Best Nike Running Shoes Right Now (2026)

Just Shoe It

Ahh, new shoe day, there’s not much better. However, if you’re looking to pick up a new pair of Nike running shoes, then you might be overwhelmed by the number of options. There are like 90 types of padding, just as many materials, and a whole rainbow of colorways to pick from. Not to mention an entirely different set of shoes for life on the trails. We’re here to help you narrow it down with our handy guide to the best Nike running shoes you can get.

The Beaverton brand has come a long way since its early days as Blue Ribbon Sports, going from selling ASICS Onitsuka out of a trunk to breaking the two-hour marathon barrier with Eliud Kipchoge in 2019. Now, the Swoosh is pretty much the gold standard when it comes to race day, boasting an unbelievable stable of elites outside of the GOAT himself. Nike’s foams just keep getting lighter, its plates bouncier, and its colorways even sweeter — even though we reach for the white-out Proto version any chance we get. We can’t say you’ll break world records with our picks, but you’ll certainly look great and hopefully run a bit better. 

We’ve picked our top eight options currently available to keep it simple for us (and for you, too), so let’s hop to it.

Crazy to think how much things can change in just a few short years. The Vomero used be the boring brother in the backseat of Nike’s dune buggy, playing third or fourth fiddle to the Pegasus, Zoom Fly, Alphafly, and Streakfly. Now? It’s the best line in the Nike family.

The Vomero revival centers around this one: the very max cushion, very bouncy, very fun Vomero Plus. It’s a monster of a shoe, coming in with a 45 mm stack height in the heel. Full ZoomX foam in the midsole, breathable upper, and somehow lighter than the standard Vomero 18. Also, much, much lighter than the air-pocketed Vomero Premium. The results is an incredibly fun shoe that’s neither too soft nor too unstable when out on the run. It feels fantastic, mile after mile, with a pronounced bounce that will put a smile on your face. It doesn’t hurt that the styling just looks great as well. It’s well worth the price tag and beats out any competition at that price point.

Wear this for any distance or any occasion– you won’t regret it.

The king is back, baby. No, not Elvis — it’s too late for him and for Austin Butler’s portrayal of him — but the Alphafly, on the other hand, is back in a big way. We weren’t shy about the fact that we didn’t like version two (Meg has been hoarding OG Alphaflys like Smaug on a pile of gold), so we won’t be shy about liking version three quite a lot. It’s the biggest departure from the classic Alphafly in terms of aesthetics but also upgrades, so let’s get into it.

For starters, the Alphafly 3 looks nothing like its predecessor. There’s no longer a gap behind the Zoom Air pods, and the entire shape of the midsole has received a full BBL. It reaches its widest point right below where it meets the upper, which is now an even lighter Atomknit 3.0 mesh. Every part of the Alphafly 3 seems tuned towards being lighter and leaner, including the name — you’ll notice that “Next%” is no longer the supershoe’s middle name.

Oh, and by eliminating that weight-saving midsole gap, Nike has vastly improved the transition of the Alphafly 3. It no longer sounds quite like a pair of hooves clippity-clopping across the Baltimore streets, which we can only list as a benefit. Even though Meg’s attempt at CIM in the Alphafly 3 didn’t exactly go to plan, it was hardly because of her feet. In fact, the Alphafly held up its end of the bargain, only for the rest of a very, very tired Meg to go through the pain cave and come out rather scathed.

You know the old saying that the third time is the charm, right? Well, in the case of the Nike Zoom Fly, it turns out that sometimes you just have to ignore the first three tries to make the statement true. In fact, for the first several generations of the Zoom Fly, we wanted nothing more than to simply pretend the shoe didn’t exist. The first version destroyed Meg’s feet to the point she never wore it again, and subsequent versions weren’t much better.

But that was then, and this is now. Nike is onto its sixth Zoom Fly, and it finally feels like it has the shoe figured out, which is to say that it finally feels like a baby Alphafly in the very best of ways. No, it’s not a straight-up dupe, Nike wouldn’t step on its own toes like that, but the Zoom Fly pairs soft, bouncy ZoomX foam with a more stable SR02 carrier that gives the trainer plenty of pop without feeling quite as wiley as many racers. Meg also noted that the newly revamped upper feels a bit more like that of a racing shoe, but Nike hasn’t had to strip away all of the padding to save weight, resulting in a bit more comfortable of a ride.

Over on Thomas’s side, he actually picked up the Zoom Fly 6 with his own money, which means he got to snag the sweet, sweet Kipchoge edition. It’s decked out with red mud details and clever Easter eggs like the “No human is limited” signature on one of the toes. He also remarked that the Zoom Fly 6 is lighter than he expected it to be, though in true plated Nike fashion, it still sounds a little bit like a pair of hooves as you roll along on pavement.

Ya know what? The Nike Vomero gets a bad rap. Not because it’s a bad shoe, but because it just doesn’t have the same legacy or longevity as the Pegasus. Well, we think that should change because this just might be Nike’s more enjoyable daily trainer. Put simply, it’s just a bit more exciting than its winged cousin, thanks to its reworked duo of ZoomX and ReactX in the midsole (so long, Cushlon 3.0).

On top of the revamped, pepped-up foam, the new Vomero 18 simply looks much more wearable than its predecessor. Nike made all of its colorways more vibrant, sprinkling hits of Dusty Cactus and Siren Red in among the basic blacks, grays, and navys. In fact, it kind of feels like Nike is using the Vomero 18, which is considered the base model in its Max Cushion trio, as its answer to the crossover hype that Hoka achieved with the Bondi 8.

Oh, and despite being the “base” model, there’s nothing basic about the Vomero’s structure. It has a sky-high 46 mm of foam in the heel to guarantee that you almost never feel the pavement beneath your feet. Yes, there should be a Vomero Plus and Vomero Premium coming down the line, too, though we have no idea how Nike will out-max itself. When it does, we’ll be there to get the miles in. By the way, we always love it when Nike reverts to its original waffle-texture rubber, so that’s another reason to check out the Vomero 18.

Is the Structure 26 going to blow your mind? It’s a stability shoe, so … no. However, it looks pretty great and it comes equipped with a full-length ReactX foam midsole that gives a nice bounce without making things unstable. The midfoot support structure within provides the right amount of security where it’s needed and the wider base ensures a smooth roll through the stride.

Larger segments of rubber provide plenty of grip, while the upper is plush in all the right places, without being overly warm. We also think the design is pretty nice as well. For those who like that more traditional trainer feeling, then this is the shoe for you. Looking for a bit more cushion? Then skip on down to the Structure Plus.

We already gave you the standard stability option in the Structure 26, a long-running option in the Nike family. However, what if we took that and added some ZoomX foam underfoot and still wrapped it in ReactX for a touch of stability? Well, you’d have an incredibly soft and comfortable running shoe that still retains a support structure for those who need it. The result is an incredibly comfortable shoe for anything from running to walking.

With all that cushion underfoot, this isn’t your traditional stability shoe. In fact, it will work for anyone who wants a soft ride underfoot. The weight is on the heavier side, but it’s not unheard of for a stability model. The final result is premium comfort in an eye-catching package. And for $170, it’s right there in the wheelhouse with all the other support shoes.

Is the Vomero Premium the most out-there running shoe ever made by Nike? If not, it has to be close. Like one of Stefan’s favorite NYC nightclubs, this one has everything– a 55 mm stack of ZoomX foam and dual Air Zoom units, luxurious upper, waffle outsole, and a style that’s hard to beat. Let’s be real– this thing is ridiculous. It’s the highest stacked running shoe we’ve ever tested. It weighs an abysmal 12.5 ounces for a USM10– one of the heaviest running shoes we’ve ever tested. But it’s also ridiculous in all the best ways.

Because this shoe is fun. Bouncy like the biggest trampoline. Moon shoes, if you will. It’s also surprisingly stable thanks to the wide platform. And it will turn heads, no doubt about it. Meg and Thomas love the shoe for cruising miles, even if Robbe found it to be a bit blocky underfoot, thanks to the weight. Maybe it’s for you, maybe it isn’t. But it’s something else, that’s for sure.

Final note: Good luck getting it in your cart. This thing sells out almost as soon as it restocks.

Last, and certainly not least, we have the featherweight fighter. The king of the course. The racer that other racers dream of… the Nike Vaporfly 4. Like its Alphafly sibling, the Vaporfly got a bit of a facelift heading into version three, and it’s been smoothed out for version four. The angular midsole has been replaced by gentle curves that probably make it a touch more aerodynamic but also take away some of its racing aggression.

As for the actual feel of the shoe, ZoomX is still ZoomX. You know it’s fast, you know it’s bouncy, and you know that stability is towards the bottom of Nike’s list of priorities. Robbe pointed out in his review that this flavor of ZoomX might not be the most aggressive that Nike has unleashed, but it’s still fairly smooth through the stride and should work brilliantly for racing up to about the half-marathon distance — it feels like Nike is saving the most iconic race for its Alphafly.

Also, shout out to Nike for only raising the price of the Vaporfly by a measly $10 over eight years. Sure, it’s still pretty expensive at $260, but that’s some impressive consistency when running shoe technology has come so far. That said, Robbe had a little trouble achieving top-tier lockdown in his pair of the Vaporfly 4, so you may want to try on Nike’s featherweight fighter before you splash the cash.

Despite the naming convention, this is technically the second version of the Ultrafly (the first being the… Ultrafly). This time around, Nike slapped the ACG on there, as the ACG Ultrafly is the first footwear model in Nike’s burn-the-boats push to bring back the glory days of All Conditions Gear. The first colorway of the shoe came in the iconic Nike orange (pictured above), with a big, bold Nike ACG triangle logo on the back heel. A full ZoomX midsole gives plenty of cushion and bounce that sings on smoother terrain, while the carbon fiber Flyplate provides both stability and leveraged propulsion on toe-off. Of course, the Vibram outsole is a huge bonus as well, giving sticky traction when necessary.

Can this shoe go any distance? Certainly. That said, we still think this shoe performs best on light trail conditions (so maybe not meant for all conditions).