The best Puma football boots are getting even better, with the manufacturer upping their game in recent seasons to compete with heavyweight rivals Nike and Adidas.
They've made huge strides with kits and in terms of footwear, tempting Neymar away from Nike was a huge coup. So many of the best Puma football boots have looked fantastic, too, with the German brand always looking revolutionise. If you're simply looking for the best football boots of any and all manufacturers (including the best Adidas football boots, best Nike football boots, or even the best football boots for kids and the best football boots women), be sure to check out our other reviews.
But here you'll find the best Puma football boots on the market right now...
Best Puma football boots, 2024
The quicklist
A reimagined version of the classic Puma King, the King Ultimate features everything great about modern technology without disregarding any levels of comfort or lightweight feeling.
Arguably the most technologically advanced football boot ever created, the Ultra 5 Carbon is extremely lightweight and super agressive - largely thanks to the carbon soleplate.
Creative attacking players will love playing in the Future 7 Ultimate, with the soft upper and Pwrtape technology keeping feet locked in while maintaining full control of the ball.
Along with the Adidas Copa Munidal, the Puma King Top is among the most iconic football boots of all time. They've been slightly modernised since the days of Pele, improving an already great boot.
Best for comfort
The Puma King Ultimate is the modernised version of the brand’s most iconic boot, the Puma King Top, which was worn by the likes of Diego Maradona and Pele. This model is a slight update on the first one ever, though - instead of being made up of natural leather, Puma has used its K-better material. Though it isn't able to fully replicate the feeling of kangaroo leather, the K-better material is soft and flexible it its own right.
I prefer this as a package to the Puma King Top or the even the natural leather predecessors, with its combination of comfort and lightness making them a more suitable option in the modern day. The Puma King Ultimate features a slim upper for a boot of this type, with the snug fit something I enjoy. It must be noted that this tighter fit does mean the boot isn't an option that should be considered in the best football boots for wide feet.
The soleplate features all conical studs and is geared much more towards comfort than aggression - for this reason, they're one of the most comfortable football boots available. It is the type of more simplistic outsole that I prefer, with good rotational support offered through the studs and soleplate design. I found they fit slightly small, so it is worth trying before you buy and considering a pair half a size bigger than your usual.
Best for speed
One of the most high-tech football boots ever released, on FourFourTwo’s visit to the Puma HQ in Herzogenaurach, Germany, one of the designers behind the boot compared the experience of wearing these to driving a super car. It is hard to dispute that claim, as every aspect of the Puma Ultra 5 Carbon seems geared towards extreme speed, featuring by far the most aggressive soleplate and stud pattern on the market at the moment - plonking them firmly within the conversation for the best football boots for speed.
The Puma Ultra 5 Carbon shares essentially the same upper as the Puma Ultra 5 Ultimate, with the difference between the two being the carbon outsole of the former. With this comes a £50 premium, so the choice between the two is simply down to whether or not you are a fan of a stiffer soleplate that ultra-responsive.
Personally, I do find the soleplate slightly too stiff, though I still admire the genius and technological aspect of the boots. The super car analogy was made in comparison to the Ultra Ultimate, and included the fact that using a super car takes a greater toll on the body than a motor not quite as premium.
Like the Ultra 5 Ultimate, I found the upper is soft and comfortable out of the box with the grippiness from the grip control pro skin something I was particularly fond of.
Best for creators
Over the last few years, the Puma Future model has built a good reputation with comfortable, wide-foot friendly and well-fitting football boots for a range of foot types - making them a strong option among the best football boots for flat feet. While I don’t think the Puma Future 7 Ultimate is the best we have ever seen from the model, it does a good job of delivering on the traditions that it has been building.
A top pick among the best football boots for midfielders, the Puma Future 7 Ultimate is aimed at creative players like Neymar, Jack Grealish and James Maddison, with the subtle grip provided by the Pwrprint texturing throughout the upper enhancing the on-ball experience. Puma’s Pwrtape technology, meanwhile, provides extra support and lockdown, mostly on top of the foot. For me, Pwrtape is one of those pieces of technology that makes a lot more of an impact than you might initially expect.
Underfoot, the soleplate is balanced with some diamond studs accompanied by some that are slightly more bladed. There is a decent level of aggression, too, but not at the expense of any comfort.
The Puma Future 7 Ultimate is soft and comfortable out of the box, requiring little-to-no break-in time. It is a boot with a fair bit of volume so is suitable for those with wider feet as well.
Best for traditionalists
The Puma King Top is the descendant of the original Puma King, retaining much of the traditional design in the upper and featuring a much simpler soleplate than some of the other Puma models. It has been slowly updated over the years to bring it up to speed with modern technology, but this still represents by far the closest you can get from Puma to the experience of wearing the model made famous by the likes of Pele, Diego Maradona and Johan Cruyff.
Puma's most iconic model, the King Top has recently undergone its biggest change by transitioning from natural leather to Puma's K-better, a synthetic material built to mirror the touch and feel of kangaroo leather. I found that it does about as good a job of this as can be expected – the boots are soft and comfortable with reasonable padding, but they are not quite able to replicate the feel of a natural leather – something that I would say is true of all materials of this type.
The King Top is not a pair that you will see worn by professionals on the pitch and is comparable with pairs such as the Nike Premier 3, New Balance 442 and Adidas Copa Mundial as more reasonably priced options that are not ‘takedown’ models of elite boots. For those who are price-conscious and simply looking for a good quality pair that can be worn on multiple surfaces then pairs like the Puma King Top and the other mentioned are a good bet.
How we test football boots
Testing each pair of boots to its true potential means one of our expert members of the team, who lives and breathes football boots, wearing them across a number of different sessions to ascertain their true level of performance. Factors to consider in the performance of each boot includes comfort, stability, fit and feel.
The expert in our team considers the claims made by brands about their newest features and technologies, cutting straight to the crux of how each boot performs through simple yet detailed advice for players of all levels.
How we choose the best football boots
What might be the best football boot for one person might be absolutely awful for the next - so it can often be difficult to find one that suits you best. But while we'd all love to go for the best looking boot, it's the fit and feel that is the most important thing to focus on - with the looks a secondary consideration.
Indeed, the market can be a minefield of marketing jargon at the best of times, so cutting through that is essential if you're to find a pair of boots that really suits your style and feet.
Getting the right fit
Before worrying about anything else, whether that be aesthetics, models or stud configuration, the main thing to focus on and concern yourself with is finding a pair of cleats that fit your feet perfectly.
For that, we'd recommend heading into a shop that sells football boots and physically trying on as many models from as many different brands as possible,. This will help you learn which boots work best with your feet, and where your preferences are likely to lie.
Comfort is of paramount importance when choosing, because it's no use having the lightest boots available when they give you blisters and cause you agony for every 90 minutes you put them on.
