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New Balance FuelCell Rebel v3

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 8 oz · 6mm drop · 31/25mm stack

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The New Balance FuelCell Rebel v4 replaced it

How it ranks

The New Balance FuelCell Rebel v3 is one of the strongest daily trainers in our data. Value and comfort are its strongest sub-ratings. Durability scores well below its other sub-ratings. The rating rests on 45 runner reviews and 4 other rated shoes in the FuelCell Rebel product line.

New Balance FuelCell Rebel v3

of 5

Excellent

94/100
Overall
94
Value
99
Comfort
94
Appearance
90
Cushioning
87
Durability
59
Confidence

Confidence

How settled the rating is against every other rated shoe. A shoe can rate high on confidence with relatively few reviews of its own when its product line has a long record and external ratings from retailer sites agree. Confidence will score low when we have few ratings or when runners disagree.

See the product line's history

Confidence

95/100

95

What runners say

“Sizing runs too small—get a half size up”
5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a marathon came from the New Balance FuelCell Rebel v2
“So spongy it eventually hurts Achilles within the first mile”
3/5 Full review 20 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Endorphin Speed 2
“Soft enough to be easy on the body and springy enough for faster paces”
5/5 Full review 90 mpw training for a marathon
“Light and cushioned, versatile for speed work, tempos, and longer runs”
5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the New Balance FuelCell Rebel v2
“Cushion goes a bit flat once runs stretch beyond 16km”
5/5 Full review 25 mpw training for a marathon came from the Saucony Kinvara 13
“Super soft and still very responsive for faster paced workouts”
4/5 Full review 50 mpw training for 5K and 10K
“V3 has wider landing area on forefoot, giving stability to really open things up”
5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a marathon came from the New Balance FuelCell Rebel v2
“Light enough to go fast, cushioned enough for long runs”
5/5 Full review 40 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the New Balance FuelCell Rebel v2
“Has wonderful bounce that makes it a joy to run in”
5/5 Full review 25 mpw training for a marathon came from the Altra Torin 4
“Wears out a little faster—300ish miles max”
5/5 Full review 90 mpw training for a marathon

Prefer this shoe over another

54% 15/28

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.


Pros

  • Runners use one pair for easy days, tempo work and long runs.
  • An 8 oz build on a 31mm heel stack, and reviewers call the cushioning-to-weight outstanding.
  • Reviewers call the ride bouncy and the thin mesh upper breathable.

Cons

  • Durability is the weakest dimension at 3.9 out of 5, and two reviewers say the cushion goes flat past about 15km.
  • Two reviewers find the soft foam unstable or hard on the Achilles.
  • Two reviewers size up half a size for toe room.

Rating & Confidence vs. other shoes for sale

Each dot is one rated shoe for sale, placed by its rating and by how much evidence sits behind it. Shoes toward the top right are both well rated and well established.

Confidence
50 60 70 80 90 100 25 50 75 100

Better Shoes Rating

FuelCell Rebel v3 rates 94. This shoe has high certainty. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the New Balance FuelCell Rebel

Each dot is one version of the FuelCell Rebel, placed by its rating and release year. The gold dot is this shoe.

Rating

Release year

We use the reviews of past versions to inform this shoe’s rating. See why.
  • FuelCell Rebel v5

    2025 · 7 reviews

    94 Excellent

    86 Confidence

  • FuelCell Rebel v4

    2024 · 38 reviews

    99 Exceptional

    99 Confidence

  • FuelCell Rebel v3 This shoe

    2022 · 45 reviews

    94 Excellent

    95 Confidence

  • FuelCell Rebel v2

    2021 · 9 reviews

    93 Excellent

    87 Confidence

  • Fuelcell Rebel v1

    2019 · 13 reviews

    82 Good

    86 Confidence

Reader Ratings

45 ratings
5/5 28
4/5 13
3/5 2
2/5 2
1/5 0

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight
8 oz
Release
2022 Q3
MSRP
$130
Stack Height
31mm heel - 25mm toe
Drop Height
6mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Showing 1–5 of 25 written reviews

Light, comfortable, nice road feel

5/5

Overall

Lightweight neutral trainer with enough cushion but reasonably low to the ground, fits me great, very comfortable for training runs of any distance. Flexible heel counter. I have very wide forefeet and this shoe in wide (EE) works great for me.

amkelley · Jun 6, 2026

5 mpw avg pace 10:00 500 miles in this shoe training for a half marathon would buy again came from the Saucony Kinvara 12

Comfort
5/5
Cushioning
4/5
Durability
3/5
Appearance
4/5
Value
4/5

Excellent choice if you are looking for 1 shoe to handle a variety of runs

4/5

Overall

Cushioning to weight is outstanding - "fun shoe" fits somewhere between a daily trainer and a tempo shoe. Some runners may choose to race in this shoe. 

Anonymous runner · Dec 3, 2024

35 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the Nike ZoomX Streakfly

Comfort
5/5
Cushioning
5/5
Durability
4/5
Appearance
5/5
Value
5/5

They don't work for me. Too unstable

2/5

Overall

I don't necessarily think these shoes are bad, but they really don't work for me.

I love Nb shoes- I use the 880, 1080, and pacer for workouts and racers. These are much more stable than rebel v3.

but this one is so unstable. It's probably bc my left ankle has encountered many ankle sprains in my youth. But I feel my left ankle over pronating and my right Achilles getting stressed.

i did one workout in these shoes and will be returning them. They just don't work for me. 

The wide fit is great though!

Anonymous runner · Nov 9, 2024

30 mpw training for 5K and 10K

Comfort
1/5
Cushioning
3/5
Durability
3/5
Appearance
5/5
Value
5/5

Fuel Cell rebel v3

4/5

Overall

By far my favorite show that I've run in, this super soft and still very responsive for faster paced workouts.

Anonymous runner · Oct 30, 2024

50 mpw training for 5K and 10K

Comfort
5/5
Cushioning
5/5
Durability
2/5
Appearance
3/5
Value
4/5

great for faster easy days and light tempo

5/5

Overall

foam is decently responsive. 

the shoe doesn't feel good on long runs

isn't very durable

Anonymous runner · Jun 9, 2024

40 mpw training for 5K and 10K

Comfort
5/5
Cushioning
4/5
Durability
3/5
Appearance
5/5
Value
5/5

Alternatives

Other shoes worth considering.

More from New Balance

Compared to other shoes

See how this shoe compares to others like it.

Current shoe
Choose a model
Best value
Lightest / Newest / Lowest price
Best overall / Best comfort / Best cushioning
Shoe properties
Type
Daily trainer
Daily trainer
Daily trainer
Pronation
Neutral
Neutral
Neutral
Weight
8 oz M
6.9 oz M Lightest
8.5 oz M
Stack
31/25mm
35/29mm
40/35mm
Drop
6mm
6mm
5mm
Release
2022 Q3
2025 Q2 Newest
2023 Q1
MSRP
$130
$145
$145
Best price
$136.50 Lowest price
$149.99
Ratings
Overall
Excellent (94)
Excellent (94)
Exceptional (99) Best overall
Comfort
Excellent (94)
Excellent (95)
Exceptional (99) Best comfort
Cushioning
Good (87)
Good (90)
Exceptional (99) Best cushioning
Durability
Bottom-tier (59)
Bottom-tier (57)
Very good (92) Best durability
Appearance
Good (90)
Decent (76)
Very good (91) Best appearance
Value
Exceptional (99) Best value
Very good (91)
Good (88)
Specific shoe

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