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Although they are one of the newer brands in the running space, Hoka has been influential in steering the market towards maximally-cushioned shoes with lower drops and rockers. The best Hoka running shoes all tend to have these qualities, and there are some standout options for road and trail running in it’s line-up. Right up there with the best running shoes available from any brand.
Check out our round-up of the best running shoes available right now
Between us, The Run Testers have tested pretty much every Hoka shoe available and reviewed them on the channel. Below you’ll find short reviews of all the Hoka running shoes we’ve tested, plus links to our videos for more comprehensive multi-tester reviews.
Check out the The Run Testers YouTube channel for many more running shoe vids, including comparisons of Hoka shoes plus race tests.
The Best Hoka Running Shoes 2026
Hoka Mach 7
Price: £140/$145 | Weight: 225g/7.9oz (UK 9) | Drop: 5mm
The Hoka Mach 7 is a fantastic daily trainer with a lightweight but cushioned designed that makes it great for a wide variety of runs. We’ve done plenty of pure easy running in the shoe, but also used it for long, tough workouts, and while the supercritical EVA midsole is not the springiest, it delivers a balanced ride with enough pop for faster efforts.
Within the Hoka line-up the Mach 7 is our favourite daily trainer, being more versatile than the Clifton 10 and Bondi 9 and cheaper and lighter than the Mach X3, but the Clifton 10 is more cushioned and comfortable if you prefer that in your daily trainer, while the Mach X3 is springier for fast runs.
The other big competitor to consider is actually the Hoka Mach 6, because it’s very similar to the Mach 7 and now often in sales, so we’d recommend grabbing the older shoe instead if you find it at a considerable discount.
Read our full Hoka Mach 7 review
Hoka Clifton 10
Price: £140/$150 | Weight: 285g/10oz (UK 9) | Drop: 8mm
The Clifton might be the quintessential Hoka shoe, and it’s probably the most popular in its range as an affordable and comfortable daily trainer to rival shoes like the Nike Pegasus or Asics Novablast.
With the Clifton 10 Hoka has tweaked the design to increase the drop of the shoe to 8mm, up from Hoka’s traditional 5mm, adding more cushioning under the heel to do so. It still feels very much like a Hoka shoe though, with a naturally stable design and a smooth rocker.
The EVA midsole foam is not the liveliest in Hoka’s range, and we prefer the Mach 6 as a lighter, more dynamic daily trainer, but if you need more cushioning than the Mach provides then the Clifton 10 is a great option, and we like it more than the heavier Bondi 9.
Read our full Hoka Clifton 10 review
Hoka Mach X3
Price: £170/$190 | Weight: 274g/9.7oz (UK 9) | Drop: 5mm
The Hoka Mach X3 is the plated super-trainer in Hoka’s range, with a dual-density midsole that has a top layer made from the bouncy PEBA foam used in Hoka’s racers and a Pebax plate for added propulsion. It’s a step-up on the Mach 6 for fast training sessions and can be used as an alternative to the Rocket X3 and Cielo X1 3.0 as a racing shoe for those who find the full carbon shoes too expensive or unstable.
We loved the Hoka Mach X2 thanks to its versatility, with the only real problem with the shoe being its upper, which was very racy and a little uncomfortable, especially around the heel. Hoka has fixed this with the Mach X3, which has more padding on the tongue and collar, making it more comfortable for daily runs. While this does come at the cost of extra weight, the Mach X3 is still a fast shoe, and the best all-rounder in the Hoka range.
Read our full Hoka Mach X3 review
Hoka Cielo X1 3.0
Price: £250/$275 | Weight: 200g/7.1oz (UK 9) | Drop: 7mm
The Cielo X1 3.0 is the flagship racer in Hoka’s line-up, offering a more aggressively springy and rockered ride than the Rocket X3, as well as being the brand’s lightest carbon plate running shoe to date.
We loved the bouncy ride of the Cielo X1 3.0, which is springier than most rivals from other brands, and it’s also a little more stable than the Hoka Cielo X1 2.0 thanks to the removed of a medial side cutout.
It’s quite a demanding shoe though, in that it pushes you to run in a certain way, landing on the midfoot and then being thrust forward and sprung on your way. Those who prefer a more natural feel to their racer might well prefer the Rocket X3, which is a more approachable shoe that’s still lightning fast.
Read our full Hoka Cielo X1 3.0 review
Hoka Skyward X 2
Price: £190/£225 | Weight: 295g/10.4oz (UK 9) | Drop: 5mm
The Hoka Skyward X 2 is the most cushioned shoe in Hoka’s line-up and is built to bring extra bounce and fun to your easy and long runs. It has a plate in the midsole and a high price, but isn’t a true super-trainer like the Hoka Mach X3, which is a lot more versatile and better for fast paces in particular.
In contrast the Skyward X 2 only really excels for cruising along at easy and steady paces. It’s one of the best cushioned running shoes you can get from any brand for that job, but it’s a little bit limited in our view, given how much the Skyward X 2 costs. The Hoka Clifton 10 offers a better value option as cushioned daily trainer in the brand’s line-up, but the Skyward X 2 is a little more bouncy and fun if you don’t mind the high price.
Read our full Hoka Skyward X 2 review
Hoka Rocket X3
Price: £220/$250 | Weight: 208g/7.3oz (UK 9) | Drop: 7mm
The Hoka Rocket X3 has a less aggressive ride than the Cielo X1 3.0, owing to the fact it doesn’t have such a sharp rocker, and the PEBA foam in its midsole is slightly less springy.
It’s built to be more stable than you typically find with the best carbon plate running shoes, which are built for speed over support, but the Rocket X3 does offer a nice balance of both. It’s not the straight-up fastest racing shoe we’ve tested, but still very quick for both training sessions and races, and it’s a bit more comfortable and supportive around the heel than most super-shoes.
If you find the unstable design of the Cielo X1 3.0 too much for you, then the Rocket X3 is an excellent alternative, and it might be a better marathon shoe for most runners because of its added support.
Read our full Hoka Rocket X3 review
Hoka Bondi 9
Price: £160/$170 | Weight: 313g/11oz (UK 9) | Drop: 5mm
The Hoka Bondi 9 is a big update on the Bondi 8, with a higher midsole stack that’s made from the supercritical EVA foam used in shoes like the Mach 6 and Skyflow. It is an upgrade on the Bondi 8, a shoe we were not big fans of, but Nick and Mike still found that the Bondi lacks the spark you get from Hoka’s other cushioned shoes and is only really good for easy and recovery runs.
While it’s not the heaviest shoe and rolls smoothly from the heel to the midfoot, Nick found that the transition from there was a bit stunted, and the Bondi 9 doesn’t roll off the toes as well as most Hoka shoes do thanks to their rockered designs. So far in testing we prefer the Skyflow and the new Clifton 10 to the Bondi 9 for our runs, but the Bondi is the most cushioned and protective shoe in the Hoka range, and will be a good option for walking as well as easy runs.
Hoka Arahi 8
Price: £140/$150 | Weight: 270g/9.5oz (UK 9) | Drop: 8mm
The Hoka Arahi 8 is the stable counterpart to the Hoka Clifton 10, and right now it’s our top pick for stability-seekers from any brand. The Arahi 8 was a surprise hit with the entire Run Tester team thanks to its smooth and supportive ride, which works well for a wide range of paces and is comfortable over any distance.
Stability is provided through the H-frame in the midsole, and it’s done in a subtle but supportive way to keep your foot in a neutral position. The easy-going ride of the shoe makes it suitable for neutral runners as well, and it’s good value. The compression-moulded EVA foam in the midsole isn’t the most exciting stuff, but the rockered ride means the Arahi 8 is a joy to run in anyway.
Read our full Hoka Arahi 8 review
Hoka Speedgoat 7
Price: £145/$165 | Weight: 286g/10.1oz (UK 9) | Drop: 5mm
The Hoka Speedgoat 7 is one of our favourite trail-running shoes from any brand and is a notable update on the Speedgoat 6 thanks to a new midsole made from supercritical EVA, rather than the compression-moulded EVA used on the older model.
This creates a livelier ride without compromising the stability of support you get from the shoe on uneven ground, and the Speedgoat 7 is one of the most versatile trails shoes available both with regards to the terrain it can handle and the types of runs you can do in it, from short speedy efforts to epic ultramarathons.
For most trail runners it’s a more reliable pick than the Hoka Tecton X3, which is the trail super-shoe in the Hoka line-up. The Tecton X3 is lighter and bouncier than the Speedgoat 7, but less stable and a whole lot more expensive.
Hoka Tecton X3
Price: £220/$275 | Weight: 274g/9.7oz (UK 9) | Drop: 5mm
While the Tecton X3 is the third carbon plate trail shoe Hoka has released, it’s the first to truly recreate the feel of a road super-shoe on the trails. That’s thanks to the new PEBA midsole, which in tandem with the parallel carbon plates running the length of the shoe, delivers a bouncy and propulsive ride.
It’s also great at protecting the legs on long runs with lots of quad-wrecking downhills, in our experience, and while the soft midsole foam can feel a bit wobbly at times, the Tecton X3 is just about stable enough for runs of any length on the trails if you’re careful. The built-in gaiter stops debris from getting inside the shoe, and the Vibram outsole gripped reliably on every terrain we tested it on, and isn’t too skittish on the road either.
Hoka Challenger 8
Price: £130/$155 | Weight: 277g/9.7oz (UK 9) | Drop: 8mm
The Hoka Challenger 8 is an all-terrain running shoe that can handle trails as well as the road. It has 4mm lugs on the outsole that bite well enough into most off-road tracks, though its high, soft midsole stack mean it’s not the most suitable for technical mountain trails and it doesn’t have quite enough traction for deep mud.
On any other terrain, however, it’s great, with a smooth, rockered ride that’s very comfortable for long efforts. It’s also fairly lightweight for a trail shoe, and we found we could pick up the pace in the Challenger 8 happily. It’s essentially a daily trainer for those who mix up their terrains between the road and light trails, and does a great job in that role.