9 Top ASMR Microphones At All Price Points

• The Blue Yeti USB mic is the most popular mic for YouTubers while the ZealSound USB is the cheapest.
• A condenser mic is the best type of microphone for ASMR recordings since it has better dynamic range (it accurately captures the difference between a loud noise and a soft one).
• ASMR microphones are available from $32 up to $1,000. Of course, the higher-priced microphones typically provide better sound quality.

Best Microphones

Blue Yeti USB Mic. This microphone will plug into your computer or laptop so you can easily use it. It's a very popular choice for many ASMR YouTubers since it has the right sensitivity and frequency responses for the AMSR genre. You can get this for around $129 at Amazon.

ZealSound USB. With the ZealSound USB microphone, you can plug it in and use it immediately. There are no drivers or software that you need to install. Best of all? It's low $32 price tag! Perhaps the best cheap microphone for beginners since it's so easy to use with a laptop or computer. The ZealSound USB offers great sound quality and has a ton of positive reviews on Amazon.

Behringer C-1. It's the best microphone you can get on a tight budget (like $49 cheap!) Although some people complain that the microphone is too sensitive, it has great reviews on several sites, like Sweetwater and Amazon. The Behringer C-1 is easy to use, has a versatile design, minimizes background noise, and produces great sound quality.

Audio-Technica AT2020. This is also a cheaper microphone that costs about $105. However, this isn't a simple USB plug and requires you to purchase extra accessories to use it (for plugging into recording equipment like a USB audio interface). According to the reviews, this is a fantastic microphone that you can use for lots of different purposes (like live shows, recordings, and podcasts). The Audio-Technica AT2020 features a wide frequency response, records low noise levels, has high SPL handling, provides exceptional audio quality, and is easy to use.

Shure MV88+ Stereo Condenser for Android or iPhone. If you're in the market for a mobile microphone, give this one a go! You can buy just the microphone for about $200 or you can invest in the video kit (if you'd like to record from your phone without using both of your hands) for about $300. Once you purchase the mic, you'll be able to download the Shure app where you can control settings like stereo width, compression, and EQ.

Rode NT1-A. For a more professional setup, this budget-friendly microphone is worth it. For around $179, you'll get a pop shield (so no small particles get into the mic), an XLR cable, great sensitivity to 5db (without increasing the microphone's self-noise), and great sound quality. Long story short, this is a very popular choice for creators recording ASMR sounds.

3Dio Free Space Binaural Microphone. With not only one XLR port but two (for the left and right ears), the 3Dio FS Binaural Mic offers the best ASMR sound experience, hands-down. However, with that huge bonus feature comes an expensive price tag of around $400-1000. This is a highly specialized microphone that features two prosthetic ears so you can record things as you want them to sound. For example, if you crinkle a piece of paper above the left ear, the listener would hear the paper crinkle above their left ear instead of in both ears as they would with other microphones. Given that these are highly specialized, they aren't suited for traditional recordings.

Rode NT4. A little pricey (at $515), this single microphone allows you to be able to record with studio quality (on an X/Y pattern). It features 2 capture points so you don't need more than one microphone. For this reason, it's great for ASMR recordings.

Rode K2. This microphone is also expensive, running up to $530. It features a wide frequency range, so it'll pick up a lot of different noises.

Things to Consider When Choosing the Best ASMR Microphone

Connection. XLR and USB are the most common types of microphone connections. USB is great and easy to use for beginners while XLR connections require another sort of recording equipment like an audio interface. It's suggested that you first try a USB mic and see if you can make that set up work before moving on to an XLR type.

Form. Some ASMR artists show their microphones in their videos, and others hide them. If you have a microphone that's visually appealing, like you picked the best color for a Blue Yeti mic, why not show it off?

Recording type. Most, if not all, of the suggested microphones here are condenser or dynamic mics rather than ribbon or shotgun. Their sensitivity and ability to capture sound with lots of detail was a leading factor in these suggestions. Since binaural microphones record sound spatially, they are considered the very best for ASMR recordings. While expensive, they are the only type of microphone that can capture the 3D location of the sound for your listeners.

How much should I spend on an ASMR mic?

How much you spend depends entirely on your needs and preferences. If you're on a budget, you can buy a cheap USB mic (like the ZealSound) and connect it to your computer to see how it suits your needs. Unless you buy an XLR microphone, you don't need to buy a bunch of accessories.