Expensive running shoes are worse rated than cheaper trainers

A report by RunRepeat.com reveals that running shoes from brands such as Asics, Nike, Mizuno or Adidas are worse rated than trainers from more affordable labels like Skechers, Saucony and Vibran FiveFingers.

The higher the retail price, the lower the ratings the running shoes get, is the key finding of a research report by RunRepeat, a website driven by a community of runners that review running shoes.  It has more than 100,000 user reviews and 2,500 expert reviews. The site is the World's largest review site in running.

Runners who purchased from among the 10 most expensive running shoes were 8% less satisfied with their purchases, compared to runners who purchased more affordable items. The top three best rated brands are: #1 Skechers, #2 Saucony and #3 VibramFiveFingers, while the three worst rated are #22 New Balance, #23 Adidas and #24 Reebok.

The highest rated running shoes were the Saucony Cohesion, which cost $60 dollars. The report also revealed that the most affordable brands are Skechers, Vivobarefoot and Puma, while the most expensive are Hoka One, Newton and On.

“We expected specialist running brands to outperform standard sports brands significantly, but looking at the data, there’s only a small difference. Running specialist brands perform 2.8% better than general sports brands.” said Jens Jakob Andersen, the founder of RunRepeat.com.

The user ratings across brands ranked Skechers with the highest score, followed by Saucony, Vibram FiveFingers, Vivobarefoot, Brooks, Merrell, On and

RunRepeat.com is an ad free and cost free website driven by a community of runners that review running shoes at the website. It has more than 100,000 user reviews and 2,500 expert reviews. The site is the World's largest review site in running.