sit close enough
• –Pricey for calls alone

The MV7+ is the microphone you see on podcasts because it works in rooms that are not studios. The dynamic capsule ignores most of what is happening around you, and the built-in denoiser cleans up what is left. On a Zoom call it sounds close to a broadcast setup. The touch strip on top handles mute and gain.

It has both USB-C and XLR, so if you ever buy an audio interface the mic comes with you. It needs an arm to be close enough, and it costs more than most people expect to spend on a microphone for meetings. Owners rarely report regretting it.

#2 Best value

Samson Q2U

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• Dynamic
• USB and XLR
• Headphone monitoring
• Includes desk stand

Pros

• +Remarkably good for the money
• +Same dual output as mics costing far more
• +Durable

Cons

• –Desk stand puts it too far from your mouth
• –Needs gain cranked on some laptops

The Q2U has been the budget recommendation for a decade because it is a dynamic mic with both USB and XLR outputs for a fraction of what that normally costs. The sound is not as polished as the Shure but it is close, and in a noisy room it beats every condenser at any price.

The included stand is too short. Put it on an arm. Some laptops do not provide quite enough gain, so you may end up with the slider at the top. It is still the best value in the category.

#3 Best for streaming and mixing

Elgato Wave:3

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• Condenser
• USB-C
• Clipguard anti-distortion
• Wave Link software mixer

Pros

• +Software mixer routes game, music and voice separately
• +Capacitive mute on top
• +Clean, detailed sound

Cons

• –Condenser picks up the room
• –Best in a quiet space

Elgato’s Wave:3 earns its place with software. Wave Link is a virtual mixer that lets you route your voice, your music, a game and a browser to separate channels and control what your call hears versus what you hear. For anyone who streams, records tutorials or runs online workshops, that is hard to give up.

It is a condenser, so it hears the room. In a quiet office with a rug and a bookshelf it sounds excellent. Next to a loud keyboard on a hard desk, the Shure is the better pick.

#4 Best compact

Rode NT-USB Mini

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• Condenser
• USB-C
• Built-in pop filter
• Magnetic desk stand

Pros

• +Small footprint
• +Warm, flattering vocal sound
• +Zero-latency headphone jack

Cons

• –Picks up keyboard clicks
• –Fixed cardioid pattern

If desk space is tight, the NT-USB Mini is a condenser the size of a coffee cup with a magnetic base and a built-in pop filter. Rode’s vocal tuning is warm and flattering, and the zero-latency headphone output means you can hear yourself without a delay.

Same condenser caveat: it will pick up your keyboard. Position it to the side and slightly above, pointing at your mouth, and it is very good for the size.

Placement in thirty seconds

• Mouth to mic: a hand’s width for a dynamic, two for a condenser.
• Angle it slightly off-axis, toward the corner of your mouth, to cut plosives.
• Keep it off the desk surface or on an arm, so typing vibration does not travel up the stand.
• Set gain so normal speech peaks around two-thirds of the meter.

The short version

• The one to buy: Shure MV7+.
• Tight budget: Samson Q2U.
• You stream or mix sources: Elgato Wave:3.
• Tiny desk, quiet room: Rode NT-USB Mini.