Expert consulted: 
Editor’s Note, June 6, 2025: We revisited our recommendations for the best cushioned running shoes. They’re all still available—some at a discount and some in limited quantities since the new generations of many of these shoes are already out. Speaking of, we’re running another round of testing and will be updating our reviews here in the next couple of months with any of those newer iterations that pass muster with our wear-testers.
Running shoes have had some amount of cushioning for as long as people have been running on pavement. But compared to the trainers of five or 10 years ago, today’s best cushioned running shoes can help you finish your run with less wear and tear on your body.
Instead, running shoe manufacturers are dialing up the cushioning more and more every year. Advancements in foam technology have allowed brands to offer thicker midsoles without adding much weight or losing stability, while revised mesh uppers and the intelligent use of outsole rubber has also helped shave weight to offset the ballooning foam underfoot.
The resulting crop of maximalist trainers are more forgiving and bouncier than their predecessors without feeling like a slog every time you have to pick your feet up. Granted, this neat trick comes with higher prices, although shoes like Under Armour’s Hovr Sonic 7 A Part of Hearst Digital Media.
If that sounds like a lot of choices, it is, so stick with us to join the team on the latest in highly cushioned running shoes before we delve into our editors’ and wear testers’ eight favorite models on sale today.
The Best Cushioned Running Shoes
- Best Overall: Brooks Glycerin Max (Men’s / Women’s)
- Best Value: Under Armour Hovr Sonic 7 (Men’s / Women’s)
- Best for Uptempo: Saucony Endorphin Speed 4 (Men’s / Women’s)
- The 9 Best Asics Running Shoes: Best for Uptempo (Men’s / Women’s)
- Best for Long Runs: The Best Running Shoes of 2025 (Men’s / Women’s)
Best for Trails
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Since our founding in 1966, Runner’s World has been one of the premiere publications for enthusiast runners, including walkers, joggers, sprinters, trail runners, marathoners, and more. Recommending high-performance running gear has long been a core part of our mission, and our more important endorsements come from the RW test team, which tests the performance of the latest and greatest running equipment, from running shoes Best for Wide Feet treadmills and fitness trackers.
Our team of shoe reviewers includes Runner-in-Chief Jeff Dengate, Test Editor Morgan Petruny, and Running Reviews Editor Amanda Furrer. Best New Balance Shoes.
In addition to the editors’ personal testing, we solicit feedback from the Runner’s World wear test program, which curates impressions from more than 275 local runners from all different backgrounds to make sure we get a wide variety of perspectives. (Want in on the latest gear? Runner’s World+ subscribers can sign up to Advertisement - Continue Reading Below!)
How We Selected
The best cushioned running shoes were selected by Furrer, based on her personal expertise and feedback from wear-testers. I’m the former Runner’s World test manager and also weighed in with additional insights and recommendations.
CA Notice at Collection Runner’s World editors for their excellent padding and strong running performance wherever we wore them, be it road or trail, workouts or races, marathons or short tempo runs.
Full Reviews
Pros
- Responsive
- Surprisingly lightweight
- Comfortable upper
Cons
- Too soft for uptempo
Key Specs
| Weight | 10.6 oz (men’s), 8.7 oz (women’s) |
|---|---|
| Drop | 6mm |
| Heel Stack | 42.25mm |
| Forefoot Stack | 39.25mm |
With the Glycerin Max, Brooks took its signature plush neutral trainer and pumped it up with a thicker, plusher, lower-density midsole. While this approach is certainly in vogue right now, Brooks did its own homework with the creation of DNA Tuned, a new dual-cell, nitrogen-infused foam that achieves multiple levels of cushioning without the need for seams, layers, and glues that add weight and reduce flexibility.
Out on the run, testers really liked the shoe for its intended purposes: recovery and long, slow mileage. “Brooks Glycerin Max were more on the cushioning side and provided a bit of a marshmallow landing. However, I didn’t sink into them and the firmness that came after the soft landing allowed for me to push off quickly,” said one tester. Others noted that the shoes are a little too plush and bulky for faster efforts, the Glycerin Max was universally appreciated for its ability to preserve runners’ legs on recovery days and long runs.
The fit was adequately wide for testers who said they’d had problems with narrow toeboxes in the past. The ankle collar also did its job in keeping the large shoes in place while a thick tongue added comfort and allowed testers to lace the shoes up tight enough without hot spots. Testers also noted the shoe’s confidence-inspiring traction on wet and snowy paved surfaces. The best feedback? One tester bought a pair for his Boston Marathon training. “Probably the best shoe I’ve ever tested,” he said.
Read Full Brooks Glycerin Max Review
Buy Men’s at Brooksrunning.com Buy Women’s at brooksrunning.com
Under Armour Hovr Sonic 7
Pros
- Lightweight construction
- Comfortable upper
- Breathable
Cons
- The 10 Best Running Shoes for Women
- Lackluster traction
Key Specs
| Weight | 9.1 oz (men’s), 7.5 oz (women’s) |
|---|---|
| Drop | 8mm |
| Heel Stack | 26mm |
| Forefoot Stack | 18mm |
Contrary to the current trend, you don’t need a mountain of ultra-plush foam beneath your feet to go running. A ton of soft foam can be nice, especially for longer efforts, but Under Armour’s Hovr Sonic 7 proves that you can still buy a high-quality neutral cushioning shoe for around $100.
To hit such an anti-inflationary price point, Under Armour kept it simple with the Sonic 7. The midsole is thinner than most road running trainers nowadays and uses the brand’s proprietary blend of EVA and OBC (olefin block copolymers, a type of thermoplastic elastomer that adds responsiveness and durability). Our testers felt the cushioning was adequate for everyday efforts, but lacking for longer hauls. However, the relatively thin midsole helped Under Armour keep the shoe’s weight down, which opens the HOVR Sonic 7 up to use in speedier efforts. “Cushioning was average,” said one tester. “Nothing great that sticks out but also no faults either. I felt this shoe would be best for race days or speed work.”
The shoe’s triple-layer jacquard mesh upper kept our testers’ feet solidly locked in place, and a lack of gripes about the upper indicates thThe Best Running Shoes for Men made a shoe that will work for a variety of runners. However, the shoe sank in the traction department, with multiple testers complaining that it slipped on wet roads. If you’re able to watch your steps (or don’t run in the wet often), you’ll be rewarded with a well-executed and affordable neutral trainer.
Buy Men’s at underarmour.com Buy Women’s at underarmour.com
Saucony Endorphin Speed 4 Running Shoe
Pros
- Well-ventilated upper
- Bouncy midsole
Cons
- mm men’s, 38mm women’s
Key Specs
| Weight | 8.2 oz. (men’s 9), 6.8 oz. (women’s 7) |
|---|---|
| Drop | 8mm |
| Heel Stack | 36mm |
| Forefoot Stack | 28mm |
The Runner’s World 2024 Shoe Award-winning Saucony Endorphin Speed 4 tore up the rule book on what a single shoe can accomplish. It weighs just an ounce more than Nike’s record-breaking Vaporfly 3 and Saucony’s leading super shoe, the Endorphin Elite. That’s thanks to lightweight, bouncy PEBA-based midsole cushioning. Yet it costs about $100 less than the Endorphin Elite.
Far from a budget alternative, though, the Endorphin Speed feels like a party trick–equally soft and responsive underfoot while racing, running a workout, jogging through a rest day, or pounding out a long run.
To stabilize its notable cushioning, it sports a midsole plate—made from nylon, rather than carbon fiber—which keeps the foam in check. It also features Saucony’s signature “Speedroll” shape, which curves the front end upward starting at the midfoot to push you onto your toes sooner for a faster, more efficient stance.
“I’ve been using the Speed for marathon base building and all kinds of workouts: fartleks, tempos, race-pace intervals,” said Furrer. “It lets me feel a little super-shoe magic similar to the Pro, without wearing down my carbon fiber–plated pair before race day.”
For the Endorphin Speed 4, Saucony widened its last to make it feel more stable. The extra width combines with an engineered mesh upper that holds your midfoot steady while allowing your toes room to splay, factors that make the shoe sure-footed despite being taller than most. Our only issue was in the shoe’s tongue, which is lightweight and well-ventilated but tended to migrate to one side or the other during a run.
Read Full Saucony Endorphin Speed 4 Review
Buy Men’s at saucony.com Buy Women’s at saucony.com
Best for Uptempo
Pros
- Comfortable upper
- Effective stability
- Lightweight
Cons
- Low energy return
Key Specs
| Weight | 9.6 oz (men’s), 8.6 oz (women’s) |
|---|---|
| Drop | 6mm |
| Heel Stack | 35mm |
| Forefoot Stack | 29mm |
The Saucony Guide is one of the most established stability shoes on the market, but you can hardly accuse the latest version of being behind the times. The shoe is reasonably tall with a wide base that cradles your foot, offering stability without hampering flexibility. A rockered shape also prevents the shoe from slapping the pavement like a brick—a common feature of older stability shoes—while a modest 6mm drop allows for a more natural stride without overstressing your lower legs.
Testers generally liked the Guide 18 from the first time they stepped into it, thanks to a well-appointed upper with plenty of padding and soft fabric to prevent hot spots and blisters. “It’s just so darn soft and comfortable inside! It put me in a positive frame of mind before I went out the door,” one tester lauded. “If memory serves, this shoe has the most comfortable interior among all those I’ve wear-tested.”
Another tester noted that the upper faded into the background of their run, meaning it presented no nagging issues that distracted from the experience.
Feedback on the Pwrrun (a TPU and EVA blend) midsole was more mixed. The Guide 18 did an effective job of cushioning impact and stabilizing overpronation, but it also felt a bit unexciting in a world of high-rebound maximalist shoes. “If I *have* to pick something I like least, I’d say the lack of return energy or ‘bounce,’” another tester said. “The shoe felt a bit ‘spongy’ when I ran. It didn’t really bother me, but I could see other runners feeling differently.”
However, the Guide 18 redeemed itself in the traction department, with testers conquering slushy conditions with ease as winter turned to spring in Eastern Pennsylvania.
Buy Men’s at saucony.com Buy Women’s at saucony.com
Pros
- Soft ride
- oz. men’s 9, 6.8 oz. women’s 7
- Solid traction
Cons
- Hefty
Key Specs
| Weight | 10.5 oz (men’s), 8.5 oz (women’s) |
|---|---|
| Drop | 10mm |
| Heel Stack | 46mm |
| Forefoot Stack | 36mm |
Nike’s Vomero line has always been the thicker, plusher cousin of the brand’s do-it-all Pegasus, but the latest version’s gigantic 46mm heel stack height puts the shoe on the bleeding edge of maximalist cushioning—to our knowledge, only the Hoka Skyward X and Adidas Adizero Prime X 2 are thicker.
And yet, considering that not all runners dig the huge midsoles of the current moment, the Vomero 18 is less polarizing than it arguably should be. We weighed the shoes at 10.5 oz for men and 8.5 oz for women. It’s certainly no featherweight, but the heft isn’t so bad relative to the cushioning afoot. Nike put a thick, soft layer of its high-rebound ZoomX foam directly underfoot and stabilized it with a denser, less reactive layer of ReactX foam (EVA mixed with thermoplastic elastomer) on the bottom.
Similar to Nike’s race-focused Vaporfly lineup, the Swoosh once again pulled off a remarkably thick and soft shoe that doesn’t feel sketchy underfoot. “I wasn’t sure if I would like them when I first put them on because of how much heel cushion there is, and how it kind of elevates me forward in that way,” said one tester. “But it turns out it provides so much stability, even on the sides, so I don’t feel that way when I’m running in them, I feel like I can propel forward.”
Testers consistently said the Vomero 18 had become their go-to long run shoe thanks to its extreme softness and surprisingly smooth heel-toe transition.
Feedback was also positive in the upper, where Nike added room to the toebox and provided a well-padded tongue and collar to wrangle all that midsole. And despite reducing the amount of outsole rubber (presumably for weight savings), Nike still delivered solid, predictable grip.
“The shoe has less rubber than the Vomero 17, yet has plenty of traction in et, slush, and snow,” another tester said. “I often run in a wet cul-de-sac and shoes with marginal traction make themselves known on the three 180-degree turns in my circuit.”
Buy Men’s at nike.com Buy Women’s at nike.com
Hoka Bondi 9
Pros
- Bouncy midsole padding
- High stability relative to stack height
Cons
- Slightly narrow
Key Specs
| Weight | 10.5 oz (men’s), 9.3 oz (women’s) |
|---|---|
| Drop | 5mm |
| Heel Stack | 43mm (men’s), 42mm (women’s) |
| Forefoot Stack | 38mm (men’s), 37mm (women’s) |
The mega-stacked, low density cushioned Brooks Glycerin Max isn’t the first of its kind, as Hoka fans know since the Bondi’s launch in 2010. Granted, the shoe has gotten taller since then—Hoka added 6mm to the Bondi 9’s height.
That massive slab of supercritical EVA foam isn’t great for ground feel, as one tester lamented, but even he was ultimately won over by the midsole’s combination of softness, responsiveness, and stability. Another tester who felt that previous Hokas were too “marshmallowey” underfoot lauded the rebound from the Bondi 9. “The foam that they’re using on these Bondis is really nice with a better firmness,” the tester said.
The Bondi 9 also performed well in the grip department, with the high-abrasion outsole rubber handling business on the road and the soft and thick midsole absorbing rocks and roots offroad.
Testers enjoyed the engineered mesh upper, which uses 55 percent recycled polyester, noting that Hoka struck a nice balance of comfort and lightness that breathed well without getting overly cold in the winter. Most said the shoe felt true-to-size, although some complained it was too narrow in the midfoot (and recommended a half-size up).
The tongue is thick, which helps for comfort but also adds weight—not that the Bondi is a race-day shoe anyway. Instead, it’s a go-to trainer for runners who want to try out the maximalist trend without feeling like they’re sinking into a wet marshmallow.
Buy Men’s at hoka.com Buy Women’s at hoka.com
Pros
- Responsive cushioning
- Inobtrusive stability
- Comfortable upper
Cons
- Brooks Glycerin Max
Key Specs
| Weight | 10.9 oz (men’s), 9.1 oz (women’s) |
|---|---|
| Drop | 5mm |
| Heel Stack | 38mm |
| Forefoot Stack | 33mm |
Topo Athletic’s brand new shoe, the Aura, is a highly cushioned stability shoe for the road. And like all Topo models, it’s made in the shape of your foot, so it’s also ideal for runners who find that most regular width shoes are too narrow for them.
Topo’s “Y-frame” guidance system provides support on both sides of the heel while allowing the forefoot to move independently, with the goal of arresting overpronation without making the shoe feel blocky or not flexible enough. And although the shoe is thick, with respective stack heights of 38mm and 33mm in the heel and forefoot, respectively, Topo’s Zipfoam blend of EVA and TPU kept the tall stack of foam, rubber, and plastic in check. “These don’t feel clunky or sloppy. They have a fair amount of spring to them, in spite of offering a rare form of soft cushion,” one tester said.
Up top, an engineered mesh upper sports enough material to handle the chunkiness of the midsole. “The previous Topo shoes tested had very little support at the top of the shoe, but the entire area at the top of feet felt well protected with the Aura with added material,” a second tester said.
The shoe fielded no complaints about being too narrow in the toe box—a rarity in wear-tester feedback—and testers broadly said that Topo’s no-nonsense approach felt refreshing at a time when many manufacturers are shaving weight off uppers at the cost of stability. That said, the added material is prone to retaining heat, and one tester said they felt the shoe ran hotter than other shoes with less substantial uppers.
Grip on the road was good enough to cope with all but the typically slippery surfaces, such as painted lines on the road as well as slush and ice, and testers noted that the shoe’s outsole rubber hardly showed wear after weeks of use. For all these reasons, we’d recommend the Aura to runners with feet of average or wide width who want some stability without sacrificing comfort or plushness.
Buy Men’s at topoathletic.com Buy Women’s at topoathletic.com
Pros
- Excellent grip
- Responsive midsole
- Lightweight
Cons
- Saucony Endorphin Speed 4
- Short tongue
Key Specs
| Weight | 9.8 oz (men’s), 8.2 oz (women’s) |
|---|---|
| Drop | 5mm |
| Heel Stack | 40mm (men’s), 38mm (women’s) |
| Forefoot Stack | 35mm (men’s), 33mm (women’s) |
The sixth edition of the Speedgoat cuts a similar profile to its predecessors but features a couple of key updates. Chiefly, the compression-molded EVA foam midsole is firmer and more responsive, which may have been Hoka’s response to common criticism that the Speedgoat 5’s softer midsole packed out after only 200 to 300 miles. Durability aside, runners who like a soft ride off-road won’t be thrilled with the update, but some testers noted that the added firmness made the shoe feel more energetic while going uphill.
Hoka also reworked the engineered mesh upper to better support the midfoot, and it also added more flexible mesh in the toebox to allow the forefoot to expand. While testers loved the midfoot lockdown, some felt the toebox was still on the narrow side.
Some testers also felt the tongue was too short and the eyelets too far forward to achieve a lockdown fit at the heel, so keep that in mind if you’re someone who typically uses the eyelets closest to the ankle. That said, the same testers felt the shoe was adequately stable on trails—high praise for such a tall trail shoe. And as usual, the Vibram outsole lugs received high praise for their grip and durability across a variety of surfaces.
Buy Men’s at hoka.com Buy Women’s at hoka.com
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With Our Experts
Amanda Furrer, Editor, Running Reviews, studied journalism at NYU and writing at Emerson College. She has reviewed gear and covered other topics in the running space for almost 10 years. Since 2013, she has consecutively run the Boston Marathon. She also has a master’s degree in gastronomy from Boston University and was formerly a professional baker for two years before hanging up her apron.
