7 Best Glock Clones for Any Budget

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Glock must be blushing pretty hard these days. Since the original patent for the simple but extremely reliable Glock 17 is now well over 40 years old, it’s no wonder so many companies have chosen to imitate the design.

Yet even its clones have managed to push the boundaries of customization and affordability. There’s something for everyone on this list, whether it’s a bargain buy or a Gucci upgrade, with everything from metal frames and modular designs to enhanced sights and triggers.

To keep things easy, we gathered our clones into key categories for cost, extra features, and enhanced performance.

Your Glock Clone Cheat Sheet:

Newest “Big-Brand” Clone: Ruger RXM
Budget Upgrade: Lone Wolf Dusk 19
Competition Ready: Zev Technologies OZ9
Best Premium Clone: Shadow Systems MR920
All-Metal Alternative: Rock Island STK100
Under-Appreciated Value: Arex Delta Gen 2
Best Bang for Your Buck: PSA Dagger
BONUS: DIY, Extreme Budget, Honorable Mentions

Newest “Big-Brand” Clone: Ruger RXM

Ruger announced its new RXM pistol at the tail end of 2024, so you can be forgiven for missing its arrival. Even though it clearly has many of the design and profile features of your typical Glock, Ruger joined with Magpul to make some major modifications to the guts of this gun.

First, these are American-made handguns, and Ruger gave the design an American twist by turning the RXM into a fully modular firearm. It’s akin to the popular SIG Sauer P320. The RXM uses a Fire Control Insert chassis that bundles the technical “firearm” portion of the gun into a removable unit.

The FCI on the new striker-fired pistol is the serialized part, which means you can swap the insert into other frames. Most major parts on the RXM have cross-compatibility with other Glock Gen 3 off-the-shelf parts, holsters, and accessories.

Basically, you get a Glock-like design that has been upgraded for the cutting-edge modularity that shooters are demanding in the 21st century. Additional features include Magpul’s Enhanced Handgun Grip and an optics-cut slide ready for Trijicon RMR, DeltaPoint Pro, and RMSc-pattern optics.

Even better, you get it for a budget-friendly price that even beats many Glocks rolling fresh out of the factory these days.

Budget Upgrade: Lone Wolf Dusk 19

Perhaps best known for its aftermarket Glock handgun parts, Lone Wolf has a lot of experience with what makes the Glock pistol design so successful. The Dusk 19 isn’t the company’s first stab at a Glock clone, but it does incorporate many of Lone Wolf’s best aftermarket innovations.

Special features include an enhanced flat trigger system, form-fitting grip panels, Night Fision tritium sights, Dusk-profile barrel with optional suppressor threading, and raised RMR-compatible optics cut.

Heck, Lone Wolf even went so far as to give its Glock clone an Americanized 19-degree grip angle instead of the traditional 22-degree angle on a standard Glock. Shooters who prefer the ergonomics of a 1911 will appreciate that feature.

The Dusk 19 is particularly impressive given that Lone Wolf debuted its first factory-completed handgun, the LTD 19, as recently as 2020. It has come a long way in just five years, and the company’s Dusk 19 has all the bells and whistles of a custom Glock at a strikingly affordable price.

Competition Ready: Zev Technologies OZ9

Zev Technologies has already made its mark in competition circles with its OZ9 series, so much so that it followed up the original with various elite, competition, and combat models. The company’s competition-ready guns have all the bells and whistles you’d expect, but with the refinement that made Zev famous for its custom parts.

I mean, just for bragging points, Zev Tech’s OZ9 Combat X was recently tapped by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Secure Transportation for agents guarding America’s nuclear materials.

Zev’s in-house OZ9 includes premium features ranging from a modular chassis and steel receiver to an improved grip angle, optics-ready slide, and one of the best Glock triggers on the market. If you’re looking for a Glock clone that can outshoot almost any shooter, the OZ9 is where it’s at.

Competition-worthy performance comes at a first-class price, putting most OZ9 pistols north of $1,000. Consider it an investment in quality and performance because you will feel it when you shoot it.

Best Premium Clone: Shadow Systems MR920

Shadow Systems’ primo compact-size MR920 is basically a Glock 19 Gen 3 that got the superhero treatment from Marvel Studios. This gun is a looker, but it’s actually part of a family of premium Glock clones that include the full-size DR920 and extra-concealable CR920.

These guns all carry a Glock’s basic DNA but with some serious genetic modifications. These include side and top slide serrations, steel tritium night sights, an aluminum flat-faced trigger, and a match-grade barrel. There’s even a recoil-control ledge for the support hand thumb built into the frame.

Shadow Systems paid particular attention to how a shooter’s hand engages with the MR920. The grip features full-wrap texturing, a flared magazine well, angle-adjustable backstraps, and an ultra-high trigger guard featuring a double undercut.

Once again, premium features come with a bump in the final price, but a “base-level” Shadow Systems MR920 can still be had for just a bill or two more than your generic Glock 19 Gen 5. Plus, you can opt for extra flash by grabbing a bronzed fluted barrel, complete with window cuts in the slide, on the MR920 Elite.

All-Metal Alternative: Rock Island STK100

Few folks associate Rock Island Armory or Armscor with Glock-style firearms, but the STK100 is worth a closer look if you’re in the market for a budget-friendly clone with an all-metal frame. The two brands partnered to launch the STK100 back in 2021.

The gun features an alloy frame that is meant to give the gun a more durable design with less felt recoil. Overall, the gun runs closer to a full-size Glock 17 in size and comes from the factory with multiple port/window cuts in the slide. The frame uses a 1911-style grip angle, an extended beavertail, aggressive slide serrations, and an integrated flared magwell.

In fact, RIA and Armscor pitch the gun as the best of both worlds, combining various features from the classic 1911 and Glock 17. The striker-fired STK100 hosts a 4.49-inch barrel and is compatible with Glock 17-pattern magazines. If you’re looking for something smaller, there are also the STK150 and STK200 featuring 4-inch barrels.

At 1.8 pounds, the STK100 comes in at 0.23 pounds more than the original Glock 17 Gen 3, but its added weight serves a purpose. It also comes at a bargain price that generally falls between $400 and $500.

Under-Appreciated Value: Arex Delta Gen 2

If you haven’t heard of Arex or the Delta Gen 2, you’re hardly alone. This Glock clone is both an improved version of the Glock 17 Gen 3 and a bargain steal for the price. Arex offers a host of color and size options for its Delta line of pistols.

However, for me, the shining data point is the fact that this hammerless striker-fired gun uses a double-action trigger.

At a price that’s under the normal street value for even used Glocks, these guns don’t get the love they deserve. The design is less customizable for aftermarket parts than many on this list, but that’s part of the point when you get a Glock-style pistol featuring a DA trigger.

Unlike many hammerless guns that use a fully cocked striker, the Delta line uses a partially compressed striker spring even when there’s a round in the chamber. This leaves enough play in the spring for the trigger to finish cocking the striker, release the sear, and reset during the firing cycle without the aid of a recoiling slide.

Double-action triggers are often less refined, but they also give shooters a double-strike capability if the first trigger pull fails to ignite the primer. The Arex Delta Gen 2 comes optics-ready with an RMR footprint cut into the slide.

For a feature-rich gun that can be easily found for less than $400, the Delta Gen 2 is worth a look if you’re on a budget.

Best Bang for Your Buck: PSA Dagger

Even though they are fairly new clones, Palmetto State Armory’s family of Dagger pistols has quickly become a go-to favorite for folks looking for affordable Glockish pistols. Part of that success comes down to the low price point, but PSA also has the manufacturing might to offer tons of model options, aftermarket upgrades, and accessories.

The Dagger is Lego-like in its customizability. You can pick from an array of colors, sizes, and features that range from ported slides and specialty barrels to springs and trigger replacements.

You can get a plain-Jane base model or add more bells and whistles than the Giant Swiss Army knife from Victorinox. That “knife” weighs nearly 3 pounds, by the way, which makes it around double the weight of a base model Dagger that weighs just 1.41 pounds.

From the Micro and Compact models to the full-size S/SX and über-tactical Sabre Dagger, there’s a Dagger for nearly every shooting need. The fact that each one has a similar overall design makes it a great option if you have a need for familiar-feeling handguns in different sizes as well.

Prices vary but lean toward the budget-friendly side, with normal ranges running from $300 to sub-$700.

BONUS: DIY, Extreme Budget, Honorable Mentions

Surely, someone out there will be angry that their favorite Glock clone didn’t make this list, and that’s fair enough. There are tons of additional options for clones, from the top-shelf Faxon FX-19 Patriot and the extra-budget FMK 9C1 G2 to the extremely modular ZRODelta One/Modulus that can transform from a handgun into a full-size rifle.

Then there are the DIY options from companies like the recently defunct Polymer 80, which once offered affordable 80-percent frames and factory-built Glock clones. Like Browning’s classic 1911 and the consummate CZ 75, people tend to copy the greats.

Glock certainly falls into that category as one of the dominant handgun makers of the last 50 years.