We checked the AirPods Pro 3 at Amazon, Walmart and Target today, expecting a price fight. There wasn't one. Apple's earbuds are $199.00 at Amazon, $199.00 at Walmart and $199.99 at Target — the same price, everywhere, down to a single cent at two of the three stores. So the useful question is not where to buy them. It is whether you should pay $199 at all.
What the $199 buys
The Pro 3 are Apple's best earbuds: strong Active Noise Cancellation on the H2 chip, up to 8 hours of listening with ANC on, Personalized Spatial Audio, an IP57 dust, sweat and water rating — and two things no rival here offers: heart rate sensing for workouts, and built-in hearing features (Hearing Test, Hearing Aid and Hearing Protection). They carry a 4.4-star rating from 16.7K Amazon ratings, and more than 10K pairs were bought on Amazon in the past month alone.
The honest catch
Most of those features need a compatible Apple device and the latest software. On an Android phone, much of what you are paying for simply never switches on — and like every earbud, the fit depends on your ears.
The find — a $82.49 alternative that keeps the important parts
The Soundcore Liberty 5 by Anker costs $82.49 at Amazon (list $129.99), $89.99 at Walmart and $94.99 at Target. That is $116.51 less than the Pro 3's lowest price — 59% less. For that, you still get the things most people use every day: Adaptive ANC 3.0 that quiets voices 2x better than the previous model, Dolby Audio with LDAC and Hi-Res sound, 6-mic AI calls with a wind-resistant algorithm, and up to 48 hours of total playtime with the case (a 10-minute charge adds 5 hours). Owners rate it 4.1 stars across 4,183 Amazon ratings, with 1K+ bought in the past month. And it plays fair with both phones: the Soundcore app gives you the ANC, sound and call controls on iPhone and Android alike — nothing is locked to one brand of phone.
What you give up is real, and we will say it plainly: no heart rate sensing, no hearing-health features, and none of Apple's deepest ecosystem tricks. If those matter to you, the Pro 3 is the buy. If you mainly want quiet, sound and clear calls, the $116.51 you keep is hard to argue with.
Who should buy which
Buy the AirPods Pro 3 if you live on an iPhone and want the hearing features or heart rate sensing. Buy the Soundcore Liberty 5 if you want strong noise cancelling and calls for a little over $80 — and it is the obvious pick if your phone is an Android. Either way, check the live three-store comparison before you pay — prices move, and we re-check ours daily.