Best insoles for plantar fasciitis: what the trials show
Going by the trials, the best insole for plantar fasciitis to try first is a firm, contoured store-bought arch support (about $50 to $70) or a silicone heel cup (about $18). No trial crowns a brand, and in trials that compared them, custom insoles did no better than store-bought ones. Use it together with stretching and strengthening: the 2023 guideline advises against relying on insoles alone for short-term pain relief. Relying on insoles alone is one of the reasons plantar fasciitis does not get better. Any benefit is modest and may take several weeks.
We do not sell insoles, we have no affiliate links and we did not wear-test these products. Walkito is an exercise app, so we have our own bias toward exercise; this page sticks to what the trials found. If you work long shifts on your feet, see also our guide to shoes for nurses with plantar fasciitis.
Do insoles help plantar fasciitis?
Key findingThe 2023 heel pain guideline says clinicians should not use orthoses, prefabricated or custom, “as an isolated treatment for short-term pain relief”, but may use them “when combined with other treatments” (Koc and colleagues, 2023).
A little, and mostly as an add-on. Compared with fake (sham) insoles, real ones gave a small reduction in pain, not function, between weeks 7 and 12 in one review of 19 trials, which may be too small to notice. Another review found no difference from sham insoles in the short term, and a later trial of 185 adults found none at three months.
In a trial of 103 people, a steroid injection did better at week 4 and arch-contouring insoles did better at week 12, but neither difference was large enough to matter much to patients. So expect insoles to help gradually, if at all, not overnight.
Plantar fasciitis insoles compared
List prices on each maker’s own site, checked October 11, 2026. These are the insoles review sites pick most often; we did not test them and do not rank them. “APMA seal” means the product is in the American Podiatric Medical Association’s seal database; “No” means it is not listed, not that it failed anything. Powerstep insoles were used in a published study, and a heel cup from Medi-Dyne, the maker of Tuli’s, was given to everyone in another trial. We found no published studies of the other products, searching abstracts and open full texts.
| Insole | Type | Price | APMA seal |
|---|---|---|---|
| PowerStep Pinnacle | Full-length, semi-rigid | $54.95 | Yes |
| Superfeet All-Purpose Support High Arch | Full-length, firm | $59.99 | Yes |
| Superfeet Casual Pain Relief | Full-length, casual shoes | $69.99 | Yes |
| Spenco Total Support Max | Full-length, firm | $49.99 | Yes |
| Tread Labs Pace | Full-length, extra firm | $70 | Yes |
| CURREX SupportSTP | Full-length | $59.95 | No |
| Redi-Thotics Flex | Full-length, semi-rigid | $59 | No |
| Vionic Relief Full | Full-length | $55 | No |
| Dr. Scholl’s Plantar Fasciitis All-Day | Full-length | $17.96 | No |
| WalkHero Plantar Fasciitis Relief | Full-length | $19.99 | No |
| Tuli’s Heavy Duty Gel Heel Cups | Heel cup, soft gel | $17.99 | Yes |
| Heel That Pain Gel Heel Seat | Heel seat | $24.95 | No |
Are custom orthotics better than store-bought insoles?
Key findingA review of 19 trials found no difference between custom and prefabricated insoles for heel pain at any time point (Whittaker and colleagues, 2018).
Not in trials. The guideline says the evidence “clearly finds a similarity in outcomes between custom and prefabricated orthoses”. Some related trials:
- In a trial of 135 people, firm-foam store-bought insoles and semirigid custom ones both improved function a little more than soft sham insoles at three months, but not at 12 months.
- In a trial of 142 people, low-cost foam insoles, prefabricated or customized, had similar effects after 8 weeks.
- In a study that was not randomized, with 67 people completing it, custom insoles did no better than prefabricated Powerstep insoles, which were 38% cheaper per patient.
- In a trial of 185 adults, custom insoles did no better than sham insoles, and a cost analysis found them not cost-effective compared with usual care from a family doctor.
Custom orthotics often cost $300 to $800, according to GoodRx; see our cost guide. One best-practice guide puts custom orthoses as a later step, at about three months, after shockwave therapy, if improvement is still suboptimal.
Insoles work best with the exercises. Walkito gives you the stretches and strengthening in 3, 5 or 10 minute sessions that adjust to how your feet felt this morning. Pair your insoles with the exercises
Heel cup or full-length arch support?
Key findingIn a trial of 236 people who all stretched, 95% improved with a silicone heel pad, 88% with a rubber heel cup, 81% with a felt pad, 72% with stretching alone and 68% with a custom orthotic after 8 weeks (Pfeffer and colleagues, 1999).
The evidence points both ways. That older trial favoured simple heel pads. A later review concluded that contoured full-length insoles relieve plantar fasciitis symptoms better than heel cups, and in a pressure study in older adults, a prefabricated contoured insole gave a fivefold greater reduction in heel pressure than the next best insert, including a silicone heel cup.
A heel cup is cheaper and fits more shoes; a full-length arch support has more support behind it in recent research. Either can be a first try alongside exercise.
What should you look for in a plantar fasciitis insole?
- Firm, contoured arch support rather than soft foam. In a small 3-week trial of 30 adults, a foam-covered rigid insole reduced pain more than a soft supportive foam one, and a thin flat insole had no significant effect. In another trial, soft thin foam was used as the fake insole.
- A heel cup that cradles the heel.
- A fit that works in your shoes. Full-length insoles usually replace the shoe’s own insole; heel cups fit more shoes.
- No magnets. In a trial in JAMA, magnetic insoles gave no extra benefit over the same insoles without magnets.
What do “clinically proven” and the APMA seal mean?
Less than they sound. The PowerStep, Dr. Scholl’s and Superfeet product pages say “clinically proven” without linking a study; Superfeet’s line is brand-wide: “clinically proven to decrease fatigue, reduce injury, and improve comfort”. Dr. Scholl’s says its plantar fasciitis insole “Immediately relieves heel pain & prevents it from coming back”; we found no trial support for that claim for any insole.
The APMA seal means the product has the podiatrists’ association’s Seal of Acceptance, but APMA says it “is not a testing laboratory” and does not compare products against each other.
How to use insoles with exercise
The guideline supports insoles only alongside other care, and the exercises have stronger grades: plantar fascia and calf stretching A, strengthening B. In one trial in which everyone wore shoe inserts, heel raises with a towel under the toes gave faster improvement than stretching.
Wear the insoles in the shoes you use most, and do the plantar fasciitis exercises every week. Our page on insoles vs exercises covers the trials behind combining them.
When should you see a podiatrist?
See a podiatrist or doctor if the pain has not improved after about two weeks of home care (NHS), or sooner for the warning signs below. If you have diabetes, get your feet checked: Medicare covers therapeutic shoes and inserts only for people with diabetes and severe diabetes-related foot disease (Medicare.gov).
Questions people ask
Which insoles have clinical evidence for plantar fasciitis?
No brand has strong trial evidence behind it. Of the 12 insoles we compared, only two makers turned up in the published studies we found: Powerstep insoles were used in one study that was not randomized, and a heel cup from Medi-Dyne, the maker of Tuli’s, was given to everyone in a trial, so that trial does not show what the heel cup alone did. What the trials point to is a type, not a brand: a firm, contoured store-bought arch support or a silicone heel cup, used with stretching and strengthening.
Do insoles really work for plantar fasciitis?
Modestly, and best alongside exercise. The 2023 guideline advises against relying on insoles alone for short-term pain relief but allows them combined with other care. Trials against fake insoles are mixed, with at most a small benefit after several weeks.
Are expensive insoles better than cheap ones?
Trials have not shown it. Custom insoles did no better than store-bought ones in a review of 19 trials, and prefabricated foam insoles matched customized foam insoles in a trial of 142 people.
Should plantar fasciitis insoles be soft or firm?
Firm and supportive did better in a small trial that compared them, and soft thin foam was used as the fake insole in another trial. Comfort still matters, since you have to wear them.
Are heel cups good for plantar fasciitis?
They can be. In a 1999 trial, 95% of people with a silicone heel pad improved, but a later review found contoured full-length insoles worked better than heel cups. Either is a reasonable cheap first try with exercise.
See a clinician first if
- your heel pain followed an injury or a fall
- the pain is severe or stops you doing normal activities
- it has not improved after about two weeks of home care, or keeps getting worse
- the pain comes with numbness, tingling or swelling
- you have diabetes or reduced feeling in your feet
Pair your insoles with the exercises
Walkito gives you the plantar fascia stretch, calf stretches with the knee straight and bent, and strength work that gets harder over time, on 3, 5 or 7 days a week. It is a weekly or yearly subscription; the price is shown in the store.
Each morning a one-tap check-in makes a bad day lighter, and a short test every 14 days, then every 28 after your first goal, shows whether your calves, arch and balance are changing.
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