Best Cheap Running Shoes for Training & Racing! (2025)

They say that running is a cheap sport, but in 2025 that really is quite untrue. With expensive tech, recovery gadgets and nutrition, not to mention running shoes often tipping well over £200 a pair. Most of the big brands do offer very cheap entry-level shoes, usually in that sort of £50 to £80 price bracket, but we found through testing these on the channel, they're usually pretty uncomfortable, not very well made with poor quality materials and rock solid foams. Quite good for casual, but not good for running. But don't worry, because today I've got three budget running shoes that are actually quite good. I'd definitely say they're actually great running shoes, including a carbon race shoe for under £100. And as always here on the channel, I bought all of these shoes 100% with my money, to give you that completely honest, impartial, unsponsored, ungifted and everything review. Right, let's get stuck in with a fairly new shoe here from Puma. This is the Puma Velocity Nitro version 4. So the purpose of the Velocity Nitro version 4, this is your daily do-it-all shoe. It's going to do all different types of runs pretty well. Price-wise, the RRP on this is £110, but no one's paying that for it. You could always pick it up for around about £90. I paid £93 for my pair. Stack height at the back, 36mm with a 10mm drop overall. Weight-wise, pretty nice and light. 282 grams here for me in my UK size 12. Midsole-wise, we've got a full layer of Puma's Nitro Foam, and there's no plate in this shoe. Sizing was all good for me. It was true to size. Starting out with the likes, there's quite a few here. The first one being the amazing Puma grip that they put on the bottom of the shoe. Particularly important for us in the Northern Hemisphere at the moment, going into autumn and winter. It's really tacky. It gives you confidence in the corners when you're changing direction. It's just an all-round great gripping shoe. My second like with a shoe, just a pretty traditional ride that's on offer here. Feels a little bit old-fashioned. I like how flexible it is as well. A nice smooth ride. The foam is bouncy, which you really wouldn't expect given the amount of stack on offer here. You're getting a really good amount of energy return in the shoe as you run along. My third like with a shoe is just how lightweight this one is. It's versatile at all sorts of different paces and different distances. You could definitely have a race in this shoe as well. I'd say really 5k, 10k, half marathons, this shoe's going to have you covered for an impromptu race now and then. My final like is just the build quality that is on offer at this price point. It just feels and performs like a shoe that should be a lot more expensive. Right, let's move on to the dislikes. But one thing that definitely isn't a dislike is our all-new running socks, which you can see here. We've paired this shoe with this lovely blue ankle length sock. The reviews have been absolutely amazing so far coming in. So thank you to everyone that's supporting us here on the channel by getting an amazing pair of running socks to add in to your rotation. We offer this bundle £25 for three pairs of socks. Free shipping in the UK as well. Feel free to use code YOUTUBE for 10% off your order. Right, let's move on to the dislikes. Doing a couple of things to chat about here. It unfortunately is slightly on the narrow side, through the midfoot and in the toe box as well. Wider footed runners may experience some pinching at the front of the shoe. Sizing up, unfortunately, I think it would just make the shoe a little bit too long. If you can get in store to try this one, I'd really recommend that. Second minor little dislike with the shoe, the tongue does tend to slide down. Be great if it had a little clipper here on the laces that would just hold it in place. But in summary, a daily shoe at a really fantastic incredible price point here. It's fun, it's poppy, it's truly versatile as well. And I really think that Puma could be charging a lot more for this shoe. Next up, we have a shoe that's actually been out for a while now, but there's still fantastic availability out there at the moment, which is the Adidas SL2. So the purpose of the Adidas SL2, again, like the Puma shoe, this is your classic daily trainer, a shoe that you can do all sorts of different types of runs in pretty well. Price wise, around about £110, but I'm finding this shoe on sale at the moment for around about £77 to £80. So you can definitely pick up some bargains. Stack height at the back of the shoe, 36mm with a 9mm drop overall. Weight wise, again, nicely on the light side here, 287 grams for me in my UK size 12. Midsole, this is where this shoe really comes to life. We've got three different layers here. On top, we've got some Lightstrike 2.0 for some durability. Just below that, we've then got Adidas' amazing Lightstrike Pro Foam. They're very bouncy, responsive foam that they put in all of their high-end shoes. And then below that, we've got another layer of the Lightstrike 2.0, again, for that durability. There's no plate in the shoe. And sizing wise, I definitely recommend going half a size up with this one. Anyway, let's have a chat about the lights. The first one being, it's lovely and lightweight. It's snappy and it's fun. Who doesn't want that in a running shoe? The midsole offers that really engaging ride. It's responsive, a really good turn of speed in this shoe. Of course, there's gonna be faster shoes out there for some more money with rods and sort of more of the premium foams in them. But what you're getting here, it's amazing at this price point. Second light, the upper is super breathable, getting a good lock down here as well. It feels, again, like a very well-made premium shoe. Get the right sizing and the comfort is going to be all good here. Third light, you're getting some good durability with this one. A really nice premium outsole. Again, nice and tacky and very grippy as well. We haven't got the most high-end continental grip that Adidas put on their more premium shoes. Just this standard outsole here. But it is all good. You really don't need to worry about that. And then my fourth and final light with this shoe. As you'd expect, you want some really good versatility and that is what is on offer here. I really do feel like this could be a very solid race day option. If you just wanted that one shoe to truly do it all, this is definitely the one to go for. Especially with that premium foam in there. That Light Strike Pro Foam is absolutely amazing. But as we always say on the channel, it's not all about the likes. So let's move on to the dislikes. A little bit like the Puma shoe. Again, this shoe is unfortunately just a little bit on the narrow side. If you have particularly wide feet, I would say this is a shoe to be avoided. If you're not quite sure, I'll probably just say stick to the Puma. That one is slightly wider. My second sort of dislike and observation here. It might be a little bit too soft for some people. And it's really not the most stable shoe here, unfortunately. So in summary, a lightweight, speedy shoe that ticks all the boxes that we want to find on a daily shoe. An absolute bargain if you can find this shoe for around £80. Right guys, we're going to finish with a shoe and a type of shoe that I honestly never thought would exist in 2025. A carbon plated race shoe for £99 here in the UK. But Decathlon have made one. We've had it in for testing and I've been absolutely blown away by just how good this one is. This is the Decathlon Kipram KD900X.2. Not very good at naming, but it's a fantastic shoe. The purpose of this shoe is for your tempo runs, your speed runs, your race days, anywhere really from 5k up to that half marathon distance. Price wise, just £99 is what this shoe cost me. Stack cut at the back of the shoe, 40mm with an 8mm drop overall. This is incredibly lightweight. Amazingly lightweight. 238g for me in my UK size 12. Midsole wise, we've got two layers of Decathlon's V-Foam on offer here, which is an ATP U-Foam. A very similar compound to what the big brands are putting into their very highest end £200 plus super shoes. Plus you're getting that carbon plate in here as well. The sizing, unfortunately, was a little bit off for me. Slightly too long. I'd recommend going half a size down. Just double check the sizing chart on Decathlon's website. Let's have a chat about the likes. First light being that super light weightness that is on offer here with a very breathable upper as well. The simple single layer mesh upper providing an excellent amount of airflow through the shoe. I love how they've managed to keep the weight down so much, plus keeping that comfort in the shoe as well. It's such a nice, simple design. Uncomplicated. You have to probably to keep cost down, but it just works. Second light with a shoe, very soft and very smooth ride. The carbon plate has got a good amount of flex to it as well, so it's not super stiff and aggressive as, again, as you can get on some higher end shoes. Perfect for anyone that might be a little bit newer to some carbon race shoes. Maybe their first ever. I really like the geometry with the shoe. You're getting a nice rocker. Not too aggressive. It just tips you forward ever so nicely as you start to pick up the pace. Third light with this one. Again, it's truly versatile. Feels great when you're running fast, but equally when you're just jogging along, it doesn't feel clunky. It doesn't feel uncomfortable. Ideally, you aren't going to want to do all of your runs in this shoe. A non-carbon shoe is going to be ideal for those more daily type of runs. Potentially one of the two shoes we've just talked about. But this is a super shoe for those speed sessions, for those shorter races as well. 5k, 10k, up to half marathon distance. You're going to be all good in this shoe. Obviously, like a lot of shoes we've chatted about here, just unbelievable value. These high quality materials in a £100 shoe feels amazing. Just holding it here in the hand. It just feels like a very premium, well-made product. I cannot believe they're just charging £99 for this shoe. In terms of dislikes with this one, sizing, the shoe does just run a little bit long. So maybe go half a size down. Again, follow the instructions on the website. And again, it's not the most stable ride with this one, given just sort of how soft the foam is. If you're just running a straight line, you're going to be absolutely fine. Another thing to say, not a dislike at all, just an observation. Obviously, you can only buy this shoe from Decathlon. Decathlon only sell their shoes in the Decathlon stores or on their website. In the UK, it seems to be an online-only shoe. I really wanted to go into a store and buy this one and try it on and make sure I got the right size. But I got the pair delivered the next day and it was really just a fantastic service all around. So in summary, Decathlon's in-house running brand. I've really knocked it out the park. I may not want to run a marathon in this shoe. It's really not quite stiff enough for the type of shoe that I would personally want. But for those 5k, 10k, half marathons and getting your speed work, putting some mileage through this shoe, and maybe not through a more premium, more expensive shoe and saving that for those all-out special days or something like that. But there we have it, guys. Three amazing shoes there all around or under that £100 price point. So let me know if you've tried any of these shoes. What do you think of them? Are you going to be getting some of those in? If you like this video, please smash that like button. Leave us a comment down below and subscribe to the channel if you haven't already. As we're nearing that 300,000 subscribers, thank you so, so much. Maybe if you've got any other recommendations of some cheap shoes I've missed, let me know. I'll get them in and we'll give them a test. That's it, guys. Keep on working hard. Keep on learning. We'll see you very soon in the next one.