Despite its portable size, the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 (UE Wonderboom 3) packs a serious punch. While many Bluetooth speakers are halfway decent, UE's most compact model stands out from the pack. It proves that a small package does not mean a speaker's performance or features are inferior.

If you're looking for the best Bluetooth speaker under $100, the UE Wonderboom 3 may be the answer. It's especially smart for outdoor listening, as it's waterproof and has dedicated settings to make music sound better in open spaces. Otherwise, it offers 14 hours of playback, so you can keep listening to the soundtrack throughout your adventures. Definitely accommodates my on-the-go lifestyle.

But is it the best speaker for you? My UE Wonderboom 3 review will help you decide.

The UE Wonderboom 3 is available now for $99, making it the smallest and most affordable speaker in the UE lineup. Our favorite UE speaker is the $199 UE Megaboom 3, which offers a slight upgrade in performance and battery life over the Wonderboom 3. Nevertheless, both models are likely to be great deals on Black Friday.

If you've seen the UE Wonderboom 2, the Wonderboom 3 will look familiar. It is essentially a cloth-covered sphere with a comically large volume control on its side. On the top are the power button, Bluetooth pairing button, and pause/play/skip controls, and on the bottom is an outdoor boost toggle. More details in the performance section.

Weighing less than 15 ounces, the UE Wonderboom 3 is highly portable; at 4.1 x 3.8 inches, it fits comfortably in your hand, but an elastic loop allows you to hang the speaker from your bag.

The sporty look of the UE Wonderboom 3 is not just for show; its IP67 durability rating allows it to withstand dust, dirt, and submersion for up to 30 minutes. This is the standard for many good waterproof speakers. The speaker I am testing had no problems in the shower.

I tend to understate performance in my reviews of small speakers, but the UE Wonderboom 3 sounded surprisingly powerful. It handled the electronic synth riff of Van Halen's "Jump" with precision, and Rihanna's "We Found Love" sounded sexy and punchy. The vocals on Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' "Can't Hold Us" sounded deliberate, countering the soaring piano line. On Milky Chance's "Stolen Dance," the bass also sounded steady and provided complex interest. Overall, Wonderboom 3's sound performance proved to be well balanced, even at high volumes.

The Outdoor Boost mode, while unbalanced, is a useful feature for listening outdoors where there are usually no walls for the sound to bounce off. It sounds odd when accidentally enabled indoors, but outdoors it actually makes a difference. Listening on the rooftop of my apartment, Outdoor Boost helped the speakers reach farther over the buzz of the city than when this setting was not enabled. This reminds me of the Automatic Trueplay tuning feature found in Sonos Roam and Sonos Move.

I only had one UE Wonderboom 3, but two could be paired together for stereo sound; with OUTDOOR BOOST enabled, two could power a large tailgate, backyard gathering, or pool party.

The UE Wonderboom 3 has a battery life of 14 hours, one hour longer than the battery life of the Wonderboom 2. In comparison, the Megaboom 3 lasts 20 hours, while the Sonos Roam lasts only 10 hours

To check the battery status, the volume up and volume down buttons were pressed simultaneously, but the general battery level is not an exact percentage but a chime expressed as a percentage.

Charging the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 is perhaps my only real disappointment in the test. It took over two hours for the battery to go from being out of charge to a chime indicating a full charge. This is probably due to the outdated Micro-USB charging. I wish it had USB-C charging like other devices.

My concerns about charging aside, the UE Wonderboom 3 is one of the most well-rounded sub-$100 Bluetooth speakers I have reviewed. Its balanced sound and portable design make it a great companion. For most people, the 14-hour battery life is adequate.

If you think you need better sound or longer battery life, the Megaboom 3 may be worth the investment. It can also be paired with additional UE speakers for stereo sound; the Sonos Roam can auto-tune outdoors and supports voice assistants; the JBL Charge 5 is attractive because it can be used as a power bank for your phone; and the JBL Charge 5 can be used to power a cell phone. Otherwise, the UE Wonderboom 3 is the best option at the price.