Dealing with knee pain while running is no fun and NOT required to be a runner! If this has been your experience, let’s talk about some of the best running shoes for knee pain. And of course, because I’m a running coach a few things that could help alleviate that pain from your runs!
Knee pain can happen to anyone, runner or not. We all know the favorite question from non-runners is, “Don’t your knees hurt?” Or they like to say they could never run because their knees ALREADY hurt.
But the reality is, running itself is not inherently bad for our knees. Usually it’s our poor choices.
Doing too much, too quickly, wearing the wrong shoes, and weak muscles from refusing to strength train are the most common causes.
In most cases, knee pain doesn’t mean you have bad knees and it’s not permanent. It’s important to find the root cause.
However, while you’re building up your mileage or dealing with any pain, why wouldn’t we take advantage of gear to make things feel better?!
After testing literally hundreds of daily trainers, our team pulled together the best running shoes for bad knees. Stick with me as we look at some of the causes of knee pain, how much cushion may be too much, how to pick the right shoes, and my recommendations for shoes you might want to check out.
10 Best Running Shoes for Knee Pain
Below are our top picks for the best running shoes when dealing with knee pain. Remember, there are a lot of factors to consider so keep those in mind when picking a shoe. Maybe your next pair will be one of the ones reviewed below.
✅Heel drop is an important factor in knee pain shoe selection!
For the majority of people a shoe with a lower heel drop is going to help reduce the forward knee push. So 8mm to even 4mm and is ideal. That does not mean zero drop is required.
If you have poor ankle mobility or Achilles issues, then a 10mm or 12mm would be better.
And check our notes after the shoes for some additional tips to help your “bad knees” feel a whole lot better. As running coaches we just can’t let you think a shoe alone will do the work.
Best for Heavy Runners Shoe – Hoka One One Bondi 9
The Hoka One One Bondi is great for everyday running and walking. With its max cushioning, it’s almost guaranteed to provide max comfort too. The one thing to remember is that the more cushion, the less “pop” or speed you’ll get from a shoe.
I think this is really ideal for our heavier runners, those who are doing 5+ hour marathons and want some soft lasting cushion.
The newest model has a mesh construction, lighter foams, and an extended heel that offers a soft but balanced roll-through from heel strike to push-off. Just remember as we mentioned before that more cushion isn’t always better.
- Weight: 10.5 oz Men’s, 9.3 oz Women’s
- Heel Drop: 5 mm
- Usage: Easy runs, long runs, easily up to marathon distance
- 6 colors
- Available in wide
- Available on Hoka.com for $170
- Checkout our complete Hoka Bondi 9 review >>
Best for Wide Feet – New Balance Fresh Foam 1080 V15
Our team uses these in the regular width as a go to daily trainer, so don’t think they’re JUST for wide feet. What we like here is the 6mm heel drop prevents pushing the knee forward and the cushion is just lovely.
Coach Amanda has actually gone through 3 pairs of this shoe in the last few years.
The New Balance Fresh Foam 1080 is just a winner for our team finding it to do well for high mileage without breaking down.
We specifically noted New Balance for wide feet because you can order most shoes in a variety of widths!
- Heel Drop: 6 mm
- Stack: 40 mm
- Weight: 9.5oz men’s, 7.3 oz women’s
- Available in Wide (and extra wide in men’s)
- Available from Newbalance.com for $170
- Read our full review of the Fresh Foam 1080 v15 here >>
Best All Around Shoe – Saucony Kinvara 16
If you want 1 shoe to use for easy days, recovery days and speed days then the Kinvara has you covered.
Interestingly, one of the things we have found in myself and many other runners is that getting out of shoes in the 10-12mm heel drop range seems to help reduce IT band issues. This could be because the higher drop is pushing your knee too far forward.
This has been one of my go to shoe models for nearly a decade. That being said, the Kinvara has changed over that time. It’s now a slightly more cushioned shoe with a bit more stack height (because everything seems to be increasing in stack height). It is NOT a max cushion shoe, but more of a traditional moderately cushioned fee.
It’s an easy pick for the shoe you’ll want to put miles on during vacation because you can use them for speed or easy runs.
The Saucony Kinvara 16 is an excellent choice for runners who are looking for a lightweight and responsive shoe that provides enough cushioning and support for longer runs
- Weight: 6.3 oz Women’s. 7.0 oz Men’s
- Heel drop: 4 mm
- Stack Height: 29mm
- Available in 9 colors
- Available in wide
- Available now on Saucony.com ($130)
- Read our full review of the Saucony Kinvara 16 here >>
Best Max Cushion Shoe – Nike Vomero 18
If you put the Nike Vomero on right after wearing the Vomero Premium, you’ll immediately tell the difference in how the amount of cushion differs.
This shoe was originally considered their max cushion option, but then Nike released two more shoe models in the Vomero lineup with even more cushion.
Nike combined different types of foam to offer both comfort and durability. The top layer is ZoomX foam made from PEBA, making it light with higher energy return. Underneath is their ReactX foam, which is slightly firmer and more responsive.
The combination makes these shoes really idea for long days, because they seem to return energy while remaining soft underfoot.
- Heel drop: 10mm
- Weight: 9.3 oz women’s, 11.5 oz men’s
- Available in 6 colors
- Not available in Wide
- Available at Nike.com $150
- Check out our full review of the Nike Vomero 18 here >>
Best High Drop Stability Shoe – Brooks Adrenaline GTS 25
Among stability shoes, the Brooks Adrenaline GTS is a great option. It’s been a runners favorite for more than 20 years, if that tells you anything.
This is still a HIGH heel drop shoe (even with the change to a 10mm heeld rop, which means it’s better for those who know they lack ankle mobility or have Achilles issues, for everyone else keep reading or we recommend the Saucony Guide!
It’s great for everyday runs or those long runs on the weekends. It has a nice solid structure with flexibility offering support for people with high arches, but can also be a solid option for flat feet with a special insert. Its GuideRails support system helps your foot move more naturally in each step.
This is going to be one of the shoes that comes in the most vibrant colors and patterns too. We had no idea just how important this was to so many of you!!
- Weight: 10.6 oz Men’s, 9.5 oz Women’s
- Stack Height: 37 mm
- Heel Drop: 10 mm
- Available in 9 colors
- Available in wide or extra wide
- Available on Brooks Running for $155.00
- Read our full review of the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 25 here >>
Best Carbon Plate Shoe – Puma Deviate Nitro 4
This shoe is lightweight and feels great for daily training runs and tempo runs, at a price point that’s pretty fantastic for a plated trainer.
It’s a little bit of a stiffer shoe because of the carbon composite PWRPLATE that runs along the sole of the shoe.
These shoes are considered a max cushioned shoe, yet they did not feel bulky or heavy underfoot.
The cushion felt great on hard surfaces (can you tell I spend a lot of time on trails), and it also allowed just enough ground feel that I felt secure with every step.The forefoot is less cushioned than the heel, and I think this helped in not feeling like I was going to catch an uneven edge on the sidewalk or on the bricks.
The wider platform of the shoe also keeps it feeling really stable, a common feature you’ll see in most max-cushioned shoes now.
The NITROFOAM™ (nitrogen-infused foam technology) is lightweight and responsive. It felt cushioned, yet still able to pick up speed! A nice combo for a shoe that can serve many purposes.
- Weight: 10.5 oz men’s/ 8.8oz women’s
- Stack Height: 38mm
- Heel drop: 8mm
- Available in 4 colors
- Available in wide in one colorway
- Available at us.puma.com for $170.00
Best Fast Shoe (also carbon plate) – On Cloudboom Strike
After seeing Helen Obiri win Boston, a lot of runners stood up to take notice of what On was doing with carbon fiber. It’s a very different type of shoe than Nike and for a lot of runners, that’s a good thing.
This is a lower stack height and slightly higher heel drop than many of the other super shoes on the market. Compared to the Nike Vaporfly 2 or 3, it’s a 100% different fit and feeling. Where Nike feels like bouncing, this shoe mostly feels super light. And where you might hate the super high stack on the Nike, this shoe is going to feel more natural.
- Heel Drop: 4 mm
- Weight: 6.8 oz women’s and 7.7 oz men’s
- Usage: Fast, race day, up to marathon shoe
- Available in 2 colors
- Not available in wide
- Available at On Running for $280
- Read our review of the On Cloudboom Strike here >>
Best Wide Toe Box Option – Topo Cyclone 3
We are NOT against zero drop shoes. But if you’re currently running in something higher and want a toe box with more room, we really like this 4mm drop from Topo.
If you haven’t tried a Topo Athletic shoe before, the brand is known in the running shoe world for their shoes’ anatomical toe box . This basically means that the shoe’s tox box doesn’t come to a point like a lot of traditional running shoes and stays wider to accommodate your forefoot width.
The stack height is coming in around 28mm like some of the old school shoes! It just means that you’re going to be able to feel the ground a little more but still have some protection.
We actually think this brand is really undervalued. Every shoe our team has tested comes back with glowing reviews and is a reminder that you can get some really feel good cushion without a super high stack.
- Weight: 6.9oz Men’s, 5.5 oz Women’s
- Heel drop: 5mm
- Available in 2 colors
- Not available in wide
- Available at REI for $150
- Check out our full review of the Topo Cyclone 3 here >>
Best for Road to Trail – Hoka Challenger 8
The Hoka Challenger is an all-terrain shoe allowing you to go from street to trails without a hitch. While not as cushy as its sibling the Bondi, its padding provides the shock absorption you need while remaining light enough for the demands of trail running.
Again this isn’t not a stability shoe, but by default HOKA shoes provide more stability than most.
The sole boasts 4mm lugs ensuring good grip on the trails, but they’re small enough that they won’t feel wonky on the road.
- Weight: 8.7 oz women’s, 9.7 oz men’s
- Heel toe drop: 8 mm
- Stack Height: 42 mm men/ 39mm women
- Available in 5 colors and GTX (waterproof)
- Available from Hoka.com for $155
- Read our full review of the Hoka Challenger 8 here >>
How to Find the Right Shoes for Knee Pain
Shoes aren’t cheap and while you can often return them if they aren’t the right shoe for you, you don’t want to have to do that numerous times because changing shoes is simply masking the problem and not solving it.
Once you’ve determined the cause of your knee pain and a solution, it’s time to find appropriate shoes. You want to consider a number of factors, including your feet and arches, comfort, support, cushion, materials used, and sizing options.
Why Do Your Knees Hurt While Running?
I’ve done a huge article on 7 causes of knee pain while running to help you see exactly what might be happening and resolve it. But for a quick overview:
- Weak hips and glutes. They may not be able to help you maintain proper alignment. You’ll first need to strengthen those muscles to help you maintain proper alignment when running.
- Overstriding. You may be reaching when you run with your feet landing in front of your body. Take a look at your overall form and see what areas may need improvement.
- Overpronation. Your feet are rolling inward.
- Supination. Your feet are rolling outward.
- Wrong running shoe fit. Yes, you may be in the wrong shoes for your body and feet
- Worn out shoes. Wearing shoes that have seen too many miles means the shoe is broken down and breaks down your form.
It’s important that you determine the cause of your knee pain before going any further.
The sheer amount of trainers on the market these days can make shoe shopping overwhelming, especially when trying to deal with a specific issue such as knee pain. Obviously, this isn’t an all-encompassing list, but hopefully it provides you with, at the very least, a place to start your search.
Looking for more running shoe guides?
For more help selecting the right shoe for you, don’t worry, I’ve got you:
Mizuno Neo Zen 2 Less Bounce, More Stability | Is the Trade-Off Worth It?
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