Best racing shoe I've ever run in!
5/5
Overall
This shoe has all the qualities I want in a racing shoe.
Anonymous runner · Aug 4, 2023
15 mpw training for a marathon
- Comfort
- 5/5
- Cushioning
- 5/5
- Durability
- 4/5
- Appearance
- 5/5
- Value
- 5/5
Nike Vaporfly 3
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.
Exceptional
99/100
Overall
99
Appearance
99
Cushioning
99
Comfort
98
Value
70
Durability
54
Confidence
100
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
What runners say
“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.”
Prefer this shoe over another
61% 14/23
Where to buy
No offers available
Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.
Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.
Pros
- At 7.1 oz in the men's build and 5.8 oz in the women's, on a 38mm heel stack.
- Reviewers report race PRs, strong energy return and quicker recovery afterwards.
- Four reviewers who have run earlier Vaporflys call this one an improvement.
Cons
- Durability is its lowest-rated dimension at 3.5 out of 5 against a $250 list price, and reviewers report the foam and thin outsole wearing out fast, one of them by 200 miles.
- Reviewers keep it for races and key workouts rather than easy or long runs.
- Three reviewers report it feeling unstable, particularly at slower paces.
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
Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the Nike Vaporfly
Each dot is one version of the Vaporfly, placed by its rating and release year. The gold dot is this shoe.
Rating
40
60
80
100
99
2017
100
2019
99
2021
99
2023
98
2025
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
Specs & fit
Sizing and ride details at a glance.
- Weight
- 7.1 oz
- Release
- 2023 Q2
- MSRP
- $250
- Stack Height
- 38mm heel - 30mm toe
- Drop Height
- 8mm
Runner reviews
Zoom X Next % Review
5/5
Overall
Pros-Carbon fiber plate and foam are great and give back alot of force-feels like a trampoline. Great for races and intense workout days.
Cons-they’re expensive shoes and wear down quicker than regular trainers. Aren’t comfortable for longer distance/time but are still good for intense workouts.
Overall-I highly recommend this shoe if you race a lot. The price is worth it if you race often and do hard workouts that need some type of “super shoe” at least once a week.
Anonymous runner · Aug 2, 2023
training for 5K and 10K came from the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 40
- Comfort
- 3/5
- Cushioning
- 5/5
- Durability
- 4/5
- Appearance
- 5/5
- Value
- 5/5
Reader review
5/5
Overall
Best shoe I’ve ever raced in!
Anonymous runner · Jul 19, 2023
came from the Mizuno Wave Inspire 19
- Comfort
- 5/5
- Cushioning
- 5/5
- Durability
- 2/5
- Appearance
- 5/5
- Value
- 3/5
Best iteration of the Vapor Fly series so far
5/5
Overall
I've used every vaporfly since the original came out. They all have been great for the first few months before the foam wears out, and have helped me hit new marathon PRs with much less leg fatigue later in the race than when I ran in pre-carbon Adidas Adios shoes. The latest vaporfly edition is a slight improvement on the prior one, with better cooling and a slightly more comfortable toe box. Really stoked to race in it this fall marathon season
David Roeske · Jul 15, 2023
20 mpw training for a marathon came from the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2
- Comfort
- 5/5
- Cushioning
- 5/5
- Durability
- 4/5
- Appearance
- 5/5
- Value
- 3/5
Reader review
4/5
Overall
Anonymous runner · Jul 10, 2023
- Comfort
- 5/5
- Cushioning
- 4/5
- Durability
- 4/5
- Appearance
- 4/5
- Value
- 4/5
More from Nike
Compared to other shoes
See how this shoe compares to others like it.
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Lightest
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Lowest price
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Shoe properties
Type
Racing
Racing
Racing
Pronation
Neutral
Neutral
Neutral
Weight
7.1 oz M
4.9 oz M
Lightest
7.7 oz M
Stack
38/30mm
36/30mm
—
Drop
8mm
6mm
8mm
Release
2023 Q2
2025
Newest
2024 Q1
MSRP
$250
$260
$295
Best price
—
$109.99
Lowest price
$142.82
Ratings
Overall
Exceptional (99)
Best overall
Exceptional (98)
Exceptional (99)
Comfort
Exceptional (98)
Best comfort
Good (89)
Excellent (95)
Cushioning
Exceptional (99)
Best cushioning
Exceptional (98)
Exceptional (97)
Durability
Bottom-tier (54)
Bottom-tier (51)
Below average (64)
Best durability
Appearance
Exceptional (99)
Best appearance
Exceptional (98)
Excellent (96)
Value
Decent (70)
Below average (67)
Good (84)
Best value
Nike Vaporfly 3 In Context
More on the Nike Vaporfly
- Nike Vaporfly 4 next version
- Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2 previous version
- Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next%
- Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4%
Reviewers Also Ran In
- Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2 5 runners
- Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 40 2 runners
- Saucony Endorphin Pro 4 2 runners