The best gym shoes can be the difference between a good workout and a great one, or perhaps more importantly between staying healthy and getting injured. If you're trying to kickstart your fitness in 2025, but don't have a solid pair of workout shoes for the gym, then you're asking for trouble.
A good pair of gym shoes will not only look stylish among the New Year's crowds but also provide vital support and stability. We're not talking about the best running shoes here. While running shoes will provide cushioning for miles on the treadmill or the sidewalk, a good pair of gym shoes will offer much more rounded support for strength and weight training, circuits, CrossFit, yoga, and a bit of cardio thrown in too.
The best gym shoe in our estimation is the Nike Free Metcon 5, but we also have more specialized picks for CrossFit, heavy lifting, and beyond. Everything here has been tested and put through its paces by our fitness experts in order to bring you the best recommendation.
New for 2025 in our guide is the new Reebok X5 Nano, a formidable training shoe that offers brilliant stability for strength and conditioning.
Stephen is a tech journalist with over a decade of fitness and exercise experience, specializing in strength and conditioning.
The quick list
Want to get straight to the best gym shoes for your needs? Use our quick round-up below to immediately find a workout shoe that suits you – and you can read more about it by jumping to our full write-ups and explanations using the links.
The best overall
The Nike Free Metcon 5 is our top pick for the ultimate gym shoe. With out-of-the-box comfort, this versatile shoe can handle anything you throw at it.
Best for strength
The best for strength
New for 2025, the Reebok Nano X5 is a formidable strength and conditioning shoe that can also be used for CrossFit.
Best budget
The Under Armour TriBase Reign 4 is an excellent gym shoe that not only offers great stability - making it perfect for high-impact activities such as HIIT training - but also represents great value for money.
The best gym shoe for agility and functional fitness
Branded as Inov-8’s top fitness shoe, the F-LITE G 300 is a versatile yet sturdy pair of kicks that provides the support and stability needed for weight lifting while retaining a lightweight, flexible feel.
The best gym shoe for versatility
These bouncy, well-cushioned trainers are not only supportive - they’re also super flexible, making them highly versatile and ideal for all kinds of fitness
Best gym shoes overall
We love the Nike Free Metcon 5, a more general-purpose gym shoe made by Nike as an alternative to the original Metcon line. You get fantastic out-of-the-box comfort and versatility, as well as great style thanks to that fantastic silhouette.
The Free Metcon 5 offers very good stability for lifting weights, as well as cushioning for your cardio sessions, making them perfect for mixed sessions and all-around gym activities.
They lack some of the upper stability of a very heavy weightlifting shoe, but that's what makes them an ideal choice for basically everything else.
Read our full Nike Free Metcon 5 review
Best for Strength
The Reebok Nano X5 is new for 2025 and delivers a brilliant upgrade on the company's excellent training shoe.
The Nano X5 is a supremely comfortable and stable shoe for strength and conditioning, providing a brilliant platform for all but the most extreme weights and Olympic lifts. The new midsole technology means there's no rocking or give while you're lifting, but they're still pliable enough for a quick warmup jog or some stretching, too.
They also look absolutely brilliant, especially in the default colorway.
The Decoupled Metasplit Outsole offers more runnability over previous versions, but this isn't a shoe for hitting the treadmill or doing agility work.
Read our full Reebok Nano X5 review
Best budget gym shoes
The Under Armour TriBase Reign 4 is an excellent gym shoe that not only offers users great stability - working perfectly for high-impact activities such as HIIT training - but also now represents great value for money.
They’re ideal do-it-all shoes, with excellent grip for lifting weights, and enough cushioning for high-impact moves like box jumps and burpees, but never enough that you feel like you’re sinking, or taking any explosivity away. They might not be suitable for longer cardio sessions, especially lots of running, but they’re still a great value, great-performing all-round gym shoe.
Read our full Under Armour Tribase Reign 4 review
Best gym shoes for agility
Branded as Inov-8’s top fitness shoe, the F-LITE G 300 is a versatile yet sturdy footwear offering that provides the support and stability needed for weight lifting, while retaining a lightweight, flexible feel that offers users the agility they need to move around in high-impact fitness classes and functional training.
Reinforced with a super sturdy graphene heel, the F-LITE G 300 is ideal for movements that require a solid footing, especially squats. At the same time, this strong foundation doesn’t prevent you from moving around at speed thanks to the shoe’s lightweight, flexible upper that also proves to be breathable to ensure moisture doesn’t get locked inside, great for those extra sweaty gym sessions.
While a little extra cushioning would be nice, the Inov-8 F-lite G 300 offers a great balance between stability and flexibility.
Read our full Inov-8 F-lite G 300 review
Best for versatility
The Lululemon Chargefeel is the American brand’s first foray into the world of workout shoes. These bouncy, well-cushioned trainers are not only supportive - they’re also super flexible, making them highly versatile and ideal for all kinds of fitness. What’s more, the breathable upper and springy midsoles offer a supportive yet flexible way to train, whether you’re going for a jog or lifting heavy weights in the gym.
The Chargefeel trainers, which are specifically designed for women, also include a mid-top version, with an ankle liner supporting the foot. This gives the shoes a unique but stylish look that means they can easily be worn in or outside the gym.
Read our full Lululemon Chargefeel review
How to choose the best gym shoes for you
Before we delve into which shoes are best suited to each kind of gym goer or exercise type, let’s walk you through some top kicks-buying tips (try saying that after a heavy HIIT class).
Firstly, let’s highlight that it’s unlikely to be obvious which trainers out there - among the vast array of options - are specially tailored more for general workouts and which are made for running. Most brands aren’t that good at communicating this to their customers, either, which makes things harder.
One thing to look out for is the curve of the sole. Make sure it’s flat. If it isn’t, then it’s probably a running shoe. The fit is important, too. Running shoes generally should have a little space at the end to allow for the swelling of your feet as you run over long distances. Workout shoes should have a slightly more snug fit for added support, especially around the ankle for when (or if) you’re lifting heavy weights.
When it comes to pricing, a decent pair of workout shoes will probably cost you around $130 / £100 / AU$160, but there are of course cheaper options around for those on a budget. If the latter applies to you, I’d advise having a nosey in the sales or at older models of popular brands, which often update their flagship shoes meaning older generations like the Tribase Reign 4 can be picked up for a much lower price despite, in most cases, being almost identical.
How we test gym shoes
We put all gym shoes to the test in real, sweaty gyms and classes. We'll put them through several weeks of work including lifting, cardio and machines to figure out how responsive and comfortable they are under pressure.
Are they stable in the squat rack? Do they feel too squishy during sprint training? Do they cope with lateral movement well? Have they worn down at all during this initial testing, indicating poor durability? We test all these things, and more, also assessing whether they're good value compared to today's market leaders.
