Brooks vs On Cloud: One Brand Publishes Its Numbers

The short answer

If you have a foot problem, buy Brooks. Not because the shoes are better — we have not tested either brand and will not pretend to know — but because the two things that decide whether a shoe works on a difficult foot are width and whether an orthotic fits, and Brooks answers both in writing while On does not. Brooks lists Narrow, Medium, Wide and X-Wide across the models below and confirms the insole lifts out. On lists D and 2E for men on the Cloudmonster and D only for women, and does not publish insole removability at all.

If you are buying on feel, the question is different and we cannot answer it for you yet. On’s CloudTec elements and Speedboard produce a ride that has no Brooks equivalent, and people who love it are not wrong. What we can tell you is that you will be paying $160 to $190 for a shoe whose stack height its own maker will not state.

Every published figure, side by side

Two neutral daily trainers and two support shoes, one pair from each brand. “Not published” in the On column means the brand does not state it anywhere on its US product page.

Where the numbers are shaky — on both sides

Brooks is not perfect either. The Adrenaline GTS 24 is listed at a 12 mm drop and RunRepeat’s calipers found 13.5 mm, because the measured forefoot came in 1.5 mm under the stated figure. That is the largest discrepancy in this comparison and it is worth knowing if you are choosing a stability shoe for Achilles pain, where drop is one of the few published numbers that reliably matters. The Ghost 17, by contrast, measured within 0.7 mm of Brooks’ figures on every dimension — among the most honest spec sheets we have read.

On’s figures come from other people entirely. The Cloudmonster 3’s 35/29 mm stack and 6 mm drop are Doctors of Running’s, from one pair in one size. The Cloudrunner 2’s 10 mm drop is REI’s, and its only weight is a pair weight with no size attached, which is not a figure you can compare with anything. Nobody has published an internal toe-box measurement for either On shoe. Those are not small omissions on a $160 to $190 shoe.

Which brand a foot doctor hands you

Brooks makes more sense when

• You need width. Four widths from Narrow to X-Wide, published, on both models here.
• You wear an orthotic. Brooks confirms the insole lifts out; On does not say.
• You want to be able to check the shoe against the numbers, and to compare it with anything else.
• Price matters: $140 to $150 against $160 to $190 for the On equivalents.

On makes more sense when

• You want a flatter shoe. The Cloudmonster’s 6 mm drop is well below the Ghost’s 10 mm and the Adrenaline’s 12 mm.
• You have tried the CloudTec ride and prefer it. Nothing in the Brooks range feels like it, and that is a real reason.
• You are a standard width with no orthotic, where On’s missing figures cost you nothing.
• You want more forefoot foam: 29 mm on the Cloudmonster against 25.8 mm measured on the Ghost.

Where to buy

Amazon affiliate links. We earn a commission at no extra cost to you; commissions never influence a ranking, a score or the seal. Price and availability change, so check the listing. Our independence policy.

These buttons open an Amazon search rather than one colourway, because all four models are sold in dozens of colour and width combinations and a single listing would send most readers to the wrong one. Prices are the brands’ list prices read on September 9, 2026.

Our full analysis of each

Common questions

Are On Cloud shoes good for plantar fasciitis?

We have not tested them, so we will not rank them for it. What is worth knowing before you spend $190: plantar fasciitis decisions turn on heel height, drop, width and whether an orthotic fits, and On publishes none of those four for the Cloudmonster 3. The Brooks equivalents publish all four. That does not make On a bad shoe — it makes it a shoe you cannot evaluate for a specific foot problem before you buy it. Our plantar fasciitis guide covers what we have looked at.

Which brand is wider?

Brooks, and not marginally. Both Brooks models here come in Narrow, Medium, Wide and X-Wide. The On Cloudmonster 3 is listed by Fleet Feet in D and 2E for men and D only for women, and On publishes no widths at all for the Cloudrunner 2. If you have a bunion, a hammertoe or a genuinely wide forefoot, that is usually the end of the discussion.

Is On worth the extra money?

On the published figures alone, no — you are paying $40 more for the Cloudmonster than the Ghost and getting fewer widths, no stated stack and no confirmation that an orthotic fits. But ride is not on a spec sheet, and plenty of people try both and come back to On. The fair statement is that the premium buys a feel, not a specification.

What about Brooks vs Hoka, or Brooks vs New Balance?

Different questions with different answers, and we treat them separately. Hoka’s published data sits between these two brands — it states weights and drops but usually not stack heights. New Balance publishes drop and widths but is inconsistent on stack. Brooks remains the most completely documented of the four in our library so far.

Sources: Brooks’ US product pages for the Ghost 17 and Adrenaline GTS 24 (stack, drop, weight, widths, insole, price); RunRepeat’s lab measurements for both Brooks models; On’s US product pages for the Cloudmonster 3 and Cloudrunner 2 (category, midsole, upper, price); Doctors of Running for Cloudmonster 3 stack, drop and weights; Fleet Feet for Cloudmonster outsole and widths; REI for Cloudrunner 2 category, drop and pair weight. Last verified 9 September 2026.