On Cloud

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 8.1 oz · 6mm drop

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The On Cloud 5 replaced it

How it ranks

The On Cloud trails most daily trainers in our data. Looks and comfort are its strongest sub-ratings. Value scores well below its other sub-ratings. The rating rests on 14 runner reviews and 2 other rated shoes in the Cloud product line.

Bottom-tier

55/100

Overall

Bottom-tier 55

Appearance

Excellent 93

Comfort

Decent 79

Cushioning

Below average 61

Durability

Bottom-tier 57

Value

Bottom-tier 50

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

84/100

Moderate 84

What runners say

“On Clouds feel more natural on my foot than any other shoe I've ever worn”

4/5 Full review 42 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Pearl Izumi EM Road M3

“It was light enough for long distances, but offered enough cushion to help my aging legs absorb the miles”

5/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a marathon came from the Nike Air Zoom Vomero 13

“They feel extremely light and have a very smooth ride”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a marathon

“The outsole wore out quickly, the forefoot cushioning was lacking and felt uncomfortable”

3/5 Full review 35 mpw came from the Brooks Ghost 11

“They lose their bounciness faster than most other shoes”

4/5 Full review 42 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Pearl Izumi EM Road M3

“The only big problem is the quantity of stones I collect between the 'clouds'”

5/5 Full review 55 mpw training for a marathon came from the Nike Free RN 5.0

“Any off-roading rips the "clouds" to bits”

4/5 Full review 140 mpw training for a marathon

“After walking around DC for the rest of our vacation in unbelievable comfort”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw

“Pebbles can lodge themselves between the "clouds" on the bottom of the shoe”

4/5 Full review 42 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Pearl Izumi EM Road M3

“Sometimes rocks get stuck wedged in between pods”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a marathon

Prefer this shoe over another

22% 2/9

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.

Pros

Averaging 7.0 oz across the men's and women's builds, it is well under the 8.9 oz median for daily trainers on sale, and reviewers use it for speed work and long runs alike.
Reviewers rate comfort 4.6 out of 5, and one bought a pair as walking shoes before running in them.
Three reviewers describe a smooth ride with noticeable return off the ground.

Cons

Four reviewers report stones lodging between the sole pods, though one has never had the problem.
Reviewers rate durability 3.9 out of 5, and two say the outsole wears fast and the bounce fades.
Two reviewers find the forefoot cushioning thin, and one says off-road use tears the pods.

Cloud rates 55. This shoe has moderate certainty. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the On Cloud

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

Rating

40 60 80 100

55 2014 55 2024 54 2024

Release year

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

Cloud 5

2024 · 4 reviews

54 Bottom-tier

57 Confidence
Cloud 2.0

2024 · 2 reviews

55 Bottom-tier

5 Confidence
Cloud This shoe

2014 · 14 reviews

55 Bottom-tier

84 Confidence

Reader Ratings

14 ratings

5/5 8

4/5 4

3/5 2

2/5 0

1/5 0

See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight: 8.1 oz
Release: 2014
MSRP: $130
Drop Height: 6mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Great shoe

4/5

Overall

Anonymous runner · Aug 4, 2023

30 mpw training for a half marathon came from the ASICS GEL-DS Trainer 19

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

Great shoe

5/5

Overall

I love this shoe. I run road and trail. I was initially worried about rocks getting caught on the bottom but I haven't had any problems.

Anonymous runner · Jul 7, 2019

25 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Nike LunarGlide 8

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

Kept me in one piece through a few marathon training cycles

5/5

Overall

Not the best looking but light, responsive and really comfy. All my old ones have been relagated to walking shoes. The only big problem is the quantity of stones I collect between the 'clouds'.

Anonymous runner · Jul 3, 2019

55 mpw training for a marathon came from the Nike Free RN 5.0

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

Light Shoe. But is it Worth it?

3/5

Overall

On delivers a lightweight running shoe as promised; in fact, this shoe felt lighter than my cross country racing flats. However, the weight came with a price, both literally and figuratively; the outsole wore out quickly, the forefoot cushioning was lacking and felt uncomfortable, and the price (at least the original price) is high for the mileage you'll get out of this. If you look at it with the perspective of a road racing or workout shoe, it's okay for speed, where the miles aren't pounded out. But it's not the fully cushioned daily trainer that On promised.

obsessedrunner · Jul 2, 2019

35 mpw came from the Brooks Ghost 11

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

Running on clouds

4/5

Overall

On Clouds feel more natural on my foot than any other shoe I've ever worn. They're also light, so I feel fast when I wear them for workouts. There are only two downsides: they lose their bounciness faster than most other shoes, and pebbles can lodge themselves between the "clouds" on the bottom of the shoe. If they fixed those two problems, this would be a perfect shoe.

Anonymous runner · Jul 2, 2019

42 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Pearl Izumi EM Road M3