Soccer Cleats vs. Football Cleats: What’s the Difference?

Cleats, sometimes referred to as studs or spikes, are shoes designed with protrusions on the sole to provide better traction on natural playing fields. Because they provide traction and support that helps with nearly every movement, cleats are arguably the most important piece of athletic gear for sports like soccer and football. Serious athletes inevitably find a pair they love and trust, and many cross-sport athletes wonder if they can also use their favorite cleats in other sports.

While it can be tempting to stick with a single pair of cleats to improve comfort and save money, using cleats for the wrong sport can hurt your game. In this piece, we’ll help you learn the differences between soccer and American football cleats so you’ll always know which cleats to buy.

Are all cleats the same?

While all cleats help you stay stable and protected, it’s important to note that not all cleats are created equally. Cleats have similar characteristics, but soccer, football, baseball, and lacrosse cleats all have specific features designed to provide maximum benefit and protection for that sport. While soccer and football cleats are somewhat similar in terms of their stud design and structure, there are important differences.

Soccer Cleats: Important Features

Overall Design: Soccer cleats have a lightweight design. By minimizing weight, they improve your speed and agility. Their shape provides optimal ball control and allows for quick foot movements.
Uppers: Soccer cleats have lightweight uppers with a grippy exterior to give you better ball control and touch. They’re usually made with soft leather, textiles or synthetic materials that mold to your foot. They typically have more durable uppers than cleats for other sports to stand up against direct contact with the ball (and other soccer players).
Collar Height: Most soccer cleats have a low-profile design that gives your ankles a full range of movement for your footwork. Because low collars use less material, this design also reduces their weight.
Soles & Studs: Soccer cleats have shorter, more numerous studs than football or baseball cleats. The stud layout provides grip on natural and artificial firm ground surfaces. Shorter studs are safer during starting, stopping, cutting and rotational movements and are less likely to hurt other players.

Soft-ground soccer cleats have slightly longer studs for better traction on wet, muddy playing surfaces.

Football Cleats: Key Features

Overall Design: Football cleats are typically made with thicker and more durable materials than other types of cleats to protect your feet and ankles from impacts. They’re generally heavier than soccer cleats, and provide extra support and stability to help you maintain your footing.
Because football positions have unique demands, football cleats are also more varied in design than soccer cleats. Offensive linemen tend to prefer sturdy, supportive cleats, while running backs usually opt for lighter spikes built for speed. Meanwhile, cleats for kickers are similar to soccer cleats to improve ball control.
Uppers: Football cleats have uppers made of thicker leather or synthetic materials to withstand the rough and demanding nature of the sport, but they’re still flexible. Cleats designed for kickers tend to have high-grip uppers like soccer cleats.
Collar Height: Football cleats typically have higher cuffs than soccer cleats to give your ankles extra protection and support. That said, they have a variety of collar heights, including high-tops, mid-tops, and low-tops, to cater to your position and preferences.
Soles & Studs: Football cleats are designed to provide as much traction as possible without reducing mobility. They typically have longer and thicker studs than soccer cleats, which gives you the grip and stability to make quick cuts and brace against hard impacts.

Football cleats also have a toe stud that soccer cleats don’t have. This toe stud gives you a firm base to push against during contact and helps with starts and stops. This toe stud isn’t allowed in soccer as it could impede your foot by catching on the ground while kicking the ball or injure other players.

Baseball Cleats vs. Soccer Cleats

While baseball cleats are constructed similarly to soccer cleats, with a low-top design and lightweight materials, their stud pattern is entirely different. Because of these differences, it’s dangerous to wear baseball cleats for soccer or football.

The Toe Spike: Like football cleats, baseball cleats have a stud at the very tip of the sole. This stud gives pitchers better control on the mound and offers baserunners better footing for quick starts. However, it makes baseball cleats unsuitable for soccer because it could injure other players.
Metal Spikes: Instead of molded plastic studs, the soles of many baseball cleats have sharp metal spikes that dig into the dirt for excellent traction. These spikes are a serious safety hazard on the pitch or the gridiron.

Can I wear soccer cleats to wear football?

It’s a bad idea to use soccer cleats for football. Football cleats have longer and thicker studs, offering extra support and protection from impacts. The one exception to this rule is kickers in football. Because kickers need precise ball control, many prefer to wear soccer cleats.

On the other hand, the higher weight of football cleats makes them a poor fit for soccer. Their heavier design can slow you down and increase your fatigue over the course of a soccer game.

Ultimately, choosing the right type of cleats for your sport is crucial to bringing out the best of your abilities and minimizing the risk of injury.

Care & Maintenance of Cleats

Regardless of the type of cleats you wear for the sport you play, you’ll need to take care of them to keep them functioning as well as you do.

Make sure to clean your cleats after each game or practice. These tips should help keep your cleats in shape:

Clear dirt, grass & mud. After you take them off, use a cloth to wipe down your cleats and remove any visible dirt the field has left behind. Use a stick or other dull tool to remove any dirt and debris stuck to the soles.
Gently clean stubborn stains. For more than everyday dirt, use a mild detergent and a damp cloth to wipe down your cleats thoroughly. Don’t use heavy-duty cleaners, which may damage the materials of most types of cleats.
Keep an eye on your cleats. Watch for signs of wear and tear like rips or cracks in the uppers or worn studs. These are signs that you may need to replace your cleats.