7 Best Cheap Workout Shoes in 2023

A guide on buying cheap workout shoes

Choosing the right shoe for your foot is about a whole lot more than looking good in your kicks. Getting it right will make your workout more functionally efficient, it’ll improve your comfort in the gym and it will reduce your risk of suffering a nasty ankle injury.

The first step in finding your ideal cheap workout shoe is to answer the following question:

What type of training will you be doing?

Choose workout shoes based on your activity

Is the majority of your gym time going to be spent in the power rack and squat area, the functional training zone, in the machine weight training area, or will you be dipping into each of these areas?

A workout shoe is designed to be used by people doing an all-around gym workout. As a result, it has the challenging task of being all things to everyone. Whereas a weightlifting shoe will go all out to provide stability and lockdown, a workout shoe needs to balance that requirement for heavy lifting with the ability to move laterally, be flexible, and provide an element of cushioning for functional training and plyometric training.

If your workout program calls for you to do different types of workouts on different days, you should consider buying two pairs of shoes and changing them out between workouts. For example, if you are doing strength training on Monday and Thursday and functional workouts on Tuesday and Friday, buy a pair of weightlifting shoes for your strength workouts and a pair of cross trainers for your functional sessions.

Here’s an overview of the key footwear needs of each type of workout. A general workout shoe will, obviously, have to do its best to satisfy each of these requirements.

The level of cushioning in a workout shoe is ultimately a matter of personal preference. All workout shoes will try to hit that sweet spot between the minimum cushioning of a weightlifting shoe and the maximum support of a runner, but you’re the one who has to wear it.

Depending on your personal preference, you may want to go for a more minimal trainer or a shoe with extra cushioning and energy return.

Example of a minimal cheap workout shoe

Example of a well-cushioned cheap workout shoe

What’s the trade-off with cheap workout shoes?

If you’re buying a workout shoe that’s half the price of the one your training partner’s wearing, it’s only natural to expect that there’s some kind of quality compromise. And, of course, there is.

Quality/Durability

In order to put out a workout shoe for less than seventy bucks, a manufacturer will have to use less costly construction materials.

$90 shoe vs. $140 shoe

Whereas top-of-the-line workout shoes generally feature TPU and leather, the budget models are more likely to be made from such less expensive materials as EVA and synthetic leather.

Cheaper workout shoes will generally have less durable stitching and will be put together with cheaper glues.

Be sure to check our in-depth reviews to see how each workout shoe performed in our Dremel tests.

Aesthetics/Design

Another compromise in cheap workout shoes is the aesthetics. More expensive shoes will feature cooler colors and incorporate special features to enhance the look of the shoe.

It is important to keep in mind, however, that function should always trump form. In other words, what the shoe does is more important than how it looks. Of course, you don’t want to be hitting the gym in a pair of shoes that are ugly, but, so long as they look decent and are designed to enhance your general-purpose workout, you’ll be good to go.