New Balance FuelCell Rebel v3

Name: New Balance FuelCell Rebel v3
Brand: New Balance
Rating: 4.4 (25 reviews)

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.

Excellent

94/100

Overall

Excellent 94

Value

Exceptional 99

Comfort

Excellent 94

Appearance

Good 90

Cushioning

Good 87

Durability

Bottom-tier 59

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

Very high 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.

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

40 60 80 100

82 2019 93 2021 94 2022 99 2024 94 2025

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

See written reviews Write a review

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

Light, soft and simple

5/5

Overall

Loved the Rebel v2 and the v3 is probably even better. I love a lightweight shoe and this one feels so easy to run in. There's plenty of cushion for easy runs, maybe a bit too soft for faster efforts. I tend to use it more for daily miles and recovery runs, it just doesn't feel that fast though I know others use it for up tempo. The cushion doesn't seem to last, it goes a bit flat once the run stretches beyond 16km so I wouldn't use it for long runs.

Anonymous runner · Sep 22, 2023

25 mpw training for a marathon came from the Saucony Kinvara 13

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

Soft and fast daily shoe

5/5

Overall

This shoe has a wonderful bounce that makes it a joy to run in. This shoe handles daily runs and workouts up to about 15km, after that it's not as comfortable. I like to use as a non-plated tempo shoe.

Anonymous runner · Aug 18, 2023

25 mpw training for a marathon came from the Altra Torin 4

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

versatile everyday shoe

5/5

Overall

If you travel frequently and only have space for one pair of running shoes, the Rebels are a great choice. Light and cushioned, but versatile enough to use for speed work, tempo runs, and longer runs. They have the latest foam technology without the plate. Great value too.

mike2992 · Aug 3, 2023

30 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the New Balance FuelCell Rebel v2

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

Rebel ain’t no Fastwitch

2/5

Overall

I got the shoe hoping it would be similar to Saucony’s FastTwitch (1 or 2 ‘t’s?), however it ended up being a dud. Not very cushiony (fine) but not very responsive either. So, there’s not much going for it at all.

Anonymous runner · Jul 8, 2023

30 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Fastwitch 7

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

Just not my shoe

3/5

Overall

I don’t know if its just that I’m used to running in a firmer shoe, but these are so spongy to the point they eventually hurt my Achilles within the first mile and don’t feel any better as the run progresses.

Cpirch · Jul 7, 2023

20 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Endorphin Speed 2