New Balance 990 vs 624 Shoes Compared [What’s the Difference?]


I recently put my hands on both the New Balance 624 and the New Balance 990v5 shoes so that I could compare them on comfort, sizing, and design. When comparing New Balance 990 vs 624 there are some significant differences that may affect which one is right for you.

Quickly, this is what jumps out the most to me:

  • These shoes are similar in that they are both casual athletic shoes. Both are comfortable, but they won’t be as “squishy” under the foot as modern athletic shoes. If you prefer that “squishy” comfort, I would recommend the New Balance Fresh Foam 1080.
  • The New Balance 990v5 is part of New Balance’s “Made in USA” collection (but the 624 is not).
  • When I took the insoles out of these shoes, I found a difference in how the strobel board is built (the strobel board is the firm platform under the insole). The 624 has a partial foam-like padding near the heel to add cushioning. The 990v5 appears to just have mesh-like material stitched atop the strobel board (show me a picture of this difference).
  • Both shoes fit within the realm of what I consider “true-to-size”. If you made me choose, I’d say the 990 shoes fit a little bit longer than the 624. Click here to jump to the sizing section where I use side-by-side photos to compare these shoes to other popular brands so you can choose the right size.
  • Although the 624 is made with a leather upper and the 990 has a suede/mesh upper, I found the flexibility of these two styles to be very similar. I’ll let you be the judge. This is where you can view videos comparing the flexibility of the 990 and the 624. This is where you can see how these shoes respond on the foot.
  • The 624 weighs less than the 990v5. The 624 weighs 0.86 pounds and the 990v5 weighs 1.01 pounds per shoe for a size 12 men’s. Click here to read more about how these weights compare to other New Balance shoes.
  • Overall, the comfort of these shoes is similar. I feel like the 990v5 provide more comfort under the foot but the 624 offers a bit more support. This is where you can see these shoes on my foot to see how they respond to movement and pressure.

In this article let’s take a closer look at the New Balance 624 vs 990 by using the videos and pictures I took of the shoes that I own.

Table of Contents

New Balance 990 vs 624 Design

The 990v5 and 624 are both athletic shoes, but serve different purposes. The 624 is built to be a trainer shoe, while the 990v5 is more of a running shoe. Both can be worn as casual athletic shoes.

The 990v5 has a taller heel-to-toe drop. When I measured these shoes myself using an outside 8-inch digital caliper, I found the 990 to have a 12mm drop and the 624 to have a 10mm drop. Click here to see me taking these measurements.

How They Respond on Foot

To give you an idea how these shoes respond on a foot, here I am wearing mine:

As you can see above, the 624 has an all-leather upper while the 990 has a suede/mesh upper (are New Balance 624 good for running?). In my opinion, the 990 provides more comfort under the foot than the 624, but the 624 offers better support.

Although these shoes are comfortable, they aren’t as “squishy” under the foot as other types of modern New Balance running shoes. For comparison, here is one of the most comfortable options, the New Balance 1080v12:

Flexibility

In the videos below, I tried to capture how flexible these shoes are:


Overall, these shoes are very similar in how flexible they are. There is, however, a difference in weight. Click here to view the difference in these shoes regarding weight.

Padding

Both the 624 and 990 have quality padding around the collar and tongue and in my experience, there was no noticeable difference in this area. Here are mine (990 first):

new-balance-990-padded-collar
new-balance-624-collar

Strobel Board

One different I did notice was underneath the insole. The 990v5 just has a layer of fabric sewn on top of the firm strobel board under the insole, but the 624 actually has an extra layer of foam-like cushioning near the heel.

Here are mine (990 first):

strobel-board-990
strobel-board-624

Because this detail is hidden below the insole, it is easy to miss. This won’t cause a significant difference in comfort, but it does provide some extra cushioning under the heel for the 624.

Insole Thickness

Yes, both the 990 and the 624 have removable insoles, so you can clean or swap them as needed. First, here is the insole of the 990:

new-balance-990-insole
new-balance-990-insole-measurement

And below, is the insole for the New Balance 624:

new-balance-624-insole
new-balance-624-insole-measurement

By my measurements, the insole thickness was basically the exact same. I did find the fit of these shoes to be slightly different. This is where you can view the side-by-side photos I took regarding sizing.

New Balance 990 vs 624 Design

Sole Height

Below is the height measurements I took for the New Balance 990 and 624 (990 first):

new-balance-990-sole-height
new-balance-624-sole-height

As you can see, the 990 (top) and 624 have a similar midsole thickness and the overall height of the shoes is also similar. The 608 is very similar to the 624, and I found it to have a smaller heel height. This is where you can check out how the 608 compares to the 624.

Outsole Width

Below is the width measurements I took for the New Balance 990 and 624 (990 first):

new-balance-990-width-outsole
new-balance-624-width-measurement-outsole

As you can see, the base of these shoes has basically the exact same width. The outsole pattern is different, but it didn’t cause a noticeable difference either way. For a better idea how wide these shoes fit, click here.

Weight

Despite being made with a partial mesh upper, I found the 990v5 shoes to weigh more. My size 12 men’s 990 shoes weighed 1.01 pounds per shoe, and my size 12 men’s 624 shoes weighed 0.86 pounds per shoe (photos below).

new-balance-990-weight
new-balance-624-weight

Recently I tried over 30 different types of New Balance shoes and I found the average to be 0.89 pounds per shoe for a size 12 men’s. So, as you can see, the 624 weighs slightly below that average, and the 990 weighs above it.

This is where you can see how these two shoes compared to all the (30+) New Balance shoes that I tried.

Heel Drop

When I measured my New Balance 990v5 shoes using an 8-inch Digital Outside Caliper, I found the heel drop to be approximately 12mm. When I measured my New Balance 624 shoes using an 8-inch Digital Outside Caliper, I found its heel drop to be approximately 10mm.

It is important to understand that although I tried my best to get accurate measurements, the best way to measure heel drop is to cut the shoes in half and use an industrial caliper. Obviously, I didn’t want to destroy my shoes, but this is a convenient alternative way to measure heel drop.

The point is, think of these heel drop numbers as an approximation. For all official measurements, it would be best to reach out to New Balance directly.

Here I am measuring the heel drop of the New Balance 990v5 shoes:

new-balance-990-heel-drop
new-balance-990-heel-drop-measurements

Here I am measuring the heel drop of the New Balance 624 shoes:

new-balance-624-heel-drop
new-balance-624-heel-drop-measurement

You will notice that I found the actual heel height of the 990 to be taller than the 624. Remember, these numbers are my unofficial measurements and should be thought of as approximations.

New Balance 990 vs 624 Sizing

Overall, I found these two shoes to both fit within the realm of what I would describe as “true-to-size”. The overall fit of these shoes is very similar, although if you made me choose, I would say the 990 fit a bit longer than the 624. But overall, it was similar.

Here they are side-by-side (990 on left):

new-balance-624-vs-990-sizing

To give you a better idea how wide these shoes are, here they both are compared to the Nike Air Monarch 4E, which is a popular extra wide shoe (990 first):

new-balance-990-vs-nike-air-monarch-sizing
new-balance-624-vs-nike-air-monarch-sizing

In the sections below, I compare both of these shoes to other popular shoes so you can get a better feel for sizing. To read more about sizing, visit my article that discusses the size and fit of New Balance shoes.


New Balance 990 Sizing Photos

To read more, visit my article about the sizing of New Balance 990v5 Shoes.

New Balance 990 (right) vs Adidas 2k Boost Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-adidas-2k-boost-sizing

New Balance 990 vs Reebok Classics Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-reebok-classics-sizing

New Balance 990 vs Nike Zoom Winflo Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-nike-zoom-winflo-sizing

New Balance 990 vs Skechers Go Walk Slip On Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-skechers-go-walk-slip-on-sizing

New Balance 990 (left) vs 2002r Sizing

new-balance-2002r-vs-990-sizing

New Balance 990 vs Brooks Adrenaline Sizing

brooks-vs-new-balance-990-sizing

New Balance 990 vs Skechers Go Walk Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-skechers-go-walk-sizing-1

New Balance 990 vs Saucony Shadow 6000 Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-saucony-shadow-6000-sizing

New Balance 990 vs Adidas Superstar Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-adidas-superstar-sizing

New Balance 990 vs Nike Air Max 90 Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-nike-air-max-90-sizing-1

New Balance 990 vs Crocs Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-crocs-sizing

New Balance 990 vs Under Armour HOVR Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-under-armour-sizing

New Balance 990 vs Hey Dude Wally Sox Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-hey-dude-sizing-1

New Balance 990 vs Vans Slip On Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-vans-slip-on-sizing

New Balance 990 vs Nike Air Force 1 Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-nike-af1-sizing

New Balance 990 vs Adidas Cloudfoam Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-adidas-cloudfoam-sizing

New Balance 990 vs Asics Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-asics-sizing

New Balance 990 vs Hoka One One Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-hoka-sizing

New Balance 990 vs Converse Chucks Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-converse-chucks-sizing-1

New Balance 990 vs Vans UltraRange Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-vans-ultrarange-sizing

New Balance 990 vs Vans Old Skool Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-vans-old-skool-sizing

New Balance 990 vs Converse Pro Leather Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-converse-pro-leather-sizing

New Balance 990 vs Adidas Gazelle Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-adidas-gazelle-sizing

New Balance 990 vs Skechers Afterburn Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-skechers-afterburn-sizing

New Balance 990 vs Nike Cortez Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-nike-cortez-sizing

New Balance 990 vs Nike Blazer Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-nike-blazer-sizing

New Balance 990 (left) vs 993 Sizing

new-balance-993-vs-990-sizing

New Balance 990 (right) vs 574 Sizing

new-balance-990-vs-574-sizing

New Balance 990 (left) vs 880 Sizing

new-balance-880-vs-990-sizing

New Balance 624 Sizing Photos

To read more, visit my article about the sizing of New Balance 624 Shoes.

New Balance 624 vs Adidas 2k Boost Sizing

new-balance-624-sizing

New Balance 624 vs Skechers Afterburn Sizing

new-balance-624-vs-skechers-afterburn-sizing

New Balance 624 vs Reebok Classics Sizing

new-balance-624-vs-reebok-classic-sizing

New Balance 624 vs Skechers Go Walk Slip On Sizing

new-balance-624-vs-skechers-go-walk-slip-on-sizing

New Balance 624 vs Vans UltraRange Sizing

new-balance-624-vs-vans-ultrarange-sizing

New Balance 624 vs Vans Slip On Sizing

new-balance-624-vs-vans-slip-on-sizing

New Balance 624 vs Skechers Go Walk Sizing

new-balance-624-vs-skechers-go-walk-sizing

New Balance 624 vs Saucony Shadow 6000 Sizing

new-balance-624-vs-saucony-6000-sizing

New Balance 624 (left) vs 1540 Sizing

new-balance-1540-vs-624-sizing

New Balance 624 vs Nike Air Max Excee Sizing

new-balance-624-vs-nike-air-max-excee-sizing

New Balance 624 vs Nike Air Max 90 Sizing

new-balance-624-vs-nike-air-max-90-sizing

New Balance 624 (left) vs 840 Sizing

new-balance-840-vs-624-sizing

New Balance 624 vs Crocs Sizing

new-balance-624-vs-crocs-sizing

New Balance 624 vs Nike Air Force 1 Sizing

new-balance-624-vs-nike-af1-sizing

New Balance 624 vs Under Armour HOVR Sizing

new-balance-624-vs-under-armour-sizing

New Balance 624 (left) vs 577 Sizing

new-balance-577-vs-624-sizing

New Balance 624 (right) vs 574 Sizing

new-balance-624-vs-574-sizing

New Balance 624 (right) vs 997 Sizing

new-balance-624-vs-997-sizing

New Balance 624 (left) vs 813 Sizing

new-balance-813-vs-624-sizing

New Balance 624 vs Keen Sizing

new-balance-624-vs-keen-sizing

New Balance 624 vs Converse Chucks Sizing

new-balance-624-vs-converse-chucks-sizing

New Balance 990 vs 624 Conclusion

These shoes are very similar in that they are both casual athletic shoes. However, the 990v5 is more of a running shoe and the 624 is more of a training shoe.

I found the 990 to provide more comfort under the foot, but I thought the 624 offer more support. The 990 is made with a suede mesh upper and the 624 is made with a leather upper. Because of this, I felt like the 990 was more breathable.

When I compared the flexibility of these shoes, I found both the flexibility and the “twistability” of the shoes to be similar. This is where you can see the videos of me demonstrating how flexible these shoes are.

I did find the strobel board (the area under the insole) to be built different. The 624 had an extra layer of foam-like cushioning under the heel and the 990v5 just seemed to have fabric stitched on top of the strobel board.

I found the fit to be similar, but I thought the 990 was a bit longer. I considered both styles to be “true-to-size”.

Although both are comfortable, neither offer that “squishy” comfort under the foot that modern athletic shoes offer. If you prefer that squishy comfort, I would recommend the New Balance 1080. Click here to view the New Balance 1080 shoes available at NewBalance.com (paid affiliate link takes you to NewBalance.com).

Paul Johnson

Paul is a lead content creator for Workwear Command. He has had several blue-collar jobs which have provided him a wide range of experience with tools and gear. He also has a business degree and has spent time in business casual office settings.

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