Running shoe comparisons

Head-to-head running shoe comparisons, grounded in verdicts from named reviewers. Every claim on every page links to its source.

How to read a shoe comparison

Two running shoes can share a category — "daily trainer," "marathon racer" — and still feel like different products underfoot. A useful comparison isn't a spec dump; it's an answer to which shoe rewards the way you actually run, on the surfaces you actually run on, for the goal you actually have. The spec table is a starting point. The reviewer verdicts are where the comparison earns its keep.

There are five axes that explain almost every meaningful difference between two modern road shoes. None of them tell you the answer in isolation; the interaction is the story.

• Stack and drop. Stack height (heel-to-ground cushion thickness) sets how much foam is between you and the pavement. Drop (heel minus forefoot) shifts where your stride lands on that foam. A 39 mm / 6 mm shoe and a 39 mm / 4 mm shoe look identical on paper and feel like cousins, not twins — lower drop pushes more load onto the calves and Achilles.
• Foam compound. Marketing names hide chemistry. PEBA (Pebax) is springy and light but expensive and durability- sensitive; supercritical EVA blends behave like budget PEBA; olefin-blend foams (Nike ReactX, ASICS FF Blast Plus Eco) trade a sliver of bounce for huge gains in stability and longevity. The same shoe with a different midsole would be a different shoe. (See the Foam Atlas for the chemistry behind every compound in our catalog.)
• Plate or no plate. A full-length carbon plate forces a more efficient stride at marathon-pace efforts and above. It also stiffens the ride and punishes inefficient form at slower paces. A nylon or no-plate shoe is more forgiving and more versatile, but you give up some of the energy return that makes super shoes feel free.
• Geometry and rocker. Two shoes with the same stack and drop can still roll forward at very different rates. An aggressive rocker (Hoka, ASICS Metaspeed) accelerates transitions; a flatter geometry (Saucony Triumph, NB 1080) lets you set your own cadence. Reviewers describe this as "smooth," "rolling forward," "snappy," or "quick" — and those words map to real geometry differences.
• Fit. Toe box width, midfoot wrap, and heel lockdown vary more between brands than between models within a brand. A shoe that disappears on your foot beats a shoe with a slightly better midsole that hot-spots at mile twelve. This is the single most personal axis — and it's why every comparison page below quotes named reviewers on fit, not just numbers.

Each comparison below picks the two-or-three of those axes that actually matter for that pair. We don't try to declare a winner; we try to make the tradeoff explicit enough that you can pick the right shoe for what you're training for. Specs come from manufacturer data and authoritative third-party catalogs. Reviewer verdicts are summarized with named attribution and source links — never fabricated quotes.

All comparisons

• Nike Vaporfly 4 vs Nike Alphafly 3
• Nike Alphafly 3 vs Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4
• Nike Vaporfly 4 vs Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4
• Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4 vs ASICS Metaspeed Sky Tokyo
• Saucony Endorphin Pro 5 vs Nike Vaporfly 4
• HOKA Rocket X 3 vs Nike Alphafly 3
• Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 vs HOKA Mach 7
• Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 vs Adidas Adizero Evo SL
• HOKA Mach 7 vs Puma Deviate Nitro 4
• ASICS Novablast 5 vs ASICS Superblast 3
• ASICS Superblast 3 vs ASICS Megablast
• New Balance 1080 15 vs ASICS Novablast 5
• Brooks Glycerin 23 vs Nike Vomero Plus
• Nike Vomero Plus vs Brooks Glycerin Max 2
• ASICS Megablast vs On Cloudmonster 3
• Nike Pegasus 42 vs Brooks Ghost 17
• HOKA Clifton 10 vs Brooks Ghost 17
• HOKA Clifton 10 vs Nike Pegasus 42
• HOKA Bondi 9 vs Brooks Glycerin Max 2
• Nike Vomero Plus vs HOKA Bondi 9
• ASICS Gel-Nimbus 28 vs HOKA Bondi 9
• ASICS Superblast 2 vs ASICS Superblast 3
• Nike Vaporfly 4 vs ASICS Metaspeed Sky Tokyo
• Nike Alphafly 3 vs ASICS Metaspeed Sky Tokyo
• ASICS Metaspeed Sky Tokyo vs ASICS Metaspeed Edge Tokyo
• Nike Vaporfly 4 vs Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3
• Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4 vs Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3
• Hoka Arahi 8 vs ASICS Gel-Kayano 32
• Brooks Glycerin GTS 23 vs ASICS Gel-Kayano 32
• Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 vs Hoka Mach X 3
• Adidas Adizero SL 2 vs ASICS Novablast 5
• Adidas Supernova Rise 3 vs ASICS Novablast 5
• Adidas Supernova Solution 2 vs ASICS Novablast 5
• ASICS Gel-Kayano 32 vs Nike Vomero Plus
• ASICS Gel-Nimbus 27 vs Nike Vomero Plus
• ASICS Gel-Nimbus 28 vs Nike Vomero Plus
• ASICS Megablast vs Nike Pegasus Premium
• ASICS Megablast vs Nike Vomero Premium
• ASICS Superblast 2 vs HOKA Bondi 9
• HOKA Clifton 10 vs Saucony Endorphin Azura
• Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4 vs Saucony Endorphin Pro 4
• ASICS Metaspeed Edge Tokyo vs HOKA Cielo X1 3
• ASICS Metaspeed Edge Tokyo vs HOKA Rocket X 3
• ASICS Metaspeed Edge Tokyo vs Nike Alphafly 3
• ASICS Metaspeed Sky Tokyo vs HOKA Cielo X1 3
• ASICS Metaspeed Sky Tokyo vs HOKA Rocket X 3
• ASICS Metaspeed Sky Tokyo vs Saucony Endorphin Elite 2
• HOKA Cielo X1 3 vs Nike Alphafly 3
• Adidas Adizero Evo SL vs ASICS Magic Speed 4
• Adidas Adizero Evo SL vs Nike Zoom Fly 6
• Adidas Adizero Evo SL vs Saucony Endorphin Azura
• ASICS Sonicblast vs Nike Zoom Fly 6
• ASICS Superblast 3 vs Brooks Hyperion Max 3
• ASICS Superblast 3 vs HOKA Skyward X
• ASICS Superblast 2 vs Brooks Hyperion Max 3
• ASICS Superblast 2 vs HOKA Skyward X
• Brooks Hyperion Max 3 vs HOKA Skyward X
• Adidas Adizero Prime X 3 Strung 3 vs New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Trainer 3
• New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Trainer 3 vs On Cloudsurfer Max
• New Balance Rebel 4 vs New Balance FuelCell Rebel 5
• Saucony Endorphin Pro 4 vs Saucony Endorphin Pro 5
• ASICS Gel-Nimbus 27 vs ASICS Gel-Nimbus 28
• ASICS Glideride Max vs ASICS Glideride Max 2
• HOKA Skyward X vs HOKA Skyward X 2
• Hoka Speedgoat 6 vs HOKA Speedgoat 7
• Saucony Guide 18 vs Saucony Guide 19
• Saucony Ride 18 vs Saucony Ride 19
• Brooks Glycerin GTS 22 vs Brooks Glycerin GTS 23
• ASICS Metaspeed Ray vs Nike Alphafly 3
• ASICS Metaspeed Ray vs Saucony Endorphin Elite 2
• Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 vs Nike Alphafly 3
• ASICS Metaspeed Sky Tokyo vs New Balance SC Elite 4
• New Balance SC Elite 4 vs Nike Vaporfly 4
• Adidas Adizero Boston 13 vs Nike Zoom Fly 6
• Adidas Adizero Boston 13 vs Saucony Endorphin Speed 5
• Nike Pegasus Plus vs Saucony Endorphin Speed 5
• Adidas Adizero Adios 9 vs Nike Zoom Fly 6
• Adidas Adizero Boston 13 vs ASICS Novablast 5
• Adidas Adizero Boston 13 vs Nike Vomero Plus
• Adidas Adizero Evo SL vs Nike Structure 26
• Adidas Adizero Evo SL vs Saucony Triumph 23