HOKA Clifton 11 vs Clifton PRO: Which Clifton is right for you?

When you think of the HOKA Clifton, you probably think of one thing: Comfort. I mean, the shoe practically pioneered the max-cushion category, going big and bold when everyone else was going low-stacked and natural, something we could probably call the Born to Run effect. Along the way, though, the Clifton created a niche all its own. It became just as synonymous with easy, cruising miles as it was with spending upwards of ten hours on your feet in industries like nursing.

But now, HOKA is out to do something new. It has introduced a brand-new member of the Clifton family, the Clifton PRO, and with it, a choice. Now, instead of heading to your local run specialty shop and asking for the go-to comfort king, you have to think about what you want your Clifton to do. You have to decide whether you’re after the faster, performance-oriented Clifton PRO or if you want to cruise through your miles in the comfortable, reliable Clifton 11.

And if you can’t decide, we don’t blame you; there’s a lot to like on both sides. So, let’s go from top to bottom, comparing the HOKA Clifton 11 vs HOKA Clifton PRO to help you pick.

Engineered mesh, meet engineered mesh

Starting with the uppers of each respective Clifton, it’s important to talk about the role HOKA envisions the Clifton PRO playing. As we learned from Annie Kawasaki during our Clifton PRO deep dive, the Clifton PRO represents progress in the Clifton line, but it doesn’t exactly represent a full departure from the daily trainer we know and love. As such, the engineered mesh upper sticks a bit closer to the plush, comfortable wrap that HOKA fans will remember from previous generations.

That’s not to say that the two shoes are identical, though. They’re not. Although they use the same base material, a soft but sturdy engineered mesh, the Clifton PRO uses longer, wave-like overlays to add pops of color while reinforcing the lockdown of the shoe. It also features a much larger HOKA logo on the lateral side, just so that everyone knows what you’re rocking.

As for the classic Clifton 11, it’s a case of similar DNA, just streamlined. Its overlays split around the HOKA logo, mirroring the PRO’s style, but with a slightly simpler final look. And honestly, we don’t mind the distinction; it’s a good reminder that the Clifton 11 is a familiar shoe for longtime fans who want the reliable fit and feel they’ve grown accustomed to over the years.

The overall similarities between the uppers of the Clifton 11 and Clifton PRO tell us something else, too: Don’t use this as your deciding factor. Because HOKA wanted to maintain so much of the standard Clifton’s fit, you should be able to get a similar fit and lockdown from both shoes, right up to the point where you could put a Clifton 11 on one foot and a Clifton PRO on the other and not notice much of a difference while standing still.

Underfoot is where the magic happens

Once you’ve finished admiring your chosen colorway (be it the Clifton 11 or the Clifton PRO), it’s time to take your first steps. And when you do, you’ll immediately notice the difference between these two everyday-ready road shoes.

If you opt for the Clifton 11, you’ll get an altogether familiar feeling, with a stack of compression-molded EVA foam underfoot that feels much like the previous Clifton 10. That is, of course, the goal. The Clifton 11 is all about reliability, familiarity, and that “get-out-the-door” feeling.

In our review, Chad praised that very same reliability, coming away impressed by HOKA’s ability to design a shoe on paper and then deliver that exact same experience on the road. He also hinted that the Clifton 11 might excel on a family trip to Disney World, and we can only hope that he’ll count us as his family, too.

Of course, the underfoot reliability of the Clifton 11 doesn’t just come from the CMEVA midsole. Its smooth MetaRocker™ transitions nicely from heel to toe, while the rearfoot-focused Active Foot Frame™, essentially raised midsole walls, keeps your foot locked in place just like you remember from previous generations.

But now, it’s time to get funky. Alright, maybe not funky, but PRO. The HOKA Clifton PRO takes a lot of the base technologies of the Clifton 11 and turns them to, well, 12. Although it uses the same stack measurements as the Clifton 11 (42mm/34mm for men, 38mm/30mm for women, 8mm drop), it trades the CMEVA platform for an all-new ProGlide+ platform that’s tuned for progressive performance within the Clifton vertical.

What that means is the Clifton PRO jumps to a newer supercritical EVA compound that’s designed to be livelier and more resilient than the compression-molded foam, while the more aggressive MetaRocker encourages cruising when you want to hit higher paces. Now, which part of that is the ProGlide+, you ask? Well, both. ProGlide+ is the name of the system that HOKA is introducing to create smooth, comprehensive comfort with a bit of a kick.

While chatting with Annie, we asked her why HOKA chose this supercritical EVA over something like the PEBA seen in the race-ready Cielo X1 3.0, not least because a PEBA-powered Clifton sounds like an exciting ride. As she explained it, “SCF EVA was the best choice for a daily trainer, as the Supercritical Foaming process utilizes nitrogen as a blowing agent that gives more resilience and energy return with a higher compression rate.”

Essentially, had they chosen PEBA, the Clifton PRO might have offered an excellent ride, but the foam might not have held up to the long-term mileage that so many people want from the Clifton family. So, swap it out for an SCF EVA midsole, and you’re ready to roll (and roll, and roll, and roll) while your foot stays safely in place thanks to the Active Foot Frame.

And if you’re ready to make a choice between the Clifton 11 and Clifton PRO, this is probably where you’ll do it. Yes, we have more comparisons to make, but the distinction between a comfort-oriented CMEVA midsole and a high-performance, progress-focused SCF EVA compound goes a long way. For everyday comfort, you’ll probably want the Clifton 11, but for quicker cruising over long miles, it’s going to be the Clifton PRO.

Let’s bring this comparison home.

Where the rubber meets the road (and how to decide)

The last point of comparison between the HOKA Clifton 11 and Clifton PRO is their respective outsoles. And yes, we can hear you saying, “But isn’t rubber just rubber?” To answer that, we’d point you towards one of our own reviewers, Jon Ober. We love the guy, but he has an impressive knack for destroying outsoles, proving that rubber isn’t just rubber.

HOKA pretty clearly agrees with him, as it’s put special Super Abrasion Rubber on high-wear zones under the Clifton PRO. That largely means the heel, but there’s no shortage of Durabrasion Rubber on the forefoot, either. Actually, the rubber coverage extends nearly end-to-end. That extra protection should, in turn, mean that you can pile extra miles onto the Clifton PRO before you’re ever thinking about replacing your current pair.

As for the standard Clifton 11, well, it’s a bit more selective with its outsole coverage. Instead of going for a full spread, HOKA placed its inherently durable compound under the forefoot and heel, protecting the most-worn parts of the EVA foam while saving just a bit of weight under the midfoot.

So now, it’s time to make a choice. It’s time to ask yourself whether you need the reliable, everyday-ready Clifton 11, which you can wear for everything from the night shift to run club to Disney World, or the Clifton PRO, with its updated platform that encourages you to push your performance to the next level.

If you ask us, we’d say the latter. We’d say to spend the extra $10 (yes, the Clifton PRO is just $165 compared to the $155 of the Clifton 11) to try the new ProGlide+ platform, which is still buttery smooth like the Clifton we know and love, but with the added comfort and bounce of supercritical foam.

Or, you know, you could always pick up both shoes, because HOKA designed its two Cliftons to run together in harmony.