Hoka Clifton 10 vs Brooks Ghost 17: Which Everyday Shoe Is Worth It?

The two neutral daily trainers people mean when they say they just want a shoe for every day are the Clifton 10 and the Ghost 17. Hoka's Australia product page lists the men's Clifton 10 at 277.83 g, an 8 mm drop, a CMEVA midsole and a jacquard upper. Hoka's note on the update puts the stack at 42 mm in the heel and 34 mm in the forefoot, and the weight at 9.8 oz for men and 8.0 oz for women. Fleet Feet's Clifton 10 prints that same stack, that same drop and the same 9.8 / 8.0 oz. The Ghost 17 is no longer on Brooks's Ghost page. The old US product URL returns a 404. Fleet Feet's Ghost 17 still sells it: neutral, 10.1 oz for men and 8.9 oz for women, a 10 mm drop, and a stack of 36.5 mm / 26.5 mm. Brooks's history of the Ghost is where the 10 mm offset and the DNA LOFT v3 foam are spelled out. The compare tool keeps this site's shelf numbers, which are a different set.

Weight first, because the shelf gets it wrong. This site lists both shoes at 275 g. Hoka lists the men's Clifton 10 at 277.83 g, the 9.8 oz Fleet Feet also prints. Fleet Feet lists the men's Ghost 17 at 10.1 oz. The gap on the men's listings is 0.3 oz. It is real, and it is the least interesting difference here. It is not the tie the compare tool shows. The women's listings, from the same pages, are 8.0 oz for the Clifton 10 and 8.9 oz for the Ghost 17.

Stack is the difference that changes the shoe. Hoka's update note and Fleet Feet both put the Clifton 10 at 42 mm in the heel and 34 mm in the forefoot, with an 8 mm drop. Hoka's comparison is with the Clifton 9: 32 mm at the heel, 27 mm in the forefoot, a 5 mm drop. The 10 adds 10 mm of foam at the heel and raises the drop by 3 mm. Fleet Feet puts the Ghost 17 at 36.5 mm / 26.5 mm, with a 10 mm drop. Brooks's history does not print those millimeters. It does say the 17 added 1 mm of DNA LOFT v3 in the heel and 3 mm in the forefoot versus the Ghost 16, and that the offset went from 12 mm to 10 mm. Read as heels and forefeet, the Clifton has 5.5 mm more under the heel and 7.5 mm more under the forefoot. The Ghost's drop is the higher one. The Clifton's stack is the higher one, and the larger share of that gap is under the forefoot. This site's compare tool shows 42 mm and 36 mm, and no forefoot row. The 42 mm is Hoka's heel. The 36 mm is the Ghost's heel with the half millimeter missing.

The foam, and the rest of the listing. Hoka's Australia product page names the midsole CMEVA, and lists a molded EVA sockliner, a jacquard upper with a double-lace lock, reflective details, a smooth MetaRocker, a rearfoot-focused Active Foot Frame, and abrasion rubber. Hoka's US catalog tiles label the shoe neutral and plush. Fleet Feet calls the same midsole compression-molded EVA. Brooks's Ghost history calls the 17's midsole nitrogen-infused DNA LOFT v3. Brooks's note on the foam describes DNA LOFT v3 as EVA with rubber and air, infused with nitrogen through a supercritical process. That note is about the foam, not a test of this pair. Fleet Feet's Ghost 17 page adds a double-jacquard air-mesh upper, a redesigned heel collar, and flex grooves in the outsole, and marks the shoe neutral. Neither listing mentions a plate. Hoka's Australia intro says the Clifton 10 comes in standard, wide, and extra wide, and Fleet Feet stocks wide and extra-wide colorways. Fleet Feet's Ghost 17 copy lists narrow, medium, wide, and extra wide.

Who each one suits is a reading of those pages, not a run we timed. Hoka files the Clifton 10 under everyday run and walking. The update note says the move from a 5 mm drop to 8 mm is there for a more pronounced forward roll, and that the rocker is still the geometry. That sentence is about the Clifton 9, not about the Ghost. Brooks says the cut from a 12 mm drop to 10 mm was meant to benefit heel-strikers and runners with Achilles-related concerns, and describes the 17 as a balanced, grounded shoe for everyday training. If you want the taller stack, and especially the extra foam under the forefoot, the Clifton is the shoe the numbers describe. If you want the higher drop and the lower stack, the Ghost is the one. Brooks's line about heel-strikers is the reason Brooks gives for the new offset. It is not a measurement of where your foot lands.

Both of these are the previous version. Brooks's Ghost page now leads with the Ghost 18 at $150, in narrow, medium, wide, and extra wide, and does not list the 17. The history, dated April 21, 2026, says the 18 keeps the 10 mm drop and the ride, and changes the tongue to a flat knit, the upper to an engineered air mesh, and the sockliner to an Ortholite X-60. It does not publish a new weight or a new stack, so this piece does not invent them. Fleet Feet's Clifton 10 page flags a Clifton 11 at $155 beside the 10. No Clifton 11 stack, weight or drop turned up in the sources for this piece, so none is invented here. If you want the Ghost or the Clifton Brooks and Hoka are selling as current, those are the pages to open. The 10 and the 17 are the pair on this shelf.

Price, checked on November 3. This site lists the Clifton 10 at $145 and the Ghost 17 at $140. Neither figure is on a brand or retailer page. Hoka's US sale page lists the men's Clifton 10 at $124, from $155. Fleet Feet lists the Clifton 10 at $116.25 to $124, with some colorways marked sale. The $155 on that Fleet Feet page is the Clifton 11 next to it, not a crossed-out price on the 10. Fleet Feet lists the Ghost 17 at $112.50, from $150. On those sale prices the Ghost is the cheaper shoe, by $3.75 at the bottom of the Clifton's range and by $11.50 at $124. On the regular prices, $155 against $150, the Clifton costs $5 more. Black Friday 2026 is November 27, and Cyber Monday is November 30. The when to buy calendar treats that weekend as the one when current-season shoes usually see 20 to 30 percent off. The page is plain that the windows are typical dates from past years, and that retailers confirm them closer to the day. Twenty percent off $155 is $124. Twenty-five percent off $155 is $116.25. Twenty-five percent off $150 is $112.50. The cuts already listed sit inside that range. No page read for this piece is advertising a separate November 27 price.

Our verdict: buy the Clifton 10 when you want the 42/34 mm stack, the 8 mm drop and the lighter men's listing, and $116.25 to $124 is an acceptable bill. Buy the Ghost 17 when you want the 10 mm drop, the 36.5/26.5 mm stack and DNA LOFT v3, and $112.50 is the bill. Buy the Ghost 18, at Brooks's $150, when you want the current Ghost and you have read that the drop stayed and the upper changed. Leave both if what you wanted was a plated workout shoe. The rest of the shelf is under daily trainers.