Racing · Neutral · Road · 7.1 oz · 8mm drop · 38/30mm stack
Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The Nike Vaporfly 4 replaced it
How it ranks
The Nike Vaporfly 3 is one of the strongest racing shoes in our data. Looks and cushioning are its strongest sub-ratings. Durability scores well below its other sub-ratings. The rating rests on 89 runner reviews and 4 other rated shoes in the Vaporfly product line.
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.
Confidence
100/100
“The etching in the sole to create that aerodynamic 3D-printed topographical look makes for just that many more edges to get rubbed off in a race.”
“Carbon fiber plate and foam are great and give back a lot of force—feels like a trampoline.”
“The moment I did a stride in the VF 3's I knew they were categorically better than the VF 2s.”
“Have helped me hit new marathon PRs with much less leg fatigue later in the race.”
“Runs 1/2 size small.”
“After 35 miles of work the bottom of these shoes are more worn than I would have expected.”
“At this stage, it's a light shoe, but it's unstable and has low energy return.”
“The only issue with it is the lack of durability when comparing to the price.”
“The VF 3's have the stability and cushion to make for an ideal half to full marathon racing shoe.”
“The Vaporfly has a lot of energy return and is incredibly light.”
61% 14/23
No offers available
Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.
Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.
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.
50
60
70
80
90
100
25
50
75
100
Better Shoes Rating
Each dot is one version of the Vaporfly, placed by its rating and release year. The gold dot is this shoe.
Release year
2025 · 3 reviews
98 Exceptional
91 Confidence
Vaporfly 3 This shoe
2023 · 89 reviews
99 Exceptional
100 Confidence
2021 · 49 reviews
99 Exceptional
99 Confidence
2019 · 27 reviews
100 Exceptional
100 Confidence
2017 · 73 reviews
99 Exceptional
100 Confidence
Sizing and ride details at a glance.
5/5
Overall
Great shoe. Very light and a wider toe box. Been using it for my regular weekends long runs.
Anonymous runner · Dec 3, 2024
60 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2
4/5
Overall
Great for the road and track for workouts and races
Anonymous runner · Nov 18, 2024
40 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the Saucony Endorphin Speed 3
5/5
Overall
Ran with my new vaporflys for every race and time trial this season. Awesome for races and definitely lowered my times but would not recommend for anything else.
Anonymous runner · Nov 11, 2024
5 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the Saucony Ride 17
4/5
Overall
Got them for XC season as a sophomore, great for racing but definitely not for tempos or long runs.
Anonymous runner · Nov 9, 2024
3 mpw training for 5K and 10K
5/5
Overall
Great show, fast & responsive.
Anonymous runner · Nov 1, 2024
15 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Endorphin Pro 4
See how this shoe compares to others like it.
