Hoka Clifton 10 vs Brooks Glycerin 23:
Which to Choose

October 5, 2026

Verdict

These are close enough that you won't be disappointed by either — both are soft, stable, neutral 8mm-drop daily trainers for easy-to-long mileage, not for speed. It comes down to ride personality: pick the Clifton 10 for a lighter, taller, rocker-driven roll that flexes slightly faster, and the Glycerin 23 for a plusher, more planted, foot-hugging cruise with foam that should age better under heavy volume. Try both on if you can — the Hoka's rolling platform and the Brooks' snug knit upper feel distinctly different, and that fit-and-feel preference, not the spec sheet, is what should decide it.

Hoka Clifton 10

109.95 USD

Brooks Glycerin 23

174.99 USD

Pace

3 of 6

Cushioning

5 of 6

Responsiveness

3 of 6

Stability

4 of 6

Drop

8 mm

Support

Neutral

Plate

None

Distances

10KHalfMarathon

Pace

3 of 6

Cushioning

5 of 6

Responsiveness

3 of 6

Stability

4 of 6

Drop

8 mm

Support

Neutral

Plate

None

Distances

10KHalfMarathon

At a Glance

Hoka Clifton 10Brooks Glycerin 23

Who Should Choose Each Shoe

Choose

Hoka Clifton 10

Choose the Clifton 10 if you want the lighter shoe on foot and like a pronounced rocker that keeps you rolling forward on long, steady runs — it rewards a flowing turnover and feels a touch more at home if your easy pace occasionally dips under 5:00 min/km. It's the better pick for runners who prize low weight and a tall, smooth ride and who don't log such extreme mileage that EVA pack-out becomes a concern. If you've liked past Cliftons or Hoka's meta-rocker feel, version 10 is the natural continuation.

Choose

Brooks Glycerin 23

Choose the Glycerin 23 if your priority is maximum soft-landing comfort on recovery and easy days and you want a plusher, more enveloping upper that locks the foot down over long hours. The zoned DNA Tuned foam — soft in the heel, firmer up front — suits high-volume runners who land toward the heel and want deep cushioning that still offers a bit of forefoot support, and its nitrogen-infused midsole tends to hold its feel better than molded EVA over a lot of miles. It's the better match for runners who run genuinely conversational and don't need the shoe to handle faster bursts.

Head-to-Head

Start with the identical bones: both run an 8mm drop, both are neutral with a broad, planted platform that adds calm without true pronation support, and both use a plateless, comfort-first midsole that gives back softness rather than snap. Our ratings land them in the same spot — cushioning 5/6, responsiveness 3/6, stability 4/6 — and both flatten out and feel vague if you try to push the pace. The differences are in the details. The Clifton 10 is the lighter and taller shoe: roughly 278g in a men's US 9 on a 42mm heel / 34mm forefoot stack, versus the Glycerin at about 303g on a 37mm / 29mm stack. That combination gives the Hoka its signature character — a tall, lightweight, meta-rocker ride that rolls you from heel to toe, so turnover feels smooth and almost automatic on long cruises. Its compression-molded EVA is soft and deeply protective, but the trade-off is honest: EVA tends to pack out over high mileage, so the plush feel can fade before the outsole does. The Glycerin counters with Brooks' DNA Tuned nitrogen-infused foam, zoned with larger, softer heel cells for cushioned landings and smaller, firmer forefoot cells that keep you from sinking — a slightly more supportive, less rocker-driven feel underfoot, wrapped in a premium triple-jacquard warp-knit upper that holds the foot more like a slipper than the Clifton's lighter engineered mesh. In pace terms the Clifton is the marginally more versatile of the two, comfortable from about 5:00–6:00 min/km and workable down to roughly 4:45, while the Glycerin sits a notch more relaxed at 5:30–6:30 and starts to feel vague much past 5:00. Neither is a speed shoe, but the Hoka tolerates the occasional faster stretch a little better; the Brooks is more single-mindedly a soft-landing cruiser.