How much do you spend on cleats??

We did the Nike “academy version” $85-105 while daughter feet were growing. Got her first $250 for Christmas and she notices a huge diffence plus as a bonus the $250 which I believe are leather, don’t smell like the $85 after a few months of use

Both of my kids wear the top tier cleats. When you take in to consideration has often they are in them, I don’t feel like it’s a waste on money. They both get two pair a year, we donate they old one.

Older kid gets $150 cleats but we are lucky because they would be $300 in adult sizes. We have small feet in our family so these are still youth sizes (since they really don't make womens cleats). These are always the laceless type. We have kids with wide feet so options are very limited. They do last a long time. Since the older one's feet stopped growing we often get a whole year out of them. We do get two at a time and that is due to travel and rain issues. At home we have a shoe dryer and it helps minimize the smell too!

My daughter has TINY feet, women's size 6.5/men's 5.5. We get the top tier cleats that will fit her, usually on eBay. Adidas old X 6.5 purespeed/purechaos (16+/17±) fit like men's 5.5 sp those were a good option. These days she's back to wearing youth sizes which the best ones are around $150 and on eBay can get for $80-100. So she has 4 pairs of Nike and one pair of Adidas I got last summer, no need to buy new boots unless her feet grow.

As for the stink...its the insoles. Buy a couple pairs of VKTRY insoles when you find the 50% off coupon. They don't have a smell. They last a LONG time.

I’ve used “Grunt” spray to tame it as well.

I have bought 2 of the high end Adidas cleats the last 1.5 seasons and they all came apart (bottom from top) in about 11-12 games and practices between those. I sent them both to Adidas and they refunded me the new pair I bought through Adidas (newer model of same kind) and then gave me a shopping credit for the other pair. The current ones which were essentially free after all that have held up better than the other two older models so maybe they figured out the issues with them. Time will tell. $200-250 a pair is steep to only last like 11-12 games.

Top of the line Men’s Nike’s around Black Friday (even if he doesn’t need a new pair then, buy next size up) or when otherwise on sale (last season’s colors or style...can get around $100+ off of $275). He’s tried other cleats that he thought looked “cooler” but they never fit as well. So best fit is at the top of the list for the amount of time he spends in them and how much of a beating his feet take. Plus he doesn’t really need any other equipment except for a ball, so I figure it’s not a bad deal in the end.

Interesting feedback! Thanks! ....and some additional comments with the SMELL... which is a good consideration. I will try some of those remedies as they arise. 

We have flipped and flopped between the $99 and $150 kind over the years, due to feet still growing, etc. but I was considering the top tier this go around, so I appreciate everyone's input. Just trying to convince myself its worth it and there is that return on investment. 

Any brands that are favored?? I've always been an Adidas person, but I'm curious about other brands as well. Like... I see New Balance has some, but I never thought of them as a soccer cleats company. Anyone have luck with those? or Mizuno, Puma.. of course Nike... 

Adidas predator on eBay for cheap. She likes the normal ones with laces. Bright yellow is good so I can tell who is my kid.

Wet shoes dry out better if you put paper towels in them.

I think the stink is because most cleats are plastic.

I bought some former top of the range Adidas ones made of kangaroo leather. She didn’t like them... because they squeaked! So I put them back on eBay.

One kid only uses Adidas and never had any issues with them falling apart. It took one year until there was an issue (playing pretty much year round).
The other kid is using Nike now. Feet still growing there and not as wide so we just went for whatever was the most comfortable. Tried Puma and NB in the store but they were not as comfortable for her.
Unless you have a kid with really wide or super narrow feet I think any brand is fine. Certain brands do run wide (i.e Adidas).
NB does make soccer cleats and they are reported to be good

As noted above, the boot dryer is key. Get one that will do 2 pair at a time and use them after every practice, rain or shine. Importantly, set it up in the garage! Take it to your hotel room when traveling too. $200-275 for cleats - very few options at size 14. Also, to keep the top lace eyelets from ripping buy a shoelace eyelet grommet kit from HD or Lowe’s and that won’t happen again!

And you get to get gloves too....just like us and they seem to last no more than 2 or 3 months at most.

Don’t know other brands that well, but even with Nike some styles run wider or more narrow than others so just do the research beforehand. My kid wears phantom vision but cannot do the mercurials. In terms of what to go with, whatever fits your kid the best.

Depends on your kid's feet. My daughter's feet are wide. The obnoxious $$ Nike superfly knit fit her orders of magnitude better than a regular cleat. Leather is also better. The way the superfly are made make them bad for turf. Bits get in and the cleat comes off. So she wears the leather on turf and superfly on grass. If a cleat falls apart in less than 2 years Nike will give you Nike credit to replace it.